Saying good-bye to the Olsen's

I'm just not fond of good-byes and today was no different. She & Elder O have given us their all. If anything goes wrong now it won't be their fault! They're staying at the mission home with the Wall's tonight then it's off to Houston, 2 stops in Denver then home to Springville, Utah.  

Sister O came in for a few hours this afternoon and we were able to get the rosters under control. It wasn't as difficult as I'd anticipated. Maybe I'm actually learning the system. Having 2 monitors makes a huge difference because of all the back and forth between programs.

By the time Marc & I left today's the alphabetical rosters and the zone rosters (6 zones, each a different color, double sided, 3 pages) were complete along with the Staples order being checked off and put away, baptisms & confirmations (hereafter to be referred to as B&C's) complete, referrals sent out, July go homes are pulled and ready to do the parents' letter on Monday. Can you believe we start 4 months before the missionaries are released to get correct info about their current address, phone & email, if the Bishop & Stake President have been changed, & which airport they'll be flying to. Travel Lady books flights 3 months in advance! 

Managing the Aftermath

Maybe aftermath is a bit overstated, but there's sure a lot to be done the day following transfers.  And it still isn't finished.

The first thing I needed to do was to take 8 messages that were left yesterday while we were at transfers. Nothing too serious and no emergencies!  That's good.  One that we all had a good laugh over was from our wonderful travel lady.  She'd received a phone call from a mom whose daughter who'd completed her mission and was flying home today.  Mom was unhappy that she was coming into a different terminal than the one she'd planned on and was coming through a hallway instead of down the escalator.  Travel lady tried to explain to her that we have contracts with certain airlines and really have no control over where they come in, but before she finished the explanation mom hung up on her.  She wanted to warn us that we may get a call and didn't want us to be blind-sided.  She's the best.  We never received a message from mom.  I have 2 questions: 1) How in the world did mom get through the massive numbers in the Church offices to find our travel lady? and 2) Does mom know that travel lady manages all incoming and outgoing missionaries for 65 missions?  If every mission has an average of 10 incoming and outgoing missionaries every transfer, and there are 8 2/3 transfers per year (there's one every 6 weeks) That's about 173 per mission plus and arm and leg or two.  Which makes somewhere around 11,167 flights she's booking every year.  I dare you to check my math on this one. I'm probably wrong somewhere in the calculations, but I don't care.  You get the idea.

Next order of business was getting out letters to parents from President Wall, a map of the mission marking the first areas where they're serving and a letter from the missionaries that they write to their parents soon after their arrival at the mission home. Usually we include a picture, but this time pictures didn't happen at the airport because of the whirlwind circumstances accompanying their arrival. That little project was completed sometime this afternoon--well past time to get into today's outgoing mail.

The Olsen's have unofficially left the office but will be at their apartment tomorrow--packing and cleaning, then we'll move to their place on Saturday.  Two bedrooms and two baths--I've died and gone to heaven.  It's amazing to realize how much space you don't need.

There is still one task that needs to be accomplished, and both Sister O and I were hoping to work on it today, but it all depends on Pres Wall.  He has to finalize the transfers on the computer and until he pushes the button our hands are tied.  The new rosters for all the zones and the alphabetical one need to be printed.  Then the letters to parents of new trainers, district leaders, zone leaders, and sister training leaders will be sent out.

Making sense of Transfers

How can I not write about such a wonderful day as this one has been?  We didn't slow down from the time we got up at 6 until just now when I immediately got into the nightgown.

I needed to get up before the usual time to finish 2 cakes for today's luncheon.  The jello cakes were in the fridge but needed the frosting, which I'll be using more often.  The Olsen's picked us up and we were off to the mission home for our first orientation.  After seeing those beautiful faces so often I felt like we were already friends.  Maddy Baird, now Sister Baird, came in with this group.  She's the cutie that we met through a mutual friend in Cedar City. (Our mutual friend is Dr. Albrecht, our optometrist. Sister Baird told us that the Dr's son just received his mission call to the Germany Alpine Mission!) The whole group looked like they could use a few more hours of sleep, but they were eager to learn and excited to be here.  Most of the girls had their hair up and no makeup and still looked perfect.  I should be so lucky!

We managed to get through our presentations and even the Olsen's complimented us on jobs well done. That was a nice boost for the confidence level.  We hurried back to the office after orientation and got what we needed for round 2--transfer meeting.  What a joyful experience that was.  I won't go through the logistics of the meeting because I think I mentioned it before.  There was one huge difference.  I actually knew what was going on!  How nice was that to be able to follow along on the "transfer board" and start recognizing names and faces.

Here are just a few highlights of the meeting.  Elder Helie, our AP who was transferred today, conducted the whole opening en espanol! Since I no hablo espanol I missed most of what was happening.  Apparently there's a tradition here that they do something unique to introduce the new AP, so they had him come up and do a little interpreting.  This is making no sense, so never mind.  It was a creative happening.

We have a new elder who arrived yesterday from the Mexico City MTC.  In his district there he met a Sister Drollinger whose brother serves in our mission.  She asked Elder Casillas to deliver it.  How surprised was he to find out that the brother is now his first companion!  No coincidences!

These are a few highlights from the "go homes" who each spoke for 3-4 minutes.  President Wall asked them to share something they learned while serving here.
Elder Knowlton: We have limitless potential if we link ourselves with the Savior.
Elder Morrow: When you're depressed, be more obedient.  When you're stressed be more
Elder Payne: "Hobbles" hold you back. The Gospel of Jesus Christ can cure that.  (Hobbles are used to hold the legs of a horse together to prevent free movement.)
Elder Riendeau: 3 things I've learned.  The Lord is my Savior (power of the Atonement).  The Lord is my Mentor (truths are deeper and richer).  The Lord is my Friend (He is always there).
Elder Scarlet: When you're down, remember you're here for a reason.
Elder Vaughn: Come what may and love it!
Sister Blauer: The Lord is always pushing us forward to where He wants us to be & where we need to be.
Sister Carolan: Trials strengthened me. Sometimes I was given just enough strength to get though one challenge then move forward.
Sister Tiller: Learned the importance of time.  Use time wisely because it goes too quickly.  The Lord is always with you. Friends are angels who will bear you up.  Be someone else's angel.
Sister Toleafoa: I had to leave just as she was starting to speak to help with the lunch:(

We had just enough time after transfers, lunch and cleanup to go back to the office, get commissary for those who needed a few more things, email parents of the new missionaries, and get back to a 5:30 session at the temple.

I'm including some pictures from transfers and also the mission office "waiting room."  But I'll finish writing about that tomorrow.  I drained!  It's time to put this day to bed!

Transfers are such a fun day filled with lots of hellos and good-byes, moving a mountain of suitcases and bikes. Missionaries aren't supposed to hang around for a long time, but it must be difficult to leave your mission family.  They love the camaraderie if even for a short time.  I didn't get many pictures, because by the time we finish cleaning up the lunch most of the missionaries are out the door.  The picture to the right is with Elder Larson.  He and Elder Steele were the first 2 elders we met after arriving in Alexandria.  We followed them to our first apartment in Marksville where they helped us unload our cargo.  I spoke to Elder L's mom not too long ago. We're trying to locate Elder L's Christmas in February.   Now we're good friends and she wanted a picture of her new friend. I hope I'll get to meet her sometime down the road.

And now for the "waiting room" story.  Last month after transfers we had so many missionaries in the office that we felt like the woman in the shoe who didn't know what to do.  Don't get me wrong.  We LOVE our missionaries, but it was pretty bedlamatic.  Some needed more commissary, bike racks that needed to be assembled or tests to take (for a variety of driving certifications). I think others just wanted to say hello before heading to some far corner of the mission, and everyone loves to get a little candy. So this time the office elders worked up this solution.  They set up the waiting room in true medical style and put out a sign up sheet so we knew who was next and what they needed.  It worked!  And the missionaries loved it.  Things went very smoothly and were so much more organized.  Kudos to Elder Adkins and Elder Watkins who both split out their slacks moving couches.  I promised them that I'd do the repairs.  It was so worth it!

Arrival of our "Firstborns"

Welcome to the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission office on the day before transfers!  Yes, that is my lunch that brought me this afternoon.  Most of it is still on the plate but there was no time to worry about food.  The mess is commissary, mail, packets for the new missionaries, this month's Ensign & Liahona for all the companionships and even a washer & dryer going to one of the apartments.  But this isn't the craziest part of the day.

Marc & I came into the office this morning at 7:30 because I had a ton of things to do.  I knew the new missionary list would be coming in from Salt Lake which requires the large envelope full of info for new elders and sisters, entering info into IMOS, new files, etc. We received 8 new elders--no sisters assigned to us this week.  They'll be coming in sometime between May and August.  After getting the messages off the phone and filling IMOS info, Sister O and I went over to the mission home to pick up cake pans and ingredients to help Sister Wall make lime jello poke cakes for tomorrow's lunch.  We also raided her recipe file for some of the great recipes she's used while here in the mission.  She's getting good at serving large amounts of people in a short amount of time.  She doesn't cook for all occasions, but pretty often.

Just after we arrived back at the office I took a call from Elder C, a new elder from the Mexico MTC.  The 3 missionaries from Mexico had arrived in Dallas and were waiting for the 7 others from the Provo MTC.  The connecting flight from Dallas to Baton Rouge had been canceled--probably due to bad weather here--and he was a little concerned! I can hardly blame him.  All of the 10 incoming missionaries had probably been up since 2 or 3 am because their flights were very early. The next flight to BR was full but chances of getting 10 people standby on a full flight are slim to none.  (A little side note on the weather.  We went from 80 to 40 degrees between Sunday night and Monday.  And the rain today is that freezing cold kind that, we found out later, had caused the freeways to have to close again.  It's just not a good thing when the bridges freeze, but that's a whole other issue that I didn't need to worry about.)

I called the travel girl in Salt Lake who handles all of our flights, both incoming and go homes.  Mind you, she manages the travel for 65 missions!  Holy Cow!!!  This lady will bend over backward for us and today was no different.  The best option we had was to reroute them to New Orleans.  The only other possibility was to put them in a hotel and bring them in tomorrow morning.  Um. Not a chance. On transfer day there wouldn't even be anyone available to go to the airport.  Travel lady talked to Pres Wall and the arrangements were made. Everyone was scrambling to get the Wall's, the van and the trailer (to carry 25 pieces of luggage to New Orleans).

We didn't hear much for awhile, then, around 3 pm, we discovered that the missionaries were safely on their way to Baton Rouge but their luggage wasn't!  Worse than that, they're told to bring an overnight bag to stay at the mission home tonight. Normally their luggage is safely stowed till tomorrow when they meet their new companions and head to their first areas, and all they need is a few overnight items. Unfortunately, for some reason the airline made them check all of their carry-ons.  Oh, our poor missionaries.  They arrived with whatever they had in their pockets or purses.  No comb, brush, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, change of clothes--NOTHING!  I guess you  could say they started their missions with a real adventure.

I'm excited to meet them tomorrow morning and put the names with the faces that I've seen dozens of times and grown to love already. This is the first group of missionaries that I really feel a relationship.  I'd just like to call them my firstborns in the mission:)

It's not likely that I'll be posting tomorrow because we'll be busy from before dawn till well past dark.  After we do the orientation at the mission home we'll get back to the office to get a few daily chores accomplished, pick up about 18 trays of Subway sandwiches then back to the Stake Center for transfers, help serve lunch and clean up.  We should be back to the office by 3:30 or 4, breathe, then the temple session at 5:30.  With a little luck we'll be home around 8:30.

The Minions are at it again!

The first thing we do on Monday morning is now check the toilet paper roll in the bathroom to see what our humorous Elders A & W have left, and we weren't disappointed today.  Just in case you can't read it, this is what it says. "The Olsens" Wish we could hold on to Y'all but this will help wipe away the tears.  Pretty cute!

We went into the office at 7:30 this morning because I had some things to get done before the phone started ringing and our Monday meeting started.  My intention was to put away the commissary items we'd purchased last week.  They were still on the counter in the back room.  I never even made it to the back. Fortunately, Sister O put things away and finished filling the orders so we'd almost be ready for Wednesday.  I say almost because one zone still hasn't sent in their order.  I'm not sure what they'll get once they do.  Up front I was prepping for the meeting--new calendars, birthday cards to sign, itineraries for the Wall's (2 visa waiters leaving today, 10 coming from the Provo & Mexico MTC's on Wednesday and 9 leaving on Thursday), updated arrival and departure list (we've already started receiving notification of incoming missionaries for August), getting the folders ready for the Wall's including mail, certificates to sign, and a variety of other things.  AND the referrals just keep coming in!  I'm just wondering how this is all going to come together after the O's leave.

This is a follow-up on Elder Fontenot's sausage and the YW fundraiser.  I don't know how many po' boys you can get from a pound of sausage, but they made them on the hoagie rolls from Sam's Club, so my guess it 2-3.  They sold completely out of them, making the Young Women happy because they surpassed their goal.  It was a tax-free weekend, so the store where they set up their project was very busy.  While there was a little bit of slow time the girls rotated so they could eat their lunch. One of the girls took a bite out of her po' boy then put it back in the wrapper and put it down so she could do something else.  When she turned around one of the other girls had sold it!

Weather expressions in the South:
     "Frog stranglers" and "gully washers" for heavy showers
     "It's gonna come a stump-floater and a gully washer." for flooding rain
     "It's coming' up a cloud!" is something the ancestors said referring to a "rain episode"
     "It's raining pitchforks and plow handles" means extremely hard rain (I think it might kill you!)
     "God's tater wagon turned over!" or "The angels are bowling." referred to thunder
     "It was blowing to beat the band." means windy weather
     "The devil is getting married" is a shining sun and rain.

The Olsen's Last Sunday

Sundays are always such good days.  I just enjoy the opportunity of going to our little branch and visiting with the members.  It was testimony meeting today, and there's such a sweet spirit.  It was the Olsen's last day to attend the branch so it was emotional.  They've had a very positive impact on the people there, and you can tell that they are loved and will be greatly missed.  Elder Olsen turned over his Aaronic Priesthood Manual to Marc as he'll start teaching next week.  There's only one young man, so it will be quality time.  I haven't received a calling yet, but Sister Olsen has been teaching the 4th Sunday in Relief Society.  Maybe I'll get to try to fill her shoes.

I met Sister Tracy Washington for the first time today.  She's active but has a hard time getting to church because she's a CNA and works at a rest home in Baton Rouge.  She's the only member of the Church in her family--a common occurrence here.  Fortunately her husband is supportive of her but not interested in coming himself.  She has older children, not at home anymore, who are also nonmembers.

Since it was Fast Sunday, we had our usual "Break the Fast" meal after church and it was quite a spread--ham, turkey, apple-chicken salad, jambalaya (which I think I'll call yumbalaya because there was nothing weird in it), rolls, lasagna, creamed corn and a boatload of desserts. Something I hadn't had before was Mexican lasagna from Walmart (Great Value brand).  That just might show up on next week's menu.  Marc really liked it--probably because there's no garlic.  It's always nice to have a hearty meal and not have to make it.  Well, that's not exactly right, because we took Arlene's beans and Mom's banana cake, rolls and some of Elder F's smoked ham.

Nottoway Mansion, White Castle LA

The plan for today was to go to Spanish Town and watch the afternoon Mardi Gras parade, but yesterday the Olsen's invited us to go to White Castle to tour Nottoway House--the largest remaining antebellum mansion/plantation in the South. Since this is the Olsen's last week in Louisiana, we opted for the tour. We can go to Mardi Gras next year.

Nottoway was completed in 1859. This 53,000 Square foot mansion took 8 years to plan and 2 years to build.  John Randolph was originally a cotton planter but believed a fortune could be made in sugar production, so he mortgaged his smaller home and 46 slaves to borrow money to build the first steam-operated sugar mill in Iberville Parish.  Well on his way to becoming a sugar magnate, he built "white castle" for his wife and 11 children. (Actually 9 of them were born there.)

Built on the banks of the Mississippi, it was extermely innovative for its time with hot and cold running water and 3 bathrooms with sinks, tubs and flush toilets.  The ceilings are 15 feet high and the doors on the main level are 11 feet.  It's built on 3 levels with 64 rooms, 27 of which were closets, 6 interior staircases, 165 doors and 200 windows.

The 200 year old oak trees were absolutely majestic!













The gates lead out to the Mississippi River.  The green levee behind them wasn't built until the 1960's.  Today you can see the river from the balcony on the upper floor.




                                                                            
The most unique room is the semi-circular white ballroom.  All of the wood used to build the house is cypress, which is impervious to water and termites.  It took 6 years to soak the cypress because it will only bend 1 inch per year.

The main reason I took a picture of this place setting is because of the knife holder, if that's what it's called.  I would definitely use them if they were available today.  How many times has my knife slid off the plate?  More times than I can count.  Perhaps I'll go on a quest.

After the tour we had a southern lunch at the Mansion House Restaurant (the restaurant is on the first floor of the mansion. See the tables in there?)--lump crab cake, cornbread and broccolini.  Best cornbread I've had since we arrived in the South.  I thought everyone knew how to make cornbread down here, but I've changed my mind.  Finally, moist cornbread.  It probably has a pound of butter in it!

I've given up trying to match pictures with captions.  There must be something wrong with my computer!