What do I know? So far I've received word of 2 incoming missionaries, made up and sent their pre-MTC packet, figured out how to send a new referral for Elder Asuao, labeled some new files to replace the old, tattered looking ones, tried to forward a letter to an Elder who was released a few months ago, but stamps.com wasn't cooperating, received travel itineraries for the March 4 incoming missionaries--3 are coming from the Mexico City MTC and 9 are coming from Provo.
What do I still need to learn? I don't know how to change the names of Wards and Stakes in missionaries' profiles. The first time I tried but couldn't figure out how because, according to church records the ward doesn't exist, so I called the elder whose mom goes to the new ward and asked for the name of the ward. That ward doesn't exist either. Well, actually, it does, but I didn't type it correctly so contacted our son in Long Beach who's in the same stake and he was able to get me on track. But I still couldn't make the change. Put that in the "Sister Olsen, what do I do now?" pile.
Received a change on an incoming sister's report date. No problem. Went ahead and sent the "new missionary" packet because a new arrival date didn't affect anything. Went into the computer to change the release date and discovered that it's on Thanksgiving, which may or may not be a problem. Do we still get incoming missionaries on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving? If so, then do we still have transfers on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving because new missionaries need their companions when they get to church on Wed. of transfer day. Just another question for the "Sister Olsen" pile.
I did get to visit with these 2 sweet sisters today, both before and after their district service project to remove ground cover and trim branches from a tree stump. Sister Schmutz (right) is from Cottonwood Heights in the Salt Lake area. She attended BYUI before coming on her mission and will return in the fall but isn't sure what direction she'll go yet. She's one of the 21 missionaries who'll be released in August. She's served in North Baton Rouge, Covington and now Baton Rouge. Sister Wolf grew up in Texas but is now from Clearfield, UT. She worked as a CNA before her mission and will go back to her old job when her mission is complete. She'll also go back to school but isn't sure if she'll continue in the nursing field/ She's been out for 10 months and has served in Lafayette, Natchitoches, Many and Baton Rouge. Love these girls!
So, at 4 pm Elder Adkins said something about a referral which reminded me that I hadn't checked them since Friday. Holy cow! There were 45! I was hoping to get them finished by 5. No such luck. I only completed 15:( They take a little time, but I really thought I was a bit more efficient. This is the process. Click onto the name then type the address in "find a meetinghouse" on lds.org. That will give you the correct ward or branch. The time consuming part is figuring out which zone it's in, locating the ward or branch and district, then deciding on who to give it to if there's more than one set of missionaries in the area. Then you have to determine which ones live closer to the referral so they use the least amount of miles. (Miles are harder to budget than money and they only get 1000/month which isn't much in these very geographically large areas.) And that's why I'm so slow at this task. As knowledge of zone, district, ward and branch boundaries increases the amount of time spent should hopefully decrease. I think my next project, during a quiet moment at the office, will be to alphabetize and cross reference the districts and wards.
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