Pictures to be added a little later….

14 April 2012 – Saturday

I am sitting at the computer trying to think of what to write about for the week. Since I am not keeping up my journal on a day to day basis, some of the best experiences fall through the cracks. 

Monday April 9 – turned into a busy day because things kept coming up that had to be taken care of. We are now opening the office at 8:00 or close there to and are closing it up between 4:30 and 5:00. Mary continues to learn how to be mission secretary I continue to learn the ins and outs of being financial secretary. 

Besides that I take care of the phones, help elder Beagley when I can and do odd jobs as they come up. 

Tuesday April 10 -  we went to District meeting which not only moved from the Plantation to Ft Lauderdale chapel but also it seems moved from 10:30 to 10:00 without us knowing it. So we arrived after the meeting had been going for 30 minutes. Elder Hanson was there with Elder Castillo as was the new zone leaders – elder Rippstein and Fitts. Elder Beard is the new district leader and he was his usual positive self in getting the district pumped up to be successful by setting meaningful goals for baptisms and baptismal dates for the transfer. It will be interesting to see how it works out.

Wednesday April 11 – was busy in the morning but by the afternoon things were very quiet and seemed to go on forever. At times it seems every couple in the mission except the Beutlers are in the office and then there will be no one except Mary and I.

During the day I worked with Elder Beagley to try and get his vehicle records in sync with everything. I also made new gas card and vin # lists for him to try and make it easier to find out who has what when he can not get to a computer.

Thursday April 12 – was interesting because I got a call from the father of a missionary about his son’s personal credit card. Since the father and son could not talk directly I got to be the middleman as they tried to work it out with the bank. It went on most of the day and when I went home I was not sure what if anything had been settled.

The other excitement for the day was that all the couples went to Olive Garden for lunch to say goodbye to the Steimles who will be leaving at the end of the month. Even the Collins came in despite elder Collins back still hurting. 

Friday April 13 – in the morning I called the father and found out that he had worked out the problem with the bank and then I called the elder to tell him not to worry any more. The only other excitement for the day was we got back some checks from a landlord who was getting paid by both ourselves and Orlando for an apartment. It turned out that the financial secretary in Orlando did not realize one of the Stuart apartments were still on his batch payments list and approved the payment when he should have put it as ‘do not pay.’

Friday afternoon as I was working with Elder Hansen he mentioned that he thought missionaries coming into the field today were much better prepared to teach and become successful than his group from 2 years ago. I mentioned that my neighbors was one of those involved in changing the teaching program at the MTC that made this possible.

I heard elder Kealamekia say that we led the English speaking missions in number of new investigators last week. As President Mann always said, you have to keep putting people into the top of the hopper if you wanted to keep having people to teach and baptize. 

I almost forgot to mention that on Monday we got the news that new couple will be coming to the mission in May. The President did not know they were even called but will be happy to get them. It seems that when your mission is being successful, you get blessings you do not expect. The McCormicks are coming as Member and Leadership Support missionaries. It will be interesting to find out where President Anderson is inspired to use them. If they were up in Stuart or down in Homestead, they could cut down on a lot of travel by Elders Sommerfeldt and Evans. Wherever the President puts them it will be where the Lord wants them.

Back to Saturday April 14 -  P-day and we spent it alternating between cleaning the house and just relaxing. Since Wednesday I have been reading through the conference talks on the computer and pasting important thoughts into a study journal. After I am done I hope to go through it regularly and catch the spirit that I felt as I watched and then read the talks by the Lord’s chosen servants. 

President Uchtdorf’s great bumper sticker – “Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you.”

I have been feeding the ducks and other birds that show up around the apartment pieces of bread. Today I got not only ducks but the white ibis and a smaller brown bird that I have not been able to identify. What really surprised me was how easily the ibis’s long beak could break up even the toughest bread. I do not know how it has enough strength in it’s jaws to put that much pressure on the middle of it’s beak.

The small birds arrived late to the party and would snatch pieces away from the ducks and ibis. Then when the bigger birds would try to get it back they would just fly away to eat their prizes in peace before coming back for more.

In the evening we had the Sommerfeldts and Evans over for a pizza dinner. After dinner and good conversation the Sommerfeldts had to leave to help the elders in their area so we and the Evans played a rousing game of Five Crowns. Elder Evans won easily and I managed to not be the high score by 2 points over sister Evans. A good time was had by all.

To be entered…

I was going to write about what has to happen after transfers were finished but it would not really make sense to anyone who was not involved. So I will just say that the last days have been filled with getting the records to agree with what changes were made in leadership, companionships, apartment, vehicles, telephones, and I am sure some things I have already forgotten about so that the mission can run smoothly for another 6 weeks.

Today was P-day and so we did our shopping and some house cleaning but mainly spent the day relaxing. The shopping included going to Mary’s favorite store – Second Edition Book Store where she picked up her supply of used books for the next month to 6 weeks. I made the mistake of going in with her – if I want to read something I usually just pick up something she has bought – and of course finding something I had to read.

   

On the way home from the bookstore, we stopped at a huge nursery who sells mostly wholesale but also has a retail area. Anyone who knows me knows that I am always looking for another plant. This time it was a beautiful bougainvillea for just $10. Mary is just hoping that on the way home there will be some room in the van  for her as well as the plants.

The price of regular has finally crossed the $4 line. Still lower than some states and a lot less than they pay in Europe but still somewhat of a shock to see it at that price. I often remark that when I was starting to drive the price of gas was 4 gallons for $1 and now it is $4 for I gallon. But then I remember that at the same time I dreamed of having a job that paid $10,000 a year because that sounded like a fortune!

In the evening we went to be greeters for those coming to the Fort Lauderdale Stake Center to see the last production of ‘The Savior of the World.” It was a 50 minute play/show about the events surrounding the resurrection of the Savior. The stake had asked the senior missionaries to greet the people as they came in. We served last night with the Beagleys. Mary took care of will call and I took tickets and greeted people. They expected the show to be completely full but it turned out to be only about 75% filled. I guess people reserved tickets and then found something else to do. However a lot of members brought non-LDS friends and many took Book of Mormons – we had them in English and in Spanish – as well as other pamphlets. It was a very well done production with some excellent singers. I hope that people went away feeling more of the spirit of Easter and the resurrection.

 

Transfer day is spiritual, fun, and at time frantic. It comes every 6 weeks when some missionaries come in and some go home. Today there were 3 new missionaries and 5 went to the Orlando temple for one more great experiences before flying out tomorrow for their homes. The new missionaries are a little in shock and the returning missionaries are caught between being happy about soon seeing their families and yet there is a sad side. They are leaving companions and other missionaries who they have not only come to love but who they have shared the amazing experience of bringing others unto Christ and changing their lives forever – both the one being baptized and the missionary.

The president and the assistants start thinking about transfer a couple of weeks in advance but the final transfer list often is not fully completed until the morning of transfers. Usually on the Friday or Monday before the transfer day we get a draft of what is likely to be what is going to happen. We start putting the information in a couple of programs that need to be completed after transfers are finished. Then on transfer day we find out what is really going to happen as the missionaries are actually moved to their new zones, districts and areas.

One of the most touching part of transfers is when companions who have served together for 6 weeks to months give each other a big hug and say goodbye for a while. Then they give their new companions a big hug of welcome. After the meeting there is another round of saying goodbye, transferring luggage and bikes to new cars and then one by one they drive off to get to their areas so they can get in 8 hours or so of work before ending the day.

Today we brought in mail and packages that we have accumulated for the last 4 days because we could not forward it until the transfers are final. Any missionary that is at the meeting pick up their mail and the Zone leaders are supposed to pick up any mail for their missionaries that did not come in. About 85% of the mail gets picked up and we send the rest out as soon as we are sure where the missionaries are going to be living. One of the ‘packages’ that came through the mail was this plastic egg that was just as you see it above. No box or packing – just a plain egg with an address and postage attached. It is a tribute to the USPO that the egg arrived at the right address, intact and without a crack.

There was another interesting twist today. A number of cars got new Tiwi boxes and we were supposed to be able to activate them once they are  installed but for some reason it just would not work so Elder Beagley finally gave up and had the missionaries take the cars and he will work out the details later. The missionaries wanted to get back to their areas and get to work.

After everything was wrapped up we stopped at home long enough to eat some lunch and then went into the office. The assistants came in an made a few last changes – just getting the names of some of the areas the way they wanted them. As they were leaving I asked if any of the missionaries were going to be moved to a new address and I found out some of them are…we can not complete the transfer fully until we have that information so we will get it tomorrow.

All of this and a few more interesting problems that came up made the day fly by. While I will be glad when everything is finalized for another 6 weeks, it has been a real learning experience to go through one like this as Financial secretary. It is kind of the difference between watching a play and being behind the stage trying to make the play go on smoothly.

 One of the things we look forward to is the last District Meeting before transfers because afterwards we have them all over for a Last Lunch…in South Africa it was a Last Supper on Sunday night but here they need to be out saving souls in the evening so they come over to our apartment for their lunch hour. This transfer Mary made a huge pot of spaghetti that I thought was way too much but the elders and sisters proved me wrong and her correct as they almost ate it all to the last piece of penne.

  

We traditionally take a picture of new missionaries who are here for the first time standing in front of our door. Elder Wilson has a great smile and a powerful spirit. His companion is elder Smoot who was born here in the Plantation/Davies. This is Sister Hong’s 3rd last lunch but I failed to get her picture the first two times. She was reluctant to pose but finally I got her to flash her wonderful smile.

  

This is sister Andrus’ first Last lunch. She and her companion sister Pack are a powerful companionship that, like all the missionaries in the district, give 110% to inviting others to come unto Christ. Picture taking is one of the main activities during these lunches – at least when they are using both hands to eat – so sisters Pack and Andrus are looking at sister Holder’s (she is sister Hong’s companion) latest.

   

Elder Conger has only been here as zone leader for one rotation so this is his first picture. His companion is elder Beard who has been with us since we first got here. Elder Grant is also new to the district and was born here 6 weeks ago. He is from New Jersey where he knew our dear friends the Taylors. They were serving there on their 3rd mission and told us that elder Grant is a very special spirit. They are now serving their fourth mission in the South Africa, Johannesburg mission and are stationed in Botswana. They are our heroes.

  

Elder Plowman is the district leader and is elder Grants companion and trainer. Sister Hong thinks my picture taking is funny…you can see that she is thrilled to be in that picture. Elder Smoot is caught with his mouth full and elder Wilson is getting ready to join him.

  

Elder Conger started with the elders around the table – see the last one and the empty chair – but abandoned them for a softer seat and much prettier company.

   

The middle picture is the only one I have of this district and after tomorrow’s transfer meeting it will be different. Some will leave and some new missionaries will come in. But the spirit will stay the same and we will never forget those we had the great blessing of serving with. The last picture shows the missionaries starting to leave after an hour of being together. Elder Conger was caught taking a last bite of brownie before he left.

    

Our beautiful and colorful granddaughter Gentry – that is her in the middle – went with a group of her friends to the Hari Krishna Holy Festival of Colors and obviously greatly enjoyed every colorful moment that they were there. Ah the joys of being young. I wonder what the car looked like when they all got out at home?

   

Pictures of grandchildren that I came across during the week and wanted to put on the blog so I could always find them.

   

On the way to Church on Sunday the 25th we finally saw the famous alligator that occupies the canal that runs near the Plantation chapel. We had heard about it from President and sister Anderson but had not seen it before. It was bigger than I thought it would be. The cultural hall has been off limits for a few weeks as they prepare the scenery and lighting for the stake production of ‘Savior of the World’ that will run the Friday and Saturday before Easter. They are also painting the chapel but I think this is just a happy coincidence because of regularly scheduled re-furbishing. One man was on the scaffolding but the other was using a roller with extensions that must have been 20-25 feet long…it did not look very effective to me but he seemed to handle it well.

   

Elder Conger has been playing the piano for district meeting his rotation. He may not be technically perfect but the spirit is great. Elder Grant and elder Plowman getting ready for the meeting.

  

While out walking around the complex in the cooler early evening we saw this beautiful and unusual sky and I had to take a number of pictures. I also took another picture of the fountain as seen through the twisted trees. I still have not got the one I really want but I have another year to get it right.

 

On another walk I took this picture looking East down the lake towards our apartment way down at the other end…but it is not visible from here. The yellow tree blossoms are almost past their prime and many of the trees have already lost most blooms. This one shined in the late morning sun. Notice how blue the sky is…the last few days have truly lived up to the motto of being the ‘Sunshine State.”

On Thursday we learned that Elder and Sister Steimle will be released on April 30th so they can be home in time for some important family occasions. Which means as a birthday present I get to become the official Financial Secretary for the mission and Mary becomes the Mission Secretary. I have to say that I am glad to know that who the Lord calls he qualifies because I do not think of myself as qualified. Anyone who knows me – other than the Lord it seems – knows that details are not something I do well. But thankfully Elder Steimle and those before him have organized the calling and hopefully I will not mess it up too often. I will keep Elder Steimle’s home phone number on speed dial!

The other great events of the week were conference and the district’s “Last Lunch” for this transfer. Conference was filled with great instruction and counsel. The talks that at first run through that seemed most directed at me were Elder Hallstrom’s and Elder Andersons, but I look forward to watching, reading and pondering all of them again. Between sessions on Sunday there was an hour feature on “The Saints in Swaziland.” Both the Wilsons who served there while we were in South Africa and the Blackburns who followed them and we got to serve with for a few months were shown in the program. Since we served in Swaziland for 2 1/2 months we knew some of the Swazi members who were shown.

The most important news of the week was the fact that the mission had 106 baptisms for the month. The first time that it has ever had 100 or more and hopefully the new base for an average month. The missionaries here are wonderful and full of desire to serve. We are very blessed to be allowed to accepted as part of a great district. On Monday they held their lasts meeting of this transfer and I had the opportunity to give a short lesson from the Book of Mormon. I gave it on the last few verses in 2 Nephi 32 and tied it in to what it meant to be a successful mission as outlined in PMG.

After the meeting Mary and I hurried home to prepare a spaghetti lunch for the district plus the other sisters who serve in the zone and live just across the street from our complex. I think it went well. Although the missionaries certainly enjoy the food, I think they enjoy just being together and talking in a relaxed atmosphere for an hour. We made sure that they got did not stay longer than the hour they get for lunch…they needed to get back to work because there were people who were waiting for them so their hearts and lives could be changed for Eternity.

During the week we found out that former Elder and Sister Johnson who we served with in Durban are now President and Sister Johnson in the Idaho Falls temple. Elder Johnson was called to be a counselor in the temple presidency. Couldn’t happen to a more spiritual couple.

Each week President Anderson sends a letter to each of the missionaries – including the Seniors. Each week it gives directions and encouragement for the week ahead. Here are a couple of the stories from missionaries that he shared this week…as we would say in South Africa…We are winning!

““We had a baptism on Sunday.  His name is David and he is super solid.  We found him harvesting.  It was really cool because earlier that day when we found him, we prayed to God and asked to find a family of three.  We then started to harvest and about three doors in we found David and he instantly let us in to leave a blessing.  He then accepts to be baptized on the 18th.  We then learn that he has a wife and a grandson who is living with him hence our family of three.  A prayer was answered and a miracle was performed.  He is now a member of the Church and we are working on his wife.”

and

“We blessed a home and the father at the end of the blessing told us how his wife had been in a coma for 4 years. That night, we got a call from the daughter of the home and she told us that her mom had passed away. The next day, we went over to see the family, they were all there. It was certainly hard, yet in a way a bitter-sweet thing for the family, as they knew their mother was in a better place. We later found out that the mother was being rushed into the emergency room just as we came to the house, and she passed away several minutes later. The thing about this is, this was our 16th blessing. We reached our goal of 15 blessings… and were about to go when we asked our 15th family who else they knew, and they suggested we try this home. Well I am glad we did. The family truly recognized that God sent us there. I have never experienced a more powerful and spiritual lesson in my entire mission. They listened carefully, they talked, and they recognized and shared about the spirit. It certainly was hard for them. But what a lesson it was for us, just one more door.”

 

Just one more door missionaries. Let the Spirit guide you there, let the Spirit bare testimony through you, let the Spirit invite them to come to Christ and I promise, â€œThe Lord will deliver” those souls to Him, our Savior Jesus Christ.”

  

Elder Beagley working away at his computer as Vehicle Coordinator. Sister Beagley teaching Mary to enter baptism records. Since both actions were taking place in a corner I could not find any place to stand to get their faces and I did not want to say ‘turn this way and smile.’ I wanted to show them actually doing their work.

The week was pretty much like any other week. We continue to learn how to be Finance and Mission secretary as well as continuing in our other office duties. Mary is also learning how to enter baptisms and confirmation records. Elder Stemile is being very patient with me as I stumble my way through learning his very exacting job. Finances is one area where the Church keeps a very close eye and if anything is not just so, an e-mail comes in asking what is up. However Salt Lake is also very good and patient about helping with any problems that come up and is never further then a phone call away.

Tuesday we went to District meeting and as always it was one of the highlights of the week. The district is struggling a little with getting baptisms but in other areas it is doing well. They set some new goals and committed to doing better. They are a great group of missionaries and as long as they do not get discouraged they will do well. It is really a privilege to be able to be part of their district. 

    

Elders Smoot and Plowman have a bonding moment. The love that missionaries have for one another is so amazing. When they get together for conferences they just want to visit with their former companions and those they were in the MTC together. Elder Conger has chosen to eat delicious homemade cookies and save his healthy orange for later. I know it looks like Elder Beard is trying to teach Mary a dance step but that was not the case – at least I do not think it was.

Wednesday evening we went over to Weston and met with brother and sister Workman to talk about the list of less actives that the ward is trying to reactivate. In PEC it was mentioned that between now and the end of June the ward will lose 37 active members who are moving out because of their jobs. This is one of the problems the ward always has but that many moving in such as short time is unusual. Brother Workman is the HP group leader and between him and sister Workman we learned a lot about the members that should help us when we visit them. I mentioned some suggestions on how a couple of them might be asked to use their job skills or hobbies to teach the young people some time. Everyone likes to share the things they are good at.

  

I took the picture with Mary so I could get the wall sculpture behind her but of course she is the best part of  photo. The last one is another shot of the fountain at night. I steadied the camera against the building while the camera took 10 seconds or so (a lifetime when it comes to taking pictures) to capture the scene. The individual parts of fountain turned into a solid bright star.

Friday night we splurged and went out to Red Lobster for dinner. It was good food and as usual we brought home about half so we will eat well tomorrow. However the cost of the meal was about what we were allowed to spend in South Africa for a food order that fed a family of 5 for a month. I know that we should not think of it that way but it is hard to live so well and not remember those who lived spiritually well on a lot less. It is probably time to increase our fast offerings.

During the week we learned that one of men who was a fairly recent convert when we arrived in Richards Bay was called to be branch president in January. Also this week saw the Blackburns being released and coming home after two years serving up in Swaziland. Their replacements got two days of orientation and then were left to their own devices. The Lord will bless them and they will soon come to love the people as much as the rest of us do.

I had a good chat with Travis Richey who is getting ready to be deployed to Afghanistan in the middle of the year. It is something he really wants to be part and we will pray for his safe return in April 2013 – I told him that we will have to plan to get together since we will be coming home in April also.

The weather continues to be wonderful with almost no rain to speak of this week. Lots of blue skies and temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s – perfect weather.

   

This huge Boston fern is just outside our office building. If it was not confined to a planter it would probably take over the world. Extra parking at the Stake Center where we go to Church is on grass strips across the back of the lot. The Saint Augustine grass is so thick and tough that parking cars on it has no affect. Some 65 years ago my father planted St Augustine in our backyard in California. Within 5 years it had spread to our neighbors. It finally died when we build two houses on top of it.

From Wikipedia: St. Augustine Grass or Buffalo Grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) (also known as Charleston Grass in South Carolina) is a warm season lawn grass that is popular for use in tropical and subtropical regions. It is a medium to high maintenance grass that forms a thick, carpetlike lawn, crowding out most weeds and other grasses.

I think that ‘most’ should read ‘all’ weeds and grasses.

        

A group of the senior missionaries went on a p-day excursion to Shark Valley Everglade National Park which is the 3rd largest National Park in the lower 48 states. It was a very interesting and informative trip with a lot of wonderful missionaries. We went on a two hour tram ride with an excellent driver and tour guide. They knew almost every inch of the land we went though and where to find many of the alligators and birds.

    

      

Along the way we made a stop in a bog area where there seemed to be a bog so he could show us periphyton, a basic building of the everglades. He said he was going out into the boggy looking area and bring some back. He asked if anyone wanted to go along. I thought he was kidding but asked if he meant it and he said yes. So I took off my shoes and socks and rolled up my pants and went with him. He did let me have his staff to help me not slip. 

The first part was hard because there were lots of small rocks that were not nice to my bare feet. However once we got into the boggy area it felt good between my toes. The spongy periphyton did not smell bad and it was interesting to look at all the small things that were mixed up in it. To think that this was a major part of the ecosystem of the huge  everglade system.

“Periphyton is the basic building block of marl, a calcitic mud. In areas with hydroperiods of longer than nine months, peat builds up over hundreds or thousands of years due to many generations of decaying plant matter. Peat and marl are considered nutrient-poor soils that foster the growth of specialized vegetation depending on the length of the regional hydroperiod.” Later I asked him how many times tourists took him up on his offer to go out with him and he said not very often.

     

The first two pictures are Ahingas – the male – dark black with green on beak – is in the middle and the female – light brown – on the right. The birds spread their wings to regulate their body heat. The wood stork on the right is quite large and striking with its white body and gray head.

   

After the tour we bought some books on birds of Southern Florida and then all of us had lunch under the trees while sitting on logs. It was kind of like roughing it but it was also fun. The lady sitting in the chair in the last picture was sitting quietly reading when we invaded her space. When elder Steimle gave her a pass along card with the temple on it, we found out that she had been to Salt Lake one time and as she drove into the city from the airport she got a speeding ticket that cost her $190 – she doubted if she would go back again.

After lunch we loaded up the van and headed back to the office. However not before a stop along the way to solve a problem. Before we left the mission office this morning Elder Beagley got a call from a companionship saying that they had left their gas card in a car that Elder Evans exchanged with them last weekend. When I heard that they were in the Hollywood zone, I suggested that we since we would not be too far from them when we were coming home we meet them and let them have my gas card which I do not use very often. So sister Beagley called them as we were leaving the park and set up a meeting at one of the chapels. Everything went well and the elders now have a gas card so they can keep working.

I tried to sleep on the way home and did manage to get a few winks but not as much as I would have liked. I made up for it after we got back to the apartment as did Mary. It was a good p-day outing and it was nice to be with some of the other couples and to share an adventure. I would certainly suggest that anyone visiting Southern Florida go see this National Park and take the tour. It was well worth the money.