Typical Day

Monday, January 02, 2006

David requested more information on a ‘typical day’ so I decided to try to write up what today was like as it was about as typical as it gets. We go downstairs to the office usually between 8 and 8:30 a.m. Bob gets right to work on what ever the pressing financial duties are – Zone funds, lost ATM cards, rents due, car repairs or hospital bills to be paid, etc. This morning it was Zone Funds to replenish and weekly and monthly reports to be completed.

I check the Church email program and print out the messages for the President, assistants, recorder, financial, and travel and distribute them, handling the ones for me – travel usually. Then, today, I entered in information on email addresses and corrected home addresses for the five missionaries who arrived on Saturday. I entered the new elders in the data base in their assigned areas and then printed out reports for the President, wife, and the Assistants.

Elder Ramos and Elder Pascua came in and I helped them Xerox their weekly report and gather the mail and supplies for their District. The local Zone Leaders, Elders Thomas and Norton, stopped in the office for a minute to check on mail, to talk with the President (he wasn’t in yet), and to leave a report for the Assistants.

I talked to Elders Crespo and Lowry to see if they would be interested/have time to take me over to visit the two schools in the Toledo Zone where I am working on the humanitarian projects. They really want to do it and can go on Friday.

I went outside to talk to Delfin – the man who takes care of the landscaping at the Stake Center next to us – about getting a plant for the office. We walked around and looked at some of the plants he has outside and he said he will go look for a plant for me at a nearby plant ‘shop’ this afternoon.

Elders Brostrom and Tauiliili came in. The ATM machine had captured Elder Tauiliili’s card a few weeks ago and they had called us, but hadn’t gone back to the bank where they lost it, so they came in to talk to Elder Hamson. After much delay on their part, and a short football game out in the parking lot – it is p-day after all – they went back to the bank, went inside, got the card, and Elder Tauiliili came back a happy boy with money in his pocket.

I went upstairs and printed a few pictures to use for Thank You notes and brought them and paper and envelopes downstairs and worked on those.

After lunch, we took a short nap and then it was back to the office. The President came in and I asked him about going to Toledo on Friday with the Elders and he agreed, if they plan to procure and deliver needed apartment supplies for the three apartments there at the same time. Elder Lowry knew which apartments in the city had extra beds, mattresses, etc. and will pick them up and we will take them with us. I also asked the President about a plant for the office and he said, “Okay.” Hurrah!

Sisters Balita and Castillo came in before their District meeting and visited a few minutes and asked many questions about their next week’s p-day trip to Carbon market. I advised them to go early, watch their wallets, and have a good time! Several other elders from that District were in and out just before the meeting.

Then the fun began. The electrician who is working on a roll down security door to cover the front glass doors of the office came to install the switch and lock. All along the President has asked for a simple, iron-bar, gate. However, there had been originally a roll down security door. So, they took that down, took it to the shop, repaired it, installed a motor, brought it back, welded it back up – knocking out power to my computer two or three times – and then painted the whole apparatus. The switch and lock went on fine and then they began testing it. Every time they did loud static came over the speakers of my computer – not good. I turned the computer off. Then the Church Facilities Manager, who was assigned this morning to be in charge of our building, came over to check how it was going. The electrician showed him the switch and he tried it. The door came half way down and then he stopped it and tried to put it up again, which promptly blew the circuit breaker again – with the security door half-way down. They wanted me to unlock the laundry room door so they could get to the breaker box, but my keys were inside the office – so I crawled under the door – and I was wearing a skirt that buttoned all the way up the front – crawling was not good on the buttons which popped off and flew everywhere. The Manager and the electrician were dismayed. I thought the whole thing was pathetic, but rather funny. I got the keys; they restored the power and then stood there talking for a long time. Even if they get it working properly, there is no manual over ride and if it was down when the power went off, we would be locked out of the office – or locked in as the case may be. I don’t know what was decided, and it will be interesting to see what happens next.

Delfin came in to tell me he couldn’t find the plant he wanted and to arrange for me to go with him tomorrow morning at nine to pick out a plant for the office. I look forward to that.

Another contractor came in to arrange fumigation of the office as we have mosquitoes inside often. They will come Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. when we should be at the President’s condo for Zone Leaders’ Council.

Sisters Balita and Castillo and Elders Ramos and Pascua came back after their meeting to post mail and the sisters brought us a treat they had made – a dessert called Mango Float made with mangoes, evaporated milk and graham crackers.

Now the real treat of the day occurred. An investigator named EmEm came in. He had a teaching appointment with the Assistants at 7. He came in about 5:15. Bob started talking to him about the Church and the Book of Mormon and then I came over and we three sat on the couch and talked and we taught him about the plan of salvation. He was very interested, knows many Bible scriptures, is reading the Book of Mormon and plans to be baptized on January 28. We really enjoyed teaching him and he was quite excited about the plan of salvation – some of it was new to him, although as soon as we presented an idea, he could come up with a scripture from the New Testament to support it! Finally about 7, we sent a text message to the Assistants and they said they were on their way and a little after 7 they, and three ward missionaries, arrived and we left and came upstairs to make dinner. It was such a pleasure to share our knowledge and testimonies with him. He said he had heard stories from the ward missionaries of people whose family disowned them when they joined the Church and of others whose family was ‘neutral’, and still others whose family wanted to come to Church too. He wondered how his family will react. His father was an evangelical pastor and knows his son is reading the Book of Mormon.

This was about as typical as our days go. Every morning we go downstairs wondering what will happen today and something good always does. Oh, and the Mango Float was very tasty!