So....... The calendar " gong show" started out like this. Late Monday
afternoon, Pres Carter asked me to be sure a two month calendar gets
distributed to the missionaries every month because they had NOT BEEN
EXPECTING HIM NOR WERE THEY PREPARED for a zone meeting in Mildura last
month.
I was unfamiliar with Google calendar but Pres loves it. Once he enters the data, it shows when and where zone and district conferences will be, when intake and transfers are scheduled, which day specific zones attend the temple, committee meetings, interviews, ward, stake, and general conferences. Each calendar (missionary, President's, personal, etc) is coded by color.
President Carter requested a hard copy distributed ASAP. Since preparation day was Tuesday that week, I knew zone leaders would come by the office the next morning for mail and I wanted the calendar ready.
Sister Salazar and I printed a test and noticed that some text lines were too long so they appeared incomplete on the print out. Eeeeeeeek! Sister Carter came into the office about that time so we showed her the calendar problem and she said to fix it.
We spent the next I don't know how long abbreviating and rearranging and then texted the President for final approval before printing. He immediately called and asked me to come over to the mission home which is just across the parking lot from the office. It seemed like a looooooooooooong walk :-)))
In the nicest way possible, President Carter explained why he needs all detail on the calendar as he entered it and how the detail relates to other matters. He patiently showed me how to change font size and page lay out to accommodate long lines of text. Sadly, he had to spend too much time Monday evening correcting our corrections. I delivered chocolate cake to their door as a peace offering Tuesday morning.
Monday afternoon, Lee and Brother White spent several hours cleaning out "the shed" which is a metal storage building for bikes, helmets, spare tubes, tools, mowers, teaching pamphlets, cases of Books of Mormon, bedding, flat furnishings, and junk. As you know, Lee is a professional shelf stocker, stacker, and cleaner, so the shed was neat and organized when they finished!
Running to the bank and post office keeps Lee hopping, along with emergencies that occur with cars, bikes, and missionaries. A biking missionary required tests at the hospital so Lee transported him there and back. At 5:00 pm Thursday, one set of sisters car wouldn't start so Lee GPS'ed their location, used jumper cables to get their car started, and then traded cars with them so they wouldn't get stranded that night. He was up and out early the next morning to get a new battery installed and traded them back. He constantly hauls bikes to and from the repair shop.
Businesses are not open late or as many hours as we are accustomed to in the USA. Customer service is very different also. If you don't have a booking (appointment) they are reluctant to work on your car, even if they are not busy. Grocery stores close at 8:30 pm during the week, 5:00 pm on Sat, and are open 11-5 on Sunday.
I mentioned previously that Adelaide (maybe it's Australia as a whole?) is a great melting pot of nationalities. We have missionaries and investigators from Africa, Iran, China, the Philippines, Fiji, England, New Zealand, Korea, Tonga, and Japan. Sis Salazar is responsible for ordering printed teaching tools such as For the Strength of Youth and other pamphlets, Proclamation to the Family, Books of Mormon, Pass Along Cards, etc in the many languages. She is amazing!
Thursday night was the rebroadcast of the General Women's Broadcast, which I attended.
At the church yesterday and today we watched General Conference at 10 and 2, and Lee attended Priesthood meeting last night at 6. We were instructed by Prophets and other General Authorities, and it is a blessing and privilege to be a part of this wonderful church! As you know, topics are not assigned but chosen by the speakers through personal revelation, as well as fasting and prayer. I LOVE conference and am encouraged and inspired!
We saw President Carter at the first conference session Saturday morning and Sister Carter is now down sick, so I made chicken and beef enchiladas with shredded lettuce on top for their dinner (and ours.) We enjoyed snicker-doodles for dessert and I sure missed cinnamon/sugar roller/helper, Riley.
Between conference sessions today, we attended a baptism of a 9 year old African girl. During the baptismal service, her mother sang "Israel Israel God is Calling" in another language without accompaniment. It was a very unique experience and we were glad to see another family blessed by the Good News of Jesus Christ!
We are Wi-Fi less, and we are about to die! The necessary wiring is installed in the flat already and we are waiting for the modem that was supposed to arrive within three business days by mail, but didn't. The Wi-Fi stick we have been using as a hot spot and refilling is 100.00 per 5 gigs and we ran out of data Wednesday. Since the modem was to arrive Friday, we didn't refill and have been sitting on the toilet near the window closest to the church building to get LDS Wi-Fi access. It is weak and sporadic from this distance and doesn't allow us to stream news or BYU football! :-( We haven't been able to FaceTime or Skype our kids or my dad all week....... But they have been sending pictures which we LOVE and appreciate.
We are expecting two more senior missionary couples to arrive within the next month, both from the USA. One couple will be going to Mount Gambier and the other couple will be working in Port Augusta, which is some distance from here also.
Lee and I are organizing a senior missionary family home evening once monthly with a spiritual lesson after a potluck dinner, with dessert. There are three couples and one single sister in our office and it will be fun to socialize occasionally.
Our second week back in Adelaide, I noticed a very basic sewing machine that went on sale at Target. We decided to purchase one so I don't go crazy and I finally pulled it out Sat night while Lee was gone to Priesthood session. Sister Judd had some leftover fabric so I made a small curtain for the laundry room window that was uncovered. It looks great! Now I'm on the lookout for a fabric store so I can make some Christmas projects.
That's my report for this week. Highs and lows are next!
I was unfamiliar with Google calendar but Pres loves it. Once he enters the data, it shows when and where zone and district conferences will be, when intake and transfers are scheduled, which day specific zones attend the temple, committee meetings, interviews, ward, stake, and general conferences. Each calendar (missionary, President's, personal, etc) is coded by color.
President Carter requested a hard copy distributed ASAP. Since preparation day was Tuesday that week, I knew zone leaders would come by the office the next morning for mail and I wanted the calendar ready.
Sister Salazar and I printed a test and noticed that some text lines were too long so they appeared incomplete on the print out. Eeeeeeeek! Sister Carter came into the office about that time so we showed her the calendar problem and she said to fix it.
We spent the next I don't know how long abbreviating and rearranging and then texted the President for final approval before printing. He immediately called and asked me to come over to the mission home which is just across the parking lot from the office. It seemed like a looooooooooooong walk :-)))
In the nicest way possible, President Carter explained why he needs all detail on the calendar as he entered it and how the detail relates to other matters. He patiently showed me how to change font size and page lay out to accommodate long lines of text. Sadly, he had to spend too much time Monday evening correcting our corrections. I delivered chocolate cake to their door as a peace offering Tuesday morning.
Monday afternoon, Lee and Brother White spent several hours cleaning out "the shed" which is a metal storage building for bikes, helmets, spare tubes, tools, mowers, teaching pamphlets, cases of Books of Mormon, bedding, flat furnishings, and junk. As you know, Lee is a professional shelf stocker, stacker, and cleaner, so the shed was neat and organized when they finished!
Running to the bank and post office keeps Lee hopping, along with emergencies that occur with cars, bikes, and missionaries. A biking missionary required tests at the hospital so Lee transported him there and back. At 5:00 pm Thursday, one set of sisters car wouldn't start so Lee GPS'ed their location, used jumper cables to get their car started, and then traded cars with them so they wouldn't get stranded that night. He was up and out early the next morning to get a new battery installed and traded them back. He constantly hauls bikes to and from the repair shop.
Businesses are not open late or as many hours as we are accustomed to in the USA. Customer service is very different also. If you don't have a booking (appointment) they are reluctant to work on your car, even if they are not busy. Grocery stores close at 8:30 pm during the week, 5:00 pm on Sat, and are open 11-5 on Sunday.
I mentioned previously that Adelaide (maybe it's Australia as a whole?) is a great melting pot of nationalities. We have missionaries and investigators from Africa, Iran, China, the Philippines, Fiji, England, New Zealand, Korea, Tonga, and Japan. Sis Salazar is responsible for ordering printed teaching tools such as For the Strength of Youth and other pamphlets, Proclamation to the Family, Books of Mormon, Pass Along Cards, etc in the many languages. She is amazing!
Thursday night was the rebroadcast of the General Women's Broadcast, which I attended.
At the church yesterday and today we watched General Conference at 10 and 2, and Lee attended Priesthood meeting last night at 6. We were instructed by Prophets and other General Authorities, and it is a blessing and privilege to be a part of this wonderful church! As you know, topics are not assigned but chosen by the speakers through personal revelation, as well as fasting and prayer. I LOVE conference and am encouraged and inspired!
We saw President Carter at the first conference session Saturday morning and Sister Carter is now down sick, so I made chicken and beef enchiladas with shredded lettuce on top for their dinner (and ours.) We enjoyed snicker-doodles for dessert and I sure missed cinnamon/sugar roller/helper, Riley.
Between conference sessions today, we attended a baptism of a 9 year old African girl. During the baptismal service, her mother sang "Israel Israel God is Calling" in another language without accompaniment. It was a very unique experience and we were glad to see another family blessed by the Good News of Jesus Christ!
We are Wi-Fi less, and we are about to die! The necessary wiring is installed in the flat already and we are waiting for the modem that was supposed to arrive within three business days by mail, but didn't. The Wi-Fi stick we have been using as a hot spot and refilling is 100.00 per 5 gigs and we ran out of data Wednesday. Since the modem was to arrive Friday, we didn't refill and have been sitting on the toilet near the window closest to the church building to get LDS Wi-Fi access. It is weak and sporadic from this distance and doesn't allow us to stream news or BYU football! :-( We haven't been able to FaceTime or Skype our kids or my dad all week....... But they have been sending pictures which we LOVE and appreciate.
We are expecting two more senior missionary couples to arrive within the next month, both from the USA. One couple will be going to Mount Gambier and the other couple will be working in Port Augusta, which is some distance from here also.
Lee and I are organizing a senior missionary family home evening once monthly with a spiritual lesson after a potluck dinner, with dessert. There are three couples and one single sister in our office and it will be fun to socialize occasionally.
Our second week back in Adelaide, I noticed a very basic sewing machine that went on sale at Target. We decided to purchase one so I don't go crazy and I finally pulled it out Sat night while Lee was gone to Priesthood session. Sister Judd had some leftover fabric so I made a small curtain for the laundry room window that was uncovered. It looks great! Now I'm on the lookout for a fabric store so I can make some Christmas projects.
That's my report for this week. Highs and lows are next!
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