This is a coffee table made from used teak RR ties. It is gorgeous, weighs a ton, and cost about $100. We saw lots of Batik in Jogja and bought more than we should. The secret with buying – which I did not learn soon enough – is to set a price and walk away. They either will say OK, OK and you get it for what you wanted to pay, or you go to the next booth – and there are a multitude – and start over again. Often as we visited people would ask us about where we were from and why we were here. We would have a chance to tell them about our being on a mission and I gave away a number of pass-along cards.
11 August 2007 – Saturday
I increased my exercise this morning – a couple of extra laps and I ran a little further on some of them. I do not get really tired but the sweat just pours off of me. The important thing is that I feel good afterwards. I have decided that I need to lose about 3 pounds a month for the rest of our mission. I should be able to do that by continuing to exercise and just cutting back some on the sweets.
I forgot to write that President Marchant called us late last night to tell us that President Faust had died. I met him once when he came as a member of the 12 to Torrance North Stake. He was very kind but also very straight spoken. He had a firmness in his voice and manner that gave weight to his words while showing love. I believe he was the authority and taught us that there is nothing that says a man must be in the church a year before he is given the M.P. I wonder who the Lord will call to replace him and if it will happen before the October conference.
We read from the Kitab Mormon. We get most of the words but how Isaiah uses them, many times escapes us – actually I think the poor translator had an impossible task. I can not imagine what an Indonesian who does not ever gets to read the English makes of Isaiah.
We get to the chapel in plenty of time to visit for awhile before the PH and RS meetings start. The highlight of the PH meeting for me was when Elder Subandriyo asked two recently converts and the youngest Deacon to offer their testimonies. The two adults had wonderful stories about how they came into the kingdom. One man came to Jakarta to meet with his estranged son. The meeting did not go well but he met the son’s landlord who was a member of the Church and invited him to hear the missionaries. Both men talked about how they felt the spirit telling them that the Book of Mormon was true. I did not see how the young Deacon could top this but he did. He stood in front of 200 or so older PH holders and shared a clear and meaningful testimony without any help or nervousness. I am sure I could have not done that at 12. But obviously Primary had prepared him to speak before a group.
Talks by the District Presidency and President Marchant filled out the meeting. I am sure all were fine but the translators had a difficult time keeping up with what was being said so much got lost. I felt a strong spirit when President Mak bore his testimony at the end of his talk. All in all it was a good meeting.
After the meeting Mary got a box lunch but I passed. We spent a couple of hours working in the office and talking to the Petersons and Kanes. Elder Kane explained how he was using the 25 Business Rules to teach one of his English classes. The Bennetts also use it for their advance class. I must tell Steve Gibson about how it is doing two things at once here.
We both took naps before starting to clean the house for our guests tomorrow. There is not a lot to do but I did have to attack the porch which has accumulated lots of debris from my gardening efforts. The nice thing about tile everything is that it is easy to clean. Too bad we can not have this in Utah – but after a few winters it would be a mess.
Since we went over to the Mission Residence last night, tonight is our date night. That means Pizza Hut and a movie. We ended the day by reading from the Kitab Mormon – we did much better this evening and I look forward to tomorrow’s reading. I continue to read in the A&P – it is easier but there are still too many words that I have to look up or guess at. What makes it easier than the Kitab Mormon – and especially Isaiah – is the sentence structure is less complex. This means once I have the words I can pretty much figure out how they all fit together for a complete sentence.
