Nothing spectacular about this load but since it is all water, it must have weighed quite a bit. Notice the two cases between his legs. That can not be comfortable.

02 November 2007
I was tempted to roll over this morning but I got up and went to the gym. I think it is going to be that kind of day, because when we started to read the Kitab Mormon my mind just did not want to function. Unfortunately Mary was about the same so it took us way too long to read just one page. Hopefully we will wake up before we start teaching our classes.

We got all the computers and one printer up and running again. Now we just need our good printer back. I started the class and then created three vocabulary reviews. Those take a lot of time but we should be able to use them from now on. Between now and January when we are to hold the next one, I hope to make reviews for all three of the vocabulary books so we can use any of them or any chapters. I think the students are burning out a little – my group was not nearly as prepared as usual. I decided to back off on the homework and hope that they recover by tomorrow.

About 1:00 Lukito showed up to give a short career workshop to Ronald and Daisy. Mainly he had them develop a Me-statement and a Power-statement. Then he taught them how to use them in interviews. Hopefully this will give them confidence to do well. While they were having their workshop the rest of the class left to go to the Walkers for their afternoon class, dinner and hopefully some more study. When the other two were done I gave them money to get a taxi to the Walkers.

Lukito stayed long enough to call all of his specialist and come up with a report for October. I spoke to Agus and he said that there were no new hires in all the rest of Indonesia. I find this very hard to believe but I am not going to call all the specialists to find out for sure.

Just a word about our friend Lukito. He is a wonderful LDS who puts the work in the Kingdom first. I have never called him for help – even last minute help – and not have him arrange his life so he could do what was asked. He always has a positive attitude and a quick smile. His moto is “Don’t worry. Be happy.” He seems to live that moto each day. He is very much a business man and seem to be always keeping a number of balls in the air at once. So I am not sure how he is able to quickly change what he has planned to serve the Lord when asked. There are few people – and most of the time I am not one of them – who are willing to drop everything and do what needs to be done.

After locking up the chapel and grounds, we caught a taxi home. We had our Friday date night which included bringing in pizza and watching Amazing Race on TV. We read in the Kitab Mormon for over an hour – it went much better than this morning. We are in 1 Nephi where Nephi is getting his desire to know what his father saw and heard. His faith and diligence are so great that nothing is held back.

Mary worked on some things for our English class and I wrote in this journal and organized a few pictures. Before going to bed I read some for PMG. It was a good day and it went fast. When you serve the Lord and his children He truly pours out blessings upon you. That is one thing I have certainly learned on this mission.

I did not have a good night. I woke at 1:30 and did not go back to sleep until after 4:00. About 2:30 I gave up and started reading from PMG – Indonesian. When I am reading Indonesian and trying to figure out the translation, time goes by fast. But unfortunately it did not make me sleepy. Finally sometime after 4:00 I managed to go back to sleep until 6:00.

We continue to read from the Kitab Mormon. I am not sure we are any faster than the last time but I think we are doing a better job translating. Few words stop us and we can take the time to work out the correct word order, who is the subject, and when it is happening. It is encouraging.

It is P-day so we only had a morning IE class but we got a lot done. We are less than a week from graduation and so we are trying hard to get them prepared to take the Michigan test next Wednesday. I am working on reading comprehension and inferences. I also worked on some grammar that I thought might show up. Hopefully we are teaching what they need. They are a great group and have amazing talent.

We got some good news. Ronald has an interview next Monday for a job in Bandung. I called Lukito and he will come in tomorrow to work with Ronald about interview techniques. Hopefully between that and the confidence he has gained over the last month will prepare him for a great interview. I plan to write a letter of recommendation for him. I found something out about Daisy. She can memorize very quickly. Today she took about a minute to memorize the vocabulary words we were going over. She is much like Vita only with out her outward vitality. But she never complains and works very hard. I really hope she make at least 72 – 75 on the Michigan test. I also hope Rudi shows a big increase on this test.

As soon as the morning classes were over we headed for the mission office while they went home to do washing, cleaning up, and I would guess some sleeping. They will go to president Smith’s house tonight. We got some great news at the office. All of our burned out equipment is back up and running except for our big printer. It will be ready tomorrow – we hope. It would have been much easier if we had had it during the month but at least we will be all together by the weekend.

We all ate from BYU – Mary had soup and ayam sate. I had my usual rice, potatoes, and tempe – no cucumbers today. After lunch Mary went in to teach her English class and I just hung around talking to people such as Elder Roper, Hendra, and brother Tandiman. I also had a nice conversation with elder Walker. He and his wife are great people and have been a lot of help to us during this month.

After the mission office we went to SoGo for our fix of orange juice and BreadTalk. We also got the fixings for French Toast and other things for dinner on Saturday. We are going to have the students over and teach them how to make French Toast. I think only Daisy has ever had it before.

On the way home it rained like mad. I thought it would cause a real mess but instead it cut down on the traffic. First it took most of the motorcycles off the street. It also stopped pedestrian traffic so going past Carrefore was a snap. I think it also made some folks postpone their traveling until it slow down or stopped. In any case instead of taking the hour that Sam thought it would be, we got home in 25 minutes.

At home we read a couple of times from the Kitab Mormon. We got the brothers back to their father’s tent and then back from Jerusalem for the second time with the family of Ishmael. Laman and Lemuel would make a great case study of people who can not really make up their minds on what they want or are willing to do. Their seemingly true repentance on the journey back to camp after their second trip holds up for a while and then as Nephi says they forget all that the Lord has done, the angels and miracles they have seen, and all the other examples and signs they have been shown. They just will not give up their worldliness and trust in the Lord.

If these guys crash, they will have more than 7 years bad luck. I like the one on the right that makes it look like the driver is looking backwards. The other makes it look like they are about to run into a tree.

While we were waiting for a light this man with his trash cart stopped in front of us. He could not get up on the sidewalk because we were blocking the driveway. After a while the policeman walked over and started giving him some suggestions about other routes he might take, but the old gentleman had been around too long for the police to cause him any concern. He knew which way he was going to go and that was that. The young policeman gave up with a smile and let him do it his way.

On our way to the store we stopped where I could take a picture of the soon to be pouring sky. None of these pictures captured the real beauty of the sky but I played with the original on the left and came up with these other versions of what it looked like. I think the far right one is close. The one below is my favorites – it reminds me of Utah in the winter. I think it would make a great puzzle.

 

We really work our students. This is what they do during lunch hour. I thought Sam had died, but he came back for the afternoon class. I love the one with the sister sleeping on four chairs – whatever works I guess.

31 October 2007 – Wednesday

Another month in my life comes to an end. I really slept in today and so did not go to the gym. I must say that it felt great. I spent part of the morning catching up on posting to the blog. I did not realize that I was three days behind. Olivia’s blog had great pictures of her and her parents. She is growing up fast. Kristy looks good – and pregnant.

We started reading the Kitab Mormon for the third time. We have decided to not set any goal to how long we will take. It is better to just read, learn and enjoy. When we get home we need to read it together in English and ponder and discuss what we read. I wish I could say that most of what we read sticks in my mind, but that would not be true. I have never been able to hold most of the thousands of books I have read over my lifetime in my memory. The old saying of in one ear and out the other seems to be my motto.

Thinking back on what we read this morning, I feel that Lehi fits nicely into the kind of person that sister Hallstrom suggested we be. That is when he heard the prophets, he went out and prayed for his people. Thinking of others as so many of the people in the Book of Mormon. Then when he was given his duties, he went out and did them with all his strength. He had that “fire in his bones” that sister Hallstrom talked about. Even though he was mocked and threatened with death he continued to speak out. He fulfilled his calling – his mission – with all of his heart, mind, might and strength until he was released by the Lord. He was an example for his son Nephi as hopefully we will be for our children and grandchildren.

We had a good day of teaching. They young people are working hard – most of them stay up until midnight studying and doing homework. They do not complain but at lunch time many of them take naps. I really hope that the effort they and us make is worth what they learn. I often think that we are not the people who should be doing this. But the Lord puts here at this time so I have faith that this is for His purpose.

After the afternoon class was over, we hurried back to the apartment before the cleaning lady showed up. We were happy to see Mugi when she come. She had come back to Jakarta with a case of typhus, which is why she did not come last week. We have no idea how old Mugi is – she could be anywhere from early 20’s to mid-30’s. She has a great smile and personality. We just wish we could speak to her better.

Over the course of the night we read two more times from the Kitab Mormon. We got to where Nephi and his brothers had been chased from Laban’s house leaving their valuables behind. I wonder which side I would have been on if I was with them at this time. I can understand Laman and Lemuel’s point. It reminded me of David and Goliath. The host of Israel is afraid of the mighty warrior, and here is David not only willing, but as sister Hallstrom just reminded me, he was so eager that he ran towards Goliath.

I doubt if I ever will have to face a choice such as that, but how often am I so eager to go home teaching, or to the temple, or to church, or to PEC, etc,  that I can not wait to get out the door. I am more likely to be excited about going to a show, going shopping, or going out to eat.

I am continuing to study in the Indonesian PMG. Some sections I can go through quickly without looking up more than one or two words. Then I hit a part that looks like Greek to me – three or four words in a row look new. But I trust that the more I read the more I will learn. I can read far more words today than the first time I tried this 7 months ago. So there is hope.

I had a nice Skype chat with the Christensens’ in Hong Kong this evening. They asked me if we had our new computer and I said I was waiting for approval from brother Burr. They told me that he had given the request to them and they had sent an e-mail giving approval if there was money in the budget. It turned out Mary had read the letter but I had completely missed it. So now we can go forth and get a new computer and monitor. Yeah!

As I was walking back from the bank, I came across these two children and their dad and I asked if I could take a picture. You could see the pride in the father’s eye as I paid attention to his children. Later I watched them drive away. The little girl sitting behind her dad holding on to his jacket.

Everyone needs a job and salt. This man is seen delivering and selling it in a traditional market.

When you stop for gas, there are people who are allowed to try and sell you their goods. This man is selling crepes, but with little success.

This is a fruit snack salesman. There are many of them on the streets but this man’s cart is either new or he really takes care of it. We would not dare eat from a cart like this.

This is the elder’s choir that sang in Zone Conference. From left to right – Elders Louhannapessy, Rowberry, Teng, unknown, Roper, Cowan. They did a good job and Mary played for them.

30 October 2007 – Tuesday

I got up and went to the gym before anyone else was up. By the time I got back Mary was up and dressed. I quickly showed and dressed before the Kanes got moving. We read from the Kitab Mormon for a short time before Mary had breakfast with the Kanes. Earlier I had my usual orange juice and banana breakfast. We got a nice letter from McKay and I answered it. She seems to be quite busy at school. She is in a choir and is going out for a play. I wrote her an answer.

We head off for the zone conference and when we get there I figure out I left the office keys back at the apartment so Sam and I have to go back. He does a great job of getting us there and back just before 8:30. When I get into the office something smells wrong but I am a little late in getting up to the meeting that – I found out later – was supposed to start with a half hour of meditation to get spiritually prepared for the conference. Without knowing it, that is what I do by reading from PMG – some of the time in Indonesian. Mary played for the conference including a half hour of prelude music.

Elder Hallstrom asked all the missionaries to come up and shake hands. To the young missionaries he gave a piece of counsel. President and sister Marchant also greeted us. As I shook hands with them, I received more testimony that they were called of God to lead this mission at this time.

The five hours of meetings went rather fast. I enjoyed the lessons taught by Elder Hallstrom and wrote lots of notes in my ledger. I was very impressed with sister Hallstrom’s talks – she gave one in the first half and one in the second. In both of them she used the scriptures to make her point. Now many speakers read the scriptures when giving a talk but she wove the scriptures into hers like a true artist would weave material. She used Jeremiah 20:7-9 and Alma 48:7-9 for her second talk. My favorite thought from her was “Do you have fire in your bones” for your mission.

Elder Hallstrom did more training than teaching. I got two great quotes from him that take a lot of thought. “Are we messengers worthy of our message.” “We mistake activity in the church as being the same as activity in the gospel.”  When he spoke about ‘vain repetitions.” He pointed out that this does not mean we can not ask the same thing in each of our prayers if we are sincere. What makes repetitions vain is that they are just words without any real meaning.

The real high point for me was near the end when some of the missionaries went up and bore their testimony. Elder Hallstrom said that he was in a meeting where 12 prophets and seers gave their testimonies in a total of 12 minutes. So the testimonies that were given were short and powerful. Elder Whitmore started it and it just kept going – about 2/3 of them touched me deeply. What power there is in personal testimonies – especially those of serving missionaries. I was sorry to have them stopped so Elder Hallstrom could share his testimony.

While the conference was going on some other interesting things were happening that had impact on Mary and I. The main one was that there seems to have been a power surge in the building that fried a number of our pieces of equipment. We lost our last printer, one computer and a monitor. Luckily for us it seems that happened was that anything that was on with a power supply or a converter was zapped. So all that we should need is to replace the converters on printer and the monitor and they will be OK. Hopefully when they replace the power supply in the computer it also will work fine. Personally all I really care about is that we do not lose all the info on the hard drive. We have not backed it up – something we will do very quickly. But until they are fixed we have only one computer and no printer at our office. Surprisingly after the first shock, I did not become excited about the problem. I guess I am learning a little more about patience. I guess it helped that the conference was on and I really had to attend so I left it to Ari to get the damaged piece to Hendra at the office.

After the conference we came back to the apartment and we have spent the evening finishing the Kitab Mormon – we made it in 100 days which is 20 less than we had set for our goal. The time is not what is important – what is important is that we were able to become closer to the book and also that we continue to improve our ability to read Indonesian. At least the Indonesian used in the Kitab Mormon.

I spent much of the rest of the time we had catching up this journal and reviewing my conference notes. I also downloaded, titled, and edited the pictures from the last two days. I will read more from PMG before finally turning off the lights.

29 October 2007 – Monday

We had a rather busy morning before leaving for our classes. We had to do laundry so we would have clean sheets for the Kanes. I exercised, we read from the Kitab Mormon and stayed until I could get things hung up.

The day of classes went pretty much as usual. Sam and I left after lunch and came back to the apartment to make beds. On the way back to the chapel for some reason I asked Sam about how the water for the student were holding up. He said that they were OK but that we were out of water at the chapel. Since I knew that tomorrow 30 – 40 missionaries were going to be there for Zone Conference, I told him that we needed to get some bottles of water. To make it short, we had three 5 gallon (approx) bottles delivered at about $1 a bottle. I am sure the Lord had me ask that question because there was really no reason that I would normally do that.

After the afternoon classes, we went to the apartment and the class headed off to a distant part of Tangerang. We tried to figure how long it would take to get to the mission office. Sam had said that the traffic was bad so we decided that we would not take any chances and left at about 4:15 for a 6 p.m. appointment. Of course we got there in 25 minutes and was left with over an hour to wait. But we had time to talk to some of the staff, to the missionaries, and even to president Marchant. A little later we met Elder Hallstrom from the area presidency for a brief time.

Later we went down and helped get things ready for dinner. All the couples in the zone was there along with the Marchants and the Hallstroms. We had a nice dinner with lots of small talk. Near the end Elder Hallstrom told us some facts about the area. It contains over ½ the world’s population and includes three of the four most populated countries in the world. He insured us that when the Lord feels it is time, those countries would be open to the gospel. It was a nice evening.

After dinner, the Kanes came home with us. Once again the trip went quickly so we had some time to sit around and talk. Sister Kane needed to iron her skirt and we had to tell her we did not have one because we gave it to our sister students for their clothes. She really needed an iron so I suggested the two ladies go to some of our neighbors and ask for one. A short time later they came back and were laughing so hard we were afraid they would have an embarrassing accident.

They were laughing because they had gone to an apartment and was greeted by a nice Australian man who said that they could borrow his iron. He left them at the door and went to get it. Soon they heard this very loud pounding on a door. It kept on for over a minute. The ladies thought he was trying to get his maid’s attention so she would open the door to her room. Finally he came with the iron and explained that he thought he had locked himself outside the back door and was trying to get their attention to let him back in. When sister Kane asked how he got back in she thought he said he ‘prayed’ and Mary thought it was ‘pried.’ They decide that it could have been either – they could not figure out his accent. For some reason they thought all of this was terribly funny and hardly could keep straight faces until they got out of his sight and hearing. They then just exploded. Neither elder Kane nor myself thought it was all that funny so I guess you had to be there to really appreciate it.

We finished the day by reading a little in the Kitab Mormon – we only have 6 pages left – before going to bed. It was a good day as we were able to help our students and share dinner with our good friends the Kanes, the Walkers, and the Davies – as well as the Marchants and the Hallstroms. The sharing of a mission is something that makes bonds that are special. Not only with the couples but also with the younger missionaries.

28 October 2007 – Sunday

We went to the English branch for church. It is only the 4th or 5th time that we have attended there. We feel we have to have a special reason to not go to one of our branches. Today’s reason was that four of our English students would be speaking.

We got there early enough to stand in the line of missionaries and greet people. Some we knew some we did not. Brother Willis asked to home teach a sister who lives in Puri Casablanca. Later he introduced us and she will call us when we can come.

The students did great with their talks. None of them read their talks. They had notes but they only had to refer to them a few times. Puji was able to speak clearly and told her story about teaching a woman who was deaf and dumb. She could not talk to the missionaries and they did not talk to her. But Puji said that they understood each other and the woman was baptized a month ago. Puji said that there were still miracles being done. Daisy changed her talk a little by telling the story of her mother’s last months. She could not hear very well and she could not walk. Daisy would go to church and then come home and speak right into her mother’s ear to tell her about the talks and the lessons. It was a truly touching story. The guys also did well but I did not feel the same spirit that I felt with the two young ladies. It was amazing to hear them speak before a whole audience of English speakers and be able to do it so well. We are truly blessed to be able to teach such fine young people.

As the sacrament was being passed I read about the crucifixion of our Lord. As I read in Matthew I noticed 27:36 that reads after the guards had cast lots for his clothing,“And sitting down they watched him there.” )I must have read it a dozen times or more, but I do not remember ever noticing it.) It then says that they put the sign “King of the Jews” on the cross. None of the other gospels has the line about them sitting down and watching Jesus as he died. I do not know even now why this struck me as of any importance. I tried to join those guards as they sat there – probably as they always did – bored with their job. Hoping that those three men on crosses would die quickly so they could get them down and then go home for a nice dinner. Maybe they bet about which of the prisoners would die first. But maybe one of them felt something special, maybe one of them had a life changing experience as he witnessed that scene. “And sitting down, they watched him there.” Front row seats to the most important death that will ever happen.

Sister Moore gave a very meaningful lesson on the importance of our bodies and the need to develop Christ like attributes. She challenged us to choose one from a long list of attributes of members of the Lord’s church that we gleaned from the scriptures and work on it. She also had the whole class introduce themselves and for us to try and remember the name of one of the people who we did not already know. I remember Bob Willey – a member from Lindon who comes here to look in on a project and then flies back to Utah.

I had a special experience between Sunday School and PH – and it happened in the restroom. I found myself next to a brother and introduced myself. I found that he was not a member of the branch – he lives in Shanghai – and was only visiting for the day. He works for a German company that has a factory in Bekasi. I told him the I was here to work with employment and suggested that he might be able to get us an introduction with the HRD of their factory. So we exchanged cards and hopefully he will be able to get us an appointment. It is another one of those coincidences that I think the Lord arranged. Brother Peterson was only here for one Sunday and it was the one Sunday that we would be at the English branch for months. Then we are put together in a situation where it was natural to introduce myself. Add that he works for a company with a factory in an area where we need jobs and I see it as a tender mercy from the Lord.

Priesthood was fun and informative. We talked about women in the church and our relationship with them. We talked about wives and mothers. Brother Orton told how when he was in a bishopric, his wife had to do everything to get the children ready and bring them to church. Later he was released and his wife became Stake RS president. The roles reversed because she was almost always away visiting other wards. He had to learn to do his daughters hair – an experience she still talks about and uses in lessons – in a positive way. When we were singing the closing song, elder Roper rebelled when they tried to sing only the first and last verse of the song. He said, no and proceeded to start the second verse in such a loud voice that everyone soon joined him. Elder Roper is truly one of a kind.

It was strange to get back to the apartment before noon. Since then we have had lunch, took naps – Mary got in two – worked on more inference practices, read 6 pages from the Kitab Mormon – we are in Moroni and that goes rapidly – and caught up this journal. We ordered in Pizza for dinner – this was the first night we could do that this weekend.

We got a call from Elder Kane saying that the Harris Hotel was full. I told them that they were welcome to stay with us. Sister Kane insisted that she would sleep on the couch or they would not come. I told her OK. But later when we started thinking about it, it is a lot easier for us if they take our bedroom and we sleep elsewhere. So I called her back and asked her to please let me sleep on the couch because it really was easier. She did not believe me so I had Mary talk to her and that convinced her. She finally agreed.

27 October 2007 – Saturday

It is going to be a long day for me. I woke up at 3:30 and never really got back to sleep. I finally gave up at about 4:45 and started studying PMG in Indonesian. Time goes by quickly when I do that and it was soon time to head down to the gym. After exercising, showering, and breakfast we read a couple of pages from the Kitab Mormon. We are almost to the end of Ether. I also spent some time working on the Inference exercises for class. We are hoping these simpler exercises will allow them to be more successful and gain confidence for when they have harder stories.

I listened again to the students sacrament meeting talks. We got to use the chapel and the sound system so they are getting use to being up there. I am somewhat worried that a couple of them might ramble a little and they are hard to understand at times, but they will do great. We are going to the English branch so we can hear them speak.

Mary gave them a test for the rest of the morning class. While that was going on, Sam and I made a quick trip to SoGo to get me some orange juice and a few other things. Earlier Mary had pointed out that today is the 50th anniversary of my baptism – my 50th birthday into the church. In Indonesia the person who is celebrating their birthday provides the party. So I bought bananas and some fresh sugar buns for everyone and we had a little party at lunch time.

When the afternoon class started I worked with them using the first ones I made and they did pretty good. I did find that I needed to improve some of the statements to be less ambivalent. (*That is a good vocabulary word..) We than split the class for the remainder of the period.

Mary was scheduled to play for choir practice so she stayed to teach the evening class and I came home to do laundry, wash dishes and get her some dinner. I ordered her a nice dinner from our in house restaurant and Sam took it back with him. I must confess that although I did the chores and worked on more Inference practices, I also fell asleep for about an hour. Waking at 3:30 finally caught up with me.

Mary made it home soon after 9:00. I expected her to be exhausted but she was in good spirits. She is an amazing lady. Anyone who has put up with me for all these years has had to be.

My memory has never been great and I have only kept journals on and off. Therefore there has been a lot of things happen over the last 50 years that I can not recall. But I do know that being baptized into the Lord’s church is one of the defining moments of my life. What a blessing it has been to be in the Kingdom for these last five decades. To have the opportunities I have had to serve in so many callings. To have had so many wonderful bishops and stake presidents. To have been able to teach and be taught. To be able to serve a number of times as a missionary – stake and full time. To meet and come close to so many people who have touched my life for good. And hopefully touching others lives for good.

I slept in and did not go to the gym. Instead I studied Indonesian by reading from PMG. I am not sure how effective this is but it does combine two important areas of study. We read from the Kitab Mormon in Ether where Moroni is expounding on faith in things not seen. Yesterday when I was talking to Elder Subandriyo, he mentioned that sometimes as leaders we have to make decisions based on faith because we can not know for sure what needs to be done. We have to take a few steps into the darkness having faith that we will come out into the light. Sometimes I am sure we hold back our progression because we want everything to be perfect before we do something. I think many couples – including us – deny themselves blessing because they do not go on their missions until all their worldly ducks are in a row. I know now that Mary and I missed at least 5 years of blessing by not going on a mission earlier. Hopefully our mistake will help our children make the choice earlier.

I started the morning session of the IEC by listening to all of the talks again. They did not seem as good this time. The biggest change came from Rudi who’s talk lacked any feeling. I asked him about this and he said he tried to write more of his talk down instead of just having notes. I told him that he should go back to the old way and trust the Lord will help him. Hopefully they will all do well on Sunday. What a big challenge this is for them and as far as I can tell they are all from their own experiences and not borrowed from the Ensign or PMG.

I had an interesting experience during the time we had broken into two groups. Some how we got into talking about the difference in the ABCs of the two languages and when they said how they did C and gave a soft sound, I made the comment that I was surprised that it did not have the ‘ch’ sound like it always has in actual speech. I then asked them if it was ever used that way. It turned out that it always sounds that way and never ‘ch’ as we were taught. It is not a ‘See” or a “Kah” but something completely different that produces no explosion of air. I asked if any of their bulai companions had ever said their ‘C’s’ correctly. They all shook their head no, and Rudi said it did not matter. They could understand them. I guess I need to back off on ‘th’ because I can understand them. But I won’t.

After eating lunch and doing some work in the office – Sam is making our contact calls – we had Sam bring us home. We both took naps and read from the Kitab Mormon before catching a cab back to the chapel. We took all the students out to dinner at KFC. They would really rather have Padang but they ate the KFC. We walked over and while we were in there the rain came back. Sam rented an umbrella and got the car so we would not get soaked.

After we loaded them up with homework, we bid them goodbye and came home. I spent the rest of the night making up inferences exercises, reading from the Kitab Mormon – we are down to about 20 pages – and studying Indonesian. I feel that studying from PMG is helping me greatly. I studied it until I turned off the lights.

Just a note about the rainy season that is now upon us. It seems that once or twice a day a huge thunderstorm moves through. Often it dries up – except for the deepest puddles – very quickly and then the next storm moves through. The main problem this brings is the traffic gets snarled even more than usual. When it is really coming down, the motorcycles pull under overpasses and block one or more lanes of what is usually already a bottle-neck. Add the confusion of large puddles and nervous drivers and you get a major parking lot scene.