28 March 2008 – Friday

Wow am I behind in writing in this journal. The last three days we have left early and by the time we got home we had just enough time to read from the Kitab Mormon and then fall into bed. At least that is the excuse I am using. Of course the real reason is that I used the time I could have been writing for something else that I wanted to do more. There is always time to do anything you really want to do.

Today we were out of the apartment by 6:30 to get to the mission home for breakfast with the rest of the Zone. We had a very nice breakfast of French toast and scrambled eggs. After eating I helped with the clean-up. It is what I do best and actually enjoy the feeling of accomplishment when the last dish is washed – or in this case rinsed to be put in the dishwasher.

The trip out to the beach was long but bearable because we had the Kanes and the sister missionaries – Sadimin and Findlay to talk to. The Kanes told the story of how they met and it is always entertaining. It is a perfect love story and the ending is definitely the happily ever after kind.

Once at the beach we enjoyed walking on the sand with the waves at times coming up to our knees. Mary picked up shells and I walked and talked along the every changing shoreline. Later the missionaries played football and soccer – even the sister joined in soccer. Sister Findlay even played football. She is taller than most of the Indonesian elders and some of the English ones as well. They had a lot of fun and probably slept all the way back to the mission home.

We had sandwiches for lunch. BBQ beef for most of the bulais and tuna for most of the Indonesian missionaries. Some of course had both. Sister Davis and I ended up helping prepare and serve. We were a good team and kept up with the demand. President Marchant provided enough food so that even 30 or so hungry missionaries did not eat it all.

Of course the sales people came along and got lots of money from the senior couples. We ended up with a number of shells and other things. It was fun to bargain with the salesmen. They always act like we were getting such low prices that we were stealing food from their hungry kid’s mouths. But I am sure that they still tripled their money and went home smiling.

A number of the sisters got full body massages. They took about an hour and it really was from head to toe. I did not think it looked very relaxing at all. However the sisters seemed to enjoy it so what do I know.

We packed up and got out at about 3:00. The trip home took an hour longer than going. Partly because one of the cars asked us to wait for them because they thought they were having trouble with one of their tires. So we patiently waited and then it turned out to be no problem after all. I must say that I had to repent and ask the Lord to help me with my patience lessons.

Lucky for us Sam was listening to the radio and heard that there was some traffic jams. He avoided them and we were the second car back. I almost fell on my face as I was getting out of the car. My legs were numb from sitting in the very back for 3 ½ hours. We bid farewell to our fellow travelers and hurried home. It was great to walk into our own air-conditioned apartment. We had time to read from the Kitab Mormon – the only time we read today – before heading off to bed.

It was a good day because we got to enjoy the company of our fellow missionaries. There is a comradery between missionaries that is just special because of the shared experiences that can not really be explained to others. It is a have been there, done that kind of thing. I guess ‘Band of Brothers and Sisters’ would be a good title of a book. It is not that everything is perfect and uplifting but that no matter what the situation, the majority of the missionaries will stick together and help each other through the difficulties. I feel sorry for those missionaries who do not learn to do this.

27 March 2008 – Thursday

Today was Zone Conference so we were at the chapel by 8:30 – the first ones there by far. Just before the conference started they handed out the programs and Mary found that she was giving one of the two talks on diligence. As far as we can remember, this is the first time a senior missionary had been given one of the two talks on the subject of the conference. Of course she was not prepared so she spent the first part of the time quickly preparing. Luckily I brought Preach My Gospel with it’s excellent section on the subject and by adding her own thoughts, she was able to give a very good talk. Elder Vatcher was the other speaker and he also did well – he gave it all in Indonesian and his language skills were impressive for the time he has been out.

Elder Rowberry told about a missionary in Paraguay that did not know how to fail. Where ever he went the numbers went up – not only his but all the other missionaries in the district or area. It was an inspiring story and I want to get a copy of the talk so I can read it in full. It seemed perfect for Indonesia where there are many places that do not have many baptisms because “the people are not ready or will not listen to the gospel message.” This would be a perfect story to add to my LeGrand Richards talk.

The rest of the Conference was informative with the Zone Leaders giving a very good and much shortened presentation on why it was important to keep the different levels of investigators filled. It was simple and direct. It was the kind of presentation that others – including myself could learn from for our own presentations.

After the conference, we came back to the apartment to get some rest and read from the Kitab Mormon. Then we went to the mission home and joined the other couples – except for the Walkers – in a nice dinner at Out Back Steakhouse. The Walkers could not join us because their driver John had to go to the hospital because of acute appendicitis. We were sorry that they did not come but we still enjoyed a nice meal and a lot of good talk. I sat across from Elder Kane and I think we solved all the major problems of today’s world in just of 90 minutes.

We decided to walk home and I was proud of how Mary trooped right along. It is not easy for her to walk long distances over uneven surfaces but she never complained. Because it had just finished raining the night was cool but the ground was wet and muddy in sports. It would be great to live so near the big mall but I also like our great apartment.

We sat around the mission home until 9:00 and then caught a taxi home. By the time we got home it was already time for bed. It was a good day of sharing with the other missionaries – especially the couples – and to feel the spirit of the young missionaries who serve in this area. We have had the opportunity to be in district meetings with most of them and know how hard they work in the Lord’s service.

26 March 2008 – Wednesday

We were up early for our trip to Sumatra. I am not going into much detail about the trip so here are the highlights. It takes 5 hours from our house to the docks of Sumatra. That is about 2 hours in the car to the ferry port, an hour that somehow gets lost and two hours from the port to Sumatra. The trip across the strait was fine and was made better by a breeze. Unfortunately it was over cast and so we could not see the islands that dot the straits very well.

Once at Sumatra we had a 2 hour drive to Lampung. We took a couple of side roads and got to see some lovely rice fields, lots of yards that were filled with flowers, and the true back country of Indonesia that is found along small roads. We even got to go onto a beach where Mary got her feet wet and picked up some shells.

In Lampung we met the young brother Kencanna who showed us his new business – analyzing blood – and then took us on a non-guided tour of the city. We had an exotic lunch at McDonalds – it was that or eat off the street – before wandering around for hour into areas he had never seen. We again got on some smaller roads and enjoyed the sights and sounds of a smaller city suburbs.

We only had two hours in Lampung and then started the 7 hour trip back to our apartment. The reason it takes two hours to get to the port from Lampung is because it is a two lane road that is filled with slow moving trucks. But we did get to see two truck loads of elephants and met a couple of young men on a modified scooter that had water buffalo horns tied to the handle bars. We would meet them again on the ferry home.

The ferry home was great fun. After being driven off the back of the boat by very loud music we went to the front where we became the main attraction. Some people I am sure laughed at us but others wanted to have their pictures taken with us. I gave out two pass-along cards and one business card. We met a man who spoke excellent English and we had a nice talk about what we were doing and his business.

The sunset went from nice to gorgeous and we pulled into the Java port in the dark but surrounded by the multitude of lights both on the sea and the shore. Once we got past a section of road that has been completely destroyed by all the heavy trucks that pass over it, the trip back to the apartment went well.

So all in all the experience was good but I would not do it again. I would take one day to get there, one day to tour the sights of the Southern tip of the island, and then the next day head home. In that way you could leave at a reasonable time – like 9 a.m. and have a relaxing time on Sumatra.

The Lord was kind to us. The seas were calm, the car ran well, and we were able to do some missionary work. All of these are the Lord’s tender mercies of this day.

25 March 2008 – Tuesday

Most of today was so uneventful that it can be summed up by regular morning, office – where we had no internet, mission home – where Mary taught English, and shopping.

After that we went to see our dear friend Rudi who we have known for about a year. He is a solid Catholic and will probably never join the Church but you can never be sure. Perhaps something will happen in his life that will make him think about Eternity. But it is fun to visit him and talk some about his life and spiritual experiences.

The evening was another normal one with reading the Kitab Mormon, working on pictures, and some studying before heading off to bed a little early. The next three days will be very busy for us.