Day Before Transfers - Monday, March 8, 2010

We start out each day being so grateful for our "easy" lives as we read more and more in The Undaunted. Now that they have conquered coming through the hole in the rock, we expected things to get easier and they keep getting harder. We had no idea what was involved with this trek. It took a unique person to be a pioneer in those days and they certainly have our respect.

At the office, we all got right to work finishing up last minute things to prepare for transfer day tomorrow. I had it quite easy because my work could be done ahead of time. So I spent time working on the 35 baptisms I had to enter. Of course, not all have come to me over the fax yet, but I had enough to get started. We actually had 47 baptisms but not all were confirmed yet, so I can only enter them once they are confirmed. I tried to look thrilled that we had such great totals last week, but all I could see at first was a lot of work on my part, added to the progressively busy week we will have. But, I'll get it done and I really am glad things are picking up after the somewhat dry spell we have had in baptisms.

Elder Hales and Elder Peterson worked on getting the blankets, pillows, and bolsa pequeños (small scripture bags that we give to each new arrival) all bagged up with their names on them. Elder Peterson used his graphic computer skills to make a personalized name tag to attach to the bundles. Then he also created a sheet to slip in the plastic around the DVD cover that contains the DVD of mission pictures that Sister Argyle gives to each missionary who is released. They were just bland black cases and needed something to liven them up. They look great now!

Elder Coria probably had the hardest job of all entering all the changes into the computer and transferring all the missionaries around to the different zones and apartments. We all wait patiently for him to finish and print up what we call "the telephone list." However, it contains more than just telephone numbers. Sometimes, the President is making changes right up to the end. We have 19 missionaries coming in this transfer. That's a bunch!

The elders chill out a minute after finishing their work. It is almost time for them to pack up and leave to go do their "other job" for the evening. They never complain, and sometimes when they are tired or the day has been stressful, they still cheerfully bid us farewell and head out to their teaching appointments.

The new face in the group wearing long sleeves is Elder Valdivia. We got a call from President Argyle this afternoon stating that we would be having a missionary come to our office and he would be spending tonight and tomorrow night in our mission. He is from Mendoza, Argentina, and was on his way yesterday to go to the MTC in Colombia prior to serving his mission in that country. A problem with some of the government paperwork was discovered when he got to the airport and he wasn't allowed to leave as scheduled. So the travel department contacted President Argyle to see if we could take care of him for a couple days. He couldn't go back home because he had been set apart as a missionary.

He was happy and eager to start being a missionary, so our elders took him out to work with them in the evening, and then at 9:00, a remise took him to another set of elders that he would stay with and work with tomorrow. The funny thing was, the elders waiting for him to arrive called Elder Coria wondering where he was. He hadn't made it to their apartment yet and it was then about 10:30. Oh dear!! It so happened that the remise driver got lost and couldn't find the address, but they finally made it at 11:00. It seems like the driver would have called his headquarters and had them locate it on a map for him.

After we left the office, we decided to take a walk up Constitucion to drop off a pair of Rich's slacks for dry cleaning. We found a drycleaners that looked quite busy and reputable, so we left one pair to try them out. It isn't convenient to go to the one by the mission home in San Isidro because we have no transportation, so we need to find one closer that we can walk to.

Then we continued on up the street several blocks to find a panaderia that Sister Torre recommended that sells wonderful breads and pastries. I commented on Saturday when we were at the asado that the sacrament bread used each Sunday is sooo good. They said they always buy it at this place and never another kind. She said it was "bread for the Savior." She also recommended another kind to try, and we were so disappointed because they were out of both kinds. Oh brother! We walked all the way up there for nothing. The two breads must be popular if they were out of them.

When we got home, there was an email from the President saying we could arrange to pick up the car so we would have it tomorrow for transporting my binders and the bags of pillows and blankets over to the mission home. It was too late to get the elders to do it as they were out and about the streets, so we called a remise and went over ourselves to get it.

I tried to get to bed before midnight, but it didn't work. Somehow, I manage on about six hours of sleep a night.