Starting Over - Thursday, March 11, 2010

Oh my goodness! Listening to The Undaunted this morning caused a lump in our throats and a tear in our eyes as the story recounted the pioneers struggle to ascend San Juan Hill, having an animal totally spent lay down and die when it was conquered. How on earth did they do it? And we voice our childish complaints over nothing in comparison to what these faithful saints endured. Lessons to be learned, for sure!

There wasn't a cloud in the sky this morning, the air was perfect and fresh, and we took a deep breath as we opened the office door realizing what was waiting for us at our desks. Elder Kroff had envelopes of money to count and organize, and I quickly entered some more baptisms and made calls to clear up confusing information on some registers I received.

By the time I was free to start sorting and separating the mail, Elder Peterson was involved in a project that Elder Coria gave him. So, Elder Coria came to help me sort and organize all the packages into the proper bins. I was so grateful he came to rescue me. Then later, Elder Peterson came to help sift through the envelopes and put them in the proper bin. With that out of the way now, I can start filling the requests for supplies that have been faxed to me and get the boxes filled and ready to send to the zones in the South. This part of what I do after transfers requires a clear mind and concentration to make sure I don't send mail and supplies to the wrong person or wrong areas.

Elder Kroff had a most discouraging day. He said it was one of the worse days he has had in a long time. He spent the whole day fixing mistakes and problems he had created earlier in the morning. Some were caused by clicking the wrong button while preparing checks, and others were caused by giving out wrong pin numbers to missionaries -- things he has done correctly for almost a year now. But not today! The "senior moments" just wouldn't stop ocurring. He was so glad when it was time to go home.

As we were leaving the office, we had a bright idea. Our grocery list at home was getting longer and longer since we didn't have time to go shopping last weekend. We usually go grocery shopping on Friday nights, but since we had a car at the office today, we decided to do our shopping tonight and take the car so we would have a way to transport a lot of bags back home. We weren't sure when the President would need the car. Then we decided to just go to Disco which is close to our apartment. They have everything we usually need or want. We went right after we dropped some things off at the apartment and it was a breeze. We filled our cart and walked right up to the check out stand. No one was in front of us. That's twice we have missed the crowds. It seems most people shop later in the evening.

We put groceries away, had some dinner, and I settled in to getting the journal entry done. We talked to Marianne on skype to clear up some questions about our taxes, and brother Bob called in also. Rich is looking for a better day tomorrow.