On Sunday, September 27 we didn’t have Zoom Primary with Nana and Papa
because Spencer and Elisa were driving their family to Arizona for a week with
the Lymans. Hopefully we can resume next
week, because Nana and Papa sure like having Primary with the Grands. At Church in our little Pagedale branch, we
ended up giving our seats in the chapel to others and listening from the
Foyer. I had told the Elder’s Quorum
President that if it ever looked like we would cross over county COVID meeting
limitation rules (25% of room capacity), he could give me the sign and we’d be
happy to help make room. This week, I
got the sign. Let’s hope it’s the
beginning of a trend of larger attendance!
After administering the sacrament to Annie Stewart, we joined the
beginning of the mission presidency meeting back at the office. We presented on JustServe, which is starting
a community service promotional campaign for the rest of the year. The two counselors in the mission presidency
are taking the role of communicating with stake leaders about JustServe, while
Sis Hatfield and I continue to train and encourage the young missionary
leadership and the missionaries themselves.
We ended the day by hosting dinner with Elder Dayton and Elder Howard,
the new companionship that has joined the Pagedale area, giving us four elders
in the branch now, in addition to Sis Hatfield and me.
Monday, September 28 started badly.
My housing coordinator email would not connect. I spent all morning on the phone with mission
technology support, and after several calls, I was finally back on line. The tech said my computer’s Microsoft license
had expired. I was relieved to get back
in the game, which primarily focused on a Pagedale apartment search for Elders
Dayton and Howard. Pagedale is a bit
tricky: the northern half of the branch
is an area that most would consider somewhat to largely unsafe because of
crime. It is definitely one of the edgy
parts of town. But I have triangulated
on a place called Hawthorne School Apartments, which had a manager that was
very helpful and didn’t seem to be the least bothered about the Church being
the renter. I filled out the application
and was cautiously optimistic.
Speaking of apartment searches, the family that once lived above us had
abandoned the place late this spring or early summer, no doubt because of COVID
related misfortunes. Recently, it has
been reoccupied. RaDene has no desire to
have a sixth sewage backup in our apartment, and now that someone has moved in
upstairs from us, we are a bit nervous again.
We’ve asked a couple of times about the possibilities of alternatives,
but nothing seemed to pan out. Sis
Hatfield made a new appointment with a leasing agent and he said that there was
an available ground floor apartment on the other end of the building we could
look at. After looking at it, it has
some deficiencies. Recently, RaDene has
noticed signs of the upstairs
apartment on the other end of the building being renovated. Obviously, an upstairs apartment offered some
hope of being above any backup. Tonight
I noticed the lights were on in that upstairs apartment. After trespassing to take a look, it seems
like a very acceptable alternative. The
deck is smaller than our ground floor patio, and it isn’t obvious how we’d
recreate our hanging flowers or bird feeders, but mostly, it would get us above
the sewer backup zone. The leasing agent
said it wasn’t yet available. Pressing
him, RaDene learned that it should be available to take a look after a county
inspection at the end of the week. We
made an appointment the first possible time to see it, the Saturday morning
before General Conference.
On Tuesday, September 29th I left the apartment early to go
scout out the neighborhood of the Hawthorne School Apartments. It is a leap of faith or stupidity to put in
an application before knowing something about the neighborhood, but I had done
just that yesterday. I felt like I needed
to. But now I needed to confirm the
feeling and take a look. Like I said,
Pagedale is a bit tricky, and honestly, an abandoned but repurposed school
could be a cue to neighborhood problems.
On my drive out, I was getting nervous, but as I rounded the last turn,
I was in the middle of a lovely middle class neighborhood with a beautiful city
park and a very handsome old building, the Hawthorne School Apartments. I saw signs of families, diversity, and
people that didn’t seem afraid to be outside.
Whew.
By 9:30 a.m., I met the housing assistants back at the office and storage
unit to load up for a trip to the Springfield zone. We took mail, loaner phones, tools, and
materials and headed out. I received
multiple calls along the way from the manager at the Hawthorne School
Apartments asking pertinent questions about my application, which I was
delighted to answer. She was taking the
application seriously and giving it her attention. We stopped a couple of hours later in
Jacksonville, Illinois first, to grab an extra couch from one of the elders’
apartments potentially needed in Springfield, and then at the second
Jacksonville elders’ apartment to get a spare key, and install some window
coverings. I was happy to learn that all
had been quiet there since the loud middle of the night commotion reported a
few weeks ago, but which never could be verified by surveillance video. Next we were off to Springfield to deliver
that just acquired couch, and then to Decatur.
The stop in Decatur was made a little more tricky by the quarantine the
elders were under because of a hernia operation to happen on Friday. Too bad they didn’t mention that before
today. Delivering the desk was easy
enough, but part of the task was to take a look at a door that had a hole
punched in it by rough housing. I wasn’t
going to skip this task, so I invited the quarantined elders to go for a walk
while I inspected the problem. It looked
repairable, so I mixed up some patch and made the first fill. I left some sandpaper, the mix, and a putty
knife for the elders to apply a second coat tomorrow. This may go bad not doing the work myself,
but the alternative couldn’t be worse than replacing the door, which is where
we are if we don’t try. Last, we gave
them the mission loaner phone. The newly
arrived elder had brought a phone that turned out to be incompatible with the
Missionary Department’s security software.
This happens all the time. The
Church tries to give instructions about what models of phones and operating
systems will work with required security software, but the instructions are
almost incomprehensible to anyone but the most tech savvy. And constantly evolving phones are
increasingly less compatible with the security software. Sis Hatfield is spending an enormous amount
of time coaching new missionaries, and often, giving them clunker loaner phones
so they can send their fast, sleek phones home per mission department
rules. Ugh. Leaving, the Decatur sisters pulled in and
delivered some homemade chocolates to the elders, and we were part
beneficiaries being in the right place at the right time. And no, sisters are not supposed to bring
treats to the elders. I caught them!
We were now off to our last stop in Litchfield, where the sisters there
had been complaining generally about the quality of their apartment and
specifically about some “black stuff” in their window. I knew the place was an older duplex, so I
knew an inspection could be warranted. I
haven’t seen it closely before, except from the front porch. It was 7 pm before we arrived, and I took a
look around. I was pleasantly surprised. The building itself was older, but had
obvious signs of ownership that pays attention.
Things were in better than average shape, except for years of “stuff”
accumulated in the apartment that clearly cluttered the look and
livability. We talked about it, and then
and there did a sort, and carried out boxes of junk that greatly improved the
situation. As for the “black stuff” in
the window, I concluded that there was indeed some mold staining the wood
window casing. I donned my rubber
gloves, got out the cleaner and hot water, dried and applied some disinfectant,
and made it go away. I cleaned the
sisters’ bathtub of the beginnings of some mold while I was at it. We had prayers and were on our way. Mission accomplished. I think the sisters needed some of our
attention and effort, which they received, and now feel better about their
apartment. We got back to the office at
9:30 that night, a solid 12 hours after starting our circle around the
Springfield zone.
Wednesday, September 30th started with a trip to Webster
Groves North to look at a malfunctioning smoke alarm. The sisters couldn’t figure out why it was
beeping intermittently. Since they were
on quarantine, I told them a couple of days ago to just put it in their car
until I could get there. I got there,
and figured out how to open the casing.
Alas, it needed a size battery I did not bring, so I raced to the Seven
Eleven to buy some, then put in some anchors to reinstall. I was in a bit of a hurry because I had an
appointment in Centralia, Illinois. The
elders out there (way out there, I should say, most of the way to Indiana), had
done some service and come across some furniture they thought might be of
benefit to the mission. I’m a little
leery about such offers, because as often as not, donated furniture is in poor
condition or the wrong sort of item (who can use an old style entertainment
center?). But I really need dressers,
and the elders had sent some promising pictures. I was a bit jaded though, because the donor
had asked how much I was willing to pay, and had temporarily rebuffed my
admittedly low offer while someone else took a look. But we were back on for now. It turned out we met the elders in Centralia,
but the furniture was actually in a barn several towns and dirt roads
away. But I was pleasantly surprised by
what I finally saw. I picked 10 pieces
and we secured it in the trailer. The
donor turned out to be a recently widowed member who was not at the barn
because she was trying to sell a trailer to someone. I asked to meet the member to give her the
check, so off we went to the trailer, which was down a few more dirt
roads. She wasn’t there either, and now
was reportedly at a place difficult to navigate a truck and trailer at
all. So, I gave the check to the elders
and asked them to deliver it and have her call me. As we were driving down the highway, she did
call, and what a pleasant woman she was.
In the end, I was glad I was able to provide a small sum to a widow who
needed the money, and very proud of the elders for providing service to her in
her time of need, and helping fill mission needs for furniture too.
Thursday, October 1st. Wait, did
I just write that its October? Yep, its
official, we have been through our first Missouri summer season. I joked with RaDene while she was in her
exercise shorts that her legs are whiter than I have ever seen them at the end
of a summer—ever. She could say the same
thing about me. No danger of advancing
skin cancer on a mission. But there is
no time to reflect on legs. We are out
the door to help with a Mission Leadership Council being held in the St Louis
stake center. Sis Bell has planned and
prepared a lunch, but has forgot some ingredients at the mission home. And can we bring crockpots, and what gluten
free desert do we have? Sis Hatfield
caucuses with Sis Bell and pulls together the loose ends and we are off. Our main responsibility will be to execute
Sis Bell’s lunch plans. RaDene is an
excellent kitchen field marshall, organizing the staff to make it happen. I am chief dishwasher, because there is no
barbeque today. But we also give
JustServe training to the zone leaders and sister training leaders, including
the Real Lives. Real Change. campaign. I think of an MLC as a ½ day event, but I’m
always optimistic about that. Once we
have the leftovers put away and the pots clean and the floor mopped, we are
deep into the afternoon. We head back to
the office to find some large deliveries having shown up while we were
gone. I dash back to the stake center
while Sis Hatfield calls some missionaries to wait. It is too good an opportunity to get some of
these things out to missionaries driving long distances back to their teaching
areas. That evening in the office, Sis
Hatfield spends more hours with the phone contractor and finally says she
cannot afford any more time on this project until after transfers next week. We will line up the new phones like soldiers
on the counter. No one seems to be able
to make even these new phones work. We
turn our attention to the mission news letter and the draft of the transfer
board. There is much to do before the 19
new missionaries arrive next week.
Friday, October 2nd shows more progress on the transfer
board, with two new teaching areas and 9 missionary trios. I head over to University City, part of the
Pagedale Branch, and get to see the inside of the Hawthorne School
Apartments. They exceed my expectations. The early 20th Century four story
stone building must have been an impressive school when it opened, but its
bones outlived current school standards.
But the setting is beautiful, surrounded by lawns and a city park,
stately oaks, and a old circle drive. The
neighborhood seems diverse and friendly.
Inside, the developer turned the architect loose and he divided the
school into 41 unique apartments, preserving the hallways, stonework, thick
hardwood paneling and high arched windows.
The apartment I’m trying to rent looks like part of a former classroom,
with handsome windows that must be 15 feet tall, bathing the space in
light. The walls are covered in part
with old painted chalk boards. And to go
with the charm, the bathroom and kitchen is 100 percent new construction within
the old classroom space. I’m taken with
the place. I wish I could live here
myself.
After lunch, I meet up with the housing assistants who have had zone
council all morning. We head out to the
apartment of the Hazelwood sisters, who tell me that their can opener no longer
works to start their dryer. Hmm. When we examine things, we see that the timer
switch has fallen back into the control panel and the knob that turns the
switch is cracked. We take the panel
apart and reattach the timer, but the knob is not fixable. I leave some pliers so they can turn the
dryer control without a can opener. I
will check to see if I can order a replacement knob. Of course, they get a complimentary cleaning
under their clothes dryer. That’s just
the way we roll. As we leave, we see an
oversized dumpster in the apartment complex.
It is just the perfect spot to discard a couch that even missionaries
can’t use any longer. Back at the
office, its late, but Sis Hatfield is still plugging away at the mission newsletter,
trying to fit pictures of arriving missionaries, and looking for updated
pictures of departing missionaries (they change a lot in two years at this
age!) and edit and fit their written testimonies. It is a labor of love that these young people
will enjoy, but I don’t think they’ll ever fully appreciate the work that went into
the project. Isn’t that typical of
service in the Kingdom?
Saturday, October 3rd is General Conference. We’ve looked forward to this day for a long
time. We are so uplifted by the
testimonies and instruction of our leaders.
The Prophet is unbelievably spry and sharp. After the morning session, which we watch on
BYUtv in our apartment, we head to the office.
I’m looking for hotels and Sis Hatfield is working on departing
missionary paperwork. It isn’t our plan,
but we work through the afternoon session, listening to the talks as best we
can while doing our mission work that has clear deadlines. Blessedly, RaDene has made a plan to get
together with the Jacobs and the Evertons for dinner out between the afternoon
session and the Women’s session. We are
an unlikely trio of couples, by worldly measures. We don’t match up in many ways. But in the most important way, we are exactly
aligned: we love the Lord and His
missionaries, and are honored to be serving them. RaDene and I then go to the Jacobs for pie
and to watch the evening session at their house. As a bonus, Sis Hatfield gets to watch from
the full body massage chair.
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