Our first yellow watermelon – not as sweet as those in US but still delicious. Our latest floral arrangement – the lilies are gorgeous. A lady pushing her business down the middle of the street. It is not strange to see a cart on a main street. But usually they are not being pushed down the inside lane. She was doing this because she needed to turn right. So she then pushed her cart across three lanes of traffic to get across the street and continued her business. No one honked at her, no one said anything to her, and cars and motorcycles stopped and let her work her way across. I can not imagine what would happen if someone tried to do this on State Street in Salt Lake.
11 September 2007 – Tuesday
Happy Birthday Bob…you are getting old. The alarm did not start ringing until almost 5:30 so I got a late start on my exercises. At first I thought I would just do 30 minutes, but once I got going I put in a full hour. I am up to 80 sit-ups – 4 reps of 20 – without my muscles screaming at me. Hopefully I can build up both my physical and spiritual strength each day.
We got a great letter from Shauna and Kristy updated Olivia’s blog with lots of good pictures. It is amazing how Olivia has changed over the last year or so. The Oregon Piers sound like they are going to have a very busy week or two ahead with Octoberfest and remodeling.
We read from the Kitab Mormon – the destruction of Ammoniah and the rise of the church thought the rest of the lands. We ended where Alma and the sons of Mosiah are re-untied after 14 years. I caught up and posted this journal. I am afraid that for the most part it is dull reading but then every minute of our mission is not filled with great spiritual experiences. Each day usually has one outstanding experience that reminds us that this is the Lord’s work. It may come from our reading of the Kitab Mormon, Church News, or other church related material. It may come from meeting with members or it can be nothing more than finding a new contact.
This morning was special because I got a call from Elder Bennett. His driver Sam went in for an interview with Mr. Woo – the Korean gentleman I met on the plane flying from Semarang to Jakarta 5 or 6 weeks ago. The interview lasted for over 2 hours and it ended with Sam being offered a job learning to be the manager of Mr. Woo’s business. He has about 100 employees and has never had a manager. Sam would train for 2 years and then take over running the business. It is a great opportunity for Sam and hopefully it will work out for him. Mr. Woo did not offer a salary but asked Sam to come back with what a proposal. So a brief conversation as we exited the plane may lead to a career for a young man who can become a leader in the church in Semarang. If Sam gets the job perhaps he can help other members of the branch get a job in the factory or office. Another example of the Lord’s Tender Mercies.
We went to our regular office hours. No one came in. I was hoping that the brother we visited last week would come in with his thoughts about how to improve our resumes, etc. but he did not come and did not call. I decided we wait a day before calling him. I spent most of the time working on PPMK and answering e-mail, plus as always doing some English. It seems we are always doing something for English class. Mary practiced the music she is going to play on the 29th.
I got a call from Agus about our visiting the state trade school on Friday. Also got a SMS that Lukito had 19 at his first week of SEW up at Bandung. That is a good number and I hope at least half of them come back next week.
When we got back to our apartment we read for another hour from the Kitab Mormon. After that I decided to go out by the pool, soak up some sun and read the September Ensign. The sun was lost behind what was either high clouds or major pollution – in either case it was not very warm on my skin.
I enjoyed re- reading the words of wisdom from President Hinckley – especially his powerful testimony, the article on the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and the one about the brother who could not commit to getting married until he listened to the wise council of his new bishop.
We finally got the information about the Christensen’s visit – at least some of it. They will be coming in tomorrow and staying until Monday afternoon. I am looking forward to seeing them again – they are a cool couple and have many good ideas to share.
For dinner I cut up a watermelon we bought a few days ago. When I cut into it, I was surprised to find that it was a yellow watermelon. I had heard about them but had never seen one before. It tasted exactly like the regular red kind and I ate it with my left-over half of a tuna sandwich. It was a good meal.
Our evening reading from the Kitab Mormon was about Ammon and King Lamoni. It is interesting that Ammon saw great opportunities in adversity and problems. When the men scatter the king’s sheep he sees it as a chance to show the power of the Lord that is in him. He never boasts of himself – in fact he is careful never to suggest that any of what he does comes from his own abilities but always credits it to the Lord.
His conversion of King Lamoni is a classic. First he meets a hostile reception – talk about having the door slammed in your face – and yet he does not fear. Then when he is welcomed and offered anything – including a princess – he says no and asks to be the king’s servant. He then proceeds to establish a relationship of trust with the servants and then the king. When he finally starts to talk about the gospel – something he has not done until he has established the trust – he goes back to the beginning and make sure the king understands all that he teaches him. When he uses a term the king does not know, he finds a common ground for explanations. He asks lots of questions and gives simple and clear answers. He makes sure the spirit is present and testifies often. A perfect missionary plan. Too bad more investigators do not get the spirit so strongly that they fall down in a stupor for three days.