Just Another Day - Tuesday, March 30, 2010

While listening to Fire of the Covenant at the end of our morning routine today, Rich forgot he was to be at the office at 8:30 until I reminded him. Bonpland called yesterday to say that they were bringing some people by early to look at the office. A couple of times in this past year that we have been in a new office, people have come through to look at it. We never know exactly who they are and why the tour, but we just smile and accommodate whatever.

Rich put on his tie and quickly left, with me to follow in a few minutes. This is one reason why we like where we live. We can get to the office in a heartbeat.

When he got to the office, he found the elders in a mess. After delivering cell phones all day yesterday, and upon returning to the office in the early evening, they decided that the freezer in the fridge needed to be defrosted. So they unplugged the fridge before they left for the night. This morning when they arrived to the office, water was everywhere. They were cleaning out the fridge and mopping up water which had run out into the foyer too.

When I got to work at 9:00, everything was clean and dry and the inside of the fridge looked wonderful. The freezers in these refrigerators are the old fashioned kind that build up frost within minutes of turning them on. I frequently have to defrost our freezer, but it only takes about 20 to 30 minutes max. It's just a pain.

The elders were early today because Elder Hales and Elder Coria were going to resume their deliveries of the phones. The flood put them behind a little, but they still managed to get out of the office by about 9:30. Elder Peterson remained to obtain the data from last weeks baptisms and enter it all into the computer. It has been so helpful to have three elders in the office. We just don't know how long it will last.

The people from Bonpland never came and then Elder Kroff wondered if the day they said they are coming is tomorrow instead of today. I guess we will find out tomorrow -- but then he will have to go at 8:30 again.

I worked busily at my desk calling some missionaries, doing welcome letters, beginning my order of supplies from Distribution, and other pressing matters. Rich worked with the missionaries on changing their emails (down to 10 now) and on some other financial matters.

Gabriel Valentini is a convert of the church of about a year now and we pay him to go retrieve our mail that ends up in Customs. He goes about every two to three weeks. It is a long and arduous ordeal to travel to the Capitol, wait in lines, and make trips to the car with arm loads of mail. His shift at Coto (grocery store) starts in the afternoon, so he is free to help us in the mornings and we are profoundly grateful for this help. Today he retrieved 22 pieces of mail for us. We pay him well for this service.

Our out and about elders returned about 3:00 -- exhausted, and glad that project is over. Elder Peterson had cooked rice and vegetables for their lunch today expecting them to show up at any minute. He got tired of waiting, so ate without them and went over to the church to attend the district meeting. Elders Coria and Hales took time to feed themselves before they made an appearance at the meeting.

Rich and I got home about 5:00 and had left overs for dinner - spaghetti for him and tacos for me, before he left again at 6:00 for his English class.

I read blogs, wrote an email, and worked on this entry. When Rich came home we skyped Jerry to see him with our own eyes since his heart surgery last week. He is doing fantastic and was only in the hospital four days. What a blessing.