I know I sent a message only half baked. Sorry. These last days have been amazing. I had never been to transfers.....only these transfers were the last ones before Pres. Woodbury arrives. It was a sad time for some, knowing they will not see these missionaries again on their mission. It was sad for Pres. And Sister Fenn because they are losing half their children. They went from having 250 missionaries to 150. But 26 new missionaries arrived Monday and another 30 arrive next week. The logistics is staggering . We have two Senior missionaries in the office who go out looking for 18 new apartments....in areas where we are opening up new areas or doubling the number of missionaries in a given ward. I have picked up vehicles twice now and it is quite the sight to see 6-9 brand new cars drive off a lot, paid for, ready to be assigned to some 18 or 19 year old who may have never been in a brand new car before. Beds.....where do you find 26 beds for the incoming missionaries? We go to the storage units and get blow up mattresses for them to sleep on.
The missionaries come into the office to exchange the phone that goes with the apartment or trade cars for a different area, especially since ours is being divided. We fixed veggies, chips, water,pretzels and just watched them disappear. Missionaries are ALWAYS hungry. We tried to meet and greet as many missionaries as we could. They thought it was funny when we said we were new too. One young missionary from Ghana was touched that Bruce wants to go to Ghana on our next mission. He came up to me later and said, " I am sorry you will be in the other mission. I feel something special when I am near you, a special spirit, like my mother." I told him I would be honoured to be his mother and that in five years, he will probably be a bishop in his country. Outstanding youth coming out right now.
At the end of the day, three sisters were broadsided and Elder Taggart had to deal with his first accident. They were not hurt but the car sustained $7,500 worth of damage. Scarey. Elder Taggart will be just like a doctor....his phone has to stay on 24-7 for just such emergencies.
We have had dinner at Pres. Fenn's house several times in one week. They are gracious hosts and know how to put on a good meal. I don't know how she does it. She can be at Zone Conference all day, come home to 16 for dinner and pull off a great meal. Pres. Fenn has a "green egg" he likes to cook everything in.
We are still in temporary housing until we are completely trained. I did get to go to 4 storage units and pick out my furnishings.....retro/ghetto is what it will be. A yellow overstuffed chair, a crushed velvet blue rocking chair, a beige couch, lamps to be determined. The bed will be the one we sleep in now and it is a good queen bed. I found a bookcase, two retro black night stands,and best of all.......a big fan. I am a happy camper. Sister Fenn commented on us not having dishwashers. I said it wasn't so bad because we only have 4 plates, 4 bowls, 4 spoons, etc. it doesn't take long to dirty them all so you wash them after each meal to make sure you have enough for the next meal. It is a simplified life and you don't miss all the stuff. I told Elder Taggart it is like starting all over in our marriage.....hand-me-down furniture and all. We eat well, our office is nice, we are together, the church is true, we love the youth we are working with....what more do you need?
We pick up the transfer van tomorrow and deliver the new presidents car to his house also. He arrives Saturday so our p-day will be a little short. We are excited to meet him and serve with him. The people in the office have a lot of stress yet we laugh all day, at our mistakes, at our lack of skills, at the dumb jokes. It is a good place to be.
I was touched today when I called Sadie for her third birthday. Her dad told me, " Sadie was playing with her friend and her friends grandma. She told them her Grandma Claudia was on a mission.....in Chicago.....and she rode in taxi cabs.......and she had to get shots before she could go on her mission........and " when I get big, I'm going to go on a mission too." That made my day. I hope each one of my grandchildren can serve a mission.....a selfless few years where you just give back to The Lord. What a blessing to be here, now, keeping baptisms entered on the computer, thanking the Fed Ex driver with a basket of goodies(my idea) for delivering 36 boxes of Books of Mormon yesterday, attending transfers where we saw complete strangers embrace and sit together....excited to be companions in sharing the gospel, attending zone conference today and serving the lunch to these hungry missionaries.
We love you, we miss you, but we are happy where we are at,doing exactly what we are doing.
Share a smile with someone.....better yet, open your mouth and share your testimony.....and I'll enter the baptism on the computer:)
Love,
Sister Taggart
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