Late Nights
At the Office
14 September
2014
Hardly know
where to begin. Just when we thought we
had a good handle on our jobs things kind of turned upside down. First, our Mission Tour with a General
Authority got postponed .... less than a
couple of weeks before it was scheduled.
That means cancellations and rescheduling of buildings, planning a last
minute Zone Conference. We are losing a
lot of Senior Couple with no replacements.
Second, we
have had quite a few medical releases of our missionaries. One of them was required to be escorted home
and so Elder Stringham needed to take a little day trip. Left at 6:00 am and returned at 10:00
pm......had only enough time between flights to grab a package of trail mix to
eat. Bedbugs in some of the
apartments. The Church spends a lot of
money in this mission for exterminators.
Parents calling with concerns.
Our other Sr.
Office Couple had an emergency medical problem.
The Elder has had heart problems since he got here (actually had a heart
attack and open heart surgery while on their first mission) and they up and
drove home to Utah to his own doctor.
Don't know how long they will be gone.
So we are trying to handle the office on our own. Elder Stringham walks between his computer and
the vehicle computer trying to keep up on the most crucial things! We have spent several late nights just trying
to catch up and get it all done. They have another Sr. Couple coming into the
office for a couple of hours a day to do mail.
That is a big help! Can I just
tell you how much missionaries love mail!!!!!!!
From anyone and everyone....a long letter to a postcard or little
card!!!
Occasionally,
I take a break from the computer, check my personal messages on my phone and
take a peek at Facebook. I love that
when our little Jackson has a procedure done I can get a text before it starts
and right after with all the updates and pictures. I love seeing what all the
families were doing on their family vacations!
And all the "first day of school" pictures! I love technology!! (Well.... except when I need to use it in the
office and it gives me grief!) We are happy to be busy! I think it keeps us young!
The mission
is still doing well in their missionary work.
Lots of converts. That means I have
a lot of baptisms reports to submit to Church HQ.
We have a
sweet older man move into our ward who joined the church when he was about 13
while he was living with a foster family.
He loved this family. He stopped
going to church when he left the family to move out on his own. He moved to the Phillipines and got married. He is retired and has moved back to the
United States and waiting for his wife to get all the requirements done to be
able to immigrate here. He decided he
wanted to come back to church. He got a
little emotional talking about his foster family and how much love he felt in
their home. There is so much he is still
learning! He wants to progress in his
Priesthood responsibilities and go to the temple. His wife is a member of another faith, but
he still felt drawn to come back to "his" church. Hopefully his wife will be here in the United
States soon.
21 September
2014
Well, we
received the update on our other Sr. Couple.
It was not what they hoped for.
Because of the damage done the doctors cannot do angioplasty or
splint. They will be trying new
medications. They reevaluate after two
weeks. How I miss them! I don't think I realized how much time she
spent on the phone with missionaries, their parents, referrals, people from the
community. I guess I will be figuring
out how to order supplies now, too. And
they are so fun with the missionaries!!
All of the work for the cars have been put on hold! Yesterday another Senior Couple dropped by
and he said he knows a lot about cars and is comfortable with computers.....I
will definitely let the Mission President know about that!
I also got a little behind on my work. Two Sister Missionaries called yesterday
morning and offered to come help if we needed.
I asked them how soon could they get to the office. In two hours they accomplished so much for me and were so fun to have around. The Lord is seeing that we have the help that
we need.....reminds me whose work this is.
We will be using some Elders to help us unpack and stock the new
supplies and clean up an apartment that we are closing.
One of the
hardest things about being away on a mission is that people I know and love are
suddenly called to the other side. I
feel sad that I will not see long time friend and grandpa to some of our
grandkids, Neal Kidd; sweet Keenan Galloway who was such an example of
Christ-like spirit and who was always
smiling; and brother-in-law, Rob Campbell whose family had entertained the
Stringhams for a day or two on our yearly trips to Idaho. We have such fond memories of him. Now, I have just learned that my Uncle George Conley has passed away! I'm sort of reeling with the thought that so many I care for are now in the next life!
Well, the
weather in Iowa has been absolutely perfect.
Sunshine and blue skies, temperatures mild, and just enough rain from
time to time to keep everything green.
It is beautiful here.
Sorry to be
so late on this letter. It was just kind
of pieced together a little at a time.
We love
everyone!!
