Sept 15 & 16 - Life at the Office

In order to get caught up on our entries, todays update will include yesterday as well.

15 de Septiembre

It has been great to walk to the office without coats. The temperature is in the high 50's and that doesn't seem too warm to read it in print, but it has actually been very pleasant and we have enjoyed the cool walk. The four block trek is over before we blink an eye.

Always the week before transfers, President Argyle has a meeting with the office staff to be sure things are coordinated and will run smoothly. Today was to be that meeting at 10:00. He told Elder Paz that it would be in English this time, and if anything is discussed that directly involves him, that he would revert to Spanish. Elder Paz is learning English and does really well. He does better at English than I do at Spanish. I was glad, though, that the President talked in English because I am usually the one left out. I needed to hear and understand what was to take place next week.

First, he discussed the Saturday conference (read Monday's entry below) and wanted Elder Nelson to arrange for each zone to come to the conference together in a combi (mini bus). They cannot be late. If they want to socialize and hug companions they haven't seen for a while, they should be there between 9:00 and 9:30, because he wants everyone seated and quietly studying the scriptures at 9:40 a.m. The conference starts at 10:00 a.m. and will end at 1:00 p.m. Lunch will also be served to everyone. Then he wants the missionaries immediately taken back to their areas so they can continue proselyting or prepare for any Saturday baptisms they may have scheduled.

There will be someone from the Area Presidency represented who will also speak to the missionaries. President Argyle asked Rich and I to each bear a short testimony at the conference. There will be others besides ours. We are interested in attending this conference.

We spent the rest of the day working steadily at our desks. We never lack for something to do. We have to watch the clock and conscientiously make a plan to leave at an appointed hour, or we could stay indefinitely. We choose not to stay late anymore. At first while learning our jobs, everything was so overwhelming that we felt we needed the extra time to catch up because we were so slow. But now we know what we are doing, we can better adjust our time.

Tonight was one of the last two therapy sessions Rich will have. The 10 session course is about over. Then he goes back to Dr. Ottonello for a check up. He is doing so well, that hopefully he can just exercise his leg at home and will not need more professional therapy.

16 de Septiembre

We can almost tell how warm it will be the next day by how we sleep at night. If we have to crack the window open for air and only need a sheet on us, then we know the next day will be warm. That was the situation last night. The only problem with having the window open, even a little, is that it lets more noise in. The ear plugs keep a major amount of sound out; but, we can hear a little traffic from below should we wake up occasionally during the night.

The morning for all four of us was active and busy. Elder Nelson was on the phone arranging rides to the conference, while Elder Paz is getting more stressed all the time dealing with landlords and some unfinished business that Elder Valente left behind.

Elder Kroff fielded calls from two sets of missionaries wondering why they were out of money and the month is not over yet. They were surprised that he could look at their card activity and tell them when money came in and what date they withdrew it out and how much they used. In all situations, the elders didn't budget very well and used more than they should have for a given period of time. Now, they will have to use their own personal money to get by, or get some from their zone leader if they can show that they didn't spend their money on unwarranted items.

Sister Kroff called some missionaries regarding unclear baptism registers, health issues, and possible incorrect parent emails. I need to order the flights home for the missionaries leaving in January and I can't get the parents of two of our elders to respond to my emails requesting information -- 3rd request. I was supplied with better email addresses. Father's email was on our records, but they suggested we send it to Mother. She is more likely to respond immediately. We'll see!

Lunch time came and the elders could not stay indoors. Their pizza from Nobels up the street tastes so much better as a picnic.

Finally, the backorder of Missionary Agendas came. When they didn't come with the supplies I ordered a couple months ago, I thought it was strange that this particular item would be on backorder. Of all things to run out of, this shouldn't be one of them. This little planner is a crucial part of a missionary's belongings. It needs to be with them and used properly every day to keep them organized and successful. I will take them to the conference on Saturday to hand out.

Rich is working on a short DVD project for the conference. Pictures of the missionaries with their converts on their baptism day have been collected and arranged to be shown during the conference. Sister Argyle is so grateful for Rich and his Mac computer that has taken over the multi media projects that the mission needs from time to time. She struggled to do these types of presentations on her computer until Elder Kroff came along.

Okay, now I am caught up. Whew!! I hate getting behind. For news of Monday's activities, read below.