February 13, 2022
Liz is keeping very busy. She’s been helping to send missionaries all over the world! This last week alone she sent three to Tahiti, one of whom is a cousin of mine! He arrived in Riverside and told me his mother is a McAllister! We did the “find relatives” feature on Family Tree. His great grandfather is my uncle! For my family’s benefit, here is the picture of our relationship.
Whenever he and I visited with each other about cars or other things, I would refer to him as “Elder Cuz.” It was always fun to visit with him; I hated to see him go. He had mixed feelings about leaving this mission, but was excited to go because his father also served in Tahiti!
We sent 15 missionaries home and received about the same number this past week. It’s always fun to pick up the new Elders and Sisters at the airport. They are excited, nervous, and often dazed. We take them to the mission office where the president formally welcomes them, gives them some instructions, and sends them to their teaching areas. It doesn’t take long for the new missionaries to settle in and get to work. They have lots to learn, but with the help of their trainers, the transition goes fairly smoothly for most. We have some very good trainers.
When we arrived last April, Elder and Sister Aird were our trainers. We were lucky enough to have 2 weeks of their undivided attention. Near the end of their time, I was getting a little nervous because there are so many little things the vehicle coordinator must do, some frequently, and some rarely. Elder Aird was a great trainer. Elder Chase claimed to be the “Assistant” Vehicle Coordinator. He and Elder Aird worked together to keep things running in the vehicle department. For the first few days after the Airds left, he sat near me at my desk so I could ask any questions. Then he moved out to the foyer where he could read. If I had a question, he was there to assist me. Leaving me alone to struggle until I had a question, forced me to learn what I needed to do and how to get it done. Elder Chase left about a month after the Airds left, and then I was on my own.
Besides vehicles (me) and travel/referrals/feeding missionaries at zone/mission conferences/sorting and tracking the mail/preparing for incoming and outgoing missionaries (Liz) there are two other couples. Elder Costlow is the finance secretary, and Sister Costlow is the mission secretary. Sister Brown is the mission nurse and Elder Brown is a professional counselor and handles the baptism paperwork. The Browns will be released on the same day we are.
We have 3 couples coming to take the Browns and McAllister’s positions. The first couple will arrive this coming week. The sister will begin to learn what Liz does. The second couple will arrive about the 25th. He will be the new vehicle coordinator and the sister will also learn what Liz does. (it sounds like it will take two to cover Liz’s position!)
One of the challenges we have had in the office is we have no cross training. If the Vehicle Coordinator or the Finance Secretary are unable to work for several days, for whatever reason, like when Liz and I had Covid a month ago, no one can step in and fill the void. That could leave the mission in a challenging situation. With the 3 new couples, there will be some serious cross training among the couples, which will be good.
Liz and I both need to get our ducks lined up, setup some outlines and write some notes that will help the new couples learn their jobs.
The highlight of this past week was picking up our daughter, Julie, and her family at Disneyland so they could spend Friday and Saturday with us in Riverside. We didn’t do anything too ambitious Friday. We just went to a local burger place and spent time together.
Todd and Julie did not believe us when we said there are no pickleball courts in Riverside! There are parks that say they have courts, but you must bring your own net. Todd and Julie brought paddles (from “Play Paddles”, their new business venture) so we decided to go to the mission office/church building to setup a court. When we got there, the cultural hall was decorated for a ward activity, so we setup a court outside in the enclosed courtyard at the building and played for a few hours in the 90 degree sunshine. It was fun just to be together and to laugh. A few balls ended up on the roof, so we found a ladder and Liam climbed up and rescued them. He is almost tall enough just to reach up and get them down! The kids went swimming in the non-heated pool at our apartment complex. That didn’t last too long. Then we went to “Tio Tacos” for dinner, which is a cultural experience. It was so nice to have them here and to play together.
This week will be busy also. We have an all-mission training meeting at the mission office building on Wednesday of this week. That might be a good time for me to try to locate the second car with the incorrect license plates. Fingers crossed!
We leave you this week with our personal miracle. We were promised as we left on our mission
that our family would be blessed for our service. At first our families seemed to be plagued
with difficulties, our house seemed to be falling apart, our grass wouldn’t grow. Sometimes you have to look hard to recognize
blessing in an environment of tribulation…. but this one is obvious. Out of the storm of our Matthew’s behaviors,
and regression, has come to a time of relative peace, even a period of
progression. We know that the roller
coaster ride is not over, but what a blessing for all of us to see our love-bug
Matt’s personality, smiles, hugs (such as they are) to remind us why we love
him so much. What a gift and a blessing to
our family. We consider that to be our
family’s personal fulfillment of promises blessings.
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