Monday, January 25, 2016

Its Time for Serious Missionary Work

We thought you might be interested in our list of duties:
1. Black Rock Branch Leadership Missionary
2. MSF Missionary Support Funds -this means we have cash to help out when missionaries run out
3. Apartments- inspections every 6 weeks, repairs, leases, furnishing, water filters, emergency food and water
4. Autos- repairs, crashes, purchases
5. Bikes- repairs, purchases
6. Cooking for Zone Conference- every three months about 30 people (we did the first one when we had been here only 10 days)
5. Teaching appointments
8. Emergency Medical and dental spots for missionaries
9. Recording Baptims for the entire mission
10. Tracking all of our missionary expenditures and turning in every transfer
11. Letters to parents, bishops, stake presidents every 6 weeks to notify of assignments changes
12. Attend district every week and zone conferences
13. Pick up mail for the young missionaries at the office and post office
Misc items like drivers licenses, picking up cargo, airport and hotel runs

Now you see why I don't post very often.  Our Christmas was very different but enjoyable skyping with our children and grandchildren.  We have managed to get to the beach for a couple hours one day and see a few local sights of interest. One day we decided to venture up the west coast plus have lunch.  We arrived at the lunch spot at 10:30 so we continued to the northern tip of the island before coming back for lunch.  There are nice swimming beaches but not the northern tip.  It is pure Atlantic fury combined with occasional rain. It doesn't take long to drive to most spots on the island. But of course the locals think it is quite far.The East coast is also quite wild and nothing between us and Africa.
During one of our apartment inspections, Glen found the front half of a smoke detector in a hall cabinet. When he asked the missionary why it was there, the missionary responded that it kept going off.  Glen asked where the other half was.  It had been installed ( by whom we do not know) under the stove hood just above the stove!!  So we are now in the process of installing smoke detectors in all the apartments because they were missing. We can't even purchase the co2 detectors here. The missionaries ask if there will be a prize for the cleanest apartment. We are giving them a free pass for the next inspection plus microwave popcorn.
We feel like the members are getting comfortable with us now.  So now it is time to get down to some serious missionary work which means visiting the locals.  If we can find them.  We have been out with the missionaries many times but it is usually to teach investigators.  Some names don't even have addresses and very few streets have signs.  The missionaries know where some are, but we need the active members to help us.
The new browser still isn't allowing me to include pics.