First Week of December

On Monday morning we were headed to a car that would take us to the train station, then a train to the airport, a flight to Jakarta, and a taxi to our hotel.  As Sister Porter rolled her suitcase down the ramp to the street, she noticed this interesting beetle, but did not mention it because they were in a hurry.  But of course Elder (Dr.) Porter saw it and took the time to examine it.

And here is the interesting point:  I thought it was monochrome silvery metallic.  But up close, it was much more complex and interesting.  My first impression was not quite accurate.  That principle applies to a lot of things in life.

Our trips to Jakarta give us an opportunity to sample various cuisine.  I found a Lebanesse restaurant only a short walk from our hotel.  It was great but we ate too much, considering that the meal started with a piece of incredible blueberry cheesecake.

Trips to Jakarta also give me a chance to be treated by a chiropractor.  Mine is located quite near the mission home, and is the president of the Indonesian chiropractors organization.  He is a native Indonesian, but went to an international school as a youngster and then chiropractic training in Australia.  He speaks perfect English with an American accent.

When we first started talking about a mission to Indonesia, I told the mission president that Medan would be fine, because there were three chiropractic clinics.  But all have closed.  In 2016, an Indonesian woman died after chiropractic treatment, causing a great deal of concern.  All expat chiropractors have been eliminated (the best one in Medan was Canadian).  A while back I saw a sign in Medan something about chiropractic school...and my chiropractor confirmed that indeed, they just enrolled the first class at a school in Jakarta that trains all the health professions.  It is a 5-year program so hopefully in five years it will be easier to find a chiropractor.

We had a very uplifting zone conference, including a visit from Elder Meurs of the Area Presidency.

They brought in professional translators because of the general authority.  Good exercises on teaching.

Our flight arrived back in Medan in time to make our Wednesday afternoon English class.


On Thursday we found out that the contract on our new church building had fallen through.  So we spent time scoping out new buildings and updating the status of those on the previous list.

That afternoon we had our last session with a great group of kids at an after-school program.  We brought fancy colored pencils as a going-away present.  But they each had to ask for one, in English.

On Friday, Elder Porter was preparing a talk that he would give the next day at the 4th Internasiional Conference on Biological Sciences and Biotechnology.  One of the brethren in our congregation is faculty at a local university, and invited him.

Sister Porter left for a while to help the new elders to purchase and deliver their desks, a carefully orchestrated dance that involved our credit card and multiple Grab cars.  One of the Grab drivers helped us lift the boxes, and he was gratefully tipped accordingly.

Elder (Dr.) Porter spent all day Saturday at the conference, and met an entomologist who works with mosquitos.

He had barely arrived home when the young sisters called and said that one was sick, could Sister Porter come and stay with her so that the other sister in the companionship could make an teaching appointment, going out with a member?

Sister Porter left in a hurry.  The young sister was warm, clammy and a bit disoriented.  Another car to the sister's house, which was the right move because the sister fell asleep within minutes.  She was much better the next day.