Dear family and friends,
Jim:
Still the reluctant typist. Patricia’s arm healing is coming along, and I will
be very glad when she has her use of it again.
We were so blessed that the accident wasn’t any worse that it was. It does give one more empathy for those who
have much more serious issues to learn from.
I am thankful for the example of others who have faced challenges with
faith and trust in the Lord. It is
through Him that we can meet all these challenges and hopefully learn something
good in the process, and then help others along the way, as we have been
helped.
Monday:
Today was Patricia’s birthday and my decorations were a big hit with her. She loves a party, the balloons and streamers. Lots of well wishes all day long, which the
decorations promoted for those entering the room. There were treats of course. We did manage to
get in some work today also. We had our
bi-weekly staff meeting with President Wakolo and addressed several issues with
him. He does know what his new assignment
is but cannot tell anyone yet. We are still trying to get our office in
compliance with the printer guidelines, but that is taking a while. I also had bills to pay and entering changes
into IMOS for changes due to three missionaries going home today for medical
reasons. I also worked on apartment
inspection reports and some needs that were identified. Patricia worked on updating the mission
calendar, did emails, and assorted things.
After work we went out to eat at a Japanese restaurant and enjoyed a
good meal there. We had calls from the kids
wishing Patricia a happy birthday and singing to her. It was a great day.
Tuesday: I had a slower day, not
much new and so had time to work on less important projects and they was nice
to complete. Patricia worked on some iPad
issues, and some letters. We took some
packages to ship and to mail for missionaries also. We had a good visit with
Brent on the phone. After work we
exercised, had dinner, and I worked on some photo uploading.
Wednesday:
A little busier day for me, though Patricia has been less busy due to very few
missionaries coming the next couple of transfers. I mostly worked on apartment issues,
renewals, and a few closings. I also
worked on an article for the monthly mission newsletter. They tried to relocate two of our printers
today, but will have to come back later to finish. One printer is too old to network and there
was a wiring problem in the new location they will have to come back and fix
later. President Wakolo was doing
interviews today, so we had several missionaries in the office waiting their turn
to have their interview. Patricia
processed a couple new missionary recommendations with the help of Sister Hess. After work all the office couples, the
military relations couple, the Rasmussens, and the Greens from Conway met and
went out to dinner at Olive Garden to celebrate Patricia’s birthday. Any excuse to eat out, and this was a good
one. Fun visit and good food. I fix our
lunches in the evenings so we are not so rushed in the mornings.
Thursday:
Another slower but steady day. This has
been an unusual week, with less new issues, and Patricia still waiting on paperwork
from Salt Lake to finish processing some of the Dep missionaries that will
leave soon. We had some more things to mail after work today at the Post
Office. We picked up some dry cleaning and then did our grocery shopping. This
evening we exercised, had dinner, ironed and did laundry.
Friday: I
don’t mention it often, but we start each day at the office with a spiritual
thought and then prayer. It is a great
way to start each day. We also cleaned
the office today, the restrooms, vacuumed, and dusted. The Hesses are helping out most weeks now
also, so that helps the work load. Elder
Hess is frequently in the office working on his medical reports, researching,
and having conversations in private with missionaries who are struggling with
various things. One sister was in this
week to pick up some crutches for a sprained knee resulting from a fall while
running for exercise. Her companion is a
great nurse for her. Elder Sorensen has
the never ending tasks of keeping up with car repairs, replacing old cars with
new ones, and many related issues. About 4 pm we left early to drive to the
mission home to pick up some paperwork left by President Wakolo when they left
town for the semi-annual Mission Presidents Seminar. We stopped at the Two Rivers Park on the way
home and enjoyed a little walk there and to just sit and enjoy looking at the
river and being out in the park. The park is on an island with a nice bridge
access and is a popular locating for biking, jogging and walking.
Saturday:
It was cooler today, overcast, and rained last night. We attended a soccer game for one of our
grandsons, the other sprained his ankle and couldn’t play. It is nice to be out and enjoying the games
and the parks they are played in. Today
was bathroom cleaning day in the apartment, and we spent some time washing
clothes and getting winter clothes ready to ship home and hanging up the summer
clothes. We were packed to the brim
coming out and won’t be needing all these things until we get back home next
fall. We exercised, had leftovers and a quiet evening.
Sunday: This
was a lovely sunny day. We enjoyed our
reading time in the morning and then got ready and picked up Sister Bowie on
the way to church. One of the new
converts, an elderly gentleman, probably our age, but I don’t think of myself
as elderly, is confined to wheelchair, and today they had a special table set
up for him to be able to help bless the sacrament. That was very nice. I can remember the first time I blessed the
sacrament and what a special privilege that was for me. I am sure he felt similar. We had a youth
speaker and then two brethren. The first
brother spoke about forgiveness and reminded us that if we say we have forgiven
someone for an offense, but keep remembering it, then we haven’t really been
forgiving. We have to let it go and let
the atonement take it away from us. The
second spoke about the troubled times we live in, and how we need to look for
the good and not focus on the bad. Others
declare that they have the truth but are deceived. He referred to the scripture in Acts 17 where
Paul said “For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with
this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD, Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him
declare I unto you.” We now, as did Paul in his day, live in a time
when some people think they know God, but do not. We have the truth and can be a light to them,
if they will listen.
After
Sunday School and Priesthood and Relief Society, we had a Linger Longer pot
luck. This is easier to do now that we have
the last schedule in the building. It
was a nice gathering and good food. We
met a couple of new individuals as we ate.
It is good to gather and to have fellowship together.
Our
thoughts and prayers are with you all,
Love,
Elder & Sister Hartzell
No comments:
Post a Comment