Monday: President Jones made it back from his week on the road and invited us into his office for a visit. He said that he would like for us to be cross-trained in the office duties so that we can fill any of the roles. All of us recognize the fact that changes will be made when President Batt becomes our new president in July and two couples presently in the office will be leaving before then. He also asked us to make ourselves available to the Kirtland Stake to help with reactivation there. We have been invited to attend their Stake Welfare Council meeting next Tuesday where we can meet all of the Bishops and hopefully get some direction on how to effectively assist them.
Tuesday: I had an appointment with Dr. Payne at his clinic to start my day. I basically wanted to get my records established in his office and have him set up as my primary care physician while we are here. His philosophy of medical care fits well with ours and it was difficult subject matter to discuss, but a pleasant visit. His office is near the hospital, which is not very far from the mission office. When we drove into the church parking lot we noticed the pick-ups neatly lined up in rows. It was Zone Leader Council meeting day with District Leaders included for leadership training. President Jones invited me to help teach “O Fair New Mexico” after lunch so we handed out maracas and music and the fun began! The Elders caught the spirit and had a good time following their leader, Pres. Jones (who introduced me as Sister Payne, but quickly caught himself). I enjoyed visiting with Elder Chapple, the Zone Leader in Page. He remembered Megan’s name and the rest of the James Chapple family, but not all the names. Today the NMFM celebrated 1000 baptisms since the mission was organized July 1 2010! Sister Fallon reviewed all of the ordering training she has patiently given to me which includes three parts: Church Distribution supplies, supplies from Staples (online orders are discounted 30% for the Church), and Books of Mormon which are ordered from a special department under Church Distribution. I feel confident that I can take care of those orders now. Elder Hunt and I were asked to order and pick up meals for 23 elders and deliver them to the mission home (which is clear across town from the mission office) at 6:30 pm. Pres. Jones wanted Blake’s green chile Lotta-Burgers with fries and root beer, so that is just what we delivered. I was glad that my companion had concession stand experience with dispensing rootbeer into a cup and knew that it took 3 foam-downs to fill an extra large cup. I enjoyed visiting with Sister Joyce Jones and having a tour of the mission home. It is out in the Country Club area and is a very nice place. We didn’t get home until 8:30, another long day.
Wednesday: Our day started earlier as we met the Langkildes at Home Depot for our “Second Senior Shopping Spree” at 8 am. Elder Langkilde suggested that we split company and have the ladies go to Walmart to start picking up housewares there and the brethren would stay and pick a washer and dryer at Home Depot before joining us. We basically did a repeat of the shopping we did last Saturday so it went a little faster. By 10:30 the truck and trailer were loaded and we were on our way to deliver our goods to a new trailer that was recently set up for a senior couple in Tsaile. To get there we turned west about six miles south of Shiprock and drove up over Buffalo Pass, which is between Red Rock and Lukachukai. The landscape was absolutely gorgeous and the rock wall formations were different than any we had ever seen! It was a beautiful drive up through the pines and there was still snow on the sides of the road. Tsaile is just a few miles east of Canyon de Chelley. Elder and Sister Wright will move into the trailer next week after the utilities get turned on (we have not met them yet, but were told that they are both near 79—what dedication!) Elders Gledhill and Ford from Crystal came to help unload the trailer and since the furniture was all new, it needed to be unboxed and put together. We didn’t head back to Farmington until after 5:30 and pulled into the church parking lot at 7:30 pm.
Thursday: Dennis went with Elder Langkilde to return a damaged piece of furniture to the American Furniture Store and also to take the trailer full of cardboard boxes the new trailer furnishings came in to the recycle center. Elder L. isn’t a recycler so it might take a bit of coaxing to convince him to change his habits. We’ve learned that he likes to do things his way and for us to “go along to get along” is a good policy. However, we are willing to stand up to him concerning recycling such a large amount of cardboard. We were tired of a sack lunch so went out to lunch at K-Bobs and enjoyed their soup and salad bar. I helped with mail again and also entered baptisms and referrals into the computer. As a refreshing break I went outside with the auto crew to drive pickups from the park across the street to the church parking lot. They are doing some kind of work at the park and needed the grounds cleared. The park is owned by the church and is fenced and kept locked when not in use. Facilities Management (FM in church lingo) keep their vehicles in the fenced yard there. President Jones asked Elder Hunt to sit in on a disciplinary council this evening for a couple of elders that will most likely be sent home. We pray that they will be able to turn their lives around and make the changes necessary to be worthy servants in the Kingdom. APs Elders Nielsen and Jeski (lovingly known as Jet Ski) waited out that long, heart-rending process outside the president’s office. They are impressive elders.
Friday: We were saddened with the departure of the two elders who were sent home today. The APs took one of the elders to the Aztec airport to fly home and the parents of the other elder came to the mission office to pick up their son. My heart went out to them and the elders who were there to be with him until he left. Elder James needed someone to go with him to Gallup to pick up a loaner truck from the elders there (which they used while theirs was in the shop). Sister James had a lot of things to finish up what she was working on at the office, so Elder Hunt got to make the trip. They went the back way, which is actually shorter and which the locals use a lot. Instead of driving down thru Shiprock, they took the road that goes past Newcomb, Sheep Springs, and Tohachi. They enjoyed lunch at Sizzler and were back in Farmington by mid-afternoon. I spent a good part of the day working on “The Referral List” which comprises referrals not reported on. Missionaries are supposed to make an effort to make contact with referrals within 24 hours after they receive them and are supposed to call the referral hotline in SLC to report on the status of the referral. If those calls aren’t made, they show up on our report. The church’s computer program has a filter that will allow us to look at each area where missionaries are assigned and then send a text message to their cell phones with the referral information. This procedure hadn’t been done here since November so it may take me another couple of days to finish up that task. Before sending texts, I call the missionaries to tell them we are working to clean up our referral list and give them a “heads up” of the forthcoming text. I rather enjoyed making the calls as I had previously met quite a few of the missionaries that I called, including Elder Olea in Joseph City. After we left the office we stopped by Natural Grocers, a smaller version of Sprouts in Mesa. We discovered it on our way home the first week we were here and were delighted to find such a nice new store with organic produce and products. There is a big sign on the front door that says BYOB (bring your own bag) and we just happen to have a nice one that was given to us by Holbrook Wells Fargo Bank that we have used several times now. We got back to our apt. around 5, the earliest since we arrived here. We enjoyed the vegetable/lentils soup we waiting for us in the crock pot, went for a stroll in the neighborhood, and fell into bed happy to be here doing what we are doing, but exhausted.
Saturday: It was soooo nice to be able to sleep in this morning! My cell phone alarm is set for both 5:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., so it was a treat to roll out a little later than that. We cut hair, started our laundry, had a leisurely breakfast, and then snuggled under a blanket to enjoy conference. All of the talks were really good, but Elder Eyring’s take on adversity hit pretty close to home and Elder Holland always gives a good wake-up call. I look forward to reading them in text format. Jared knocked on our door to ask if he could wash our car since he was already out on the driveway washing the car he drives to school -- we gladly handed him the keys. Elder Hunt is getting ready to go to Kirtland for the Priesthood session; he hopeful that he will be able to connect with some of the folks there.
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