Back home in the office after six nights away: Yesterday driving home I had cramps in both hands and forearms. The senior couple in Hinesville had been living in a five bedroom/3 bathroom house. I don't know how many square feet were in the house but the master bedrooms was as big as the dining and living room in the apartment we're living in. The living room and kitchen were about the same size and there was a family room and dining room. I vacuumed or sweep and mopped. The app on my phone that counts steps had me walking over five miles—pushing a broom, vacuum or mop. It's not unexpected that my arms would cramp.
Like everyone or, at least, most everyone, senior missionaries accumulate stuff. Young elders and sisters have the advantage that they move frequently and so they don't generally have all that much stuff to take home. Actually, they've left most of it in the various places they lived for 18 or 24 months. Then the housing coordinators get rid of it. Senior missionaries live in one place while they're in the mission so the stuff builds up. In desperation, the couple leaving yesterday borrowed some of those bags you can put bedding in and suck the air out to compress the size of the stuff. In my experience, the bags tend to leak and expand. I fully expect their car to explode before they get home in Utah. And this was after the ward took a bunch of stuff and we filled six construction bags with stuff no one wanted. Stuff is the bane of my existence.
I'm going to try to catch up a little for the month of March.
First, the mission transitioned to smart phones during the month. All the missionaries got smart phones. We started in late February with the APs, a couple of missionaries who were designated as "technology leaders" and their companions and the sister missionaries working in the office. The new aspect of smart phones is that the mission no longer supplies phones, every missionary must purchase their own which they then take home. There were some exceptions: Missionaries from certain countries outside of North America and Europe get phones and missionaries leaving the mission within 90 days of the start of use of smart phones get phones. Our start of the use of phones throughout the mission was March 23. The transfer after 90 days, July 9, was set as the cutoff date for a free phone which is returned when the missionary goes home.
We started getting phones—lots of phones starting. We got fifty phones to use for the mission. We got over 120 phones shipped from parents. Considering that the least expensive phone was $140, we had over $20,000 worth of phones in the office and I was carrying around several thousand dollars worth to various zone conferences.
A note about Sister Waggoner: Without her, this transition would been much more difficult. She's logged in the phones and keep track of who gets what and organized the phones into batches for each of the various meetings. She's done a wonderful job.
We started overall distribution at MLC (mission leadership council) and then zone conferences. For the most part, things when off with few glitches. The first problem we encountered with the size of the SIM cards. AT&T send nano cards that are about the size of the chip on a credit cards. Some of the smart phone being purchase were designed for mini cards—a difference of about 5 mm. Just enough to cause a problem. You can fit a nano in a mini slot but its working is problematic. We didn't even know we had a problem until the Auburn sisters' phones wouldn't work. There is a solution: an adapter costing about a buck. I bought forty. The second problem was in trying to adapt the nano to the mini slot, cards were getting damaged. These have to be replaced from Salt Lake overnight. Some missionaries in the Savannah zone complained about being with a phone for two days. I said, "I survived 30 months without a phone during a mission, you can survive two days."
The last zone conference was held in the stake center in Savannah. There is a mural in the chapel: Pooler Mural
Bikes: Last year an elder went home temporarily and left his bike. When he came back in March, we had lost his bike. We've gotten it straighted out but it took a bunch of phone calls and he's getting a new replacement because he had paid over $800 originally with a guaranteed replacement clause. Then my most reliable source for bike failed me. Most transfers they supply two or three or as many as six bicycles. This last transfer they had only received one order and so, expecting more, they waited until it was too late to get it in time for the missionary. Both missionaries have had to use loaner bikes. They work OK but aren't the brand new bikes they expected when they got to the mission.
Housing: We have had four senior couples leave and not be replaced. That means three apartments and one five bedroom/three bathroom house that we have had to empty and clean. The shed is overflowing with stuff. Then we've moving or attempting to move several sets of young missionaries.
It hasn't been all work. We spent one day in Savannah and went to a synagogue of one of the oldest Jewish congregation in the nation and to a maritime museum. Here are some pictures:
We also spent an afternoon with Sisters Parkinson and Waggoner at the Ocmulgee National Monument. During the Thirties, this was the largest archaeological dig in the nation. It's an example of Mississippian culture with large temple mounds. We saw a real live Georgia alligator:
I left the hotel room this morning before 7:30, got a bite to eat, and headed for the stake center in Evans, GA. Starting at 8 I distributed about 30 smart phones to the missionaries in the Augusta and North Augusta Zones. Also delivered a bike to an elder and took back the loaner he had. Back to the hotel to get Sister Chadwick and made our occasional run to Costco when we're in Augusta. Spent several hours on the phone and traveling around Augusta looking for a new apartment for the Augusta Zone Leaders. Started cleaning the Martinez sisters old apartment. Met the Evans elders at the Martinez sisters just before 6 and moved their washer, dryer, and microwave to their new apartment. Took the Evans elders to Wendy's for some supper. Went to Chick-fil-a to feed the sisters, Sister Chadwick and two local sisters. Helped wrap up cleaning. Got to the hotel room at 9:15. This is why I haven't been doing much blogging.
