Mary’s 2nd Indonesian cross-stitch.  Mugi our intrepid house cleaner

26 September 2007 – Wednesday

P-day!  A day of rest and for studying Indonesia. We read 11 pages from the Kitab Mormon today. I also read from the Indonesian translations of a couple of conference talks. Usually I can get the basic idea of a sentence from just reading, but to get what was actually said, I must look up some of the words. I am determined to get to a point where I can at least read Indonesian fluently before we leave the mission. Speaking and hearing seems still to be a long term goal. I think just the challenge of learning something completely new is good for my mind and the knowledge that I need the Lord’s help is good for my humility.

I spent part of the day cleaning up my nightstand drawers. I just shove things into them and it had become impossible for me to find anything. So I just took everything out and went through it piece by piece. Now I can at least open and close the drawers and might even be able to find something. Being on a mission has not helped my neatness skills.

The Kanes dropped by for a short time so we could exchange some things we bought for each other. Elder Kane has been ill also – his was not from left over pizza. They found out last night that Elder Burr from Hong Kong wanted to see a water project. So they had to change all their plans for today and tomorrow to fit it in. The Kanes are a great couple and one of the blessings of the mission has been getting to know them.

Mary is working hard on some genealogy she got interested in. She has pages and pages of information that she needs to update on individual records. I forgot to mention that on Tuesday she got her framed cross-stitch work back and it looks great.

It was a good day and by bed time I was feeling about 95% of my usual self.

25 September 2007 – Tuesday

Today I felt much better – not well but good enough to think about doing something useful. Also not enough to do any exercise. But we had a good time reading from the Kitab Mormon – Mary pointed out that my voice sounded strange which is something I can not explain since that was not the direction my problem took on Sunday and Monday. We read in Alma about Moroni offering to stop killing the Lamanites if they would promise to not attack again. I was surprised that Zarahemnha refused to promise because he knew they could not keep the vow. The Lamanites are portrayed as lazy and cunning so it would seem reasonable that a leader would think nothing of giving an oath he knew he would break. After all the American government did it to the native Americans – many times.

We went to the office where I kept busy writing e-mail about the new Intensive English class and creating some things for the Kanes. Mary was happy to see the sister who sews for her waiting for us and she gave her a pile of material for new clothes. We had enough work to do that the time rushed by – I was tired but good.

We thought that Mary had an English class to teach – the one that was cancelled yesterday – but as we were pulling out from the church we called just to make sure and found that someone was supposed to have called to tell her that there would be no class. So instead we came back to the apartment to rest for a while until it was time to an appointment with the elders.

The appointment was an adventure – more for Mary than me. First of all the traffic was terrible and it was not helped that we were involved in a fender bender. It was minor but it took about 20 minutes to get straightened out. Luckily it was just a love tap and most of the damage was cleaned up by a good polish job. However that put us way behind for the appointment so we called the elders to tell them we would be late.

To make a longer story short, we picked up the elders and got the appointment. I had decided to stay in the car because I did not think I could take sitting in a home. It was a good choice because the appointment ran almost two hours – part of which I managed to sleep. Mary felt the meeting was good but in listening to her comments I am afraid the woman is more interested in having someone visit than the church. I hope that I am wrong but she has not read any of the Kitab Mormon or been to church. Mary did get a good dinner from it – Sam passed and came out and kept me company.

While we were waiting I got to watch the world of what seemed to me a lower middle class area. Lots of motorcycles going by – many with children and women driving – with only an occasional car in the mix. I decided that children do not think it is at all strange to ride as a family on a motorcycle because they start doing it almost as soon as they are born. They have no fear and are comfortable to ride between, in front of or behind their parents. It is just what they do. There were more people on bikes than you see in our area. It was good to see kids on bikes. Then there the walkers – mainly children and women because the men either were riding motorcycles or were still at work.

Everyone was clean and smiling – especially the children – as they walked along the dusty street. I could see a yard that seemed to be part of a stone business. There was a young boy – probably 5 – 6 but I am terrible with ages here – in a shirt that was two or three sizes too big – that was playing by himself having a great time. He swooped like an airplane or a bird with the long red sleeves of his shirt flapping like too long wings. It was a very enjoyable experience to see and absorb the sights of that area. I feel I learned much about Indonesia while I waited for the others to come out. It made for a good day.

23 September 2007 – Sunday

Really sick from 2 a.m. on – it was probably the left-over pizza that I did not refrigerate soon enough. I will not do that again. At least it was not because I ate off the street – it would have been safer. I am just happy to have survived the day. How sick was I – I could not even read. There is a positive side – by the end of the day I had lost 4 pounds – of liquids. I would not recommend this particular weight loss program.

24 September 2007 – Monday

There was still some residue of my illness this morning but at least I felt good enough to read for short periods of time, get up and water the plants, and by noon I almost felt normal. I managed to eat a little during the day but never really felt good. The biggest loss was another day without us reading from the Kitab Mormon.

Mary went to teach her class at the mission office and found that they had cancelled. Someone was supposed to call her but did not. But it was not all a waste, she and Sam went to Carrefore and bought a new ironing board and some paper.

 

Sights of Indonesia – I took this picture this morning on the way to the mission home. There must be a couple of hundred pounds of ice on that bike and the man was really panting as he was going up a hill. I kidded with Sam that some one ordered two ice-cubes and this is how they delivered them. The colorful picture of the salesman was just one of those great accidents – I did not notice the long orange wall, the red pillar and all the graffiti that all came together to make a good picture. The last picture is from the Kanes – it is one I should have taken on the trip through the Puncuk – there can be 10 to 20 of these stalls lined up along the road selling fresh fruits and veggies.

21 September 2007 – Friday
I did not set the alarm so I slept in until 6:00 this morning and did not exercise. I must make sure I do not do that very often but it felt good today. One great thing happened this morning – we had a short Skype conversation with Tom’s family and got to hear William say hello and that he loved us – also Kelli was able to tell us about Oktoberfest. It is at times like this that we realize how much we miss our children and grandchildren and how important their letters and pictures are to us.

We read from the Kitab Mormon for something over an hour. I realized that I am enjoying this time through much more than the first time. Especially in the morning when I am rested and what we read is not too complex. We are going through many verses without any hesitation – others we of course still struggle with the actual meaning. Today we have Alma talking to Corianthan about the problems he caused among the Zoromites because of his inequities. I find the comment that Alma makes to the effect that he does not bring this up to ‘harrow up’ his son’s soul but so that he can learn from it. That he repents, does not do it again and then goes out and fulfils his calling.  The section also contains the warning about sinning against the Holy Ghost. While he leaves an opening for those that spill innocent blood, he does not hold out any hope to those who commits the unpardonable sin.

We went to district meeting and it was great. The Walkers came for I think the first time and it was held mainly in English. After a report of how the work was going in the district – there is some hopes for baptisms but none are really strong – Sister Sadimin led a discussion of what are some of the simple things that each of has found works for teaching the gospel. President Marchant joined us just in time to give his thoughts. It was interesting and uplifting to hear each missionary – including the couples – give some thought. It was a great lesson because not only was it a good subject but she got everyone involved. Elder Roper’s comment was that he found that smiling was really good and it was alright to look happy. I pointed out that it was ‘good news’ that we were teaching.

After the meeting sisters Pier, Davis, Walker and Marchant went off to do some shopping. Mary was the leader because she has been here the longest and knows the good places to look for material. While I was waiting for Sam to bring me some food from BYU, I talked to Sister Sadimin about this and that – she said when she had completed her mission she wanted to become successful so she could help out among the poor. I found out that after she had joined the church she decided to go on a mission. To do this she had to give up a great job and career – one that she can not go back to because her bosses were very angry at her for quitting to do something for her church. But she felt that she needed to serve and so she gave it all up. It will be very, very hard for her to find a new job when she has served her mission but I think the Lord will bless her and she will find even a better vocation that will lead to her being able to help people.

In the evening we read from the Kitab Mormon – Alma continues to clarify about the resurrection. I have always appreciated the part where he says that he does not know for sure that something he says is true – that is the Lord has not fully testified to him of it’s truth – and then goes on to give what he calls his opinion. It clearly points out that even a prophet as great as Alma does not know for sure about some things, but of course an opinion from him is based on lots of study and prayer and therefore should be considered as the way things are until you have a testimony one way or another.

We all must make decisions about what is right and wrong so that we can live a certain way. Sometimes these are conscious decisions and sometimes we do not even think why we do something one way instead of another. Sometimes we do things based on a firm knowledge and sometimes we do something based on our desires – good or bad. If we have received the Gift of the Holy Ghost and are worthy to draw on it, we can always know what we should do. But until we have that close relationship we pretty much just muddle along on our own.

The spiritual blessings of our mission continue to flow to us. It does not feel like we are sacrificing at all – but that we have been given a great opportunity to grow closer to each other – I have really come to appreciate Mary more and more – and to the Lord as we serve his children.

 

20 September 2007 – Thursday

We did not have an internet connection for most of the morning – something to do with the main switch at Giganet – it is a pain when there is no way to read the mail or look at blogs. I just got a call from Jemmy Mongan postponing our meeting. I was sorry to hear this because I am getting excited about planning the activities of our couples conference.

We worked in the office until it was time to head for the mission office. English as usual took much of our time but I also sent e-mail to those I met last night. Hopefully I will get some good contacts from them. The excitement came when somehow a gecko got its tail cut off and if fell on the desk in front of Mary. I was amazed at long it twitched  – Mary was not as interested.

At the mission home, we got to see elder Smith who was in to get his visa updated. He seems to be doing well in Surabaya and it sounds like there may be some baptisms in his future. The crew enjoyed the pineapples we left for them to eat. They cut up the last one while we were eating so I had some for dessert. While Mary taught her class I talked to elder Subandriyo, president Marchant, and John. Each time I am with the president I learn something. Today he mentioned that the Lord has blessed him with that which he needed to say and know “at the moment” he needed it. I realized that my not attempting to speak Indonesia showed a lack of faith in the Lord to provide that which I needed “at the moment” I needed it.

The afternoon and evening at Tangerang went well. We found that elder Hadi Suyatmo is going to Bogor on Monday and will be a zone leader serving with elder Teng. They should be a good pair but I am rather sorry to see him and elder Peate being broken up. I feel they are an excellent pair of missionaries. Elder Suyatmo taught a lesson on how to teach more effectively. He suggested that first we had to gain a knowledge of the gospel so that we have a basis to teach from. I just thought about how this is usually what the Lord draws on “at the moment” it is needed. Seldom does He provide knowledge that we do not already have. Of course to be effective teachers we must use the spirit to both guide us and to testify to the investigator. I mentioned the need to establish a relationship of trust so the people will want to listen to you because they know you actually care about them.

The English class went well. We went through the first four articles of faith, prepositions and then opposites. We played the match game and everyone enjoyed that. The investigator came but I could not just teach him because the children deserve to learn. Hopefully before we leave, I will have them carrying on conversations in English with me. After the class we took pictures of the district – this will be the last time this particular group will be together in this district. I had them pose for a straight picture and then let them clown for one.

Mary had cut up a pineapple this morning and we had kept it cold in the cooler. I told Agus and Catherine that this was the sweetest pineapple in Indonesia. They said the sweetest ones came from Sumatra. But after they ate the Bangdung pineapple they decided it was the sweetest. In fact Catherine wanted to know if we had put sugar on it. I told her no, that it came that way. It was fun to introduce an Indonesian to something from their country that they did not know about.

 

Mary ironing. Our office. Missionaries and the dance group. The dancers in action.

19 September 2007 – Wednesday

Today is P-day so we are cleaning the apartment – with the help of our great Indonesian maid – doing laundry, and catching up on things that need to be done. We are also having seat covers put on the Avanza so Sam will be spending the day making sure that is done correctly. It also meant that I did not go down to exercise until about 6 because I was waiting for him to come for the keys. For some reason Mary woke early so she took over the waiting and I went to the gym.

Besides the early morning chores and exercise, we read from the Kitab Mormon about the Zoramites kicking out those who believed the preaching of Alma and his companions and how this quickly led to war.

I posted the blog up to date. Thankfully the web is faster this morning so I was able to get all the pictures in. We got word from the Christensens that they and the pineapple made it back to Hong Kong safely. Also that the staff is now enjoying fresh pineapple. We are going to try to join in a chat today at 3:00. Then soon after that we will need to leave for a special program we have been invited to by the government. I guess they want a lot of bulais there.

Mary decided it was time to iron her blouses – she has been accumulating them for a while – and so we moved the ironing board into the front room. As I had said before the ironing boards here are made for people who average about 5 feet or less tall and so she had to sit down to iron. Add to that the fact that one of the legs on the board was breaking and it made for an exciting time. We found a new use for Preach My Gospel – to hold up the bent short leg. Mary informs me that we will get a new ironing board the next time we are in Carrefore.

We also need to get new electronic dictionaries. We have actually worn these two out and somehow managed to lose both guarantees. So we will invest another $100 in a new pair for the last 8 months of our mission. This time we will make sure we keep the warranties so we can get new ones before we go home.

I was studying the PH lesson in Indonesian – or at least trying to – and fell asleep and had a nice nap. I do not think I got very far in the lesson.

As we were getting ready for tonight’s outing I suggested that we leave a little earlier because you never know about Jakarta traffic. It is a good thing that we made that decision because we hit a section where the traffic was at a dead stop and stayed that way for about 15 minutes. But once past the bottle neck – and there seems to be many of them in Jakarta – we made good time and arrived with some to spare.

We were pleasantly surprised to find Jemmy Mongan and his wife as well as the elder and sister Noorda were going with us. The Noordas were in town to get their Kitas updated and should be going back in a day or two. So the party was the Mongans, Noordas, Marchants, Walkers, Davises, ourselves and Ari who drove one car – Jemmy drove the other.

It took about 45 mintues to get there and we thought we would be a little late but it seems the station realized there were some traffic jams and so they did not start until most of the expected guests arrived. On the way, I sat in the far back sit and had a nice talk with sister Noorda about family, the mission, etc.

We had no idea what the program was about and I am not sure even after watching it what it was really about. After warming up the audience and letting other late arrivals come in, a young, beautiful, and famous, Indonesian singer sang a special song, that I believe was written just for this program, while playing the piano. Then there came a group of young women dancers from the Christen school that MetroNews and the Church helped to rebuild after the tsunami in Aceh. They put on what I suppose was a native dance of synchronized movements that was quite spectacular. I managed to film most of it.

When they were done dancing there was a photo op where all of us from the Church was grouped behind the dancers. We then had a chance to talk to the some of the dancers – some had fair English – and found that they had been practicing for 3 weeks. After the photo shoot, we went down to Buka Puasa – literally meaning open the fast when what they are actually doing is ending the day of fasting.

I found some food I really liked – Martabak. We have had the chocolate version a number of times. Basically it is a kind of pancake that is covered with chocolate, butter, cheese, and condensed milk and then folded over until the fillings are melted together. It is delicious and must have a million calories per piece. They had the chocolate martabak but tonight there was another egg based version that was more like an omelet and it also was delicious. I also found the fruit platter for dessert. There were lots of other foods and Mary sampled a number but I decided to hold down my eating.

I happened to meet the HR director of the news division she had pretty good English so I asked her about what schools she could recommend for getting into the T.V. news business. I gave her one of my cards and asked her to e-mail me her recommendations. Unfortunately she did not have a card.

Later we met a woman who seems to be high up in the organization and has something to do with the hotel side. I mentioned that we were going to hold a conference on Bali and could we contact her to see about a good rate at one of their hotels. I showed Jemmy her card and he said that it was a very exclusive hotel. I suggested since we were working closely with Metro, that he might approach her about a special rate. I have a feeling that we will be able to stay there and that they will take great care of us. So the Lord works in unusual ways to help his missionaries. Who knows who we will meet at a hotel like that.

As the eating was slowing down, they asked the dancers to do their dance right there in the middle of the dining area. So I got to stand not four feet from them as they performed once again. I got a movie of most of it, so we can watch it a number of times. After that there was a little more eating and then we headed home.

I shared the back seat with president Marchant this time. He mentioned that the number of baptisms is going up even with the number of missionaries going down. Hopefully this will continue in the future. I also found out that where we may be going for the next couples conference is no great secret. I will write to the president and mention that he might want to write that letter to all the couples and let them know the dates and where it will be held.

We caught a cab home – we had a nice talk with Hari and found that he had four children. I gave him a nice tip to help pay for the new 2 month old child. We read from the Kitab Mormon and headed to bed. Just before this Sam called to say that the covers were done and they looked good. We had a good P-day with a nice balance of gospel learning, sharing thoughts with other couples, some entertainment, and even some good contacts for jobs.

 

Elder Christensen loved this because he raised sheep – a load of sheep tied in a pick-up. Driving through a city on the way to Bogor we saw this lady buying dates for breaking the fast and when she saw us she grinned and waved. The people are almost always friendly here. When we stopped to buy a chili shaped door knocker – picture to come – we saw these young ladies playing a board game and it turned out to be Monopoly. They were happy to pose for their picture. The young woman sleeping between her parents as they waited for the light to change is a classic. I guess if you grow up riding on a motorcycle, it becomes part of what you do and it gets boring.

18 September 2007 – Tuesday

I cut my exercise short today – at least the walking/jogging part. But I did put in all the time in the gym. I just did not feel like going around the track and the gym opened early. I am not eating much in the way of breakfast – yes I know some say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day – because I am not very hungry after exercising.

We read from the Kitab Mormon – they are preaching to the Zomamites about the gospel and how the poor were blessed because they were thrown out of their churches. They are now humbled to a point where they will listen. I wonder how often we must be humbled in some way – great or small – before we truly open our ears and mind to what the Lord has been trying to tell us. Until we are humble enough to realize that we need the Lord each day and not only occasionally when we are in trouble or have a problem. I am afraid that there have been and probably still are too many times in my life when I needed the Lord but relied instead on my own thoughts and my own power to solve the problem. Not that the Lord does not expect us to do things on our own – that is to be a profitable servant – but in all things we should seek the guidance of the spirit to help us. I think this is especially true as we serve in the kingdom.

We went to the office at our regular time and the patron that we could not help on Saturday came in and Sam got his resume on Jobsdb and he sent in a whole pile of applications for jobs. I do not think we are going to have a difficult time getting him to send 10 resumes a week. Of course this tied up one computer for almost the whole time we were in the office. So as Mary worked on English and putting together our reimbursement voucher, I sat in another room and read from the Kitab Mormon. I went back over what we read this morning and tried to learn the words that we had to look up, plus those that I was not sure about.

We then went to the mission office where Mary taught her class, while I passed out pineapples to the Walkers and the Davises while leaving one for the Marchants who were in Sumatra with elder Subandriyo checking up on the earthquake area to see what more we can do there. I had lunch from BYU – they still only have tempe and potatoes – it is good but not great. After that I read from the latest Church News. Elder Bateman is going to be the new temple president in Provo – it will interesting serving with him when we get back. There were a number of recently released 70s called to be mission presidents. The Lord certainly has prepared men and women to serve as temple and mission presidents at this time.

We were disappointed to find that the Tobings are not ready for us to hometeach tonight. We thought that this was a regular thing set up by the Petersons so they would know we were coming. I was careful to tell them that we would see them this week and bring the new couple who will home teach them. We will try again next week.

This with us with an unexpected afternoon off. I decided I would work on this journal – making the single days into months – but when we got home I took a nap that lasted way too long. So I will do my consolidating tomorrow instead. We read from the Kitab Mormon for over an hour. The reading is quite easy but there are still times that we miss the actual structure of a sentence or who is doing what. Sometimes it is because the translator has chosen to somewhat change the wording, but most of the time it is because we do not look closely enough or can not figure out the word sequence. As we finished I said to Mary that I hope we will reach a point where the spirit and feeling of the Indonesian comes through as well as what the words say or are trying to say to us.

I realized I had not posted the last few days of this journal so I got busy. It took forever because the internet is really, really slow tonight. Pictures took forever to get from the computer to WordPress and then to the blog. I finally gave up and will post the remainder tomorrow.

Before turning off the lights I read the PH lesson about strengthening the family. As I read I realized how much more I could have done to prepare our children for being better spouses and parents. I hope that each of them have done or will do a better job than I did. I am sure that I mentioned earlier about president Faust after receiving a new calling gathering his family around him and telling them that he can not be successful in his calling unless he was successful as a husband and father. There is a great lesson to be learned there. Hopefully my example of going on a senior mission will be a good one for our children and grandchildren.

I forgot to mention that we were excited to see that Cindy posted a lot of pictures and comments on her blog on Monday – her Sunday – and so we got to learn about their trip to the zoo and more. It is interesting that Olivia’s blog also had pictures from a trip to the zoo. I guess it is zoo time through out the US. Blogs are not as good as letters but they sure beat not hearing from our family at all. We wake each morning and immediately look at the mail in case someone has sent us an e-mail. We are grateful and excited when there is one from our children, grandchildren or friends.

 

17 September 2007 – Monday

Normal morning but shortened because we needed to be out of the apartment by 8:10 to start our day of adventure with the Christensens.

There is not really much to say about the day, but that it was a nice trip that was longer than I thought it would be. The drive from Bakasi to Bandung has some wonderful scenery. Unfortunately the day was overcast – the way it usually is when Mary and I go to the mountains – so a lot of the great scenery was not available to us. The drive from Bandung to Bogor would been much nicer on a clear day or if we would have stopped more. If I was doing it again we would start at 7 a.m. instead of 8:30 – I misjudged the time to Bandung. We stopped in Bandung only long enough to buy a dozen pineapples that we will share with all our friends in Jakarta – also the Christensens will try to get one home.

But the Christensens enjoyed it and they now have seen new parts of Indonesia and I think have a better idea of what the country is like. They have seen the humble villages, the people working to just exist. They have seen the smiles of the children and the beauty of the landscape. They will certainly go home with good memories of Indonesia.

We had a problem finding anywhere to eat – most places were closed because so much of the population is fasting for the month. We ended up at a Japanese fast food place that was not very good. It is a shame we could not have let them taste good Indonesian food for one meal.

It of course rained as we came down out of Bogor. But I managed to sleep through much of the trip back to our apartment. The Christensens and us then had Walls Classics and yellow watermelon – a good combination. We talked more about our families than about our callings. It was fun to share stories about our children. We found out that the Christensens adopted their children. After about an hour or so we wished them goodbye and a good trip back to Hong Kong.

I spent some time making my February journal pages into one file and saving it as a Word file. This way I can open it anywhere and also can print it easily. I think that before I go home I will print it out and have it bound. It will certainly be cheaper here than at home. I think I will have about 700 pages or so of journal by then. I will need to add some pictures but I am not sure if I will just add pages or will work them into the journal itself. We ended our day by reading from the Kitab Mormon – we are having a hard time reading for a full hour. One of us seems to always get tired.

Elder Christensen bearing his testimony with Hendra translating. The Sunday Night dinner bunch – minus office missionaries – Walkers, Piers, Marchants, Christensens, Davises, and brother Meeks.

16 September 2007 – Sunday

I had a great night’s sleep and did not miss exercising at all. We read for about a half hour from the Kitab Mormon before Sam picked us up. We then got the Christensens and headed for Jakarta Raya where Sam dropped us off and headed for his own branch.

We were among the first ones there – even the elders did not get there before us. Soon after we arrived, President and sister Marchant pulled up with the President driving. I think he will soon be driving on Sundays and when the traffic is not too heavy. Also the president did not wear a suit coat – he wore a long sleeve shirt and tie. So I guess the standard for senior missionaries has changed.

It was a good set of meetings, we are hearing more and more words but we still seldom can put a complete thought together. Lukito interpreted for us and elder Erickson helped the Christensens. The highlight of the sacrament meeting was when President Marchant asked elder Christensen to bear his testimony. It certainly surprised him but he recovered nicely.

The four of us caught a taxi back to our apartment and then the Christensens continued on to their hotel so we could all get a rest before heading over the mission home for dinner. We read from the Kitab Mormon and rested.

Dinner at the mission home is rather like a family get-together. The president and sister Marchant like to cook and when we got there, we helped out where needed. The Walkers, the Davises, the Marchants, all the office elders and elder Whitmore, and a member who the president heard about that was stranded in Jakarta after all his papers were stolen, plus us were there for dinner – 14 I think. We had a great dinner with lots of good conversation. Elder and sister Walker talked about their experience helping the people in Sumatra who were affected by the earthquakes.

They told of how they were led by the spirit to areas that needed help. How people seem to just show up or were found who had the information or help they needed to have a successful program. They ended up giving out 500 plus food packages that should feed a family for at least 2 weeks. They had the experience of eating off the street, seeing areas and conditions that most of us will never see, and above all feeling that the Lord was guiding them in their work. They also worked from morning well into the night and did not falter. They are a lot tougher than they look. You could feel their spirit as they told us about the things they had seen and how it had touched them.

Sam had used the car while we were at dinner to take the Selatan branch president to the hospital to visit the member that Sam and Ari had taken there last night. Later we found out that she had died before they got there. He then came back to the mission home and waited for us.

After we got home, we read from the Kitab Mormon and then immediately crashed for the night. I do not know why I have been so tired the last couple of nights but I certainly have been.

 

We decided to let Sister Christensen travel in style on the LDS Charities Scooter. It comes in handy when we are delivering commodities in very tight quarters. Of course it takes a long time to move 500 hygiene kits but no longer than it would take in a truck.

15 September 2007 – Saturday

Regular morning with exercise and reading the Kitab Mormon. There was an e-mail from Fae Call saying that she and John Dahl were getting sealed in the San Diego temple. These are old friend of our from Lennox Ward and it was a real surprise to read about their getting married. We are very happy for them. Now they can go on missions together.

We picked up the Christensens and took them to the office where we spent most of the next 4 hours being trained and sharing experiences. They had a number of good ideas that we can probably incorporate into our work. They are a delightful and humble couple. Elder Christensen and I are both working on the same Christ-like attribute – that is patience.

Just at about the time we were closing up, a patron came in and we started to help him. Thank goodness for Sam who did most of the work. Unfortunately after getting his resume all done, it crashed. This is the second time this has happened and it is maddening. I told everyone that next time we will take down the information so if it crashes again we can just type it back in so the person does not feel like we are wasting his time.

After he was through, Sam took Mary home and the Christensens to their hotel. I stayed for a meeting of the District Welfare Council. It was a great meeting and besides being able to share some things and ask for their help in employment, I learned a ton. First of all I gained a greater appreciation of these humble men and what they are faced with everyday. Some of the decisions they have to make never came up in my 8 years of being a bishop. My heart went out to them as they talked about problems such as taking care of the aged, the sick, the dead, the crippled, the mentally handicapped, the poor, those who can not afford to send their children to school, and on and on. None of them were complaining they were just asking President Marchant and the other leaders for guidance.

As I heard how they handled these problems on a day to day basis, my heart was touched. And I was thankful that the Lord had chosen such dedicated and humble servants to be branch presidents here in Indonesia.

President Marchant basically told them that they were empowered to make the choice the spirit led them to make. That it was for this reason that the Lord had called them and ordained them to their calling. That although he might counsel with them, he would never overturn one of their decisions as long as they followed the proper Priesthood line to get permission for major expenditures. Elder Subandriyo gave the same counsel and President Mak was in agreement.

I believe that the branch presidents were glad to hear that they could use their wisdom and the prompting of the spirit to fulfil their calls. As I said I feel that I learned a lot more tonight than I shared. The power of the gospel and the priesthood certainly were in evidence tonight.

I got home about 8 and Mary said that she was certainly glad I did not have her wait for me. We read from the Kitab Mormon and I was in bed before 8:30 – I do not doubt that I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.