Time Flies - Friday, November 5, 2010

Boy do these weeks go fast!!! It is already Friday again. Soon we will be home and this will be a memory. We are worried about maintaining our home and our big yard after being away from it for so long and only having three rooms to deal with here -- and no yard work whatsoever. However, the absence of some conveniences we enjoy at home has been tolerable knowing it isn't a permanent fix.

It was another warm, beautiful day. The humidity isn't too bad yet, but as the elders were out and about doing errands today, they would come back hot and sweaty. We didn't notice the heat like they did because the office was cool and sitting around all day doesn't really work up a sweat.

The President is changing the departure day for the missionaries going home starting in February. Right now they leave on Wednesdays, but he wants them to leave on Mondays instead. The new ones arrive on Tuesdays and that won't change. That is set up by the Missionary Department and it is coordinated with the MTC.

So today we had to change in IMOS the departure dates of those leaving in February and March. Now I can order plane tickets and get those flights squared away. I am trying to leave a sample of all I do so that I can teach Sister Schoeny and she can practice while I look over her shoulder.

Elder Peterson took some missionaries down to the Capital to do some legalization work. The visas only last for one year, so everyone has to do it all over again after a year in the mission. It is a hassle to say the least. Elder Peterson keeps on top of this process and has it down pat. I don't know how he will ever train a new elder to do it as good as he has done it.

While Elder Sargetis' (CA) companion was with Elder Peterson, he stayed here to go with Elder Paz on some errands dealing with apartment contracts. He is a happy, pleasant young man and I talk frequently with him on the phone. Whenever he comes to the office, he brings his duffle bag along in case he has any packages to take with him. And, he usually does. He had five today. There are a few who dominate in receiving packages, and he is one of them.

Elder Kroff's cajachica was low on money and he waited all day for the President to come by to sign a check so he could go to the bank. He called him twice and could tell he was involved with something major and didn't dare call him again. So, he took a chance and left for a short while to go home in order to pay our rent to Lucila. We don't pay it anymore at the place that used to manage the collecting of the rents. Lucila is more involved with the building now and comes by herself to collect the money and write out receipts.

While visiting with her, Rich asked about the apartment next door that the Schoenys will be temporarily moving into. It has sat empty for a couple of months now and nothing has been done to fix it up or paint or get a contract signed. She was glad for the heads up that someone was moving in, and now she will get people in there this next week to get it ready. He explained that we needed it done as soon as possible as a refrigerator and beds etc need to be moved in before they arrive.

I felt good about my accomplishments today as I got all the letters printed off for the December transfer that need to be mailed as soon as the November one is finished. I also printed the ones needed for the new missionary binders that I am working on. That was a good feeling.

I am half way finished with the binders for the eight new arrivals this month. I should be able to complete them on Monday. So much to do!

It was near 5:00 and the President still hadn't come so we were preparing to go home. Then, Elder Peterson remembered that they didn't have an adult lined up to accompany them as they taught Ana today. They were meeting her in the church at 5:00 for an after baptism lesson on the temple, and asked if Elder Kroff could help out. He was glad to. It was okay with me as I had plenty of things to do to keep me occupied. I would wait for him today instead of going home.

They finished the charla at 6:00 so we called it a day and left. We changed clothes and went to McDonalds for dinner, then caught the bus close by to ride about 20 blocks down to the Carrefour between Tigre and San Fernando. We had more to buy than would fit in our shopping cart, so we decided to go there and then take a remise back home. It worked out well and we were surpised that the lines were not as long as we thought they would be.

We returned at 8:30, put groceries away, and then I started on this entry while Rich watched some news on Fox. Tomorrow, we hope to spend most of the day working on our Sacrament meeting talks. We still have a couple places we want to go before leaving, but that will have to wait for another Saturday.