Elder Hunt left at 7 am pulling a trailer full of furniture with Flagstaff as his first delivery point. He took the sister missionaries a new couch and side chair that came from the Farmington Stake Center – they were still is good condition and more attractive than most, so the sisters were happy about their good fortune. They also got a new chest of drawers and desk chairs. Four elders in Flag helped with the move and Good Will was blessed with the old furniture that was moved out. He spent the night on Hunt Road.
I had a busy day at the office entering baptisms and doing referrals.
Tuesday: Elder Hunt cleaned out the Joseph City apartment where the elders had lived. The Winslow elders had gone over previously and had taken the things that they could use and stacked everything else in the living room. His next stop was Holbrook where he picked up a microwave the elders there weren’t using and then on to Sanders to deliver a newer couch and chair to the elders there. The Sanders old red couch had a hide-a-bed and the cushions were starting to fall apart. I mended the worst one on our stop in Sanders in September. He pulled into Farmington in early evening and hustled to unload “stuff” at the AP garage. We pulled into Good Will five minutes before closing time and they were kind enough to take the red couch and a VERY large old desk before they closed their gates
I walked out of our apartment with my lunch box and an armload of music a little after 8:30 thinking that I had plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful fall morning before arriving at the mission office. Just as I pulled the door shut I realized that I had left the car and apartment keys on the kitchen table. Then I looked down and realized that I had left my bag with cell phone, keys, drivers license etc. on the couch inside the apartment. I sheepishly walked over to the Paynes to see if they could help me with my dilemma, but no one was home. I tried all the windows in our apartment, but they were locked. I decided to walk down the street and see what might work out. I ended up at the Ward’s front door (a family in George’s ward) and was so grateful when Sister Ward answered and invited me in. I asked her if she could call Joanne for me, which she did and Joanne told me they were on their way to the temple. I told Joanne to have a nice day and I would talk to her later. Next I asked Sister Ward if she knew a good locksmith, she said she did and their shop was only a couple of blocks away. The locksmiths arrived in about five minutes, opened our apartment door, and I was happy to pay them for their prompt service. I arrived at the mission office at 9:30 and was more focused for the rest of the day.
In the afternoon I had lab work done and a Dr. appointment before I went to Kirtland for organ and piano lessons. I really enjoy working with the Kirtland sisters. About 5 pm I got a call from Maren saying that the Farmington City Library had just called and offered her a job as their Youth Services Librarian. I momentarily forgot I was in the chapel and let out a big yell. That was a joyful moment!
Wednesday: Elder Hunt and I worked on key indicators together and took care of other office work.
Thursday: Maren arrived not long after we got home from the office. We are all really excited about her new job. George and Joanne offered to let her stay with them while she is here this week (our apartment is pretty small and doesn’t have a spare bed). We thought of our Griffin and hoped he was having a wonderful birthday at Disneyland!
Friday: We had an appointment for a “re-check” at the Bloomfield elders’ apartment at 9. We found their apartment clean and tidy this time (I told them the week before that if it wasn’t clean, they would be grounded with the Hunts until it was clean!) I guess that didn’t sound like a lot of fun so it was all cleaned up. We also went to the Spanish speaking elders in Bloomfield and found their apt. in tip-top shape. Then we visited the Farmington elders for a “re-check”and found they had been busy cleaning also. That made us happy! When we got back to the office we found everyone in the cleaning mode there as well in preparation for our visit next week from a general authority, Elder Paul Johnson. After I finalized the monthly baptism report for September, Elder Hunt and I cleaned our work area. Our mission had 43 baptisms in September, the lowest since we have been here. But I think our missionaries are working harder – we all need to pray harder that doors will open and hearts will soften to receive the gospel message.
During the evening we went with Maren to the Totah Theater for a story telling program (sponsored by the library and other organizations) and enjoyed it. Maren found an apartment fairly close to the library and put a deposit on it. She plans to fly to Seattle on Tuesday to pack up her things there so they can be shipped to Farmington.
Saturday: Snow and rain was predicted for Colorado, but the sun came out and it was a nice day to be out enjoying the beauties of nature. We drove to Bayfield, Durango, Pagosa Springs, and then Dulce before returning to Farmington (300 miles). We visited our missionaries along the way and found each apartment to be in good shape and well taken care of. We took Elders Chapple and Dobson to lunch in Pagosa Srings – Elder Chapple will be going home at our next transfer. When we got back Dennis went to more story telling with Maren and I went to bed.
