04 November 2007 – Sunday

It has been an unusual Sunday for us. We went to the Tangerang branches and went to both sacrament meetings. We got to meet everyone in both branches by joining the missionaries in the meet and greet line. As usual when we are there, Mary played for T1. President Gjarot introduced me to brother Tandiman, his father-in-law. He is 83 years old and was one of the first Indonesian baptized back in 1970. His children and grandchildren are now leaders in the church. His wife is a lovely lady who gives piano lessons in their home. Brother Tandiman – who was mission president there – still does translation. It was a pleasure to get to know them better.

Before we left we had decided that we would only stay through T2’s Sunday School so Sam could make it back in time to go to an important meeting at his branch. When it turned out that none of the investigators that the elders in T2 expected, we decided that we would not stay for SS but let Sam get back for his PH meeting. So we found our self back in the apartment about noon.

It does not seem possible that almost 8 hours have passed. We both took naps and broke our fast. After that I read some from PMG and we read from the Kitab Mormon for going on 2 hours. We did watch one movie on TV – “Something New” which neither of us had ever heard of before. It was a good, if predictable, movie.

We were about to go to bed when I got a call from my good friend elder Tuxworth asking when he should be in the mission home for the Career Workshop. I told him I did not know anything about it, but I would find out and let him know. I then called President Marchant and found that they had scheduled one for a number of the missionaries who are about to be released. I told him I would check with Lukito about it but that we might need to postpone it. We then had a nice talk for about a half hour about some things on his and my mind. I think at times he feels a need to just talk out some of his thoughts and has found me to be a good listener. One thing always comes through – his love for the missionaries and for the people of Indonesia. He also understands the great sacrifices that PH leaders here make to fulfil their calls.

When I got off the phone I sent an SMS to Lukito asking him to call as soon as he could. Knowing him, if it is at all possible he will be there to teach. By then my mind was so awake that I could not go to sleep so I turned to reading from PMG until I became tired and could sleep.

Looking back on the day, I am grateful to the Lord for sharing the morning with the Tangerang members but also the missionaries that serve there. They have become good friends. It was especially good to see elder Cheney who has been in Medan for 4 or 5 months. There is one of the new elders – his name escapes me – in T1 and I spent some time encouraging him about the language. He has a very positive attitude and I think he will do well. Elder Peate is a gem – one of the best missionaries I have known here. Come to think of it there are a lot of great missionaries serving here – both Indonesian and Bulai. But some are a step above and have the ability to pull others up. I am sure he will soon be a district and then zone leader.

Another pair of tender moments was when president Sujud and Agus gave their testimonies. President Sujud made a joke about his size. He said that the primary will be happy to have someone their size as their branch president. Agus told about his call and how inadequate he felt for the responsibility. I could feel their strength and humility as they bore their testimonies about the gospel and the church. I have a real soft spot in my heart for president Paul of T1. He has very few priesthood members to work with. Yet the branch seems to function well and he always has a smile. But at times when I look at him up on the stand I can see the concern he has for the members of his branch. Many of them are single women and older people. The burdens of some of the branch presidents are heavy at time but they seem to stay positive and do what they can do.