Week Five!! (counting the MTC)

Wow!!  I have been on my mission for five weeks.  I’m happy to say that I’m a bit surprised to say that it’s been that long already.  I will say a few days felt unending  but for the most part it has gone by at not too slow of a pace.

Last week was so crazy with transfers – and it was a big transfer including three senior couples as I’ve mentioned before each moving to one of the countries so I had to find housing for them.  Well, today the Angel’s moved into their house in Dundalk in the Republic of Ireland and the Pohlman’s moved into their house in Antrim in Northern Ireland.  They both made it and are sleeping in their beds just as the entire country closes down for yet another holiday on Monday.  I don’t even know what the holiday is but it is a bank holiday.  I called the Electric Company in Northern Ireland at 4:30 today to change the Pohlman’s electrical over to our name and they were already closed for the holiday.  So that will have to wait for Tuesday.  I did get electric meter readings for old and new houses so I’m ready to go as soon as they open back up.

Now the Walker’s, who actually live on Spring Drive in Woodland Hills (which is exactly where we lived until Spring of 1996) are moving from Limerick Area to Scotland and we finally, finally got them a house and they can move in on Wednesday.  Big sigh of relief.  So they are going to the All Ireland Conference on Tuesday then taking a ferry over to Scotland on Wednesday and they are ready to go.

So we expected this week to be a bit slower but over the weekend the President (due to some issues) needed to make a change to transfers and 14 missionaries were transferred this week as well.  It didn’t cause me personally more work but the office was humming and phones were ringing and missionaries were coming in and out again all week this week too.

Tuesday we were working away and a family of 10 baby ducks and their mother came waddling into our yard.  They were so cute but obviously lost.  It was pretty cold outside and of course we all got worried and tried to figure out how to get them back to the river that they must have come from. We even called some place that helps injured animals but they wouldn’t come since the ducks were fine. They said as long as the mother didn’t get stressed they would be okay but if the mother got stressed she might abandon the babies. Well not too long after we saw a magpie attacking the ducks so some of the missionaries went running out and the mother got stressed and flew away.  So we were worried about the babies.  Elder Tullis is holding one in this picture below.  The next day no ducks were to be found so I hope they made it.  Who knows I guess.  I will miss Elder Tullis.  He was an AP but was transferred this week.  He is from Centerville I believe and is a big tennis player.

 

Wednesday night I got to go to a double baptism at our church.  Damien from the Carribean was baptized and so was Michael from China.  We have a lot of culture here due to the University being so close.  It was so nice to watch and to see a couple missionaries I’m getting to know, Elder Keim and Elder Stoker baptise someone.

Afterwards it was a goodbye hug to Sister Stapley who is being transferred as well.  She got to stay for the baptism but she is off the next morning bright and early for her new area.  She is moving from a car to a bike and she is very excited about that although I’m sure she will miss being here in Edinburgh as well.  She was one of the first missionaries I got to know and she is from Washington.

Tonight at work I looked at the clock just as I finished writing the newsletter for President and Sister Donaldson to take to the All Ireland Conference and thought – “Oh good, it’s 6:30.  Another 11.5 hour day.  I’m ready to go home.”  But just as I stood up the Sister Missionaries that live nearby popped in and asked if I would go teach a lesson with them.  I was totally surprised.  I haven’t been asked to do this yet but I readily agreed and we walked over to the church.

We were meeting a nice young man who is a student at the university for the first time.  The sisters had just come across him while GQing one day last week.  “GQ” is an acronym they use all the time and I smile because until a couple days ago I had no idea what that meant.  When I think GQ I think of cute guys!!  So whenever the sisters would say we are going to GQ at the meadows I would just smile and my mind would go where it obviously shouldn’t.  So I finally asked someone a couple days ago what that means and it means Golden Question.  So they come up with a golden question that they want to ask that day like Tell Me What You Think About Faith, or Tell Me What You Know About God.  Something like that and that is what they do while they are out.

Anyway, Tanda (sounds like Tawn Day) is from Zimbabwe and he was delightful.  The Sisters did an amazing job with him and I stumbled with the sudden questions I got asked but there was no denying the Spirit was with us in the room as we talked about the Holy Ghost, Joseph Smith and the Godhead.  I held my breath when they asked him – “Will you commit to being baptised on May 17?”  I was thinking please don’t say no, please don’t say no.  And guess what, he didn’t.  He said he wanted to read The Book of Mormon and he would get baptized if he felt it to be true. And he tried saying his very first prayer at the end and it was so tender and sweet.  What a great way to end a busy week.  I thought I was going to come home tired but I’m invigorated and I can’t wait to go again with them.

Tomorrow is P-Day and we might find the time to actually head over to the castle and go to Prince’s Street.  I haven’t been there yet.  We do have to wait for a repair man to come first so I hope he comes at a good time.  Our fridge quit working two weeks ago so we went and bought a new one – this was the first night we went to Five Guys so it was a couple weeks ago.  The salesman insured us we could buy a stand-alone fridge and freezer even though the one we have now is integrated.  What that means is the fridge and freezer we have now are built into the cabinets which is very common over here.  We measured everything and thought they could pull it out even if it ruined the wood around it.  We thought we could fix it up and have a free-standing fridge (my thinking, with magnets so I can hang up the pictures from Avery where I can see them all the time). But when the men came they said they couldn’t pull out integrated fridges because it takes a special crew because often times the fridges are hard-wired.  So they left the new fridge sitting against our coat closet door and I have to scoot around it to get to my bedroom.  A special crew was supposed to come a week ago and I went home at the right time but I put my mission phone in my purse and it was in my bedroom so I missed their call that they couldn’t figure out what flat was ours.  So we waited another three days when they came back.  This time they took one look at everything and said there was no way we could put a free-standing fridge in there and said we needed to get a different fridge.  So finally on Wednesday we made it back down to Curries where we bought the fridge and bought a different one and tomorrow they are coming to pull the old fridge out, put the new one in and take the fridge in our entryway back to the store.  We are crossing our fingers that this will really be the case.

Well, that’s all for now.  I will probably write again tomorrow if we end up going somewhere fun and exciting.  I am also looking forward to Sunday because Dani Hayes is flying in early Sunday morning and she is going to try and make it to our ward for church.  It will be fun to see her and get a hug from her.  I haven’t seen her in years but I know what a great lady she has turned out to be and I’m excited to get to talk with her.

Love all of you at home.  I think of you every day and pray always for your health, safety and love.