Every week I think I don't have anything to write about and then I have a lot.
My nephew wrote in his letter this week that he's starting to feel like a real missionary. He's understanding and speaking the language better. I know exactly how he feels. I was so overwhelmed at first. I didn't feel like I could speak the language nor understand it. I just felt like an idiot most of the time. Now the housing language is becoming more familiar to me and I can have a conversation and even answer questions in the language. I'm starting to feel like a real housing coordinator.
So far I've spent tons of time reading apartment leases, signing leases, calling landlords, calling utilities, signing up for utilities, calling missionaries, ordering furniture. I had no idea! It's a pain doing that for yourself, but now I'm doing it for tons of missionaries. Who knew it was so complicated! And seriously, some of the funny stuff that happens. Yesterday I asked a lady at the utility company for her taxpayer ID number and she said they don't have one. Not true! But she insisted they don't. So now that's another phone call to try to find someone who knows. I'm surprised at how many phone calls it takes to get anything done. Chris, as finance secretary, works closely with me on some of these things. He talked to a lady at a utility company that said she had a taxpayer ID number but that she absolutely, under no circumstance, could she or would she give it to him. Chris talked to her boss and got the number in about five minutes.
Several times a landlord or utility company has asked me to send a picture ID. I say, "We are a corporation. I don't know who's ID you would want." I want to ask her if she wants me to send a picture of Jesus, but I know that would sound snarky and sacrilegious so I don't. But I get to chuckle to myself. Yesterday I had several different companies tell me they don't have an email address. How is that possible? Are you kidding me? So I can't email them my application. I have to actually put it in an envelope and mail it. I barely remember how.
Going to the office every day has been exhausting, but we are getting used to it. In my past life I was used to having the day to go to doctor appointments, etc. Now it's quite the juggling act to figure out how to get my work done and go to the doctor, the chiropractor, and physical therapy. Chris too. We have a funny life. The missionaries come in a lot and we love them, even the ones we don't get to see a lot.
This week I signed leases and got utilities for two sets of missionaries that have been living in pretty crappy places. One set has the worst apartment in the mission. They are so grateful. They called me up, though, and explained that they rent their apartment from a member and he's going to be MAD. I haven't sent a vacating notice yet because I hadn't signed a lease yet. But they talked to this guy's wife and she said he would probably quit coming to church. They wanted to know what they should do. I told them to blame me. Tell them you have a new housing coordinator and she doesn't know what she's doing and she got you a new apartment and now you have to move. They laughed and laughed and said they would for sure do that and they were so grateful to have someone to blame. Oh, these cute missionaries. I love them! I haven't met them yet but I love them!
HOUSING MIRACLE
We have another set of missionaries that have been living in a member's attic. It's very cramped and not even safe. I found an inspector's notes from awhile ago and it was one whole page of violations and it said it was uninhabitable. And yet there are missionaries living there. We've had several apartments fall through and one finally just dropped in our lap. I called the landlord and he said they could move in the next day. What? He didn't care if it would take a few days for our check to reach him. Usually landlords won't budge. If they don't have our money, they don't give out keys. Even if they have the security deposit and the first month's rent. They won't budge till they get the $75 of the October prorated rent. He says it's all fine. Then I told him I couldn't get the utilities into our name that fast. He said, "The utilities are all on. I don't mind if it takes a few days for you to get them in your name." I was dumbfounded. The missionaries were thrilled! and so grateful.
That night I was getting ready for bed and I suddenly thought, "I wonder if those Elders even have any furniture. I don't know if they've got their own or if they've been using the lady's." So I looked up their number and called. "Do you even have your own beds?" He said, "yes, we do." Oh I was so relieved. Then he said, "Actually someone today called us and asked if we needed beds and gave us some." Miracle for sure. I told them to keep in touch and we'd make sure they have everything.
DAY OF CLEANING
Wednesday we had a DAY OF CLEANING throughout the mission. There's going to be a prize for the missionaries who find the most interesting thing in their apartment. Stay tuned for the results. Chris and I took the mission truck and trailer and moved some beds around getting ready for more missionaries coming this week. When we came home from the day of cleaning, our garage door was broken. Very sad.
WHAT DO WE MISS MOST TODAY
Not a spatula. We went to the kitchen store in Rogers and bought a couple of spatulas. There wasn't a decent spatula in this house. We couldn't even turn over an egg. We also bought some measuring cups that we can read on them what size they are. Woot woot!
GHOST STORY
Today is Sunday and we drove to Houston MO to go to church. We drove 3 hours yesterday to St. Robert. Then 1 hour this morning to Houston. It was a beautiful drive on a windy, roller coaster-like road with tall trees on both sides.
Why Houston? One day I called the Houston missionaries to see if they liked their apartment and should I renew the lease. They hesitated a little and then told me their apartment was haunted. So that's why we went to Houston. We had a great visit with the Houston Sister missionaries this morning. They told us when they first got in that apartment they woke up one night and both sat up in bed feeling really weird. The bathroom light was flashing off and on and then all the lights in the house started flashing off and on. They were freaked out and called the mission president, the past one. He told them to go sleep in the church.
After that they had the apartment blessed and things calmed down and seemed fine except that there was still a regular screeching. They just discovered yesterday that it's the toilet making that sound. But they say there is still a ghost there. His name is Raymond. His wife or girlfriend murdered him in that apartment. Someone looked it up for them. But he's calm now that the house has been blessed. Hmmmm, not quite sure what to think about this. But it felt fine in there to us.
After Houston, we made a quick visit to the missionaries in Mountain View and then Ava. Long drive home.
MISSIONARES ARE CREATIVE AND HAVE THICK SKINS
These same sister missionaries in Houston told us they couldn't have any success proselyting. Lots of people there hate Mormons. There's a couple of churches there that have an anti-Mormon class every Sunday night at 7:00. At one of the churches they wear our temple clothes to show people how weird we are. Well, they decided they had to try other ways to reach people. They started volunteering at the Senior Center. At first, people called them names and told them they were ugly. They were so mean! But gradually they warmed up and now they like them. Now the sisters do all kinds of other things: crochet night, basketball night, larping (google it), fishing, addiction recovery, and food pantry volunteering. They have nonmembers who participate in all of these activities and are making friends.
This is a plastic bowl that a premade Walmart Salad comes in. We use it for a bowl but it apparently doesn't like the dishwasher.
I snapped this picture really fast while we were driving on this cute bridge coming home. I got more of the dashboard than I intended because we went over a bump. But it's better than I expected.
Target Field Trip after Physical Therapy. We OD'd on spatulas at Target too.
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