Surprise Phone Call - Monday, August 2, 2010

Somehow we were slower than usual getting ready today. I think it was me. If I sit down to eat breakfast, then I get reading blogs or emails -- however not too many emails lately -- and I get involved and forget I have other things to do. So when I "came to" I still had lunches to make, dishes to do and my hair to fix. Oh well, we aren't punching a time clock so a few minutes late doesn't matter.

No clouds in the sky, but there was no promise of a warmish temperature today. It would remain in the low 50's, so both of us donned our thermal underwear as we know how the office is after a cold, cold night. And they did feel good today. Even Elder Hales had his thermals on today.

We weren't too late, just about ten minutes was all. But, we are usually fifteen minutes early. We walked in with Gabriel Valentini as we made arrangements with him at church yesterday to go to customs some time this week to get the packages that were there. He came by for the claim tickets/cards that he takes to a local correo to get a stamp on them. Then tomorrow he will go to customs and bring the packages back in the afternoon. It works!

After he left and things were calm, Elder Peterson and Elder Hales brought their chairs up close to ours and said they had something to tell us. Oh no, what could it be?? Then Elder Hales dropped the bomb and told us that last night after they got home, President Gulbrandsen called him and said he was moving him out of the office. WHAT??? And he isn't waiting until the next transfer at the end of August. He said that he felt prompted to transfer him now as he has been in the office six months. He wants him to be a District Leader in the Norte zone in the place of Elder Paz who he is moving back into the office due to some health issues he has been having. Elder Hales replaced Elder Paz last January and even though the job will be familiar to him, there have been a lot of updates and positive changes made that were necessary. So training will have to take place to educate Elder Paz and get him up to speed. It all starts tomorrow.

We just hate to see Elder Hales leave, but we know that office elders can't stay forever. We become so attached to those that serve with us -- they are like family. But Elder Hales is a good missionary and he needs to be out contacting and baptizing, and he will be a great District Leader. We are just go glad we had our P-day outing last Saturday with the elders.

My carpetas were delivered today and I couldn't have been happier. I have fourteen new missionary binders to prepare and I had decided this morning that I would have to begin running off the materials to put in them and just stack them up so they would be ready to insert when the binders arrived. Now I can just fill them as usual and be done with it. Hurrah!!

Elder Kroff knows a lot of what goes on at Elder Hales' desk because they work together on the rents, but he wanted to know some of the other basic things he does so he can assist Elder Paz should he have questions. So they spent time today teaching and learning. But then Elder Hales will just be a phone call away.

Elder Peterson worked on gathering data from the Assistants on last weeks baptisms. It takes most of the morning to enter and update the charts, graphs, or what have you. He is always busy and dedicated.

Tomorrow the President comes back from Ushuaia and will immediately hold another Zone Leaders Council as they were directed in the MTC to hold them at the first of each month instead of every six weeks. He still has interviews to complete with some zones also.

After the elders took the van to have it cleaned inside and out, it was time for them to leave. Elder Hales retrieved his duffle bag that was stored in our attic storage area to help with the packing he had to do tonight to get ready for his move. He hams it up dragging his feet having been "kicked out" of the office.

These elders are two of the finest. We fear Elder Peterson will be the next to leave, even before us. They used to tell us that they would probably outlive us here in the office.

We came home at 5:00 and had leftovers from Sunday dinner. We talked to Susanne and Thale on skype and besides doing this entry, I ironed white shirts and entered some data on the medical log on the computer. I put off doing it and then have to play catch up when it is due at the end of the month. And, now it is the first of the month and I am really late. Dr. Snell called today to remind me to do it. Gulp!