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.