Daily Archives: May 9, 2008

08 May 2008

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Two bulky loads and a gorgeous sunset as seen from the deck of our apartment.

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Mary at a JCo donut shop. The owner basically took Krispy Kreme’s idea and made it better. In just 2 1/2 years they have opened over 20 shops in Indonesia and have expanded to Malaysia. Since one donut costs as much as an excellent street meal, they are not for the average Indonesian. Bajajs are a step up from riding the Angkots or small buses. Most of the run on a small two stroke engine and are great polluters. They are trying to retire these and replace them with ones that run on LPG which is cheaper and much cleaner. This is a main street of Jakarta and that is a large load of grass being pulled by one man. This is just one of the reasons the traffic is so bad in Jakarta. The grass will be used to feed goats or sheep.

08 May 2008 – Thursday

A rather normal Thursday for us. I find that I am for some reason sleeping in this week. A very unusual thing for me. It means I have an hour less to study or exercise. We read from the A&P before getting ready for a full day.

At the office we managed to get the April report sent – we had to send each sheet separately but at least they went. This is only the second time in a number of months that we were able to send a complete report. Mary and I got our English lessons ready. Mary has to do two – one for the office and one for tonight.

Anny came with Sam today so we had the newlyweds with us all day. They seem very happy even if they do not have a bucket to use for taking a shower. They are living in very humble means. Sam is of course use to this but I imagine for Anny it is rather unusual. It just goes to show that love can overcome all.

After Mary’s English class – it ran a little long – we headed for Tangerang for the DM and English class. Before going to the Church we stopped at the mall to have some pictures made but the processor had broken down and so we got some donuts for the elders and went to the chapel.

As usual we got to add some input to the District Meeting. They have a young man who wants to be baptized but the father – who is an inactive member – wants to go to a local Christian church. He complains that every time the elders come they only talk about baptism. We suggested that they just go and show they love them and care about them as a family. Let the Lord soften the heart of the father when he sees their light. They had about the same situation with a sister who works for Catheren. They want to baptize her and she has some reasons – family reasons – for not getting baptized at this time. Once again we suggested they just back off and let her continue to come to Church and build up her spirit.

Our English class was very limited. Sister Rosie came and Mary taught her, Sam and Anny. I taught the two Indonesian elders who really need the work. Neither have applied themselves to learn English. We got them to commit to only speak English until they leave the apartment. Hopefully they will stick to this arrangement.

So it was a good day for us. We kept busy in the work, accomplished some important things, and got to feel the spirit of the scriptures and the missionaries. There is so much work that needs to be done and we just do what we can do each day.

I almost forgot to mention that we got a chance to say hello to Jim, Shauna and William this morning. Skype is great but it is not the same as seeing them face to face. They will come early Saturday morning so the only ones that will be at the airport are the Utah contingent. But by Saturday afternoon we should have everyone. Hopefully it will be bright and sunny so the kids can swim at Bob’s house.