This is the skirt that started it all. It is a beautiful pattern in gold and shades of green. I tried to get a clearer picture of the details. The material and the sewing cost under $10.

31 March 2008 – Monday

Today was a semi-P-Day for us. I did a lot of studying Indonesian during the early morning hours – I could not go back to sleep. We read from the Kitab Mormon before leaving to go buy fabric for some ties for me. The reason for this was that when I showed up at Zone Conference with a new tie that matched one of Mary’s skirts, everyone loved it. I really liked the tie but felt that I should not covenant it, so I ended up giving the two I had to Elder Kane and Elder Roper who were the two that admire it most. Our trip today is to see if we can find the same stall in that huge fabric building and get enough material for another tie or two.

Luckily we were early enough that getting into the parking lot did not take the 45 minutes it did last time. However the parking structure was packed as was the building itself. We retraced our route from the last time and after buying more different material for tie making, we found the right stall and they did have more material.

**** Now fast forward 4 hours and while we were reading from the Kitab Mormon, President Marchant called and wanted to know where we got the material for my ties that I gave away. It turned out that the President wants to have ties made for the elders and skirts for the sisters. We told him where it was and then called to see if they had 30 – 40 meters of the same color and pattern. It turned out they didn’t but would be able to get it by tomorrow. So it will not be long before the official Indonesian Mission Tie will be Mary’s special pattern.

Now back to the morning. After getting everything we wanted or at least enough to satisfy us today, we headed for the mission office where I turned in the Michigan Tests to brother Tandiman, got the mail, and arranged to get some packing tape tomorrow so we can make up packages to send home.

Our next stop was Sogo for groceries – especially orange juice – and bakery goods. Then it was time to go back to our apartment. We had lunch, read from the Kitab Mormon, and then worked on different projects. Mine were working on pictures and the blog, and making up some vocabulary lists and exercises for Titan and Hani. This last task takes lots of time and thought. But I enjoy doing it and it is a good way to use the time.

We read from the Kitab Mormon for the third time. We have now made up for the days that we either missed altogether or only read once. We are in the middle of the war between the “Freemen” and the Lamanites. We just got to where the 2000 stripling warriors are joining the army of the Nephites.

Mary continues to work on English games for the Central Java HS classes and making caps for infants. Sunday she got another four skeins of yarn for the project. I spent my time working on various projects that never seem to end. Elder Hallstrom’s conference talk was my bedtime reading. Spencer W. Kimball’s “Do it” and “Do it Now” does not translate all that well into Indonesian.