As we drove to the lawyer’s office this morning, I realized that in 73 hours we would be checking in at the MTC to start our mission. As I write this it is now down to 62 hours. I imagine we should be running around getting things ready, but instead Mary is watching ‘Polar Express’ and I am recording some new music from the web.

Earlier we went to the movies with the Alexanders – Deja Vu – and then to the ward Christmas party. Other than that it has been mainly studying Indonesian.

I do have some things that need to be done – including checking to see if the sale of the apartments over on Main street is going along without any problem. I imagine we would have heard from the buyers it things were not OK. Also there are some things that need to be done on the BYU rentals. But all in all I think things are pretty much under control.

 I am going to ask Mike, Bob, and Tom to not tell us any problems unless they are really something they can not work out between them. I do not want to have anything from home interfere with what we are doing in Indonesia.

I would be happy to get on the plane and head for Indonesia tomorrow. I do not seem to be worried at all. However I am sure when the time really comes to head for the airport, the reality of it all will set in.

It is about 8 a.m. and I am looking out my window at the snow covered landscape. Frosted trees, white blanketed deck and yard, Cline Black’s snow shingled roof. Soon this sight will just be a memory to think about in the heat and humidity of Indonesia.

 Last night I went to serve in the temple for the last time before we leave. It was mentioned that it would be my last time and some of the brothers asked me about the mission and wished me well.

 I had the opportunity to officiate in one of the sessions and it went very well, except at the very end I was thinking too much about the fact that it was my last session and got up too early. So I went out saying maaf-maaf in my mind. The rest of the evening went by quickly and it was not long before I was helping my last parton. Then all I had to do was change and carry out my suit bag which will hang in the closet until I get home.

 Earlier in the day we had our lesson with sister Tippets and I realized that I have a pretty good idea about the how Indonesian is constructed and it is my limited vocabulary that is really holding me back. However I continue to believe that there is a reason for us to learn Indonesian well enough to communicate with the Indonesian people. Therefore I will try hard to reach that point and trust that the Lord will help me when it is needed.

 I have not written about the family gathering for Thanksgiving. I guess that is because they were here and therefore know how wonderful it was. I know I will miss each of them but I also know that what we are doing will help our family. They will know that we have strong testimonies of the gospel and that we are going on this mission to share the blessings the Lord has given to us.

I am really not worrying about what will happen to our earthly goods while we are gone. I am sure that our family will take care of things for use. However, other than the family, nothing is being left behind that is not replaceable.

 I just looked up and did a double take because it looked like there was a huge snow covered mountain range at the South end of the valley. It took a couple of seconds to realize it was nothing more than a cloud bank. I tried to take a picture but it could not capture the effect. Even as I write this the clouds have moved and the ‘range’ is quickly disappearing.

 It is very cold today – sangat dingin hari ini. It is not supposed to get above freezing. In Jakarta at 9 at night it is 81.

We just got a call from brother and sister Hash who are going to the Indonesia and are now in the MTC. We are going to try and see them on Thursday night. I think they are going to the area we would have gone to if our mission had not been changed. After talking to them I am a little disappointed that we are staying in Jakarta. But I am sure it was the Lord’s desire that it is working out this way.

Yesterday in the temple I spoke with a brother who with his wife has served missions in the South Pacfic and Egypt. In the Pacific they served on an island that was about 100 yard wide and 30 miles long. It had one road running down the middle. They worked for CES and made a major difference in the five branches on the island. As I listened I realized that the Lord expects us to be inspired to do as much as we can to build up the kingdom. Just as in any calling we need to give the full two mites to receive all the blessings.

 

When I was bishop of Redondo III, one of my first counselors told me he was moving. As I started to think and pray about a new counselor, I was inspired to call my ward financial clerk, Lewis Cobabe.

Lewis had been the original bishop of RIII and also the Stake President. He was known to be a little sharp at time and also tended to use profanity at work. However Lewis and I got along well, the spirit was telling me he was the correct choice, and so I took the name to the stake presidency for approval.

 When I told them who I felt the Lord wanted, they were all shocked. All of them had worked with Lewis and infact the stake president had been one of his counselors. The second counselor had been in the stake high council when Lewis was president. Each of them gave me some good reasons why they did not think Lewis would make a good counselor. One told me that he did not work well with youth and as second counselor he would be over the YM and YW program. Another suggested he was not very good as a follower. They also brought up the fact that he had served both as bishop and stake president and wondered how this would affect how he served. I told them that I was aware of most of Lewis’ attributes – good and bad – but since I was sure he was the Lord’s choice, I still thought he was to be my counselor so they said they would consider my choice.

After the meeting I started thinking about what they had said and so I went to the Lord and asked for further confirmation, but none came. Over the next few weeks I heard from the stake president that they were still considering the calling and each at times expressed their doubts. Although I had no new spiritual confirmation, I continued to back Lewis as the Lord’s choice, and finally they agreed. With some surprise Lewis accepted the calling and he was to be sustained the next Sunday.

All during this time I was praying and telling the Lord that if I had misunderstood about Lewis, I could still make a change. Nothing came from the prayers. I continued praying about this through the Sunday morning and even into the sacrament meeting. Nothing! Finally it got to the time when the president was getting up to make the change.

At that time as clearly as if He was speaking to me, I was told that yes Lewis was the Lord’s choice. And then the Lord told me that in the future when He had given me an answer to pray through the spirit, that I was not to bother Him again about the same subject.

I learned a great lesson that day and Lewis proved to be one of the best counselors I had while I was bishop. We shared a major experience of building a new chapel and I will tell about that another day.

15 November 2006 – Thursday

We spent most of the day from the time we got up until after our lesson ended at 5 PM. I did take time out for a nap but other than that I was busy reading, listening to and writing Indonesian. We were to share our testimony in Indonesian. I wrote mine on the computer and then Mary helped me make corrections and guess at how to say some things. As part of the lesson Sister Tippets made some corrections and now I have a short testimony and a more complete one that I will continue to study and practice.

Sister Tippets asked if I felt the spirit as I shared my testimony. I told her that I did not because I had to concentrate so hard on saying the correct words that it was hard to feel the spirit. She told me that I needed to practice it each day until I reached the point where I could feel

After our lesson we went to The Red Lobster where we had all you can eat shrimp. I had five servings and Mary had four. We had an interesting and very good waiter who as soon as his shift is over is going to get in his car and start driving home to Maine.

 I am now listening to music while I wait to go to a HP leadership meeting.

As I was thinking about our mission, the need to be a self-starter, and to magnify my calling, I got to wondering if I would put my whole effort into the work. Or if like so many things I have done in my life, be excited at the first but after a while only doing what was necessary to be considered to be fulfilling my call. This got me thinking about a talk I gave a couple of years ago about a subject that came through inspiration. A subject that I really needed for myself. I had a talk that I thought I would give pretty much worked out when I chanced to read the parable of what is known as the ‘widow’s mite.’

As I read the parable I noticed that the widow did not put in one mite but that she put in two mites. It was then said that ‘she gave her all.’ I had always thought of this as a story about the rich and giving money to help the church. However as I read the story this time I realized that it was about much more and the key was the fact that she had two mites to give.

If she had only one mite – as most people seem to think – then she only had two choices. To give nothing or to give ‘her all.’ Her having two mites adds a third choice – she could give only one of her two mites. In that way she contributes to the kingdom but still keep back something for herself.

In my talk I pointed out that I realized that I was often a ‘one mite’ giver when it comes to serving in the kingdom, raising my family, etc.  Although I put some effort and time into a calling, home teaching, and personal and family spiritual growth, I do not ‘give my all.’ I hold back that one mite for personal use. That is instead of really preparing for a home teaching visit, I throw something together at the last minute. Instead of looking for ways to magnifying my calling, I do what is necessary to get buy. When I should have been reading the scriptures or Sunday’s lesson, I would find myself listening to music or reading a novel.

 Now this does not mean that I was not doing my calling or was doing bad things, but it did mean that I was not ‘giving my all’ as I had promised in the temple. It also meant that the Lord could not bless me and our family as He wanted to. That is I was not eligible to ‘always have His spirit’ to be with me.

The problem with being a ‘one mite’ giver is that most people think I doing an excellent job in the church and in my personal life. But as I kneel to pray, as I write in my journal and report my day, I know and I know the Lord knows that I am holding back. I am sure that makes Him very sad. He gave everything for me and I am not willing to return that to Him. Also I am sure He is sad because He can not give me the blessings that knows are available when I am a ‘two mite’ giver.

My prayer is that I will commit myself to be truly a full ‘two mite’ missionary – a ‘two mite’ member of God’s church. That I will not find excuses for doing less than my best. I am hopeful that at the end of our mission the Lord will be able to say to me – ‘Well done my true and faithful servant.’

 

 

15 November 2006 – We had an interesting morning and lunch today. We headed towards Salt Lake at about 9:30. Our first stop was the cleaners to drop off the suit I am taking to Indonesia. Then we got gas at Costco, where we pulled right up to the pump. Gas there is down to $2.03 a gallon – about $1.00 less than we were paying a couple of months ago.

Next was a stop at Mike’s office to pick up some new glasses for Mary. From there we drove down State street and Mary remembered we should stop at the CostCo there and get toilet paper or we would have to start using old newspapers. While there I found some nice lightweight black dress pants on close out for $10 and amazingly they had 4 pair in my size. Continuing down State, we came to the Sears store and I remembered I still needed some white short sleeve shirts. A quick trip inside bagged me 4 shirts and that finished off my clothing needs for the mission.

 We got to park under the Church office building. The security there is really tight but the men are very curteous. When we got into the building and reached the security desk, they already had our temporary passes ready to go.

We had a great lunch with Elder Carmack. He had salads waiting for us and so we sat right down and ate. As we ate we talked about our families, shared experiences, and then about Indonesia. I took the opportunity to check two stories about his experiences as mission president that I have used in a number of talks and lessons. I was glad to know that I got the main points correct.

The important thing that I heard was that we should feel free to find new ways to be effective missionaries. He said when he first arrived as the Asian Area President, there was little going on. He said about all they had to do was answer 4 or 5 letters a week. He soon changed that around by visiting all of the areas, opening new ones – including Mongolia where the Carlson’s from our ward went – and in other ways magnifying his calling. I am hoping that we can do the same kind of thing. I am just wondering what our travel budget will be.

The trip home and the rest of the day was very normal. In the evening I went home teaching and then we went to Albertson’s where we bought drinks for the family gathering for Thanksgiving.