Sunday is fun in the COVID time because we have been
teaching Nursery (more Nursery than Primary) to our grandkids. We acted out King Benjamin on the tower,
complete with foil covered crown and bathrobe on a step stool. Taking our own challenge to our kids and
grandkids to spread the love, we cut out valentines and taped them on the doors
of our two lovely, aged sisters from Pagedale.
(Abbi did not accept the idea of a heart attack in April. She is sure that Valentines are only
appropriate in February.) Then we headed
to the office to print out boarding cards for our latest group of departing
missionaries. Will we ever start getting
missionaries back? President Bell held a
mission wide devotional this Sunday evening.
In our time, this is a first. Technology
is providing some opportunities that we would have never done but for the virus
shutdown and shut in.
On Monday, April 20th I drove back down to Farmington, MO to
turn in that apartment with the newly painted fan blades. We still got dinged a couple of hundred
dollars of our deposit for the heavily marked walls that need repainting. It is frustrating to lose any of the
Mission’s deposit money, but I must admit that sometimes we aren’t as careful
as we could be. Then (surprise!) I took
a detour to Washington, Missouri to drop off some cloth masks to some sisters
out there. They are so brave as they
become skilled at inside proselyting by technology while staying socially
distant. I’m convinced it will help the
Work move forward at a better pace as more finding is done on line—where the
rising generation spends their time and gives attention.
Wednesday, April 22nd was transfers. That is remarkable because we actually had
missionary moves on the calendar this time, as opposed to emergency departures
which we have experienced almost every week for the last 6 weeks. I had to say goodbye to Elder Hamblin, a
faithful, quiet housing assistant. But
he is off to be a zone leader in Springfield, Illinois. I’ll miss him, but he will do good and
stretch a bit more in Springfield. As
his replacement, I welcomed Elder John.
Elder John is from a ranch in Emmett, Idaho and very much looks and acts
the part. But his down-home style is
very endearing. He baptized 15 people in
has last area. He wouldn’t be mistaken
for a gospel scholar, but he is tender-hearted and genuine. People just relate to his honesty. Bonus:
he is handy with pulling a trailer and fixing things, a couple of skills
I can make use of. To have everyone with
a bed tonight, we jumped in the truck, loaded some furniture, and headed to
Cape Girardeau to make room for a new three person companionship. While we were down there, I installed a
replacement part on some nearby missionaries’ broken blinds. I could have searched in vain for that part
in stores for days, but on Amazon I had it in days with no hassle. Honestly, I’m afraid Amazon is going to rule
our world soon. They are just too good
at filling our needs and wants!
On Friday, April 24th we had an office staff meeting that
rocked my world. With all the departing
missionaries and resultant empty apartments, I had created a plan to clean and
inventory all 23 of them during the next four weeks to be ready for hoped-for
incoming missionaries. But President
Bell shared that a conversation with the Area Presidency advising that we may
receive as many as 40 missionaries on May 5th, with 20 more or so
every two weeks. Apparently, 90 percent
of early responders have told the Church that they want to be sent back out to
the field as soon as possible. That means
that there will be thousands to absorb in US missions while the COVID
environment stabilizes allowing for transfers to foreign countries. RaDene helped me take my four weeks to
readiness plan and turn it into a one week plan. Yes, we organized a schedule that pressed the
entire mission presidency and their families, all senior missionaries, and
young missionaries near the empty apartments to work, with some of us cleaning
multiple apartments every day of the week, starting Monday, April 27th
through Saturday, May 2nd.
Honestly, I don’t know if we can pull it off. Each apartment requires a great deal of elbow
grease, not to mention a ruthless attitude of getting rid of accumulated
stuff. Somehow, with all she has to do,
RaDene helped me not only redo my plan, but enlist the soldiers. She has tremendous capacity. At least it was the Jacobs’ 50th
anniversary, and Sister Bell made a delicious chocolate cake. And what’s more, an anonymous benefactor made
arrangements with a local deli to cater lunch for the office. How delightful. Food is always a welcome gift to
missionaries, even senior missionaries.
Elder Scheurman came in and sensing our need, displayed some marvelous
talent at a much needed time. He took apartment
inventory and cleaning checklists and turned them into Google surveys. Each group of apartment workers will have
information as to what my expectations are for cleaning the apartments next
week and automatically accumulate furnishing deficiencies into a report so we
can see and fill the needs. Now its time
to start making calls to delegate the work.
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