Gotta Love Mondays!

I actually love Mondays! I look forward to getting back to the Mission Office and delving into our work.  I also enjoy the office meeting followed by lunch (so far always at Olive Garden).  But just when you think you're getting a handle on things everything gets turned upside down and you wonder if 5 more weeks of training will be enough. We talked about some of the needs for the missionaries in case of emergency, ie, hurricanes, floods or tornados. The discussions about who gets what new cars, which apartments are in safe or not-quite-as-safe locations, which branches want sisters, where the President should speak next month, etc. all go right over my head.  I don't know which districts are in what zones yet, so that's yet another thing I want to learn so conversations will make some sort of sense. I did come home and make a color-coded, alphabetized list of all the districts so when someone mentions a district I'll immediately know where it is. Maybe I need a crash course in Louisiana geography! And then there's the "Ditch." That's what they call the Mississippi River down here. It snakes and winds it's way through our mission and you have to know where and how to cross it to be most convenient and use the least amount of miles on the 52 mission cars. I'm glad that's not my responsibility.

One of our missionaries went home today but must have missed his connecting flight so was on standby for another. Pres Wall asked me to see if he made the flight. That took a little doing but was finally accomplished without breaching airline security. Actually, I glad it happened while Sister Olsen was still here for some assistance.  The mom was SO excited when I called to tell her what time her missionary would be arriving. That was fun because I could hear the excitement in her voice and knew what she was feeling.

We're getting information together to send to the new Mission President as Pres & Sister Wall will be released at the end of June. Got out this weeks birthday cards, updated incoming and outgoing list, changed a go home date, processed information from incoming missionaries, ordered a few name tags, had to call some elders to tell them that the people below them in their apartment had complained because they were bouncing a ball at night. Why did WE get this call? What I didn't tell the elders is that the downstairs tenants had called someone in Texas (probably a Mormon friend) and complained to him and asked him to call us. REALLY?  After a conversation with the elders I learned that the complainant (ok, it wasn't a legal complaint) had complained numerous times to a variety of people, including the manager. The floors are so thin that you can hardly walk across them without being heard. And how many hours a day are they in their apartment? Very few.  So if Mister Texas man ever calls back I will very politely tell him the elders side of the story and hope he will relay the message to the whiners. Please don't mess with my elders! I can already feel the mother bear syndrome beginning to set in.

I know this doesn't sound like much, but some things have to be recorded in 2, 3 or 4 locations, so it's all time consuming, but I expect that to change with experience.

You know you're in the mission field when the only 2 people in the whole office talking about the Super Bowl are 2 senior sisters!

The Plaquemine Branch

How many times can I say "I Love These People?" We've been assigned to another wonderful little branch in Plaquemine.  I'm learning so much from these small branches and hope I can get it all on paper.  What you see here is what you get. There are no pretenses and nothing fake about these very unpretentious people. It won't take long to get to know them because they're welcoming and open and few in number.  There were about 30 members there today. Most of them are first generation members and some of those have married children in the branch (who are obviously second generation members).  Some have given up family and friends to join the church, and they're well in the minority. Most seem to be part member families. I don't think there were any "complete" (meaning father, mother, children or even husband and wife) families there today.  They give lessons straight from the manuals (no sidebars) and their testimony meetings are just that--honest and heartfelt testimonies. Because so many did not grow up with the gospel as a part of their lives they've had to study and learn everything that I grew up with. Sadly, I can now see how much I've taken for granted. There was one sister in Marksville who'd been a member for about 8 years. She's read Jesus the Christ 3 or 4 times. I've been a member since day 1 and only read it once.

My hope is to get to know and share some of their stories as I get to know these people.  Today's sweet sister is Louise Harris.  I know she was born in 1933 and raised in northern Louisiana, east of Monroe and one of three daughters. Her father left the family after the 3rd daughter was born. Her mother couldn't read so she worked at menial jobs so her daughters could be educated.  She said she'd eat soda crackers and water if she had to so they could get an education.  Her 3 daughters taught her how to read, but especially Sister Harris. Without mom having to exist on crackers and water, she did graduate from Grambling State University and went on to teach English and Social Studies at Plaquemine High School for 40 years. I asked her how she got through college.  A politician gave her a $125 scholarship. The cost at that time was $128/semester and $35/month for room and board. Sister Harris got a job correcting papers in the English Department which paid $16.50 so her mom made up the difference.   Her husband was the basketball coach there and at the junior high school for many years. Although he's been deceased for about 10 years, he was very highly thought of and yearly basketball tournament held at the high school is named in his honor. He was also the Branch President for many years.

The Harris's joined the church about 35 years ago and have 4 children--identical twin sons and 2 daughters, so their children were raised with the gospel. Both sons served missions and all 4 children are WELL educated--1 doctor, 2 attorneys and an educator with a PhD. Sister Harris is currently serving as the Relief Society President and also has a weekly scripture study in her home for any who'd like to attend. And there's no way that this woman looks 80 years old!

P-Day Note

Note for all future P-Days: Do shopping and errands as early as possible, and try to avoid Baton Rouge streets on Saturdays, especially Sherwood Forest Road! I'd like to think that all of Baton Rouge is doing their shopping on Saturday so they don't have go anywhere except church on Sunday, but I'm pretty sure that's not a good assumption. We did finish up around 1 then went to the Texas Roadhouse for a yummy lunch. We had a terrific server, and the good news is that I won't be fixing dinner tonight. I had fried chicken strips. Finally, some southern fried chicken, and Elder L. had the second item on the menu! Ok, you know if HE ordered Road Kill it wasn't squirrel or 'possum. It was actually a ground sirloin steak.

Tomorrow we'll start going to the Plaquemine Branch. (I think that means we'll be speaking again.) We've been told that they have about 20 who reguarly attend, which makes it smaller than Marksville. But they do actually have a building, not a triple wide. Following the meetings they'll have a "break the fast" lunch. That'll be fun as it will give us the opportunity to meet the members. Sister Wall shared a story with us recently about a baptism they attended in the Plaquemine Branch not too long after they arrived in LA (from Utah). One of the sisters gave the closing prayer, and this is part of what she said: "I give ALL my glory to Jesus. I don't give none of my glory to satan. I give it all to Jesus."  Sister Wall's comment: "We're not it Utah anymore! We all worship the same, but the words may be different."

As of last transfer day we have both elders and sisters in the branch. The sisters are new to the area. Pres. Wall usually names the companionships by the location where they're serving and debated on what to name the sisters. He decided that he didn't want to call them the Plaquemine or Plaq sisters so they've been named the Plackettes! Love it!

Service with a Smile

How fun was it to answer the doorbell this morning and see these two happy faces--Elders Watkins and Adkins.  They live in the building next to ours and had come to get the truck keys so they could scrape the windshield and warm the truck before we drove to the office! Talk about thoughtful. These are our 2 office elders and they're the best. They can do anything and everything, including making your life more comfortable. We're only about 3 blocks from the office so the truck doesn't even get warmed up before we arrive. But it was warm today! Very nice since it was 19 degrees when we left this morning.

I was actually by myself for about an hour today and managed to keep things under control without doing any damage. The 4 elders, 2 seniors and 2 young 'uns had gone to Gretna to move some elders from one apartment to another.  They're still not home and it's 7 pm. Gretna is about 1 1/2 hours away and a suburb of New Orleans, so they'll be worn out by the time they get home. Well, I'm sure the young elders will be fine, but the seniors will be ready to drop into bed.

Sister Olsen went home for lunch, so that left me in charge. :-) There was plenty to do as I was trying to get summaries for the new missionaries completed. Our next transfer is on March 5. We'll have 11 new missionaries arriving on March 4 and we make up summaries and index cards for each of them. By the time they arrive I'll feel like I already know them. I've seen their faces so many times and read a little about each of them. It's a great introduction for me. 

I also have a presentation to prepare for a training meeting the President is having for all the zone and district leaders next week.  We'll be doing a little instruction on properly filling out the form for baptism and confirmation. This is probably the most important form we have because it's what we use in the office to send to Salt Lake to be recorded on official church records. Better get it right!

Baton Rouge, the Ghost Town

Ok, maybe ghost town is a bit extreme, so how about semi-ghost town. I don't know about the rest of the South but Baton Rouge has been crippled by the cold. It's like nothing we've ever experienced before. It's not snow but freezing rain. When we drove to the office this morning some of the parking lots looked more like ice skating rinks. The steps and sidewalks are so slippery, and I'm just waiting for my first acrobatic maneuver down our 19 cement steps. The freeways are shut down as are many businesses, restaurants and stores. Trucks aren't able to get where they're going so no deliveries. We didn't get mail today and Sam's Club was even closed. We've actually benefitted from the light traffic. People just aren't out in their cars which makes it easy for us to get onto the main street by our apartment which is usually a nightmare.

Meanwhile, back at the office, it was almost business as usual. The missionaries were asked not to drive for the past 2 days which is playing havoc with the interview schedule. Pres. Wall usually goes to each zone then he interviews each of the missionaries at one of the church buildings. Since there's no driving he's come into the office and met with the elders and sisters who live close by. I know some of the sisters walked because we took 2 of them home at lunchtime.

We honestly have the best missionaries ever, and everyday just gets better as I get to meet and visit with them. They're polite, friendly, helpful, etc. etc. Y'all and yes ma'am are becoming 2 of my favorite words. And then there are the office elders. They'll bend over backwards for anything we need. They're great with the computer programs, office machines, problem solving and have taught me a ton.  Today I learned how to layer the map on lds.org so I can figure out ward, stake or mission boundaries. Brilliant! Now if I can just remember everything.

Getting to know the Missionaries

So far, for me, the best part of this mission is getting to know the people. Everyone has been wonderful, welcoming and kind. But since we're in the office, we have the most interaction with the missionaries, and I love them all! They're fun to talk to and brighten every day!

Today I visited with an Elder who will be returning home in 3 weeks. He is so darned cute and pleasant, but his testimony is powerful.  He was visiting with us in the office today while his companion was having his quarterly interview with the President and shared this story about his experience in 4H. When he was in sixth grade he bought his first piglet to raise and sell.  He fed, cleaned, watered and walked Wilbur (yes, he was named for Charlotte's Web) faithfully everyday, all summer long. Then it came time to take him to the county fair. He made it to the Star class but wasn't chosen grand or reserve champion. But Elder P was very excited and so proud of his pig. Then it came time to round the piggies up and take them to the auction. Elder P said he absolutely bawled when he had to part with Wilbur. Later that fall they had the 4H barbecue and gave out the checks for the the amount they'd been sold for. Wilbur earned Elder P $883. That changed his perspective on selling pigs, and for the next few years he named his pigs names like Cash, Greenback, etc!

Mondays are Meeting Days

Every Monday morning is the office meeting day with Pres. & Sister Wall. The office Elders, AP's and senior office couples attend. It gives us a chance to go over anything that need to be brought to the President's attention, clear calendar items, review the coming week, etc. And then, the tradition is to go out to lunch. Well twist my arm! Sounds like a good tradition to me. Lunch is really only for Pres & Sister Wall and the office couple (or couples for now.) I'm going to love this weekly get together with the Wall's because it gives us the opportunity to get to know them on a more personal level and not just in the mission forum. We'll be getting a new mission president in July and guess who'll be helping to train them! Yup! Us! I don't really know how much we'll work with them, but they don't really get much training at the MTC so we'll probably get to introduce them to the office activities.

Our office elders are a huge help and quite humorous. They even clean the bathrooms! Last week they folded the end of the toilet paper like you'd find in a hotel.  This is what we found today!