These are the great missionaries that we have district meeting with each Friday – at least this is the current ones. The young missionaries change on a fairly regular basis. The Walkers are the Country Directors for LDS Charities and we are nominally under them. They are amazing folks who are great examples of how the Lord puts people in just the right place at the right time and then lets them go to work.

04 April 2008 – Friday – Tender Mercies

16 months ago we walked through the doors of the MTC to begin this fabulous experience. We truly had no idea of what really lay ahead of us and if someone had told us I doubt if we would have believed them. It is one of those things that you can not share with those who have not ‘been there and done that.’

Also today – it is 4 A.M. in Provo – is Brian’s 30th birthday. It does not seem possible that our ‘little boy’ hit the big 3 – 0!

As the day went on it seemed the Lord was going to make it a truly special day. The morning went well with a good workout, breakfast and reading from the Kitab Mormon. I used my personal study time to continue to try to read from the Liahona – the time passes very quickly because I have to be very focused when translating the Indonesian.

Sam picked us up and we stopped to get the copies of “25 Rules” we were having printed. They were perfect and I am sure the folks in Solo are going to appreciate them.

From there we went to the ‘Departmen Tenaga Kerja Dan Transmigrasi’ – that is RI’s department of work and transmigration – to see if we could find someone who could get us a complete listing of the training facilities on Java. They have this great program where for very little cost – free if you can convince them you are poor enough – they will teach you a trade skill that will provide you with a liveable wage. We had visited one of them earlier and were quite impressed.

The building was huge but the information desk sent us across the parking lot to the 7th floor of one wing. When we got off the elevator we were in a hallway with no signs anywhere. So we stuck our head into the first office we came to and asked the three people there for the office of the director of the training program, Abdul Wahab Bangkona.

As only the Lord could do, he was one of the three people in the office. However it was not his office at all, he was just visiting! His offices had been moved a month ago and the information desk was not up to date. He graciously took us through a maze of hallways and down some stairs to his office – at least an office as it seems they were still moving in and his office was not finished.

We then spent the better part of an hour getting to know him, learning about the program, telling him about our assignment, and in the end getting a complete list of training schools through all of Indonesia. We were able to do this without a translator because he spoke quite good English. During the time we were with him we found that he only returned from visiting Central Java last night. If we had gone in yesterday as we first thought to do he would not have been available. We left as good friends and he asked us to please write if we had any other questions. Truly the Lord blessed us as we ‘went and did what the Lord commanded.” I believe we now have enough to put forward a program that we can send to each branch president letting them know about the training school in their areas.

From there we hurried to the mission home where we shared another district meeting with the Walkers and the young missionaries. They alternated between English and Indonesian with Elder Burr being our interpreter. They concentrated on how they could use the Book of Mormon to over come some of the problems they were having with current investigators.

I should mention here that Elder Burr has replaced Elder Smith as one of the office elders and Elder Thiemann has replaced Elder Teng as one of the Assistants to the President. I was very happy to hear from Elder Bastian that he is actually starting to feel better. He has soldiered through months of headaches that nothing seemed to touch. Mary gave him some Aleve and that seems to may have been what has helped him the most.

After DM, we had lunch in the mission home. Even though they was not there, President and Sister Marchant had arranged for a great meal to be served. It was made better by our sitting around the table and talking to the other missionaries.  Continuing the successful day, I had a long list of things to accomplish at the mission office and every one of them got done.

I need to add a note here that while we were driving to our first meeting and then to the mission office, I read and re-read a talk by Elder Bednar about the need for the members to come to class prepared to participate and not just to be taught. He also pointed out that the teacher needs to allow the members of the class to act and not just be acted upon. I had read it before but this time it seemed to speak to me and my need to be better prepared to contribute to the class – not just from my knowledge but by actually studying the material, searching the scriptures, and praying for the Spirit to be with me.

After lunch and getting everything else done, we went to Sogo for some shopping and of course BreadTalk for some goodies. Back at our apartment we read about 5 pages from the Kitab Mormon. Mary then tried to nap and I went down to have my haircut and pickup our cleaning. It is so convenient to have all of these services right in the complex. The rest of the evening just flowed by with dinner, posting on the blog, and reading from the Kitab Mormon. We hit a couple of sections that seemed to be translated into Indonesian by someone other than whoever did most of the translation. They used words that do not appear often and some case not at all anywhere else. But that is just an excuse – after reading it four times we really should know what it says.

I am thankful for this day and the many tender mercies the Lord showed to us. He truly blesses his missionaries.

Steak anyone? L to R – Elder Herman, Prause, Cheney and Manullang with Anni, Sam and Mary in the background. The Tangerang gang – I mean district – together together – L to R – Elder Prause, Manullang, Cheney, Herman. This is a left over picture from Monday’s trip to the fabric mall. The picture does not do justice to the rainbow of colors, but the size and weight of the load is evident.

03 April 2008 – Thursday

Normal morning including personal study – I continue to work on Indonesian – and reading from the Kitab Mormon.

At the office Mary prepares for her English class and I fight the internet connection until it starts to work. I am afraid my patience was a little thin today. I finally get it to hold and go about handling e-mail, etc. While we were working, Agus came by and told us that there would not be an English class today at the mission office. So we finished up what we were doing and had Sam drive us back to the apartment to eat lunch and read from the Kitab Mormon before heading for Tangerang.

We had a great night at Tangerang but I was sorry to see Elder Worwood had already left for Bogor to be Elder Vatcher’s companion. We got to again meet Elder Herman who we got to meet with for a couple of weeks and then he was sent to Surabaya. He is now Elder Cheney’s companion. There is a lot of moving around going on and this was Elder Manullang’s last DL here. He will be moving to Solo on Monday.

We had a good DM – they have a number of baptisms lined up including two on Sunday just before Elder Manullang leaves. It is a good way to end his time in Tangerang. It is also nice for Elder Prause who is his companion and will be staying here.

Agus and Cathern’s children came to English class along with one of the Elder’s investigators. I had them play ‘Fruit and Vegetable’ Bingo and then we went through some opposites. The younger children and the investigator were helped in all of this by the missionaries. I think they had a good time and learned some things. Just before we left I asked them to repeat a couple of the Articles of Faith and they got 2 of the first 3. That was encouraging.

We closed up the chapel and Mary and I treated the Elders to Warung Steak. We were able to give a good meal to 8 of us for just under $20. The elders were still finishing up when we took our leave for the long trip home.

All in all it was a good day with some chances to gain spiritual strength, to serve others, read and ponder the scriptures, and to share a meal with four fine elders. Add to that finding out where to go to get information we need for one of Elder Subandriyo’s projects and it was a fruitful day indeed.

My day ends much as it started – reading conference talks in Indonesian.

 

No we did not go to the fabric store today – these pictures come from our Monday trip. Loads of fabrics are carried, pushed, and driven everywhere. Some loads -like the ones pictured are huge and we are amazed that they can be carried at all. As you know carefully packed fabric is not light. But these folks do this many times a day, 6 days a week.

02 April 2008 – Wednesday

We woke much too early and while Mary tried to go back to sleep I walked/jogged a mile and then went to the gym to finish off my exercise for the day. Back at the apartment I worked on the journal before having breakfast and then reading from the Kitab Mormon.

Since it was P-day there was laundry to do and we needed to neaten the house before the cleaning lady came. We went back to the company we had used before and this time they sent us a great housekeeper who spent 4 hours deep cleaning most of the house. It really, really needed it. While she was finishing up I managed to catch a much needed short nap.

Later I was thinking about yesterday and remembered becoming enthralled with the April issue of the Ensign and decided to write some comments on the articles.

We read again from the Kitab Mormon – we have passed the 2/3 mark and should finish before the end of April. It is still really hard to translate some of the sections correctly or at least to get them to agree with the English version. Part of this is because it does not translate exactly but some of it is because we mistake words or the sequence of the words.

The other day I was talking to Sam about spoken Indonesian and he said that they shorten many words when speaking that are used in full when writing. I continue to gain respect for Indonesians who have learned to speak English.

Mary spent much of the day crocheting baby caps – she now has done 10.

The April Ensign –

I am not sure if this is just a great issue or if I was more prepared to read it, but I found the April 2008 Ensign to be wonderful. Besides inspiring stories, I learned something about the calling of a new president that I did not know before. On page 17 under ‘When the Prophet Dies,’ it says that the complete Quorum of the 12 vote to see if they should reorganize the First Presidency or whether the Quorum should preside over the Church. Of course the only time I can think when that might happen is if the Senior Apostle was so sick or mentally disabled that he could not lead. However it does show that the Lord has a way to make sure that the Church always has strong leadership.

I really enjoyed the article on Elder Cook. Obviously he was well prepared by the Lord to serve at this time. The next article on ‘Finding Answers from Conference’ with stories from some Saints on how the conference helped them make decisions that changed their lives. The one about the couple who thought they would stay home for a while after serving 3 missions in 6 years especially struck me. I must confess the thought of waiting a year instead of 6 months between missions has crept into my mind but this reinforced the need to go right back out while we are healthy. However I do not think Mary will let me sell the house so we have only a condo to maintain.

The article that struck me most was the one on tutoring in Washington D.C. The effect on the students and the tutors are amazing. It made me think about tutoring in South Provo where there seems to be a need among the schools there. It would give me a chance to keep my hand in teaching English or reading or something until we leave again.

‘The Joy of Nurturing Children’,’ By Divine Design,’ ‘My Journal, My Testimony,’
and ‘In the Path of the Tornado’ all held my interest and gave me things to think about. So I devoured the Ensign and was truly spiritually fed. Later I will go back and read some of the articles again to see what I missed the first time. It is great that no matter where in the world the Saints reside, they can have this wonderful information come into their home each month.

I am always looking for big or unusual motorcycle loads. So when I saw this one with just a very small file securely strapped to the seat, I decided it was my minimalist load. Another load of flowers is not really new but this one had the tallest flowers wrapped up for protection while the rest was just blowing in the wind – that is something I have not seen before. The Walls delivery man on a two wheel bike is not often seen. Usually they have a three wheeler with the coolers in front. Walls ice cream is one of the many things I will miss.

1 April 2008 – Tuesday

It is a new month and in America this would be April Fools day – which will not start there for another couple of hours. I had a good workout this morning. I am determined to arrive home both physically and spiritually healthier than when I left. I look forward to seeing how my tests come back when we get our physicals.

We read from the Kitab Mormon – this morning it was the exchange of letters between Moroni and the king of the Lamanites. Moroni might have been a great military leader but his diplomatic skills – especially when it came to writing letters – could have used some help.

We have our regular shift at the Employment office. The internet connection comes and goes until I call Hendra to complain. I found out later he called Speedy and raised Cain. It worked as it became steady and true for the rest of the day.

I wrote a number of e-mails – one to make it official that the IEC was cancelled, talked to Tom on Skype – Kelli is getting big, and ended up calling Bishop Pletsch to see if he got my e-mail about wanting to speak on the 8th of June so the family could come. Once I got through with the e-mail and getting the internet working, I started in on more vocabulary for those who are preparing for the Michigan test. About 40% of the test is about vocabulary so it is very important. 40% more is about reading comprehension and the last 20% is grammar. We can do quite a bit about the first two in a month or so, but we have had less luck on the last because they often ask things that even native English speakers have to really think about. Mary worked on her English class stuff and then posted the latest Workshop enrollment.

Sam got lunch for me – the first time I have eaten street food in a couple of weeks. Mary had a tuna sandwich. I am going to miss eating off the street – some of the best meals I have had are those and none cost over 80 cents – today’s was 60 cents.

One of the e-mails I sent was an April Fools that said we were extending for 3 months so we could help train the couple that is replacing us. The Christensens wrote and said they were not sure if it was a April Fools joke or not. Just a minute ago Jim wrote to say that I got him good but Kristy did notice my April Fools P.S. at the bottom.

We went to the mission home so Mary could teach her English class. While she was doing that I got to read the latest Church News and talk to President Marchant for a while about missionary work. He is worried about the lack of couples that are being called to Indonesia. They are very important everywhere but especially in Central Java because of the HS English class.

Elder Walker was really busy. The wheelchair order finally came in so he was arranging to have them delivered to different locations for distribution. They were supposed to be here last September but some paperwork problems delayed them 6 months. Elder Walker is an amazing man – he is really focused on helping the people of Indonesia in as many ways as he can and does not take no for an answer when he thinks the project is vital. I do not know why I am surprised – after all the Lord knew what kind of man Elder Walker was when he had him sent here as Country Director. Like the stripling warriors, Elder Walker does not doubt so the Lord continues to sustain him.

Sam worked with Diaz on his passport so they can go to the Philippines to be sealed. Early today I wrote a letter of recommendation for Sam saying that he was my employee. It seems you can not get a passport if you are not employed. After Mary was finished with her class, we headed back to the apartment.

Late afternoon and evening flies by – We read from the Kitab Mormon about the first battle of Moroni’s 2000 warriors. When I read about their trust in the Lord and how they had been taught by their mothers never to doubt, I can feel their strength. Elder Kane sent out a request for help on getting on Skype so I called him and got him up and running. Amazingly enough our connection held for both video and audio – strange how it comes and goes. I forgot to ask him how he liked his new Mac.

This is the skirt that started it all. It is a beautiful pattern in gold and shades of green. I tried to get a clearer picture of the details. The material and the sewing cost under $10.

31 March 2008 – Monday

Today was a semi-P-Day for us. I did a lot of studying Indonesian during the early morning hours – I could not go back to sleep. We read from the Kitab Mormon before leaving to go buy fabric for some ties for me. The reason for this was that when I showed up at Zone Conference with a new tie that matched one of Mary’s skirts, everyone loved it. I really liked the tie but felt that I should not covenant it, so I ended up giving the two I had to Elder Kane and Elder Roper who were the two that admire it most. Our trip today is to see if we can find the same stall in that huge fabric building and get enough material for another tie or two.

Luckily we were early enough that getting into the parking lot did not take the 45 minutes it did last time. However the parking structure was packed as was the building itself. We retraced our route from the last time and after buying more different material for tie making, we found the right stall and they did have more material.

**** Now fast forward 4 hours and while we were reading from the Kitab Mormon, President Marchant called and wanted to know where we got the material for my ties that I gave away. It turned out that the President wants to have ties made for the elders and skirts for the sisters. We told him where it was and then called to see if they had 30 – 40 meters of the same color and pattern. It turned out they didn’t but would be able to get it by tomorrow. So it will not be long before the official Indonesian Mission Tie will be Mary’s special pattern.

Now back to the morning. After getting everything we wanted or at least enough to satisfy us today, we headed for the mission office where I turned in the Michigan Tests to brother Tandiman, got the mail, and arranged to get some packing tape tomorrow so we can make up packages to send home.

Our next stop was Sogo for groceries – especially orange juice – and bakery goods. Then it was time to go back to our apartment. We had lunch, read from the Kitab Mormon, and then worked on different projects. Mine were working on pictures and the blog, and making up some vocabulary lists and exercises for Titan and Hani. This last task takes lots of time and thought. But I enjoy doing it and it is a good way to use the time.

We read from the Kitab Mormon for the third time. We have now made up for the days that we either missed altogether or only read once. We are in the middle of the war between the “Freemen” and the Lamanites. We just got to where the 2000 stripling warriors are joining the army of the Nephites.

Mary continues to work on English games for the Central Java HS classes and making caps for infants. Sunday she got another four skeins of yarn for the project. I spent my time working on various projects that never seem to end. Elder Hallstrom’s conference talk was my bedtime reading. Spencer W. Kimball’s “Do it” and “Do it Now” does not translate all that well into Indonesian.

 

Mary’s huge piece of fish and chips. Mary and Ed as we were dropping him off at the airport for his flight back to SF. We always enjoy the floral arrangements that are in the tower foyer but today’s included these gorgeous lilies that had just opened up. Flowers and plants are two of the glories of Indonesia and as I have written before, even the most humble house seems to have some growing outside.

30 March 2008 – Sunday

Today we went to Jakarta Raya branch for church. Sam dropped us off and we stood with Elders Thiemann and Suseno to greet the people. Most branch members tend to cut it really close in their timing. Since it is also a small branch – at least as far as active members are concerned – it often looks very sparse when the meeting starts. But they have a great spirit and those who come are very strong.

The sacrament theme was the Word of Wisdom. It is difficult to come up with something new to say about that subject but the speakers did their best to keep it interesting. After the sacrament meeting I was given an assignment to speak in Sacrament meeting on April 27. They did not give me a topic so I will start thinking about one. Since this will probably be my last opportunity – at least in JR – I want to make it meaningful.

We went to the Gospel Principle class where they showed a DVD of the beginning of the Church starting before the First Vision. After that the missionaries had a long discussion with their one investigator who seems to likes to question everything. Since it was the fifth Sunday, they had a combined meeting for RS/PH. The subject was the World Wide Leadership theme of The Family.

After the meeting we took a taxi back to the apartment. We read from the Kitab Mormon – we read for a short time this morning – and then I took a nap. Then it was once again back to posting on the blog and finishing the last of the current batch of pictures.

At 5:00 Sam and Annie came to take us to meet Ed for dinner. We were a little early so we looked for some place different to eat and found a Chili’s nearby. When we drove up Ed was waiting for us so we just loaded up him and his luggage and went to eat.

The food at Chili’s was excellent and the portions were huge. Mary had fish and chips and the piece of fish over-lapped her large plate. When we go back again, we will share one order along with a Blooming Onion. We had a great time talking to Ed about his trip, what we have been doing, etc. Since the restaurant was not even close to being full, we sat and talked until it was time to take him to the airport. We had a last hug and picture before driving away. He will have something like a 25 hour trip to San Francisco via Shanghai.

We bought Ed’s new but extra lap-top from him so now we have a spare. Unfortunately we can not both be on line at the same time because there is only one connection. I guess we could get a switch but it does not seem worthwhile for only two months.

Before turning off the lights I read part of an conference talk in Indonesian. I do not know if I am getting better or not. I certainly do not feel very confident.

Barat Zone Conference – 27 March 2008. The whole gang. Notice that President Marchant is on the phone. So is the life of a mission President. Sisters Sadimin and Marchant teaching the missionaries the proper way to clean and cook veggies. The Senior missionaries in the Barat Zone minus the Walkers who were with their driver at the hospital at Out Back Steak House.

This was our first view of the ferry that would carry us to Sumatra. Notice the interesting rust pattern on the side. I can not say that it gave us great confidence. However it turned out to be a smooth day and a fine ferry so our concerns were unfounded. The series of three shots is of one of the young men who jump off the side of the ferry to chase money that the passengers throw in. The dive is about 25 – 30 feet but the water they then swim in looks like a cesspool. They have to be very desperate, foolish or both to touch that water.

Sam managed to get us on to the bridge of the ferry so we could see the crew at work.

Once on Sumatra we took a tour off the main highway on a road that led through small towns and rice paddies. Along the road most houses had lots of plants and flowers growing. The road was very old and so crossing bridges such as this was common. Mary and I got out and walked across. We did get to the beach for a few minutes. The old fishing boat was there for atmosphere. Other than us the beach was empty.

Motorcycle loads on Sumatra are not much different from those on Java. These are loads of banana cakes. One of Sumatra’s claim to fame is their banana cakes and so large loads of them can be seem going through the streets – even in small villages. Mary liked the taste of the cakes but they did not do much for me.

As you can see we had lunch at an exotic restaurant where Mary met an old friend from the US. He seemed happy to see us.

On our way back to the ferry to head home we came across these two truck loads of elephants. Three in one truck and four in the other. When they went around a corner it looked like they were about to fall over. Mary decided we had to have some souvenir from Sumatra so we stopped at one of the roadside stands to buy some.

On the ferry trip back to Jakarta we went to the front of the ship where we became celebrities. The first group of four had great fun making jokes about us but they were friendly folks. Olga was determined to have her picture taken with us and later I gave her a pass-along card and told her to look us up in Jakarta.

As we approached Java, the sun begin to set. Every few minutes the sky changed colors. Going from white and gray to this final brilliant sunset. It was nice way to finish our trip – well at least our ferry ride. We still had 2 hours of driving to get home to our apartment.

29 March 2008 – Saturday

Back to a more normal schedule today. My morning included going to the gym, reading from the Kitab Mormon, and catching up this journal. We gave Sam the morning off so we took a taxi to the chapel.

As usual we had a quiet time at the office. We once again had problems with the internet but it finally settled down to be OK bit not until it had taken up a good portion of my time trying to get it to work. I then tried to figure out why the mike did not work on Skype. While testing it we did have an opportunity to talk to Tom for a while. I think I got that fixed also but I am not sure. Once those were settled I answered e-mail and worked on some English material. Mary worked on more games for learning English.

Sam came at noon and did an errand for us. Then he mentioned that he and Anne had an appointment to get their pictures taken. It turned out that it was just when we would be going back to the apartment so we told him to go ahead and we took a taxi back to the apartment. He assured us that they would be back in two or three hours.

At the apartment we read the Kitab Mormon and I took a short nap before catching another taxi back to the chapel to give the Michigan English Test to 8 young people. Only 7 of them showed up – 1 young man and 6 young women. There was District Priesthood at the same time but I had to miss that.

After the test I took a taxi back to the apartment. I checked with Sam to make sure he would be available to Mary to choir practice and found out they were still getting pictures taken. So when the time came I went with her to the chapel. As the taxi was taking me back to the apartment, Mary called to tell me that choir practice was cancelled so I told the driver to go back and pick her up. The driver thought it was great fun to make another circle. When we finally made it back to the apartment the total ride cost R 40,000 with a generous tip – about $4.40 US.

I spent almost all the evening editing the pictures from the last three days. I took about 250 and so a lot got tossed away and the remainder had to be titled and enhanced if needed. I got finished in time to read from the Kitab Mormon for the third time before heading for bed.

I can not say it was a greatly spiritual day, but I have learned that there are days when you keep very busy but no outstanding spiritual experiences. It is just that you have been serving others and God all day in small ways by doing things that need to be done, talking to others, and reading the scriptures. As the scriptures say ‘by small means, great things are brought to pass.’ Or something like that.