This is a huge load of rice cake crepes. Although we have seen loads like this before, this is the best picture that I took. Sam and I were so concentrated on getting it that we almost missed the turn into the apartment complex. I took the picture of the dentist sign for Shauna. Real dentist signs are rather dull while the ones for those who make false teeth are often very artistic.

25 October 2007 – Thursday

The month is flying by so quickly. Slept well and woke in time to go down and exercise. I am able to jog a little further each day. A very normal morning until about 8:00 when Sam called to say there was a problem. It seems that the door to the girl’s apartment jammed and Puji was stuck inside. They called Sam and he called the man who does repairs for the church. He could not get it open and he wants to break down the door but need the permission of the landlord who does not come until 9:00. Sam is going to try and get Puji out through the window. Since there was nothing we could do about this, we went back to reading from the Kitab Mormon. Sam is truly one of our great blessings.

While Sam was getting Puji out of their apartment, we took a taxi to the office. The class started about 15 minutes late. But that and Sam cutting himself on the window he broke was the only result of the problem of the jammed door.

While Mary worked with the class, I went up to the chapel and listened to all of the talks that they are preparing for Sunday. It was a very special time for me. Those who had the best English all gave good to fine talks and one of them was very spiritual besides being well presented. But the surprises of the day was Puji and Femmy’s talks. Puji has to struggle with the language and Femmy is only 18 years old and has not been on a mission. But each of their talks were from the heart and spirit. It is a shame that all of them can not give their talks. I will listen to them again tomorrow and if the impression holds up I will probably ask brother Miller to change who speaks.

Since it their and our P-day we only had a morning class. Mary took the first two hours – I got to make lots of copies and write more vocabulary reviews. All of this takes more time than might be thought. Especially the reviews. I took the last hour and worked on vocabulary – they have a long ways to go yet but it is coming.

After class we worked our way to the mission office. We had lunch before Mary taught her class. While she taught I got to talk to Elder Subandriyo – he says that the PEF approval has gone to the President Hinckley for final approval. He told how he finally just told Hong Kong that they should stop worrying about getting the wording of the agreement with the bank exactly right and let it be approved. We can work out any problems when they come up. Elder Subandriyo is a very wise and spiritual man – but like most great men in the church he is also very practical. Hopefully we will be able to start the first applications in November- after we have trained Sister Endang and the PH leaders in Central Java.

I also had a chance to share some of my thoughts with the office elders. They were discussing the comment by one of the elders that he did not think he ever had felt real joy or sorrow. I told them that I have found that real joy and sorrow are only found in the church and the family. That while we may be sad and happy with and for others, that real Joy and Sorrow are connected with things that are Eternal.

One of the things we really look forward to each week is the arrival of the latest Church News. Today’s had an article about a symposium on Wilford Woodruff and our friend Tom Alexander was one of the speakers. He wrote an excellent biography of WW so it only make sense that he got to speak. I thought his subject was very interesting and I look forward to reading the whole talk when we get home.

When Mary was finished with her class we went over to Grand Lucky and bought lots of things that we can not find everywhere. I splurged and spent $10 to buy 10 cans of A&W Diet Root Beer. That is expensive but the only other time I have seen it, the price was $1.50 per can. This sounded almost like a bargain. As we left the parking lot, it started to rain and for the next 15 – 20 minutes it poured. Which meant that streets started to flood and so traffic was slowed down. One good thing about pouring rain is most of the motorcycles riders find places to stay covered until the main downpour is over.

We had breakfast for dinner – eggs, hash browns, sausage and orange juice. The only thing disappointing was the sausage that had no real flavor. After dinner we read from the Kitab Mormon – we are still on schedule to finish in 100 days. We are reading the Ether and about all the strife and contentions that lead up to the final destruction of the nation.

After reading I spent much of my evening posting pictures and writing in the blog. The internet service was really slow and so it seemed to take forever to get it all done. But I enjoyed writing about the great students in our IEC. Just before turning off the lights, I read more in PMG in Indonesian.

This is our second Intensive English Class. They come from all over Java to Jakarta to spend one month with us learning English. They live as they did while missionaries, spend anywhere from 6 to 9 hours a day reading, writing, and speaking English. They try very hard not to speak their native language and they succeed most of the time. We are truly blessed to have this opportunity to become a part of their lives for this month. We will never forget them and we hope that what we teach them will help them throughout their lives.

This is Daisy and she is a recently returned missionary. She lives in Solo but when the class is over, she wants to find a job here in Jakarta. She has good English skills and is a pleasure to teach.

Femmy and Wawan sharing something funny. Femmy is 18, lives in Bekasi which is near to Jakarta. She is the only student who is not a returned missionary. I would imagine that the experience of living with two other young women in a single room is something new for her. But she has been a trooper and is always quick to smile. I think she is gaining more and more confidence each day. Wawan is a returned missionary and has two brothers on missions at this time. He lives in Semarang in Central Java and we had met him before while visiting the Bennetts and putting on Career Workshops. He is studying to pass the TOFEL test but we are hoping that he passes the Michigan test that we will have at the end of the class. He is the quiet and serious one of this class, but he is also quick to smile.

Ronald is an old friend. We served with him in Tangerang for a number of months before he was transferred. I tried to get him to study English as much as he could while he was on his mission and was happy when he wrote to say he wanted to be part of this class. He is lots of fun but works as hard studying English as he did serving the Lord. He has a very positive attitude and I hope that he will be able to get more education.

This is Puji and she comes from a small branch in Magelang in Central Java. She is a returned missionary and was released in the last 4 months. When I mentioned that I might have a position for her here in Jakarta, she thanked me but said she wants to go back to her branch and help build it up. She had less English skills than the other students but she has such a great desire to learn that I think she will gain the most. She has no fear of failing and so she is willing to try to do anything with a big smile on her face. It has been a real pleasure to get to know her as well as teach her.

Last but certainly not least is Rudi. He also is a recently released missionary and probably had the best English skills coming in. He wants to go to BYU Hawaii and hopefully we can help make that happen. Rudi had all of his wisdom teeth out the week before he came to class so for the first 10 days he was pretty miserable. About the time his teeth started to heal, he started having bad stomach cramps. But through all of this he has continued to study hard and kept smiling. Hopefully bu the time the class is over all of his illnesses will be gone and he will head home to Solo.

So that is our class. We have been told that there is some romances among them but since even holding hands is not considered appropriate it is hard to tell. I will say that it is true, the couples are truly well suited for each other. It will be fun to stay in touch and see if there are some weddings in the near future.

In 1997 there was financial meltdown in Asia that led to the collapse of the Indonesian economy. One of the results of this was that many large projects that were being built went into bankruptcy. After 10 years these sit throughout Jakarta as rusting monuments to that period. This is one we drive past regularly. Another one is a huge shopping center/apartment complex that is just down the street from our apartment building.

As we were getting into the car at the grocery store, I noticed this scene. Surrounded by high rise buildings and a very modern super market, sits this old house with part of it’s roof missing. It is not an abandoned building but is obviously a home to one or a number of families. This is so Jakarta. New and old – rich and poor – just steps apart – sharing the landscape.

If you have been following this blog, you are familiar with our new neighbors by the chapel.  We are hoping that it will be finished before we leave Indonesia. It will be interesting to see what it is going to be and look like.