10 February 2007 – Saturday

A full day off before us – it should be interesting. I woke at about 5:45 and decided I really did not want to go to the gym. I know that it is not the right attitude to take about exercise but it is how I have been feeling. I say to myself that I will go later in the day – but later never comes.

Not only did I not feel like exercising but after being up only a short time I wanted to go back to bed and sleep some more. I think that comes from not exercising. I did get up and make a word list that I am determined to learn today. One of the sisters at the mission home told Elder Cheney – one of the new missionaries – that he needed to learn 10 new words each day. I think Elder Cheney is the type of missionary who will have no trouble doing that. I would be happy to really learn 5 new words a day.

There are things we need to do today. We need to go through our piles of receipts and put them into personal and those that should be reimbursed by the mission. I then need to learn how to fill out an expense sheet so that I can get reimbursed. Also we need to pay some bills. President Jensen said they would like us to pay off our lease in 13 months instead of 16 so we are going to pay 10 million a month instead of 8.25 million. I am not sure why that is but it does mean the last three months we will not have much in the way of expenses.

It was a strange day – it never felt quite right. We spent a lot of time during the day studying Indonesian, paid some bills, and got a few other things done, but we never really did anything that was really missionary work. I do not plan to have this kind of Saturday again. In the future I think we will at least take a cab to the office and be available just in case someone drops in for help. We could also work on our English lessons.

The problem is that at the apartment it is too easy to turn on the TV or get on the computer. I know that we should have better discipline and as our mission goes on I imagine we will but all in all I think it would be better to go into the office on the Saturdays we are not traveling.

Olivia’s blog is great – it becomes a living scrapbook. From what I saw there, I think she learned to clean her room from one of her relatives.

09 February 2007 – Friday

Our first really peaceful day in a couple of weeks. I slept in again until 6:30 and so no gym. That is 7 hours of good sleep and I think I needed it. About 7:00 I was at the computer when a call came through from the Mitchells and of course while we were talking to them, Bob called. It is great to see and kind of talk to our family. We must however be careful not to let our Skyping them turn our minds away from why we are in Indonesia. I do not think that will happen because even with some stressful moments we are truly enjoying serving here.

We spent 45 minutes reading from Kitab Mormon. Each day we seem to be able to understand more and more. I also think my ability to read the Indonesian out loud is improving. After companion study I did some more personal study on Patience and Charity.

Sam came for us at about 10:30 and we went over to the mission home. One thing about our call is that, other than those missionaries who live there, we get to the mission home more often than any other couple. This gives us a chance to meet with all the wonderful Indonesian people who work there and of course with the A.P.s and the office missionaries.

Today we were there for the Jakarta, Raya district meeting and for Mary to meet with Sister Jensen and the district music committee. We also were able to make sure that Cliff Rees did get paid today.

The district meeting went well. If we are there, Jakarta, Raya usually conducts their meeting in English. One of the Indonesian missionaries does not have very good English but they translate for him. I gave the spiritual thought – I told how I was studying the lesson on obtaining Christ like attributes and that I discovered that I could not just have one of them. That to have any one of the attributes I needed to develop all of them.

Elder Decker gave a short lesson on how to ask good questions when teaching the gospel. I pointed out that while it is important to follow the directions in TMG that the first three lessons should be taught in order, that the missionary must be also open to changing the order if moved by the spirit. Elder Decker read a section from PMG that said exactly that. I also mentioned that we must have the spirit to truly teach the Gospel – that when we do not have the spirit we become Gospel salesmen and not missionaries.

While we were there I met with President Jensen and asked him for some help in how I could help the Tangerang district to stop being negative. He shared some thoughts from TMG and said that he was going to talk about that in the next Zone Conference. I asked if it would be OK for me to go out with the missionaries and actually experience what they experience on the street. He said that would be fine and that since he was president, that I was the first senior couple to ask to do that. I am sure that some senior couples are already doing that in other areas – he just has not heard about it. However maybe I will be the first in Jakarta to spend some time riding the buses with them. I do not plan to spend a full day – just two or three hours to get the flavor of what they do each day.

Later he asked us both to come in and talked to us about inspecting one of the Tangerang missionary residences. He wanted us to make sure that some modifications that were supposed to be done by the owner had been done. We mentioned that we would be going out on Monday and would not only check but bring back pictures so he can see for himself.

For lunch I had Sam walk down to BYU and got lunch for us. It is only the second time we have eaten off the street but I think that as we find more places that are safe to eat that we will do it more often. Total cost of two very filling meals – neither of us could eat all of our food – was a total of 70 cents.

While Mary met with the music committee I tried to study, but I kept falling asleep. Since it pretty much out in public I felt strange so I got up and walked around. I can not understand how I can be sleepy so soon after sleeping for 7 hours.

We went to the University to teach English but they did not know we were coming. I think that many of the staff was still trying to clean up from the flood – the elevators were all under repair – and so there were not enough people there for classes. David – the manager was there and said that there would be one next week. I told him that it was good of the University to provide shelter for the flood victims and he in turn thanked us for providing some meals. I told him that it was really Elder Subandriyo and President Jensen he should thank.

With the cancellation of the class, there was little to do but come back to the apartment. On the way into the apartments, I picked up a free copy of a new English newspaper that seems to have started up. In it was an account of the finding yesterday of a body of a murdered woman among the trash under a bridge. It was almost across from our office in the Selatan chapel and we had seen the crowd gathered around the body on our way in. Mary did not actually see the body, but I did. At the time I supposed that she had died from the stress of the flood. Other than when Dona died it is the only recently dead body I have seen. I am pretty sure it is the only murder victim that I have seen. There are few reported murders in the papers. I do not know if that means there are few murders or that they are so numerous that unless something is unusual about the murder they are not news.

It was strange to be home so early. I took a nap – not a very restful one. By the time I got up it was time for dinner. Mary fixed omelets – about the only meal we actually cook it seems – while I heated up some rolls that sister Leishman left in the freezer. She makes great rolls. After dinner I washed the dishes that had accumulated.

The rest of the night I tried to work on Indonesian and PMG – I can not say that I learned a lot but I did try to not just sit around all night. I think the hardest part of our mission will be times like this when we have hours to fill – we must learn to fill them with activities that causes us to grow and become better missionaries. It is too easy to fill them with watching TV or being on the computer. At least it is too easy for me. In PMG it says that what we do when we are alone tells us what kind of person we are. I think that it could be modified to what we do with our spare time tells us what kind of a missionary we are. I think I would give myself a B for tonight.

08 February 2007 – Thursday

I guess it was too much to expect two normal days in a row. The alarm went off at 5:30 and I turned it off and rolled over for another hour’s sleep. When I finally got up I had no desire at all to go to the gym. Actually all I could think of was how much the area around my mouth hurt. It seems that I must have gotten the juice from some of the chilies I was cutting on my hands and then I wiped my mouth. Yesterday it was just starting to blister but this morning it is really bad. Thankfully it looks worse than it feels but it is definitely not a fun thing. I will have Mary take a picture so we can send it to our kids.

I was just getting going when my cell rang and it was Elder Subandriyo asking me to write another article about the kitchen and include some pictures. So I spent well over an hour on that. This meant I had no time for reading Kitab Mormon. I think the article is pretty good but doubt if it will get printed the way it is written.

Why I say that is because when we got into the office, there was an e-mail directing us to an article on LDS.org that is a well edited version of what I had written on Monday. It does include all of my pictures. No byline of course but it was nice to see my story out there for everyone to read.

We spent the morning catching up on e-mail and getting ready for our English classes tonight. We made a list of things that we need to get accomplished at Sinopati. What I thought was interesting was that after I decided to work on learning patience, almost everything we need to do is to find out why something is not done when or how it should.

I got a call from someone at the Toyota dealership saying the reason I do not have my license is because the police station that is supposed to be processing it was flooded and no one was working there. Who knows when that will get straightened out. I am sure that $20 in the right hands would do wonders in getting it done.  But I am going to be patient – or at least try to be.

I did forget one thing that happened before we left the apartment. I was at the computer and a Skype call came through from the Mitchells. I tried to answer it but I could not hear anything. I tried everything I could think of and then I remembered that I had put the sound on mute last night – by the time I had things worked out it was too late to get back to them. I was bummed.

About noon we left for Sinopati and of course when we got there everyone was out for lunch. Eventually most people showed up but it turned out very few things got done. Another chance to practice patience.

To make a long day short, we went to Tangeran’s district meeting. They have a difficult area and usually have a lot of reasons why the work is not going well. We are trying to get them to come up with new ideas on how to get things moving. I am thinking that the President take the missionaries out of the area for a couple of months so the members realize that they need to support them. As we were sitting there I wondered if we need to spend some of our time going around with them – at least we could visit members.

We started English class right at 6:00 and other than the 6 elders we only had 2 people there. But I am determined that the classes will not wait until people get there. Actually my class did have to wait because there were no children there at all. At 6:10 three came and then at about 6:25 Agus’ family came. We learned about colors and time. I do not think it was great but the children seem to have had a good time.

The trip home went faster than I expected – the traffic is back to normal and that means slow. But Sam took some back streets and got around the main jams.

The good news of the day is that the apartment seems to have closed today. That means Mike no longer has to keep hounding the renters for money. Now if we can get Herb Bergman to put in the furnace, things will be much better.

I am feeling my age tonight – I do not know if it is because it has been a long and busy day or if the rash on my lips is starting to bug me – or perhaps both. Anyway I look forward to crawling into bed and getting some sleep.

Patience Elder Pier – Patience.

07 Febraury 2007 – Wednesday

I woke at 5 and did the gym thing. Still losing a little weight each day. I would have thought as much as I have been sweating each day at the kitchen, I would be down two or three pounds a day. But of course I replace it as fast as I can. I have come to appreciate clean water – even warm clean water.

Mary sounds terrible this morning but says she feels much better. I am going to go into the office at 10:00 and she will join me after lunch. We have a meeting with Agus and Lukito today at 1 to try and settle what we are going to do about CW over the next couple of months. I think that any plans beyond that is just speculation.

My skin does not like Indonesia. Last night when I got home I realized I have some kind of rash around my lips. At first I thought they were cold sores but I think that I am reacting to the garlic chiles and onion that I have been getting on my hands each day. I probably then wipe my mouth with them or with a rag that are covered with the juices. It is probably just luck I do not have sores all over my face. They are annoying but I am sure they are not fatal. Otherwise I am hot but in good shape.

We listened to Elder Bednar’s CES fireside talk about reading and pondering the scriptures. As I listened I realized I have not done that in a long time – that is search and absorb a subject. Also he made the point that most of our choices are not between good and evil but between two goods. As he said this I wondered if I was going to the office because I really do need to get some ERS work done or so I did not have to go out and get sweaty working in the kitchen. My guess it is a combination of both.

When I left for the office, Mary stayed home to wait and see if the air conditioner repair person would come. I spent the morning fighting with the printer and trying to find some charts that seem to have disappeared in one of the computers. I did manage to come up with and agenda for our meeting at 1 and some activities for my English class on Thursday. About the time I was getting everything wrapped up, Mary arrived by taxi. We are getting brave enough that we felt it safe for her to come by herself.

Agus arrived right at one – Lukito had called to say he would not be at the meeting because he had to take care of his flooded house. I told him that I hoped things would quickly dry out. I do not think he has been flooded before.

The meeting went well. We decided that a month was about as far we could plan in advance for CW. There were just too many things that are likely to come up for us to plan any further into the future. Agus is very effective. He always gets things done, has many good ideas, and even with his cancer he seems to keep a cheerful outlook.

After he left, we headed for So Go market to buy our luxury items. We ran into Sister Jensen just as she was checking out. She said that the President was going crazy with everything that is going on and his getting ready to head for Hong Kong for the big Area meeting. She said that he would come back invigorated enough to make it through the next 5 months.

When we got home we were very tired but did not take naps. I spent some time on the computer d/l Total Recorder and Real Player so I can record some music from the web. However I did not spend any time actually listening to music. Instead I started my program of trying to study from PMG or the scriptures for an hour each evening.

I read the chapter on developing Christ like attributes and decided I really needed to work on gaining the attributes of Patience and Charity. I spent a good hour on reading and thinking about Patience. I studied what the scriptures say about this attribute and then started putting the thoughts together. One thing I soon decided was that I can not really have any one attribute alone. I can not have really have patience with out faith, hope and charity. I can not really have any of those without having virtue. One of the special thing about Christ was that he had developed all of these attributes and so he was able to very close to His Father. As we develop Christ like attitude it allows us to draw close to Christ and our Father in Heaven. As we do this we are at peace and it is easy for us to have patience.

It is not going to be easy for me to develop patience and charity – especially not patience. But I am sure that if I truly desire that attribute and try my best to achieve it, the Lord will help me. I believe that only by developing patience will I really be able to help the Indonesian people and at the same time help myself.

06 February 2007 – Tuesday

Since I went to bed early last night I was surprised to find that it was 5 when I woke up. I thought I would be up at 3 or 4 at the latest. Maybe I am finally adjusted to Indonesian time. Last night it rained with lots of thunder and lightening. I know this because it woke me up a few times. I was afraid that all that rain would mean more flooding but it was only here in Jakarta – the major flooding comes when it rains really long and hard up in the mountains to the West.

Mary was still not feeling well so I went in alone. I tried to keep from doing anything that really caused me to sweat. So I did garlic and odd jobs all day. I also went on two deliveries. The traffic is getting back to normal in volume but there are still streets that can not be used so at times it is really a mess. Luckily because we are carrying food, they make way for us when they can.

After the first delivery – which went to an area where a member lives – I came home and had lunch with Mary. She is not as tired but still does not feel that she can go back and work in the hot kitchen. I went back and once again picked my jobs carefully. There is no way to avoid the heat – the day was clear and sunny so the outside temperature was already high and when you add the heat from the stove it becomes terrible.

Two elders from another area came in to work this morning and Elder Subrandriyo got them cooking. I told them that this was a great honor because it was the first time I can remember any Elders actually doing the cooking. Elder Stewart – from Tennessee I believe – got so good at cooking rice that Elder Subandriyo let him decide when it was done.

The second run was interesting because we took the raft that had been made to make a delivery and launched it where a large intersection was flooded and very few people could get from one side to the other. Hopefully it will be used to get needed supplies over the flood but the last time we saw it, a group of children were playing Tom Sawyer.

The food delivery was very interesting. We somehow got down a street that was just packed with motorcycles and a few cars. Once again they made a way for us because we were delivering food. We stopped in the middle of the street – effectively blocking all traffic – and quickly unloaded the food. It went so fast that I could not even get a picture of the elders handing along the food. We really need to get better photo-ops.

As we drove along the others in the car spoke both Indonesian and English. It was interesting to listen as the new elder – I forget his name – tried to absorb some of the new words and phrases. He also tried to answer in Indonesian whenever possible and asked how to say something when he did not know. It turned out that he knew the Subandriyo’s daughter  at BYU Hawaii. So when he got his call, he told her that he would be coming and she wrote to her parents.

Also while we were driving the Subandriyo’s sang a song that was written by an American missionary back in 1979 about the gospel coming to Indonesia. It includes a section that says that due to the introduction of the Gospel  the darkness that was over Indonesia has been lifted and it will never come back again. They said that only the first generation of members know that song and so it is dying out. As they were singing I thought perhaps the author of the song might be the next mission president – he would be in his middle 50’s now.

We did not go on the last delivery. Elder Subandriyo wanted to get back to the kitchen and we had already dropped off our part of the food. When we got back the kitchen was humming. Some more elders and sisters had arrived. Also there was a contingent from the University there working. I think they were staff – David brought them to help so that we could get more food to the 600 homeless at the University. We did not deliver any food there today.

I decided there was really no reason for me to stay any longer so I came back to the apartment. I had a cold Big Mac for dinner. They had them for lunch and since I had already eaten, I saved it for this evening. It was really as good as any from the US. In fact it might have been better because it was not crushed down like so many are at home. The meat was perfect. Now I know that I can eat KFC and McDonalds if I want to feel at home. I also have found that I really like the fried egg combination they cook for almost every meal that we send out. Sometimes it is egg with vegetables and some times eggs with corn. It always has fresh garlic and onion but the secret is crushed fresh ginger root.

I am very tired – even being careful I get too much heat and it saps all of my strength. We need to read the Kitab Mormon and I need to read from Preach My Gospel before I can go to bed.

After I wrote that I tried to do as I said, but just could not think so I took a short nap. When I woke up I needed to go to the store to get some milk and other things. It was a good way to wake up enough to try and get some Indonesian in. I did learn a new phrase today – Senang bertemu dengan anda – “nice to meet you.”

05 February 2007 – Monday

Mary woke with a sore throat so she is staying home today. Hopefully a good day’s rest will help her feel better. I woke at 5:45 and did not go to the gym. Instead I caught up with some of the e-mail, put in a load of laundry and ironed some pants to wear today. Cotton cords are really wrinkled in our washing machine – but then so is everything else. I would really like to have our Kenmore washer and dryer here.

When I went to USA Today I saw that the Superbowl was on. I must say that I did not realize that it was today. I was somewhat surprised to find that it was being broadcast live here on ESPN. I got to watch about 10 minutes of the game before Sam arrived and it was time for me to leave for the kitchen.

Today I tried to be helpful while not getting too hot. I became an expert on peeling onions. I got good enough that the older man who told me I was not doing it correctly yesterday, said today that I was doing it perfectly.

Elder and Sister Kane came down from Bogor and helped out for about 4 hours before heading back home to sign the lease on their new house. Elder Kane and I did onions together and then he left to do other things. Later he went with us on the first delivery – that was back to the University where I am a big man on campus because the manager knows me by name. The sister missionaries also went along and the children loved them. Indonesian children also love to have their picture taken and so I took lots of pictures and then let them see themselves. If I did not see laundry drying on the fences and knew that they were all homeless I could have thought they were a school yard full of happy kids. Another thing I noticed was that they were all clean and had on clean clothes. They do not allow tragedy to be an excuse for looking ragged. I mentioned to Elder Kane that New Orleans during their flooding did not look like this.

In the afternoon I would help for a while and then go out in the yard and cool off some. About  I tried to call Mary and found that phones were not working so I had Sam drive me over to make sure she was OK. She was still sick and was feeling poorly. I took enough time to cool off and headed back.

I must write about the Elders and Sister missionaries. They showed up at about 11:00 and were a great help all day. Without them there would not have been enough people to really keep things moving along. They are great about pitching in and doing whatever needs to be done. At about 5:00 I heard some of the elders say that all the internet lines they could use to write home were down. I called Mary and had her check to make sure ours was still working. It was, so I loaded up 6 missionaries took them back to the apartment. They got to check their mail and write to their families. Two of the elders just got here 5 days ago and this was the first time they could tell their families that they were OK and doing well. As they were doing this, I realized I should have called President Jensen and got his permission to do this – I may get another call tonight asking me if I was ever going to learn that he is the mission president and needs to be called when missionaries are going to do anything different.

When we got back they were loading up for another delivery. I really did not want to go because deliveries are really just a way for me to get away from sweating. But Sam wanted to go and so did some of the Elders and Sisters who had not gone earlier so away we went. The way there was twisting and filled with areas where we had to go through large puddles. At one of these a motorcycle hit a water covered pot-hole and almost fell under the wheels of Elder Peterson’s vehicle. Luckily he was missed by about a foot but he was not happy and really wet. Amazingly his bike started right up and off he went.

This stop was in the area around where John – the Peterson’s driver – and his family lives. We were able to go out on a bridge and watch the river run past and through a street of homes. The people there told us that the day before the water was about 2 feet higher and covered many more homes. I think I have seen enough waterlogged homes for one week. I doubt if I will go on any more deliveries except to the University.

When we got back – it took much less time than going – the work was done for the day. Sam ate his dinner and then we headed to KFC to get some dinner. Mary was really happy to see KFC because the cheese and crackers she was eating was not really what she wanted.

If the rains continue, the mess here in Jakarta are only going to get worse. They say that it is still not as bad as it was in 2002 but it could get that way.

04 February 2007 – Sunday

It is a good thing today is Fast Sunday because we really did not have any time for breakfast. We did get in a half hour reading the Kitab Mormon before Sam rang the doorbell. We left early because we did not know how bad the traffic would be or if there were any flooded areas that we would have to go around.

It turned out that there was little traffic and no flooded areas. However we did have to go through one area where it was obvious from the debris on the road and a business that was pumping out water in their parking structure that at one time the road had been completely under water and perhaps would have been unpassable. But since the water had gone down we made it to the Tangeran chapel a half hour early and were some of the first people there.

We went to the Tangeran I sacrament meeting and SS. Then we went to Tangeran II sacrament meeting. In the first sacrament meeting we did not have the elders translate for us and we did not understand much at all. Then in TII’s meeting we had elder Roper translate for us and he did an excellent job giving us an almost word for word translation. Unfortunately that mean we know what is going on but we do not really hear the Indonesian words. In the future we are going to ask the Elders to give us a summary of what is being said so we know what is being talked about but we can still listen and try to understand for ourselves.

Elder Roper, his companion and a number of PH bretheren help move a couple of sisters in TII move out of their flooded home. It was not badly flooded but they can not live there until the water goes away. The sisters bore their testimonies of the blessings of having PH help and the Lord protecting most of their valuables. Agus – one of the men we work with in ERS – bore testimony about his recent illness and how he has not been able to fast. If he does not fast the rest of the family does not fast so he ask the Lord to help him fast for today and he has been fine. He spoke of the power and comfort that comes from being a member of the Church and the blessings they have. Another brother bore his testimony of the importance of a 72 hour supply. His family had practiced for an emergency and even though they did not need it this time, they feel safer knowing that it is there if they do need it. The preparations also drew the family closer together.

Earlier I had asked the District President brother Mack how many families who are members had been flooded and he said that they know about 6 in the district but there may be more because they have not been able to contact everyone.

The ride back to the apartment went fast – mainly because I managed to get a short nap. We came home because we needed to change into work clothes and Mary really needed to eat something before we went back to work in the kitchen. I noticed that we have been so busy that we have not been keeping the kitchen clean so I spent some time taking care of that. Hopefully next week we can see what it will cost for a service to come in a couple of times week so that the deep cleaning will be kept up.

As we set in Sacrament today and could not understand much I realized that while we have been reading the Kitab Mormon and learning to recognize words, we have not been trying to speak them ourselves nor have we been listening to any conference talks in Indonesia where we can follow along with the text. I decided that I will do this for 30 minutes to an hour each day so that I can start to understand better.

Now it is time to wake Mary from her short nap and head for the church.

By the time we got to the church things were in full swing. It seems that they did not have PH and RS so people could start working on meals. I must confess that I was not a lot of help today. I would work for 20 minutes and then I would have to cool off. I was never tired, just really hot. Mary hit a point where she had to find a place and just sit for an hour or so. Her back was killing her. Mary and I did help put together 200 or so baby kits with powdered milk, crackers, powder, and baby oil. But there were plenty of branch members and elders to help so they produced some 1400 meals.

I went on one delivery to a kitchen that we had been to before. In fact it was near where I took most of my flood pictures. The last time we were there we could drive out by going over a bridge. The water was about 5 feet below it. Today we could not go that way because the water was about 3 feet over the bridge.

It is great to be involved in this effort to ease a little of the suffering. Especially to see how the Indonesian saints are willing to work so hard in such oppressive heat.  I noticed yesterday that they do not just turn out meals, but that they are make properly prepared meals. That is they cut the vegetables, mix sauces, and no short cuts are taken. They do everything just as they would if it was  their own family meals they were preparing.

We got home at about 8:30 and are so tired we do not even want to fix anything to eat. I settle for a cup of ice cream and some Ritz crackers. Not what is considered a well balanced meal.

03 February 2007 – Saturday

We were going to get organized and clean up the apartment today but the Humanitarian effort is not going to allow us to do that. But a messy apartment is nothing compared to the loss of homes and possessions that this continual rain is causing thousands of poorer people in Jakarta.

Here I sit in an expensive apartment, warm, dry and having just eaten breakfast while they are in some temporary camp wondering if they are going to get a meal today, if they will be able to get back into their home anytime soon, and things like that.

I slept like a rock. The alarm woke me and I was the first one at the gym. I did an easy 30 minutes on the bike – it went fast because I was watching Tom Hanks in ‘Big’ and trying to read the Indonesian sub-titles. It really is an entertaining movie.

Back at the apartment I was just sitting down to write in this journal when Mary yelled that there was someone at the door.Since she was in no condition to answer it was a good thing that I was already dressed. It turned out to be the Jakarta Post delivery person who wanted to collect his money for February. Remembering elder Leishman’s warning about getting a receipt, I had him sign for the cash and he will bring me back a receipt on Monday.

We read from the Kitab Mormon – reading continues to become easier but we still have a long ways to go when it comes to speaking and hearing the language. With the Lord’s help we will achieve our goals to be able to teach in Bahasa Indonesian.

We arrived at the tent kitchen at about 9:00 and the work was already under way. I managed to immediately cut one of my fingers while trying to chop green beans. I did better with onions and soybean cakes. President Jensen arrived with a load of missionaries and they pitched right in. I am sure for some of them it was the first time they had peeled and chopped up so many different foods.

With all of this help, we put together 300 lunch meals. This includes traditional foods based on rice, vegetables, eggs and a small amount of meat. It is wrapped in a waxed paper, tied with rubber bands and a spoon is slid under the band. This an a serving of good water is a serving for one meal.

During the morning Elder Subandriyo asked me to write a short article to send to the Church News and the Liahona – the Church magazine in Indonesia. I wrote the following:

Mr. Saragih:

Here is the story and some pictures I promised to send you. I hope that you can use them in your magazine

Elder William Pier
Gereja Yesus Kristus dari Orang-Orang Suci Zaman Akhir

Jakarta, Indonesia – Saturday, February 3, 2007

On February 1, the worst floods since the disastrous one of 2002 hit Jakarta, Indonesia. Throughout Jakarta, almost 50,000 people were driven from their homes by the quickly rising waters.

By the next morning, February 2, the members of the Jakarta Selatan branch working under a grant from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Charities, had started working on gathering food supplies and setting up a kitchen to prepare two meals a day for 500 of the people who had to relocate to temporary camps. The members of the branch are not strangers to this situation. During the floods of 2002 for over a week they supplied three meals a day for 500 people.

Since it was still raining heavily, a crew set up a large tent for protection and moved in the needed cooking equipment. While the kitchen was being set up the sisters purchased the food. By early afternoon, the stoves were cooking rice and other food was being prepared for cooking. Through the efforts of dedicated men and women, by six in the evening the first load of food was distributed to anyone in need.

On Saturday morning the cooking started early and the members of the branch were joined by missionaries from the Jakarta Indonesia Mission serving in the area. The Elders and Sisters pitched in and did whatever needed to be done. Guided by smiling sisters of the branch, young men quickly learned to peel garlic, cut green beans and other tasks that are not usually part of their missionary efforts.

The work is not easy, the tent captures the heat from the stoves, but there is never a word of complaint. But there are lots of busy hands and smiling faces that reflect the feelings within each person who is helping because they know that when they are serving those who are less fortunate than themselves they are also serving God.

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By the time it was done it was time to make the first delivery. I went along to take some pictures to include with the article. We traveled to a center that was being run by the Catholic Relief and dropped off our meals. Some of the elders went along and help deliver the food. We were disappointed that we were not able to give any of the meals directly to the people, but realized that our food was only a small amount of what was needed for the many hundreds who were in the temporary camp. We did get to talk to some of the people. Although their homes were covered with up to 10 feet of water and many of their few possessions lost, we did not see any sadness in their eyes. In fact they smiled and talked with the elders. One woman was about 8 ½ months pregnant and she was one of those who were happy to talk and smile.

On the way back to the church the driver stopped on a bridge where we could see one of the flooded areas. What was once streets were now waterways. The humble homes were often buried to their roofs in brown water. I took a lot of pictures but nothing can really show the disaster that continues to be caused.

While we were gone work had not stopped and more meals were being created. I help Elder Subandriyo move a sign that announced our ‘Public Kitchen.’ As I was looking at it I thought that we should have something like that on the vehicles that deliver the food. So I went to the computer and created one that would fit on a sheet of paper. John – the Petersen’s driver – laminated the sheets and taped them all around the delivery vehicles.

I was introduced to a reporter from a magazine that is sent to all the churches in Indonesia. He did not have a camera with him so I volunteered to send him some of my pictures along with the story I had written. Hopefully we will get some publicity from this.

We then took out another 400 meals to a different camp. This one was much larger – there seemed to be 2000-3000 being sheltered. Once again we were only able to deliver the meals and not distribute them. But it did not matter. What mattered was that we were doing good in the world.

At this point I must say that I do not handle the heat well at all. Inside the tent there are six stoves going at once. Add this to the normal Jakarta heat and humidity and it is truly like an oven. I work for a while and then must get out of the tent and cool down. Mary does much better than I do – she has proven to be a real trooper- she has set for hours cutting and peeling. So have Elder and Sister Petersen and the young sisters and elders. Of course the major part of the work is done by the Indonesian sisters and brothers. They just pitch in and work for hours on end. What surprised me was that the married and older men are able to peel and chop vegetables with the best of the women. I guess it means in an Indonesian house the men help out with the meal preparation. The younger men will work but they are also likely to find a place to gather and avoid work. But when they do work they also work hard.

By the time we got back from second deliver the food preparation was over for the day. There was another 170 meals to be delivered but we passed on going this time. I wanted to get home and e-mail off the article and some pictures.

When we did get home, Mary got on the computer and down loaded the pictures I have been taking. I then figured out how to edit some of them and make them available for e-mailing. She then wrote letters and sent them to friends and family. She also typed my article into this computer so I could send it to those I had promised.

While this was going on I ordered some dinner from the little place in the complex. It was the first real meal I had eaten today. They had provided lunch at the kitchen but the traditional food is too spicy for my taste and so I did not eat much. Mary on the other hand seemed to love it. She is becoming a real Indonesian.

We wanted to go to bed but we had to stay up to watch the final episode of Amazing Race Asia. It was the first one here and it was won by a team of two women who worked together. It is the first time that any AR has been won by a team of women. I really liked watching this race because the people are not noisy and quarrelsome as the Americans.

Now I have managed to stay up until after 11. I hear the rain pouring down outside. More bad news for Jakarta and more work for us. Tomorrow we will go to church and then head back to the kitchen to help prepare meals. I am sure we will have a lot more helpers from those who will stay after church.

02 February 2007 – Friday

Today was one of those days when one phone call changed everything we expected to do.

The morning went as normal. At the gym I did sit-ups, bike and some upper body exercises. I was happy to see the scale hit just 81.2 so that means I am under 81 kg. By the time I was through it was once again pouring rain – the season is obviously here. We read the Kitab Mormon for about 45 minutes and then packed up everything we needed for a day at the office and then to teach English class at the university.

Sam came and picked us up right at 9:30. As I was getting into the car he noticed I did not have on my tie. So I of course headed back up to the apartment. Just as I was walking in my cell phone went off and it was Elder Peterson telling me to change into work clothes because we were going to help with providing humanitarian aid to some fo the flood districts.

It turned out my biggest contribution was to help put up a very nice military tent that was about 25 x 50. We really had to do some jury rigging because we could not drive stakes into the concrete area where they wanted to put up the tent. I must say that the Indonesian saints would have gotten it put up without myself and Elder Peterson, but I think it is more secure because of my input. I made sure that it has plenty of support so if a good wind comes up it will not immediately come down. All together it took about 90 minutes or more to get the tent up and all of this time it rained. I was soaked through and through – thank goodness that it is warm in Indonesia.

The rest of the day – from about 1:30 to 6:30 had Mary and I involved in helping to prepare meals that will be given out to some of the flood victims. Elder Subandriyo and his wife was in charge and they are great administrators – they get right in and help with the work. I helped set up the stoves, cut up vegetables, washed pots and pans, and helped make up the food into meals. Mary peeled lots of little onions and cloves of garlic.

I do not want anyone to thing that we worked for 8 hours straight but we did work much of that time. It would not have been bad except the rain stopped and it got hot. Inside the tent there were 6 stoves putting off tons of heat. I could not stop sweating. Ever so often I had to retreat to the office where the air-conditioning would cool me off.

They talked about preparing food for 500 meals but they actually only cooked enough for about 120.  With the number of women there, that was about all they could have done. If they are planning on doing more tomorrow – they seem to be starting at about 5:30 a.m. – they are going to need a lot more people and a lot more food. The main slow point is getting the rice cooked and making up the meals. They need at least four meal making lines going and they need to get lots of rice cooked well ahead of time.

In 2002 they got it down to a science and they feed 500 meals three times a day. I am sure that they will can do this again.

When they ran out of food I decided we were no longer useful. It will only take one car to deliver the few meals they produced. Therefore I asked Sam to drive us home. On the way Mary wanted to stop at KFC to get some chicken. It is fourth time we have had KFC since we got here. Two of them been for lunch during some church event. I did not think tonight’s chicken was as good as that which we had for the CW a couple of weeks ago.

Now I am going to take a really hot shower and try to stay awake until 10:30. Mary is watching Mighty Joe Young…the new one.

01 February 2007 – Thursday

Normal morning – I am sleeping well and often wake up just before the alarm is ready to go off. I did sit-ups, bike and treadmill this morning. I seem to be finally losing some weight – I was very close to 180 this morning. Breakfast is a glass of OJ and a small slice of chocolate cake – and I do mean small. I am surprised how little we do eat each day. I guess we are so busy that food is not important and fixing it is too much of a task.

Back at the apartment I wrote a letter to Bishop Pletsch about out mission. I will try to write at least one a month.

Hello Bishop:

Sorry it has taken a couple of months for us to report in but between the problem with the cable in the Pacific being torn and the fact that we did not have internet in our temporary aparment we have been using our little time on the net to write to family.

I notice that it has been cold there. Here it never gets below 70 and most of the time it is closer to 90. That would not be so bad if it was not for the humidity. It is now rainy season and so it stays in the 80% range most of the time.

We are having a great mission. Our particular calling is to run the employment center, put on Career Workshops keep an eye on two districts of elders, and be shadow leaders to three wards. That requires a lot of running around the city. Due to the ridiculous traffic here, that means we spend a lot of time in our car sitting in traffic jams.

But none of that really matters. What matters is that we are doing the Lords work and helping Indonesia become stronger.

Last Sunday we went to one of the branches and was delighted to see a non-LDS man who we helped at the employment center at church with the elders. While he was at the center I helped him clean up his resume and cover letter and then gave him a quick language lesson. I told him about the free English classes that the senior couples give each week and it seems he went to one. I do not know how it went from that to going to Church but it does not matter.

Yesterday I got another nice surprise. A pilot program that I proposed for helping soon to be released Indonesian missionaries increase their English skills to a point where they can be accepted at BYU Hawaii. I made the proposal because soon after we got here, Elder Subandriyo, the Area 70, told me a story about how a senior sister took the time to help a young man with personal tutoring to pass the Michigan test. He did not do anything but tell me the story. A day or so later the program I suggested just fell into place. Hopefully this program will make it possible for all Indonesian missionaries to acheive this goal.

Without a good education, Indonesians have little chance of getting a job that pays enough to support a family and have any time to serve in the church. Even with a decent education if you do not work for a mulit-national or move up into management in an  Indonesian firm, you will probably be laid off when you reach 42-45.

We also teach English classes. On Thursday we go out to one of the branches and teach about 20 members – few non-members attend but I am working on that. I think we should have more non-LDS than LDS. The missionaries help out with the classes – we need their Indonesian – and so it would be a great help to them.

On Friday we teach the staff at a local University. We just started last week and we are still trying to figure out what they need but hopefully by the end of class tomorrow we will be set.

Did you notice in last weeks Church News about our mission president and his wife being adopted into a very important Indonesian family? We were there and received a beautiful shawl as part of his company. This is a very traditional ceremony and is very seldom done. The last one was in 1979 so it was a truly great honor for them and the Church. A documentary on it was shown on Indonesian TV so Mary and I got to be on TV. Hopefully it will open some important doors for the Church here.

Well it is 7 A.M. and we need to get busy with companion study – we are reading the Kitab Mormon to help with our Indonesian.

Let everyone in the ward know that we are having a wonderful, spiritual time. The senior couples do work that only they can do. One couple in the mission has doubled the attnedance of a branch by working with the less actives. The Bennetts, who only arrived in their area yesterday have already been out with the missionaries and helped them get a fairly new convert who had not been coming to church to commit to be there this Sunday.

I love a statement made at the MTC to our group of senior couples: It is good that you are going out into the world to do the Lords work instead of sitting at home waiting for your birth certificate to expire.

The Chruch is alive and growing in Indonesia.

Peace to you and your fine family

Went to the office at the regular time and worked on my lesson for tonight. I got a note from Cliff Rees that he did not get the deposit on our apartment. I checked with the office and they assured me it was made yesterday.

I know that by being in the office we are fulfilling our calling but it still seems to me like a waste of time. We usually get no more than one person a week – I keep thinking that we should be open on Saturdays. At least those when we are not traveling. But if it is not regular people will not come because they can not afford to pay the transportation cost. Before we leave here I am going to figure out a better way to do this. At least we have plenty of time to prepare for English classes and to study our scriptures – we have not been doing the latter enough.

At 12:30 we left to go to Global Doctors to get my tooth re-glued. While we waited I took a short nap. Mary did not think that was fair. The dentist was a woman and we had a nice conversation about her family. Her son wants to be a chef and she thinks if that is what he really wants to do that is fine. It only took a few minutes for her to take care of my problem and the cost – including a first time administration fee – was $30.

By the time I was done it was time to head for Tangeran and district meeting. The traffic was light so we got there early enough to go to a store to get the right size copy paper – the paper we bought last time is too large or at least to us it is too large. We also bought a couple of briefcases and some other things.

District meeting went too long but we had a chance to talk to the missionaries about trying new and different approaches to the missionary work. Right now they keep telling us how hard it is and it is almost like they do not think they can be successful. I told them my LeGrand Richards story about his mission in the Northern States. I pointed out that they can not change the nature of the people – the only thing they can change is the way they feel and they way they present the gospel. I think at least elder Thiemann got the idea and I believe it will also help elder Roper.

Elder gave a lesson on obedience and while he was teaching I happened to open to D&C 58 which fits perfectly into the lesson. Not only is obedience talked about but the idea that they are laying a foundation for the future. Hopefully it helped them in some way.

English class went well. We started on time and got most of the children involved. The problem is that the young children who do not have parents there are shy and it is almost impossible to get them to really take part. But where there are interested parents who are willing to practice in the home, I believe some good is being done.

There was a young woman who did not have a way home so Sam suggested we drive her. It should have not been out of our way, but because of the flooding it added a half hour to our trip. Some of the roads were interesting to get through – more holes than road. Twice we were directed away from flooded areas by what were just concerned citizens standing out in the rain keeping people from going where it was not passable.

We got home by 8:30 and pretty much collapsed. We watched the end of a movie and then went to bed. Dinner was an ice cream bar.

I almost forgot that while we were driving to Jakarta Raya, we got a call from Elder and Sister Christensen, the area directors for Asia. They are coming to Indonesia on the last weekend of the month and will be here for almost a week. I guess we will be kind of their hosts while they are here – I think we will be having a CW in the East during that time and they will want to come along.

We went to bed about 10:30 and I started to read Kitab Mormon but I was too tired to really get anything out of it. So I just turned out my light and went to sleep. It was a good day for us.