Dear Family,
What a wonderful week this has been. Last Sunday evening I looked forward to the upcoming week with a little bit of discomfort. It would be our turn to have an injured elder in our home. Knowing that we would have to live the rules of the younger missionaries was a concern. We as senior missionaries have a little more flexibility in our routine. I also realized that I would have to do more cooking—we have gotten a little lazy and relaxed about what we have for dinner. We also had to think of fixing breakfast for someone new because he was supposed to be off of his feet. We would have to share a bathroom, make another lunch. It would be harder to go and do the things that were required. Either we took him with us or I would go by myself. We were more than happy to help out, but my natural man thoughts were concerned about the logistics. We had had him in the office this past week making sure he was keeping his leg elevated and iced when needed and trying to find meaningful tasks for him to do. He was so good to help as he could, but I’m sure that he got tired of being with the senior missionaries and not with those of his age.
Monday was the first of July and the day for our senior missionary get together at the mission home. All the items to bring were signed up for, so all that was left was a money donation towards the meet—that was the easiest contribution we have made towards a pot luck dinner. Elder Larsen and Dad went in the morning to help our “friend” David move. Dad called and asked the missionaries on the receiving end of the move if they could meet them and help get him moved in. He wanted David to have contact with the missionaries he would hopefully be working with now that he was moved. The senior dinner was set for 6 p.m .and we always enjoy them because we don’t get to see the other senior couples that don’t work in the office very often. President and Sister Caplin always invite their neighbor to come and they were there. The husband would love to come to everything we do, but the wife seems a little reticent. Sister Caplin feels like it is because she is afraid of where it could lead. One of the senior elders that works in the office played the piano and sang some patriotic songs and then we had a chance to ask President questions about procedures/rules for seniors. It was good to get clarification on that. When we got home we let the other senior couple know we had arrived home and were ready for our elder to come.
Tuesday we got up and got all three of us to the office on time and without too much difference in our schedules. The real test is to be able to get dinner fixed in a timely fashion when we get home. We had a nice visit with our Elder and learned more about his journey to the mission field. How grateful I am for the home I was raised in and for the love and acceptance that was show to me. I never wondered if I was loved or valued. That is not always true for everyone. When it was time for bed we had to prepare an ice bag to help with the pain for the night. This has been going on since the 1st of March and the foot/ankle still hurts. Hopefully with the complete rest he will be to heal. However, he has been in enough pain that he made a doctor’s appointment for Wednesday so he could see if the ankle was healing.
Wednesday was another day at the office with lots of people in and out. Maybe it was so many people, but with the extra elder there and our office elders needing to spend more time than usual at the office it just seemed a little crowded. Our elder left with the nurse and her husband to go to the doctor and we will be interested in finding out how the foot is doing. We left the office by 5 so that we could be home by the time he got back from the doctor. Dad needed to take some packets for the incoming missionaries to the mission home, so he took our elder with him. I stayed home to get dinner ready. When they got home we found that our elder’s ankle was not healing and that he would, in deed, need surgery. Knowing that further rest would not heal the foot, I think that our elder was anxious to get home and get the surgery done so that he can begin to heal. I think knowing what was in his future, has made him more at peace. Now to get the travel arrangements made. While Dad was at the mission home President Caplin told him that we should not go into the office. We called the other office couples and our part time missionary and told them to enjoy the 4th.
Dad had things that needed to be done at the office in preparation for transfers on Monday, so we went in and I did a few things while Dad was working. Our companion (our elder) did some study and then we went to a district council because we enjoy them and because we felt it would be some kind of missionary work he could participate in and not injure in foot any further. I was so glad that we went. I can’t believe how good these missionaries are. They are articulate and wonderful teachers being able to direct a discussion that enlightens our minds, but most importantly our hearts. Our companion/elder was able to bear his testimony of the Savior that he has come to through personal experiences. I can’t believe how incredibly impressed I am with these young elders and sisters.
We went back to the office to do a few things more, stopped to get a little lunch, and then went to Bull Run which is the sight of the first battle of the Civil War. We didn’t do the walking tours not only because we had someone who wouldn’t do well with that much walking, but also because the heat and humidity would do well for me. There was a little museum and a 45-minute movie depicting the battle along with another one that took place two later. It seemed a little strange to be walking on ground where a battle took place. The first battle brought ladies from Washington D. C. with their picnic blankets and food hampers to watch a skirmish that they thought would end very quickly. Even if it had been a skirmish, I can’t understand anyone wanting to watch people get killed. We went home to have dinner and maybe watch a video Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration. The fireworks were too far away and would have involved too much walking so we opted for staying at home. I hadn’t seen this new version of the video so enjoyed watching it.
Friday felt like a Sunday since Thursday felt like a Saturday. It was, however, the 1st of 4 days of interviews. It was good to see these missionaries that we have really grown to love and admire. It will be hard to see so many leaders leave. Finally, about 4:30-5:00 we got word that things had been arranged for our elder to go home and have surgery. Now we needed to just wait and see when they would get travel arranged. After cleaning the office we found that our missionary would be flying out at noon on Saturday. We really hope that his parents will be supportive and help him heal not only physically, but stay motivated to return.
Saturday we were up early because another office couple wanted to take him out to breakfast and then on to the airport. Having been tied pretty close to home, we spent Saturday running errands and doing chores at home. Dad needed some white shirts to wear, so while he did WES work I ironed many many of his shirts. Hopefully my arm will not talk too loudly to me. About 6 we left for the baptism of the lady he interviewed the week before. He was pretty excited to actually be doing the baptism—the last baptism he had done was about 2 years ago when we took Emma to the temple to do baptism. It was a wonderful experience for him and the baptism was very nice.
Sunday we were finally able to have David go to church with us. Elder Larsen also came up from Woodbridge to go to church with him. David seemed to enjoy church, but found things a bit different. After church Dad helped the missionaries make an appoint for Wednesday to meet with David. We were pretty excited. As we drove home in the heat and humidity we discovered our air conditioner again decided to quit working. That is NO fun. We also got a text from David saying that he would not be able to make the appointment because he had to turn himself into the court because of an outstanding warrant. When we told Elder Larsen about it, he immediately got in touch with David to see what he could do to help. Elder Larsen has been a criminal defense attorney prior to coming here. He can’t be David’s lawyer, but can give advice. We’ll have to see what comes from all of this.
We stopped by James’ home to drop off a copy of The Friend that we had ordered thinking that he might enjoy reading it to his children.
In the evening was our Come Unto Me Devotional where all of the newly baptized and returning members of the past 6 weeks come together. Three to Four people are invited to tell their conversion story and it is wonderful. Each devotional is different from the last and every conversion story is different, but wonderful. Heavenly Father really is aware of each of us and loves us all.
After the devotional, Dad was asked to interview a sister for baptism. She had answered yes to ones of the questions that requires a more experienced person. Again, Dad enjoys that. We were a bit late getting home and will be starting our week of transfers a little behind the 8-ball as far as sleep is concerned.
That is about it for this week—albeit a little late. I’ll do better next week.
Know that we love you lots,
Mom
What a wonderful week this has been. Last Sunday evening I looked forward to the upcoming week with a little bit of discomfort. It would be our turn to have an injured elder in our home. Knowing that we would have to live the rules of the younger missionaries was a concern. We as senior missionaries have a little more flexibility in our routine. I also realized that I would have to do more cooking—we have gotten a little lazy and relaxed about what we have for dinner. We also had to think of fixing breakfast for someone new because he was supposed to be off of his feet. We would have to share a bathroom, make another lunch. It would be harder to go and do the things that were required. Either we took him with us or I would go by myself. We were more than happy to help out, but my natural man thoughts were concerned about the logistics. We had had him in the office this past week making sure he was keeping his leg elevated and iced when needed and trying to find meaningful tasks for him to do. He was so good to help as he could, but I’m sure that he got tired of being with the senior missionaries and not with those of his age.
Monday was the first of July and the day for our senior missionary get together at the mission home. All the items to bring were signed up for, so all that was left was a money donation towards the meet—that was the easiest contribution we have made towards a pot luck dinner. Elder Larsen and Dad went in the morning to help our “friend” David move. Dad called and asked the missionaries on the receiving end of the move if they could meet them and help get him moved in. He wanted David to have contact with the missionaries he would hopefully be working with now that he was moved. The senior dinner was set for 6 p.m .and we always enjoy them because we don’t get to see the other senior couples that don’t work in the office very often. President and Sister Caplin always invite their neighbor to come and they were there. The husband would love to come to everything we do, but the wife seems a little reticent. Sister Caplin feels like it is because she is afraid of where it could lead. One of the senior elders that works in the office played the piano and sang some patriotic songs and then we had a chance to ask President questions about procedures/rules for seniors. It was good to get clarification on that. When we got home we let the other senior couple know we had arrived home and were ready for our elder to come.
Tuesday we got up and got all three of us to the office on time and without too much difference in our schedules. The real test is to be able to get dinner fixed in a timely fashion when we get home. We had a nice visit with our Elder and learned more about his journey to the mission field. How grateful I am for the home I was raised in and for the love and acceptance that was show to me. I never wondered if I was loved or valued. That is not always true for everyone. When it was time for bed we had to prepare an ice bag to help with the pain for the night. This has been going on since the 1st of March and the foot/ankle still hurts. Hopefully with the complete rest he will be to heal. However, he has been in enough pain that he made a doctor’s appointment for Wednesday so he could see if the ankle was healing.
Wednesday was another day at the office with lots of people in and out. Maybe it was so many people, but with the extra elder there and our office elders needing to spend more time than usual at the office it just seemed a little crowded. Our elder left with the nurse and her husband to go to the doctor and we will be interested in finding out how the foot is doing. We left the office by 5 so that we could be home by the time he got back from the doctor. Dad needed to take some packets for the incoming missionaries to the mission home, so he took our elder with him. I stayed home to get dinner ready. When they got home we found that our elder’s ankle was not healing and that he would, in deed, need surgery. Knowing that further rest would not heal the foot, I think that our elder was anxious to get home and get the surgery done so that he can begin to heal. I think knowing what was in his future, has made him more at peace. Now to get the travel arrangements made. While Dad was at the mission home President Caplin told him that we should not go into the office. We called the other office couples and our part time missionary and told them to enjoy the 4th.
Dad had things that needed to be done at the office in preparation for transfers on Monday, so we went in and I did a few things while Dad was working. Our companion (our elder) did some study and then we went to a district council because we enjoy them and because we felt it would be some kind of missionary work he could participate in and not injure in foot any further. I was so glad that we went. I can’t believe how good these missionaries are. They are articulate and wonderful teachers being able to direct a discussion that enlightens our minds, but most importantly our hearts. Our companion/elder was able to bear his testimony of the Savior that he has come to through personal experiences. I can’t believe how incredibly impressed I am with these young elders and sisters.
We went back to the office to do a few things more, stopped to get a little lunch, and then went to Bull Run which is the sight of the first battle of the Civil War. We didn’t do the walking tours not only because we had someone who wouldn’t do well with that much walking, but also because the heat and humidity would do well for me. There was a little museum and a 45-minute movie depicting the battle along with another one that took place two later. It seemed a little strange to be walking on ground where a battle took place. The first battle brought ladies from Washington D. C. with their picnic blankets and food hampers to watch a skirmish that they thought would end very quickly. Even if it had been a skirmish, I can’t understand anyone wanting to watch people get killed. We went home to have dinner and maybe watch a video Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration. The fireworks were too far away and would have involved too much walking so we opted for staying at home. I hadn’t seen this new version of the video so enjoyed watching it.
Friday felt like a Sunday since Thursday felt like a Saturday. It was, however, the 1st of 4 days of interviews. It was good to see these missionaries that we have really grown to love and admire. It will be hard to see so many leaders leave. Finally, about 4:30-5:00 we got word that things had been arranged for our elder to go home and have surgery. Now we needed to just wait and see when they would get travel arranged. After cleaning the office we found that our missionary would be flying out at noon on Saturday. We really hope that his parents will be supportive and help him heal not only physically, but stay motivated to return.
Saturday we were up early because another office couple wanted to take him out to breakfast and then on to the airport. Having been tied pretty close to home, we spent Saturday running errands and doing chores at home. Dad needed some white shirts to wear, so while he did WES work I ironed many many of his shirts. Hopefully my arm will not talk too loudly to me. About 6 we left for the baptism of the lady he interviewed the week before. He was pretty excited to actually be doing the baptism—the last baptism he had done was about 2 years ago when we took Emma to the temple to do baptism. It was a wonderful experience for him and the baptism was very nice.
Sunday we were finally able to have David go to church with us. Elder Larsen also came up from Woodbridge to go to church with him. David seemed to enjoy church, but found things a bit different. After church Dad helped the missionaries make an appoint for Wednesday to meet with David. We were pretty excited. As we drove home in the heat and humidity we discovered our air conditioner again decided to quit working. That is NO fun. We also got a text from David saying that he would not be able to make the appointment because he had to turn himself into the court because of an outstanding warrant. When we told Elder Larsen about it, he immediately got in touch with David to see what he could do to help. Elder Larsen has been a criminal defense attorney prior to coming here. He can’t be David’s lawyer, but can give advice. We’ll have to see what comes from all of this.
We stopped by James’ home to drop off a copy of The Friend that we had ordered thinking that he might enjoy reading it to his children.
In the evening was our Come Unto Me Devotional where all of the newly baptized and returning members of the past 6 weeks come together. Three to Four people are invited to tell their conversion story and it is wonderful. Each devotional is different from the last and every conversion story is different, but wonderful. Heavenly Father really is aware of each of us and loves us all.
After the devotional, Dad was asked to interview a sister for baptism. She had answered yes to ones of the questions that requires a more experienced person. Again, Dad enjoys that. We were a bit late getting home and will be starting our week of transfers a little behind the 8-ball as far as sleep is concerned.
That is about it for this week—albeit a little late. I’ll do better next week.
Know that we love you lots,
Mom
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