what a day............

Our day started out wonderfully and lovely. We got to the stake center just as some of the missionaries began to arrive. We passed out "inspection" papers so they could "inspect" their own cars and make sure their "legal documents" were not expired. What a picker-upper to greet with hugs (the sisters) and hand shakes these wonderful, committed missionaries!! (I told the Elders later that for them, a hand shake is a hug. And how delighted I am to be here associating with them.) Anyway, Roger and I are learning. Things went so much better today. They probably saved us two whole hours in the afternoon--hours which we needed and didn't know we needed! (more about that later) We had all the glove boxes "gone through" with all the associated information we needed, tire pressures checked, fluid levels checked and topped off and battery cables protected before 9:00 a.m.!!!!! RAH!!!! First thing accomplished!!!

Zone conference started at 9:00....... This group did not sing with quite as much gusto as the Bessemer zone, but it was a joy to sing "For the Strength of the Hills" with them. The President took some time, then the senior missionaries did our "training". What am I going to train on !?!?!?!???? (referrals--which I don't handle anymore and "media") So I shared something out of "Preach My Gospel", kind of bore my testimony and told them they are wonderful and I love them. Within two minutes of sitting down I thought of three other things I could have/needed to tell them............but it all worked out. So yay!! I can be the cheerleader!!!! Some Sisters called Roger yesterday for something, but since he was driving I answered his phone. She told me how much she appreciated my training at the last MLC (Mission Leadership Council meeting). I told them about the papers we had to sign for the Jewish government that the students at the Jerusalem Center would not proselyte at all in Jerusalem. Elder Holland, as president of BYU, and Pres. Benson, for the Church.........had to sign the agreement or they would not permit us to build that building!!!!! After the papers were all signed one of "our" friends in the government said, "Oh, we know that you are not going to proselyte, but what are you going to do about the light that is in their eyes?" ..........way cool, huh??? If you want to read Pres. Faust's talk it is, "The Light in Their Eyes", Conference, Oct. 2005. So all of that happened before these missionaries were even born!!!!!!! AMAZING!!!!!!!!! I was thankful for Sis. (I don't know her name, sorry)......her feedback. Makes me feel that I can be useful here. That sounds a little melodramatic, but there are many days when I feel that I'm just kind of putting in the time. I know I am very contradictory in what I'd like or how I feel, because I'm really not comfortable at center stage and I like to do things like prepare the food and let someone else serve it while I wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen.........yet I like to know that I am doing something important that would really make a difference if I didn't do it. Does that make any sense at all? Probably not............and that's okay and I'm okay, really..........I don't want to be in the spotlight and have a fuss made. So I'll just be very thankful for my "little plot of ground" and tend it the best I can. Which reminds me!!!! You should see my decimated "closet"!!!!! I think I told you how excited I was to receive our order the other day: 25 boxes (40 books each) of the Book of Mormon. Well.........tonight there are 7 left!!!!!! Good thing I ordered another 25 boxes yesterday! The poor FedEx guy does not enjoy delivering to us, and I really can't blame him. But I don't know how to help that. Any ideas? He probably can't accept tips............. I'll have to give that some thought.

Sorry, but I have to finish today.........though it did end a little on the down side........... After lunch I went out to help Roger make sure the Tiwis were logging in okay (I'm going to get reported on!!!! I didn't fasten my seat belt to drive around the parking lot!!) Anyway, we went to get some chips in the windshield filled--we each drove a car. The one Roger was driving had already been "fixed" so he went back for a third car while the guy fixed ours. It was not scorching hot by then, so I turned the car off and rolled down the window and we got to talking. He was a very pleasant young man. He is in ministerial school, so I asked about that.......he talked a lot. He asked what we believe and I started with the Articles of Faith--not word for word, but even those basic doctrines were too much for him. I asked him if a man like Paul or Peter or James or John were on the earth today if he would be interested. That led to Apostles (which he had no concept of), apostasy (which he wasn't sure he agreed with), and restoration (that included the First Vision...........Roger came back and assisted me............but we really fell down when he asked what revelation the Prophet had received lately. Do you think we could come up with the Proclamation on the Family!?!!?!???? I was so frustrated!!! when I did finally think of it that I missed the right place to turn and got on the freeway when I really did not want to get on the freeway!! Thankfully, the GPS found me and "recalculated". AGH!!!!!!! So now I'm going through the self-condemnation of "he'll go talk with his minister/teacher and they will talk about Mormons in class and 'you better stay away from them'" etc., etc. He was such a nice young man. And loves people and loves the Lord. I wish I were a better teacher! I did find a Restoration pamphlet in the trunk of the car Roger brought and gave that to him with the office phone number on the back in case he wanted to ask more questions..........we'll send some young missionaries for that!! Sometimes I wonder what is the use of trying if I mess up so badly. But I will keep trying. Promise.

I'm tired and we have to leave here by 6:00 in the morning so we can be in Huntsville on time. We are staying over up there somewhere so we don't have to drive all the way to Tupelo, MS, the next morning. The afternoons outside are pretty brutal............I'll stay in touch..........what a saga!! You are a champ!!