This is a huge load of rice cake crepes. Although we have seen loads like this before, this is the best picture that I took. Sam and I were so concentrated on getting it that we almost missed the turn into the apartment complex. I took the picture of the dentist sign for Shauna. Real dentist signs are rather dull while the ones for those who make false teeth are often very artistic.

25 October 2007 – Thursday

The month is flying by so quickly. Slept well and woke in time to go down and exercise. I am able to jog a little further each day. A very normal morning until about 8:00 when Sam called to say there was a problem. It seems that the door to the girl’s apartment jammed and Puji was stuck inside. They called Sam and he called the man who does repairs for the church. He could not get it open and he wants to break down the door but need the permission of the landlord who does not come until 9:00. Sam is going to try and get Puji out through the window. Since there was nothing we could do about this, we went back to reading from the Kitab Mormon. Sam is truly one of our great blessings.

While Sam was getting Puji out of their apartment, we took a taxi to the office. The class started about 15 minutes late. But that and Sam cutting himself on the window he broke was the only result of the problem of the jammed door.

While Mary worked with the class, I went up to the chapel and listened to all of the talks that they are preparing for Sunday. It was a very special time for me. Those who had the best English all gave good to fine talks and one of them was very spiritual besides being well presented. But the surprises of the day was Puji and Femmy’s talks. Puji has to struggle with the language and Femmy is only 18 years old and has not been on a mission. But each of their talks were from the heart and spirit. It is a shame that all of them can not give their talks. I will listen to them again tomorrow and if the impression holds up I will probably ask brother Miller to change who speaks.

Since it their and our P-day we only had a morning class. Mary took the first two hours – I got to make lots of copies and write more vocabulary reviews. All of this takes more time than might be thought. Especially the reviews. I took the last hour and worked on vocabulary – they have a long ways to go yet but it is coming.

After class we worked our way to the mission office. We had lunch before Mary taught her class. While she taught I got to talk to Elder Subandriyo – he says that the PEF approval has gone to the President Hinckley for final approval. He told how he finally just told Hong Kong that they should stop worrying about getting the wording of the agreement with the bank exactly right and let it be approved. We can work out any problems when they come up. Elder Subandriyo is a very wise and spiritual man – but like most great men in the church he is also very practical. Hopefully we will be able to start the first applications in November- after we have trained Sister Endang and the PH leaders in Central Java.

I also had a chance to share some of my thoughts with the office elders. They were discussing the comment by one of the elders that he did not think he ever had felt real joy or sorrow. I told them that I have found that real joy and sorrow are only found in the church and the family. That while we may be sad and happy with and for others, that real Joy and Sorrow are connected with things that are Eternal.

One of the things we really look forward to each week is the arrival of the latest Church News. Today’s had an article about a symposium on Wilford Woodruff and our friend Tom Alexander was one of the speakers. He wrote an excellent biography of WW so it only make sense that he got to speak. I thought his subject was very interesting and I look forward to reading the whole talk when we get home.

When Mary was finished with her class we went over to Grand Lucky and bought lots of things that we can not find everywhere. I splurged and spent $10 to buy 10 cans of A&W Diet Root Beer. That is expensive but the only other time I have seen it, the price was $1.50 per can. This sounded almost like a bargain. As we left the parking lot, it started to rain and for the next 15 – 20 minutes it poured. Which meant that streets started to flood and so traffic was slowed down. One good thing about pouring rain is most of the motorcycles riders find places to stay covered until the main downpour is over.

We had breakfast for dinner – eggs, hash browns, sausage and orange juice. The only thing disappointing was the sausage that had no real flavor. After dinner we read from the Kitab Mormon – we are still on schedule to finish in 100 days. We are reading the Ether and about all the strife and contentions that lead up to the final destruction of the nation.

After reading I spent much of my evening posting pictures and writing in the blog. The internet service was really slow and so it seemed to take forever to get it all done. But I enjoyed writing about the great students in our IEC. Just before turning off the lights, I read more in PMG in Indonesian.

This is our second Intensive English Class. They come from all over Java to Jakarta to spend one month with us learning English. They live as they did while missionaries, spend anywhere from 6 to 9 hours a day reading, writing, and speaking English. They try very hard not to speak their native language and they succeed most of the time. We are truly blessed to have this opportunity to become a part of their lives for this month. We will never forget them and we hope that what we teach them will help them throughout their lives.

This is Daisy and she is a recently returned missionary. She lives in Solo but when the class is over, she wants to find a job here in Jakarta. She has good English skills and is a pleasure to teach.

Femmy and Wawan sharing something funny. Femmy is 18, lives in Bekasi which is near to Jakarta. She is the only student who is not a returned missionary. I would imagine that the experience of living with two other young women in a single room is something new for her. But she has been a trooper and is always quick to smile. I think she is gaining more and more confidence each day. Wawan is a returned missionary and has two brothers on missions at this time. He lives in Semarang in Central Java and we had met him before while visiting the Bennetts and putting on Career Workshops. He is studying to pass the TOFEL test but we are hoping that he passes the Michigan test that we will have at the end of the class. He is the quiet and serious one of this class, but he is also quick to smile.

Ronald is an old friend. We served with him in Tangerang for a number of months before he was transferred. I tried to get him to study English as much as he could while he was on his mission and was happy when he wrote to say he wanted to be part of this class. He is lots of fun but works as hard studying English as he did serving the Lord. He has a very positive attitude and I hope that he will be able to get more education.

This is Puji and she comes from a small branch in Magelang in Central Java. She is a returned missionary and was released in the last 4 months. When I mentioned that I might have a position for her here in Jakarta, she thanked me but said she wants to go back to her branch and help build it up. She had less English skills than the other students but she has such a great desire to learn that I think she will gain the most. She has no fear of failing and so she is willing to try to do anything with a big smile on her face. It has been a real pleasure to get to know her as well as teach her.

Last but certainly not least is Rudi. He also is a recently released missionary and probably had the best English skills coming in. He wants to go to BYU Hawaii and hopefully we can help make that happen. Rudi had all of his wisdom teeth out the week before he came to class so for the first 10 days he was pretty miserable. About the time his teeth started to heal, he started having bad stomach cramps. But through all of this he has continued to study hard and kept smiling. Hopefully bu the time the class is over all of his illnesses will be gone and he will head home to Solo.

So that is our class. We have been told that there is some romances among them but since even holding hands is not considered appropriate it is hard to tell. I will say that it is true, the couples are truly well suited for each other. It will be fun to stay in touch and see if there are some weddings in the near future.

In 1997 there was financial meltdown in Asia that led to the collapse of the Indonesian economy. One of the results of this was that many large projects that were being built went into bankruptcy. After 10 years these sit throughout Jakarta as rusting monuments to that period. This is one we drive past regularly. Another one is a huge shopping center/apartment complex that is just down the street from our apartment building.

As we were getting into the car at the grocery store, I noticed this scene. Surrounded by high rise buildings and a very modern super market, sits this old house with part of it’s roof missing. It is not an abandoned building but is obviously a home to one or a number of families. This is so Jakarta. New and old – rich and poor – just steps apart – sharing the landscape.

If you have been following this blog, you are familiar with our new neighbors by the chapel.  We are hoping that it will be finished before we leave Indonesia. It will be interesting to see what it is going to be and look like.

 

24 guitars and accessories – good thing they were not cellos. William is going to hate me for this, but it had to be shared. This is what happens when you leave your young son in the care of his older sister.

24 October 2007 – Wednesday

I read from PMG before going down to exercise. The morning continue normally – we only read 2 pages from Kitab Mormon before we have to leave for class (I started to write school!) The traffic is almost back to normal. I did get a couple of good motorcycle pictures this morning. The 24 guitars moves up into my top 10 loads.

Classes went well today. We split them for most of the morning class and then we had them together for the afternoon ones. I spent much of my time creating review tests, fractured sentences, and putting vocabulary sections together. I think my more advanced group is doing well.

Today I caught them all nodding that they understood a concept I was teaching them. I then asked them to create some sentences using what I had been teaching and none of them could. I explained to them that it was OK not to understand but it was not OK to act like they did. I mentioned that our purpose was to help them and that we could not do that if they did not tell us when they were lost. I mentioned that I could understand what they are going through because I have been struggling with Indonesian for about a year. They know English much better than I know Indonesian. Anyway I think I got my point across and hopefully in the future they will ask questions instead of nodding their head.

I also spent some time answer email from another couple and from a Korean brother who is looking for a sales representative here in Indonesia. It looks like a good opportunity but it calls for a rather specific talent and I am not sure we have any member that fits the profile. I will know more when I meet him in a week or so.

Mary left early so she could be home when the cleaning woman came. I stayed and finished up the class. When it was over I caught a taxi home. It turned out that the cleaning lady did not come so Mary had time to correct some tests that she gave on Tuesday to the mission office staff. Some of them did well but some of them need lots of help.

We read from the Kitab Mormon – we are in Ether just as the wars are starting. I really enjoy the first part of Ether, but I must confess I find very little spiritual food in the last 2/3. I guess I need to repent and find what is special enough about that part to make it worth preserving it for future generations.

After that we had hot dogs and chili dogs for dinner – real Oscar Meyers hot dogs with Hormel Chili. It reminded me of home. I spent most of the rest of the evening working on pictures and this journal. I am going to read from PMG before heading off to bed.

Following the counsel of president Eyring I  look back over the day to see where the Lord has touched my life. First there is my health – something I hardly ever thank the Lord for. Only bad health seems to catch my attention. But how blessed we have been on this mission as far as health is concerned.

Then there is the blessing of working with these six fine young people. Each so different and yet all untied by the gospel. I am touched that the Lord has entrusted them and their lives to us for a month. What a great responsibility and blessing. Hopefully I will be able to help them in some small way that will help them live a better life and be better leaders in the church here in Indonesia.

These are just two of the blessings. As I took the time to think about this, I could feel the spirit testifying to me of the value of president Eyring’s thoughts. So another tender mercy that the Lord gives me is the inspired leadership of men called of God in these latter-days.

 

After the explosion – some smoke flowing out. Look Dad – I can ride it backwards. This bike load looks impressive but they are empty cans. It is a common load here in Jakarta.

23 October 2007 – Tuesday

A very normal day for us – at least normal while an Intensive English Class is going on. I exercised, drank my breakfast, and we read from the Kitab Mormon. I continued to spend some time reading from PMG in Indonesian.  We got the sad news that the daughter of an old friend of ours from the Lennox Ward days had did of a massive overdose. Her father had been inactive for quite a while but had returned to the church. We also got to talk to Tom and his family for a short time this morning via Skype. William is becoming a chatter-box and sounds like he is all boy. We also got some photos that Kristy sent of Olivia. Mary showed them to everyone at the mission home.

We had a little excitement this morning when we stopped to pick up Mary’s music copies. Sam and Mary went up to the counter to and I stood around looking for some good motorcycle loads. All of sudden I heard a big bang behind me and so I turned around but everything looked OK. I asked Mary what had happened and it seemed some electrical device in the shop exploded. No one was hurt but there was a good deal of smoke. One of the big problems they have in Indonesia is people run electrical cords everywhere and they have lots of fires start from overloaded circuits. Luckily this one did not cause a fire – it did not even cut off the electricity. Maybe they do not have a fuse or breaker box.

We had the morning class and after starting together we broke into groups. I worked my section pretty hard. I still am not sure what they need most but right now I am working mainly on vocabulary and learning to write and speak good sentences. One of them is having trouble with constructing sentences – he tends to make them too complex.

After the morning class we immediately went to the mission office to have lunch and for Mary to teach her 1 p.m. class. When we got there Mary was reminded that the Tuesday class was to start at 3 p.m. However since everyone was there, they had it at 1 this week but it will move to 3 next week. I had a great meal from BYU – they had cucumbers again.

I had a nice talks with Elder Subandriyo and then with the president. Each time I sit and talk with president Marchant I learn something. Today he talked about the missionaries having pictures of their family or girl friends on the wall above their desks. He said he thought that should be stopped – that anything that took their minds away from their missionary work should be put away for two years. Especially the pictures of the girl friends. I thought that may be true for us also. Maybe we need to only communicate with our children and grandchildren on P-day. It would be hard but if all them would send us letters, etc. during the week, then on P-day we could respond to them and others. I am not sure we can do it, but perhaps we could work towards it.

The main thing that my talk with the president did for me was to testify again that he was certainly called of God for this position. It was time to have a soft but firm hand to guide the mission for the next three years. It also confirmed to me that each person is called to a position at the time their talents are needed and that the changing of leadership is important to keep the kingdom moving forward and not stagnating.

Next it was time for Sogo – I was completely out of orange juice. We of course also hit BreadTalk and our fix of bakery goods. They were not running at full capacity because most of the bakers were on holiday. They were not allowed to take it when everyone else did because the bakery is very busy at that time.

Our evening was spent reading the Kitab Mormon, studying Indonesian, and working on projects. Mary worked on getting her music on to the poster board we bought a couple of weeks ago. She is so happy that Lisa got her music that she can easily read. Before turning off the light I continued to read in PMG. I hit a quote from elder Holland and the change to non-church words really slowed me down. But it is the only way I am going to learn to read and speak Indonesian to members and non-members.

22 October 2007 – Monday

Before I get started some random worldly thoughts. There were well over 500 deaths of motorists over the week long holiday. Over 75% of them were on motorcycles. If this was to happen in the U.S. motorcycles would be banned from the roads. Of course here there are more motorcycles than cars and they weave in and out of the traffic. Add the problem of the riders falling asleep or being very tired due to the length of trips – many were traveling for 12 – 20 hours on their motorcycles – and whole families traveling on one motorcycle – and it is amazing that more were not killed.

I was sorry to read that Cal lost again. How quickly they have fallen from 2nd to off the board. Upsets have become almost a given in college football. It seems on any given day one team can surprise another. At least USC got up for the Notre Dame game and basically destroyed themwith a back-up quarterback.

We got a letter this morning from Rachel that mentioned that snow has fallen in the valley and stuck on the ground. Hopefully this means a great snow year so there will be lots of water when we get released. We also got a great letter from McKay and she is doing well. It is good to get news from home. Of course the blogs are great – lots of pictures.

I woke at 4 and could not go back to sleep so at 4:30 I was reading from the Indonesian PMG. It is not the best way to learn what is there, but it is a good way to learn more Indonesian. When it was time, I went to the gym and had a good workout – I am up to about 150 sit-ups. Which is good since about a month ago when I started again, I killed myself doing 30.

After that is was a normal morning including reading in the Kitab Mormon. The only problem was that I was really tired before we had even left for the church. The day went well. While Mary taught the morning class, I made lots of copies of vocabulary, organized the afternoon lesson, and answered what seemed like an unending amount of e-mail. The best one I got at the office was one from the man who we have been trying to home teach for the last two months. He agreed to a time in November and also said that he would interview Daisy for a job. So now we must get her a resume and teach her how to do a good interview. I will ask Lukito to give her a short Career Workshop.

After lunch – we had nasi goreng off the street – we split the class. I worked my section very hard. I am working on getting them to write and speak correct sentences. I am also working a lot on vocabulary. Hopefully I can get them to a point where they will be able to get a good score on the Michigan test.

When the afternoon class was over we all piled into our car and they brought us home before going on to the Walkers for FHE. We read from the Kitab Mormon and then I studied some from PMG. Later we read again from the Kitab Mormon – we completed the Book of Mormon and are into Ether. We are about 50 pages from the end and only had to look up maybe 10 words all day. The Lord I am sure is blessing us for our diligence. I am beginning to better understand the scripture about ‘prove me herewith.’ But in regard to the gift of tongues instead of tithing.

 

Us with Maria Sandra. Elders Erickson, Louhannapessy, with those who would be baptized.

21 October 2007 – Sunday

I slept like a batu until almost 6 – I do not think I even rolled over all night. Normal morning with reading from the Kitab Mormon and then I worked on pictures and this journal.

We arrived at Jakarta Raya in time to meet and greet most of the members. Elders Torrens, Erickson and Louhannapessy were already there. It is a big day for them because they are having two baptisms.

This session of District Conference was a direct broadcast from Hong Kong of talks by Elder Cook – the newest member of the 12, Sister Cook – of the YW presidency, and President Monson. Unfortunately they had a problem getting the sound and so we missed the first part of the program. Hendra ended up getting the back-up receiver to work. Since the program was broadcast in Indonesian and our interpreter forgot to interpret, we did not get a lot out of it. However we are hearing more of the words and know what they mean, we just can not put them together very well. Hopefully the program will be available on a DVD in English.

After the meeting we went down to the foyer and took pictures of Maria Sandra and the other sister who will be baptized. Elder Torrens – who has been out a whole 2 weeks – will baptize sister Maria and elder Erickson will do the other baptism. Elder Louhannapessy is being very nice to the his companions – especially elder Torrens – by letting them have this experience. He only has a couple of weeks left in his mission and will not have another chance to do a baptism. It shows the quality of this fine elder. We have feel in some ways we are a part of this also. We had gone with the missionaries a few times when they taught Maria Sandra. Her and Mary have become close.

While we are waiting for the program to start, president and sister Marchant along with the office elders and the Zls come in. Later president Marchant thanked me for telling him about the baptisms last night. I am sure the Lord prompted me to do this as I was certain that he would already know. It is another tender mercy of the Lord and fits into with President Eyring’s talk about noting when the Lord has touched my life in a simple way but special way.

As we watched the baptism I thought about how simple this ordinance really is. Elder Torrens was able to do it perfectly the first time and that was good. He will certainly remember this day and his first baptism as a missionary. How special it will be to write about it in his journal and in his e-mail home to his family. But the whole thing takes less than a minute – less than 60 seconds to completely change a person’s life for eternity. By small things great changes are made. I certainly hope that Maria Sanders can stay the course and enjoy the peace that the gospel can bring into her life. I feel the spirit saying that she will be blessed by her membership and she will stay active.

After the baptism, we went back to the chapel where we sing songs until those who were baptized can join us. There is a song by the branch choir – which I take capture in a movie and then president Marchant welcomes the new members. A closing song and a prayer and another Sabbath day service is over. It was truly a special time.

Back in the apartment we fixed a light lunch and then took naps. After all it is a day of rest. Later I downloaded my pictures of the day and wrote in this journal. Then we read from the Kitab Mormon for about an hour. We are in the Book of Mormon where Moroni has taken over the task of finishing the writing. I was touched by his writing about being alone. Imagine being so alone and still going on doing what the Lord has asked you to do. What great faith that must take.

The rest of the day is spent doing lots of different things – some of them mundane and some spiritual. I am trying to read PMG in Indonesian. The last time I started it I soon quit because I had to look up about every third word. Now I am usually able to understand what is written and only have to look up about 5 – 10% of the words. It really feels good to see how much my ablility to read Indonesian – at least church related Indonesian – has improved. There is still a long ways to go before I can read talks from church magazines. I hope that by the time we are released I can read newspapers and all subtitles on T.V. I will certainly need lots of help from the Lord as I continue to work on my Indonesian.

We read again from the Kitab Mormon where Moroni is talking about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. The admonishment not to reject it because of mistakes. If there are any he says they are the mistakes of man. We read about 10 pages today – that is our goal for each day.

Now it is late and it is time to go to bed. It has been a wonderful day. I hope Maria Sandra and the other sister is sleeping with peace in their hearts. Knowing that they have entered into the strait gate.

Mary playing for choir at conference. The Missionary Choir led by sister Hinckley. President Marchant being a gracious host – Sam and Elder Louhannapessy.

20 October 2007 – Saturday

The day was so long and so packed that Mary had to remind me about the morning being normal. I continue to get up and go to the gym. We read for a short time in the Kitab Mormon and then headed off to teach English.

We kept the class together for the morning section but divided them into two groups for the second one. Mary was not all the excited about dividing the class but after the class period she said the students in her class – those who are not as advanced as the other half – were excited about being taught separately. I think my part of the class also was OK with the split. I am not so sure they are excited about having more homework than the rest but I think it will help them.

Starting at about 1:00 people started arriving for District Conference – the Lees from Bogor joined us in the office for a while and we caught up with things in their lives. The Kanes will not be at the conference because they were headed for Bali to meet up with one of their daughters and her family. The arrival of all the Indonesian saints causes some problems with our class. It means that they will end up speaking a lot of Indonesian – the temptation is just too great. I kid them about only speaking English, but I know that it is mostly in vain.

Mary got to play the piano for the 1st general session and also for the Missionary Choir. The only problem she runs into is that no one bothers to tell her what the choir was singing until the last minute. The conference is on preparedness and all the talks are very on subject. I especially enjoyed district president Mak’s talk. He always seems to talk from the heart and with sweet directness. He told how his bank offered interest free loans so their employees could buy a car. He did not take up the offer because even an interest free payment would not work in their budget. They waited for a number of years and their children getting older before they purchased their caravan.

Elder Tucksworth is going to spend his last month in Bogor as Zone Leader. I am going to miss him – he has the same sense of humor as me. He is going to be a strong leader in Australia. Elder Whitmore and elder Tucksworth in the MTC together and go home at almost the same time. The quality of these young elders is amazing. What great training a mission can be if the missionary learns to work with God and Jesus Christ. They also learn to handle the frustration and sorrow that comes from seeing people reject the gospel. To work hard and see no tangible results except their own growth. I believe that missionary work is almost as much about proving the missionary as it is getting converts. It is the Lord’s version of a seminary for future leaders. For some it is the Road to Damascus or the Liberty jail. Some unfortunately find it as a huge stumbling block or a something to be endured – a inconvenient rite of passage. But for all it is a great time of probation – the experience that sets the tone for their whole life. Many are called ….

After the session, president Marchant invited us to join the other missionaries for dinner at the mission home. It was a great gathering of missionaries and the only thing I would have changed was where we sat. The Davises sat in the kitchen area with a whole circle of young missionaries while we sat with the other couples and mainly the office elders that we see all the time. The Davises seem to have more fun. We did not stay long after dinner – we really needed to get home.
By the time we got home it was almost 10 – we had been away for almost 14 hours. Strangely enough I was exhausted but not all that tired. At least so it seemed, but as soon as my head hit the pillow I was gone. It was a good day.

 

The Walkers with our class. Friday night at the Steak House. A load of chairs arrived at the building and the men have to carry them up a couple of flights of stairs to the meeting room. They carry from 6 to 8 chairs on their backs and these are not light chairs. They load people about the same way they load motorcycles.

19 October 2007 – Friday

As I woke at about 4:30 today, I realized that I am still waking about the same time as I did when we first got here and it seemed so early. At least now I can sometimes go back to sleep – not today however. Before going to exercise I studied some Indonesian- it would be interesting to know how much time we have spent trying to learn Indonesian since we got our call. It must be close to a month of hours – and some times it seems like years. But it is a great exercise for my mind and I think that is what keeps it alive and well. Maybe not being able to remember much of the past is a good thing – it means I have to live for now and the future.

It was strange this morning to see none of my usual fellow walkers or gym users. It was like I had this huge complex all to myself. When I got done with my morning work-out I was pleased to see that Cindy had posted to her blog. It sounds like she is still not feeling 100%. There were some pictures of Krista with a new hair style. I like it – she reminds me of Cindy back when she was in high school and trying to be her own self. She was continually changing her hair styles so I thought it was funny to read the restrictions she placed on what Krista could do with her hair.

We read from the Kitab Mormon – we are now into the Book of Mormon and should be finished with the Kitab Mormon by the end of the month. Obviously there was still a functioning church at this time because Mormon and his family have not only the knowledge but also the priesthood. Or so it would seem.

We teach the morning classes – mainly a major test and vocabulary – and then wait until the Walkers come before we come back to the apartment to rest. We will go back later and take them all to dinner.

While I was monitoring the test, I read some of the conference talks from the November 2006 Ensign. Once again it struck me how important the counsel that we receive from conference should be read, re-read and then done. Each talk had something that touched me as I read it. Sometimes it was a rebuke for something I need to do more or better and sometimes it was the feeling of the spirit as one of the speakers shared their testimony or a story. The ideas edified me.

We came back to the apartment and I crashed. I did not realize I was so tired but I slept for 90 minutes. I would have slept longer if Mary had not woke me up. It certainly felt good.

We went back to the chapel by taxi and got there just as they were closing with prayer. Sam had told the students they were going to another home for dinner and so they were surprised when we told them we were taking them to Warang Steak House. We invited the Walkers and their driver to join us so we ended up as a party of 12. Everyone had a good time and ate way too much food. I gave half of mine to Sam who ended up with a triple steak. The bill came to under $30 for the 12 of us. I love eating out in Jakarta – at least in non-bulai restaurants.

We continue to read in the Kitab Mormon – Mormon is refusing to lead the Nephites because they will not repent and accept the Lord’s pardon. They feel that they have accomplished the great victory on their own. About a year ago I read a talk that pointed out that we can be mislead by the idea that if we are righteous the Lord steps in when we have done all we can for ourselves. The article points out that when we are righteous the spirit and the blessings of the Lord is always with us and what we accomplish ‘by ourselves’ still depends on that help.

18 October 2007 – Thursday

This is our P-day but we have the IEC to teach in the morning and Mary has a class at the mission office in the afternoon. I pull myself out of bed and get in 40 minutes of exercises. We read from the Kitab Mormon before heading off to the chapel and teaching. The Lord’s tender mercy touches me when for some reason I remember that I need to take the equipment so Lukito can teach a Career Workshop for elders Whitmore and Pagalla who are about to be released.

We found that we are giving the students so much homework that they do not have time to sleep. So we only gave them a small amount today and hopefully they will catch up. At least we know that they are serious. They also did not sleep well because there were lots of mosquitoes that bit them all night. The joys of living in Indonesia.

After our morning class we let the students off until tonight when they will go to president Smith’s for dinner. We headed for the mission office. But we were about 1/3 of the way when I remembered I needed to take some workbooks and we had to turn around and go back to the office. The only reason we got to the office in time was that the traffic was so light.

At the office I had lunch – Mary ate hers in the car while we were traveling. While she taught the class I talked to elder Roper, elder Walker, and elder Subandriyo. Elder Subandriyo showed me pictures of their new house in Bakasi. It is a great house with a nice yard – they will move there when he retires in about 3 years. We were talking about the IEC when Mary joined us and the conversation changed to what his staff needs to study to pass their English test in November. Mary had looked at the sample test and has a good idea of where they need the most help.

After that we came back to the apartment where we cleaned house, took a nap and read from the Kitab Mormon. I still need to do the laundry and we will also read one more hour from the Kitab Mormon. Amazing Race, dinner, another hour of the Kitab Mormon – we are reading about 10 pages a day now because we need to look up only a few words. We find ourselves commenting on what we are reading in Indonesian, which means we understand what is being said as we read it. Now if speaking and hearing went so well things would be great.

The mission has made us more spiritually alive – that is alive to the spirit. The need for the Lord’s help with so much of what we do draws us closer to him. It is one of the great blessings of our mission.

Early this morning I answered a survey from the training department about the MTC training for senior couples. Looking back we did not really learn much about what we would be doing on our mission. What it did do is give us a lot of spiritual experiences  – just being in the MTC with all the young elders and sisters is great. Then there is getting to know the other senior couples in our group and working with some of them for two weeks is also wonderful. But as to the actual training I think it is of minimal value. The MTC is like crossing over a bridge from the everyday world to the world of a mission. It is a needed time of transition and I feel sorry for those who have to wait for an extended period of time between the last day at the MTC and the first day in their mission field. You need to go out fully spiritually charged and that is what happens in the MTC.

Before turning off the lights I read some of a talk in the Liahona. When I do this I am both encouraged and discouraged – I guess it is another way the Lord is helping me with my impatience.