A Most Unusual Day

We arrived at the office today at 7:30, and by 8:30 these 3 sets of shelves were neat and clean (and I needed to go home for another shower)!  Yes, a before and after shot would've been more impressive, but it didn't happen.  They weren't horrible, but now there's some extra space and a few of the things we don't use (like 2 cases of pass along cards for the Laie, Hawaii Temple) are out of reach where I can't see them.  Really, what on earth did someone order those for.  I'd send them to Hawaii, but the cost would be prohibitive.

There's still plenty of work to do in here and in the bigger back room, but we just received our new computers and monitors and things are all over for obvious reasons.  When we left tonight Elder Watkins was setting mine up. That just strikes fear into my heart because  every time we replace our home computer something or many somethings get lost.  I'm not sure what I'll do if that happens.  I'd never be able to recreate email lists and who knows what else.  Good luck Elder W.  I'll be praying very hard that everything was backed up a transfers without a hitch!

Today was the oddest conglomerations of needs and tasks that I've had since starting.  Here's just a little sampling of the day.

Elder B's mom called to give some information to President Wall.  She wasn't asking him to deliver the message.  She'll do that in her email on Monday.  She just felt that the Pres needed to know the situation.  A good friend, age 19, from our elder's home stake, was accidentally killed by a gunshot.  I didn't delve into the circumstances but can certainly see why Pres Wall should be informed.  Pres Wall happened to be finishing a meeting in the office and was visibly sad but appreciated getting the news.

On a happier note, I learned how to get incorrect data changed in Church Data Entries.  Elder M had come in for the meeting and asked it he'd done the Baptism and Confirmation form correctly.  He was in the training meeting when Sister Olsen explained how to properly fill out the form.  As I reviewed it I remembered wondering if the preferred name was really accurate.  One thing I discovered today is that if I slightly question any of the entries, call the elder that did the baptism interview.  I didn't do that and as a result the entry was incorrect.  In my defense, Elder M agreed that what should have been an "r" did, in fact, look like an "n."  I actually found the correct SLC phone number and our problem was solved.  Hooray!

Even the commissary orders that came in today were a bit unusual.  There are several things we don't keep on hand in large quantities, like auxiliary manuals, things for Young Men and Young Women programs, and other odds and ends.  Wouldn't you know that today would be the day that everyone would want what's not on the shelves--Principios del Evangelio (6 copies), Ensenanzas de los Presidentes de la Iglesia--Joseph F. Smith (6 copies), For the Strength of Youth pamphlets (20) are just a few of the requests.  I suggested they get them through their wards since they're not typically missionary tools.  I'm not saying they aren't good resources, but just not something we generally furnish.

Elder B's mom called Monday to say that Pres Wall needed to sign her son's ecclesiastical endorsement before she could register him for classes at BYU.  I mentioned it to the president at our Monday meeting.  He's always so good to take care of those things.  He'd just done one the day before and Elder B's name wasn't on the list.  Mom called Tuesday, and I explained what Pres Wall said on Monday. Mom called on Wednesday, and I told her Pres Wall wasn't home for a few days as he was attending meetings in other parts of the vineyard. Well, I didn't say it quite like that. DAD called on Thursday, and I was tempted to tell him that it's a good thing Elder B isn't in Russia.  Told him the same thing I told mom on Wednesday.  Marc corralled Pres Wall before the meeting this morning and told him what was going on.  Poor man! Does he ever get a minute to himself?  Probably not. Nobody called today!!

Received a call from Miss Sarah.  I've spoken to her before.  More like she's spoken to me before. She's blind, her moher was blind and her grandmother was blind.  I think she's just a very lonely woman who needs to talk to someone.  I referred her to 2 of our sweet Baton Rouge sister.  They've been to her home and she wanted to visit with them again but misplaced their phone number.  I called them to say Miss Sarah would like them to come again.  They were there this morning.  Oh dear!

Saints Unified Voices (Gladys Knight's choir) are coming here to sing at the Baton Rouge Stake Center in April.  I'm not going into the myriad of details involved with this activity but was informed that we need to have on hand 400 copies of the Book of Mormon and 400 copies of The Restoration DVD.

Someone from the referral desk in Utah called about a referral we'd received in January.  I'd dropped it because the address was non-existant, and without an address you can't figure out what ward boundaries a person is in or which missionaries to assign.  The phone number wasn't a local one so we had no information to go on other than he lives in Baton Rouge.  Let's see.  We have about 17 sets of missionaries in BR. I gave it to the Zone Leaders.  They have a little more flexibility on making phone calls.  Missionaries aren't supposed to make calls outside their districts, but with cell phones it's pretty hard to know who's in and who's out.  It's now in the hands of Elder J and Elder C.

One last matter, then I think that's about enough of today's encounters.  Last Monday at our office meeting President Wall mentioned a that Elder Kopischke had quoted Elder Bednar when he (Elder K) was here for some training the week before. President wanted to know what the pamplet was as he hadn't seen it before and really wanted to have our missionaries hear it and benefit from it.  I found a quote similar to what Pres. Wall stated in an October 2011 Conference talk by Elder David A. Bednar.

In his address, Elder Bednar invited all, and particularly the young people of the Church, to learn about and experience the Spirit of Elijah.  Then he said, "I promise you will be protected against the intensifying influence of the adversary. As you participate in and love this holy work, you will be safeguarded in your youth and throughout your lives.” (From “The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn”) What a powerful promise that is and well worth expending some energy in that direction!

President Wall was SO happy when I showed him a copy of the pamphlet and the back page with the quote.  I ordered 200 today!