August 29^th, 2021

Whew!  What a week!  We knew it was going to be busy, but this was crazy busy…and fun.  

Monday was transfer day!  Everyone who was being transferred or getting a new companion was at the office.  I was hoping that 80% of the cars would be at the office so I could look for registrations that are in the wrong car, or even license plates on the wrong car (I think we’ve caught most of the erroneous license plate problems.)  Only 50% of the vehicles came.  I was able to take care of some of the registration issues, so that was good.  The 10 missionaries who were returning home on Tuesday stayed for lunch in the building, and then went to the mission president’s home for final interviews and dinner.  They then went to two apartments that are set aside to house outgoing missionaries the night before they fly out.

Tuesday started early.  We were driving to the office at 6:45 when the office elders called asking if I had the keys to the trailer lock.  They were at the office to hook up the trailer to the Tundra for me.  I guess they misplaced their keys.  I found an extra set of keys I didn’t know that I had.  Problem solved.  They then quickly got the trailer hooked up and off Liz and I went to pick up the departing Elders and Sisters at two different apartment complexes.  Because each missionary has at least 2 pieces of luggage, we put everything into the trailer.  The president is there to drive the missionaries in his large transit van to the airport, and Liz helps them to get checked in while I stand by the truck and trailer.  While I was waiting, I happened to look at the wheels (double axel) trailer and noticed that one of the tires was flat.  I put my foot on it, and it almost fell off the rim!  Knowing that there was a spare in the trailer, I went looking for a lug wrench and jack.  Not finding either, I called my predecessor and confirmed with him that the trailer didn’t come equipped with a jack or lug wrench.  I called the office elders to come and bring a jack and wrench. They jumped into action and called me about 20 minutes later from the office saying the only jack they had was from a RAV4.  I wasn’t confident that would work, plus it was going to take another 45 minutes to get to the airport. 

Because we purchase tires from Pep Boys, I looked on my phone for the nearest store.  There was one about 5 miles away. Figuring that the tire was already thrashed…probably…I decided to drive…slowly… to Pep Boys.  They said that they could not fix the tire and sold me a new one and installed it in record time.  We made our way back to the office about 90 minutes later than we had planned.

Next, we had to prepare for the arriving missionaries.  Liz, with the help of the other Sr. couples made 30 sandwiches and put other lunch items into a bag to give to the new missionaries after they put their 90 pieces of luggage into the trailer. They were instructed to eat their lunch while driving to the church where the President has a welcome meeting for about 45 minutes, and they meet their trainers. 

In the meantime, the office elders are putting all the bikes out for all the missionaries who had decided to have bikes shipped or purchased locally.  I also have to hand out a “TIWI card” (the size of a credit card, it has a chip that a device in each mission car reads to monitor how the missionary is driving, where they are driving, how fast they are going, and if they are driving aggressively.  That information is summarized, and any violations are sent to me each Monday, and I get to call the missionary to remind them to drive more carefully.

Wednesday morning the mission president holds a Zoom meeting that consists of the Office couples explaining what each of us does, and how we can be helpful to them.  We each take about 5 minutes.  Liz talks about travel as she is so involved with “visa waiters” who are here temporarily.  I talk about cars and bikes.  We have a mission nurse, a finance secretary who applies money to the missionaries’ credit cards twice each month, a records coordinator whose job it is to make certain new baptismal records are setup correctly on the church’s membership system.  The mission secretary does all sorts of things, but for the missionaries, she helps keep their cell phones running and organized.  That’s a job I wouldn’t want.  We have a housing coordinator who talk with them about keeping their apartment clean, safety, and tells them they are available if they have any problems with their apartments.  The meeting takes an hour.

The McBrides (Finance and Mission Secretary) returned home to Rupert, Idaho this week.  They are salt of the earth people from Rupert.  Elder McBride is so helpful.  If he sees anything that is out of place or needs attention, he’ll just quietly take care of it.  When it came time to clean the office, he would always put on the blue gloves to scrub the toilets!  I’ve been here 4 months and have only beat him to it twice!  If anyone has a question, he’s always willing to listen and to help.  Sister McBride was like a mother to many of the missionaries.  The McBrides would often have the missionaries to their apartment to visit and have a spiritual message.  The missionaries love the McBrides.  Sister McBride taught me to look for the miracles in the mission.  She said that because we are in the office, we don’t have the same types of experiences that the missionaries have, so we have to watch a little more closely for the miracles that happen in our areas of responsibilities.  The McBrides will be missed.  

So a flurry of activity.  Busy but very enjoyable!

I have mentioned that each Sunday, the mission president holds a Zoom meeting with the entire mission to have them share the miracles that have happened to them during the week.  Those missionaries who are departing are asked to share their testimonies.  It’s one of the highlights of our week.  Here is one of their stories:

Two elders finished their teaching appointment close to 9:00 pm and were getting into their car when they noticed a lady walking the opposite direction.  They got in the car and started to pull away when the driver said to his companion that they needed to stop and talk with the lady.  So they got out and approached the lady.  They talked for several minutes and offered her a Book of Mormon, which she accepted.  When they asked if they could return to visit with her more, she gave the standard, I’m busy, but if you would like to return in 2 weeks, that would be fine.  Two weeks later, they returned, and she was there so they began to teach her.  After several discussions, she confessed to the Elders the night before they approached her, she had been praying to God for guidance and they were an answer to her prayers.  Miracles do happen and God does answer prayers.

Another pair of Elders approached an apartment complex that they had not been able to get into before.  However, they felt there was someone they needed to meet.  They discovered a gate that was accidently left open, so they walked inside. There were several buildings at this complex, so they stood surveying all the buildings and decided which building to go to.  Then as they approached that building, they then had to figure out which door to knock on.  After a moment, one door in particular stood out to them, so they approached and knocked.  The person who opened the door invited them in and they began to teach him!  It’s too soon to know how this story ends since this was shared with the mission last week.  But I think it is safe to say that when the missionaries are working, and doing their best to listen to the Spirit, miracles do happen!