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Sister Nelson - Transfers on Steroids

Dear Family,
This was a transfer week on steroids!  Monday was another day filled with interviews of missionaries going home.  It is so fun to visit with those leaving and their companions, but it is hard to get much done because visiting with the missionaries always wins out over getting work done.  It is a little hard to concentrate on paper work.  Our missionaries were coming a little earlier than in the past which will make it so that we will get them fed, interviewed, and to the hotel before midnight.  We had one group coming in around 3:30, and another one coming in from Mexico about 45 minutes later.  Garn had It worked out so that the 1st counselor in the mission presidency would pick the ones from the Mexico MTC and he could speak Spanish to them all the way to the mission home.  Just before the Provo missionaries landed we found that one of them was sent to the Baltimore airport???!!  He had been there about an hour, so we hurriedly asked one of the office couples to go to Baltimore and pick him up.  Garn at the last minute had to drive one of the vans to the airport to help pick up the missionaries.  That left me to pick up the food for the dinner by myself.  We had Café Rio and they were so good to load it in the car for me.  Then I drove to the mission home and with the 2nd counselor of the mission presidency and his wife brought in the food.  We got it set up just before the missionaries started arriving.  How wonderful it was to get them before 9 pm.  President Caplin was able to get the interviews going and he had a long enough time with each that before the interview was over he knew which of his trainers these missionaries belonged with.  In the past this decision had to wait to be made much later during the night.  He was so excited to have all 21 decisions made so early in the evening. We were able to get all of the pictures taken of the missionaries with the mission president and his wife and have the missionaries write a short note to their parents telling that they had arrived safely.   While the missionaries were waiting for their turn we got to visit with them and get to know them a little better.  We are so sad to see our older missionaries going home with all of their leadership ability, but these new missionaries are really special.  There was a sense of unity and maturity with the group.  With a little training these missionaries will be able to fill the gaps and the work will go forth.  We left with the last group and that was about 10:30.   We got home and did a few things that needed to be done for transfers happening on Tuesday.
I had to talk to the new missionaries at their orientation to explain how the funding would be changing beginning the 1st of August.  They will get half of what they usually get on the 1st of the month and the rest of the money on the 16th of the month.  Apparently, some missionaries are running out of money before the end of the month and mission presidents are having to supplement them.  The Church is hoping that this will help them budget better.  I just the opportunity to go through the funding twice a month instead of once.  From that meeting we went to the kitchen to get going on the lunch for the missionaries.  This time we decided to have a picnic theme and have baked hot dogs with chili and cheese to put on them.  We had sliced spears of watermelon and chips to go with that.  Then for dessert we had ice cream bars.  It was an easier lunch than usual because we were doing a munch and mingle for the missionaries who were going home.
Nine of the 25 missionaries going home wanted to spend the last hours of their mission street contacting together.  The other 16 opted to stay at the stake center and play volley ball, basket ball, and piano.  We had munchies for them.  All of the missionaries seemed to enjoy their last little while together.  After this, we cleaned up the munchies and then started setting up for the dinner for the outgoing missionaries and their families.  Usually this meal is done at the mission home and taken care of by Sister Caplin.  Knowing that there wasn’t room for that many people at the mission home, she decided to have the dinner at the stake center.  I felt that  taking care of a dinner away from her own kitchen would be really hard and she wouldn’t have time to plat hostess to everyone.  I asked her if she would like the senior couples to get things set up for dinner (she was having the dinner catered) and then while the missionaries and their families went into the chapel we could clean up so that she could enjoy the testimonies of their missionaries.  With all of us there she was able to go from table to table and visit with everyone without worrying about the details.  She was able to do what she had been called to do.  I keep telling her that is she will let us be Martha’s, then she can be the Mary she was called to be.  Anyway, there were lots of us helping and we were able to get things cleaned up and boxed up quickly.   Sister Caplin invited us to the testimony meeting and three of the couples went.  What a wonderful meeting that was.  With each of the 25 sharing an experience along with their testimony we were well fed.  With very few exceptions the missionaries bore such strong testimonies of the Savior and his Atonement.  It was wonderful!
Garn and I helped take a few more pictures and then went and put all of the food into Sister Caplin’s van so she could leave for home as soon as she was through saying good bye to the missionaries.  Another wonderful day.  We left about 11:00 to head to the mission office to drop off food that needed to go back there.  We got to bed around midnight—another late night.  Three nights in a row is a lot for people who are not 20 years old any more.
Wednesday we had to go to the office to face the fall out from the transfers.  With all of the missionaries leaving and not as many coming in, we have areas that are being closed temporarily and that plays havoc with the phones.  The sim cards are changed, but the sim cards don’t know that the missionaries are not covering two areas instead of one.  We would be calling hermanas and getting elders.  We weren’t even sure which apartment the missionaries were choosing to live in when they were covering more than one area.  We kept saying, “Are we having fun yet?”  We took the car into to get the a/c checked because it is too hot to be without a/c.  Hopefully they were able to find the problem and get it fixed.  It was clean the office day for us and we were more than ready to go home after getting that job done.
Thursday things were beginning to settle down a bit and I could get back to paying bills and finding out some apartments haven’t received their rent yet.  Some months are better than some.  This month isn’t one of the best.
Friday was finally here and I was ready for it.  I had to cancel a couple of checks and reissue checks and get them fedExed to save court actions.  I wish they would just make a phone call or send an email instead of post a threatening note on the door of the apartment.   The sisters who live in our complex came over to borrow a can opener so they could open a couple of bottles of Martenelli.  They opened them here and shared a drink with us.  I had made apple uggles to share with them, so we had a nice close to the evening. 
Saturday we did some chores around the house and then got ready for a baptism.  The girl was baptized by one of our departing missionaries who was still in the area with his parents.  This elder had taught the girl’s father before he died of ALS a year or so ago.   The elder was transferred to be an AP and couldn’t follow up with the girl, but he made the sisters who were transferred in promise to find the daughter and teach her.  They did and she was baptized.  She seems to be a wonderful young woman.
After the baptism the four senior couples decided to go to lunch and Garn suggested going to the restaurant that our “friend” David works.  He was at the restaurant and we had a wonderful time visiting with him.  He walked us out and thanked us and the Larsen’s for caring so much for him.  He has had a hard life with not much support and love growing up.  He has made some poor choices and doesn’t feel very good about himself.  We keep telling him that he is a child of God and because of that he has infinite worth.  Elder Larsen is quite bold in telling him that if he will accept the teaching of the church, he will have a new life.  Our friend is very grateful for Elder Larsen and Garn’s love and help in his life.  He is going to go to church with us again tomorrow.  We will pick him up and go with him.  The ward was wonderful last week for which we are grateful.
We got a text this morning telling us that David, our friend, is bringing a friend.  It would be wonderful if David could have a friend studying the gospel with him.  We will have to see how all of this turns out.  David has a long way to come, but we are seeing the Lord’s hand in some of the events of David’s life.  He needs the gospel so much (as we all do), so hopefully he can gain strength and determination to turn to the Savior.  Garn texted the missionaries telling them that David was coming to church again today and to see if they could get a fellowshipper for David.  These missionaries did a great job.  They must have talked about David at ward council because there were several people coming up to David to welcome him.  David enjoyed church better today and made a point to tell the sacrament meeting speakers how much he enjoyed their talks.  Interestingly enough, the talks were on the Atonement, repentance, and our worth—no matter what our mistakes are.  David is already a little worried about our leaving and the Larsen’s leaving.  We told him that there were many who would care for him, but he says he wants us and the Larsen’s to be there for him.  I think he has not had people in his life to care for him, at least recently, and it scares him to lose these “father figures” in his life.  The term “father figure” was in his words.  It was a good day. 
Saturday Lunch with the Seniors and David
Ron and Marie Downs, Debra and Bruce Larsen, David
Garn and Susan Nelson, and Carol and John Zabriskie
Love you all (and are a little? Jealous of your fun family reunion without us),
Mom

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