Missionary Journal - 28 June 1978 Wednesday

28 June 1978 Wednesday

We spent most of this morning answering questions which Lizion sent us from Morroco. She has some Amercan friends who have an antimormon book. Afer we got tired of that we went out. We had appts. with Blommaerts and Delanges. The one with Blommaerts didn’t go through so we hit up a few doors tracting and made an appointment for tonight and then went to Delanges. Mw Delanges daughter in law was there with her baby so we couldn’t teach. All of their daughters friends were there also so there was quite a bit of confusion going on.

Hilde was also in a bad mood. Elder Reber and I have made a mistake I think because we have gotten to[o] close to those girls in a way that is inappropriate for missionaries. They more or less expect it from us now and also I think the father has the wrong ideas about us now. I think he has the idea that we came to see his daughters instead of him. Elder Anderson did a good job of getting us back on the right track today.

After the daughter in law left, He and Mw Delange started talking about a ster [I think this was Dutch name for the Ensign, it means “star”] that we had left behind. She really has a lot of interest. We really have to work on getting the image of missionarys from the Church of Jesus Christ in their home. After dinner we taught Mr. Delaby with whom we had made that appointment. Him and his wife are older people but are real nice. Jan Sneyers appt. didn’t go through but we did teach a policeman, his wife and daughter. He was real friendy. He & his daughter don’t believe in God but his wife does. His wife did really want us to come back but he did[n’t]. His name is Mr Pir and we have seen him quite a bit in Vivloorde. I look forward to teaching them.

Artemis

Wednesday, April 2, 2026

Yesterday the Artemis rocket launched, and human beings headed back to the moon for the first time in 54 years. The last time we went to the moon was Dec 11, 1972. I was fourteen years old. Today’s flight is a big deal.

We won’t be landing on the moon on this trip, but we will be going further from earth than anyone has gone before. The trip will take ten days, and the crew includes a woman, a black man, a Canadian and an American man. They did their best to make this a multicultural and multinational event. I think that is good.

Yesterday the Artemis’s main engines along with two solid rocket boosters got the crew into orbit and then the boosters dropped off. The main engines boosted the capsule into a low earth orbit and then it dropped off. The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), basically the second stage, then boosted the capsule into a high earth orbit and then it dropped off. This burn is called the perigee burn because it is done at the perigee of the low earth orbit. The perigee is the lowest point of the orbit. Once the ship reaches the apogee of the orbit (the highest point) an apogee burn is made to keep it there. They will then wait a day to check everything out. This afternoon the European service module will do a translunar injection (TLI) burn to send the crew towards the moon.

No more burns are needed to get to the moon and back. The Orion will now “fall” to the moon. This will take about four days. It will then circle around the far side of the moon passing a little over 4,000 miles above the moon’s surface. The moon’s gravity will have increased the velocity of the Orion so much that it can’t stay in orbit around the moon but will now fling back towards earth. On the way back to earth some burns will be made to adjust the course of the Orion.

The Orion capsule will then separate from the service module and splash down about fifty miles from my house. I missed it when the last SpaceX capsule with the sick astronaut from the space station landed here but you can bet I’ll be watching for the Orion. Splash Down is expected to be next Tuesday, April 10. No one is mentioning a time yet but I’ll be watching.

--------------------trivia--------------------

The astonaught will be an inch or two taller 

when they get home than they were when they left. 

----------------------------------------------- 

Palm Sunday

Monday, March 30, 2026

A few months ago, Lisa decided to join the stake choir. At the time she thought they were just practicing for an upcoming stake conference which is always low key. About a month ago things started getting intense and she realized this wasn’t going to be singing a few songs in stake conference; this was going to be a big production for a music performance on Palm Sunday. That was yesterday. Even when Lisa told me what it was going to be big, I didn’t get the full magnitude of it until I walked into the Chapel Sunday morning to get ready for conducting the meeting.

They were still setting up the final details but there were lights and microphones all over the place. They had risers forming a little stage in from of the rostrum and flowers everywhere. They also had a bunch of crates behind the little wall. I never did figure their purpose, but I knew right away that they would interfere with the primary kids singing so I suggested to Lisa that she have her primary kids stand on the risers when they sing.

It was fun to watch that. In our sacrament meeting we had three wonderful speakers and three beautiful songs. The first song was the primary kids and then the choir sang two songs. I don’t know if I mentioned it but just a few weeks ago Lisa was called to be the primary chorister. This was also her very first calling when we were newlyweds and it terrified her then and it terrified her this time as well. The only reason she can do this is because she is gifted when it comes to music. She had a beautiful voice, and she can memorize a melody after hearing it once. She can’t read music and does everything by ear.

When she was asked to have the kids sing in Sacrament meeting, she could have taken the easy route and picked a song the kids all knew but Lisa has never taken the easy way. She picked a song she’d never heard before and she put together a string quartet to go with it.

To make a long story short, she was so nervous Sunday morning that she was almost in tears, but it went perfectly. They sang loud and on key and Lisa brought the string quartet in at just the right moment. The choir sang “That Easter Morn” and “Behold the Wounds”.

We had no second hour classes and from Sacrament meeting we went straight into a Linger Longer. It is always fun when the ward gets together just to visit. I always try and get to know new people. As things were wrapping up I heard a bunch of plastic cups making a horrible noise. I looked around to see which of my Deacons were smashing plastic cups only to find Mandy and a bunch of girls sitting at a table playing some game where they are passing cups to each other. She has turned out to be an amazing young woman’s president, and she has obviously formed a great relationship with those young women.

I don’t know what I can say about the concert last night. It was amazing and so good I didn’t want it to end. I rarely feel that way at any musical event. At some point I’m checking my watch to see how much longer.

I never checked my watch once and I have no idea when it ended. They had hand bells, a little orchestra, a children’s choir, a few amazing solo’s and they kicked the whole performance off with a couple of buglers accompanied with a small brass band, including a tuba. For me the highlight may have been when a piper walked in with the entire room backing her up laying “Amazing Grace”.

They also had a slide show going the entire time that just gave the evening an added touch. What a show.

--------------------trivia--------------------

Sunday - Jesus enters Jerusalem in glory

Monday - Jesus cleanses the temple and evicts the money changers

Tuesday - Love they neighbour

Wednesday - A woman (probably Mary) annoints Jesus with costly spikenard

Thursday - The Last Supper & Gethsemane

Friday - Our Lord is crucified

Saturday - A troubled Sabbath

Sunday - He is Risen!

----------------------------------------------