Transfer Week #3!!!! There is a lot of prepping, coordinating and helping hands that make a successful transfer week. I do a bit of the food prep ahead of time. I cook the meat, fruit salsa & jello tapioca salad are made and fruit salad is put together so the day of is less chaotic. On Monday morning, Veronica helped me put the tacquitos together and we made the cinnamon chips and the hornet’s nest cake too. Later the elders made the lime cilantro rice for me, which was very helpful since I was running Allie to the airport. Sad day! L I made it back in time for the departing missionaries testimony meeting. However right after Allie called to inform us her flight was cancel due to mechanical problems and her flight would be rebooked for the next day. Sister Morton was sweet to go get Allie from the airport. Yeah!, we get Allie one more day!! The departing meal was a success as usual because of everyone’s help. As my grandma Green always would say, “Many hands make light work.” So true!
In reality we did not get Allie one more day. She had to leave early the next morning at six to catch her flight back to Utah. Sister Morton is a saint. She volunteered to take Allie back up to the airport so I could get the rest of the kids to seminary and school and also prep for the departing missionaries breakfast that is at our house. It is an easy breakfast of a local favorite Kolache Factory breakfast rolls, fruit, yogurt and granola that can be made into a yogurt parfait and then juice and chocolate milk to drink. After breakfast Aaron and I share some parting advice and encouragement and then take them to the airport. After we see them go through security we then wait for our arriving missionaries. Our Provo MTC missionaries usually arrive first and then about 20 minutes later our Mexico MTC missionaries arrive. Tight schedule but it always works out. This time around it was supposed to be reversed but the Mexico flight was delayed almost and hour and a half so it ended up being pretty normal. We are always excited to get our new missionaries. It is like Christmas as we wait for them to come off the plane. After everyone is loaded up we head to the Bissonett chapel for a brief introduction to THSM, interviews and OYMing. OYMing is always a great experience. We then load up again and head to our home for pictures, testimonies and dinner. Sister Rath and her friend provided dinner as they have been doing for 18 years. They always do a wonderful job and so creative with the dessert. They made a cute Halloween chocolate parfait. Love their dedicated service!
Wednesday is another very full day. I started the day talking with Bode’s ELA/Literacy teacher. She wanted to share some good news with me. I was scheduled to meet with her later that day so I could learn what I could do to best help Bode in her class. I had been trying to meet with her for 2 ½ weeks. Anyway she had a lot of great things to say about Bode. She really enjoys him in her class. He is sweet, honorable and a joy to teach. She sees that he is really trying hard to do better. She appreciated that I was reaching out to her to know how I could support what she was teaching in class. It was really positive. He has improved a lot in that class from when I was first reaching out to her. Jessie is too. I don’t feel like the teachers gave the students much leeway to transition back into school. They really want the students to pick up from where they left off before summer break. Zac does well is most of his classes but is still having a hard time with Biology and Geography at times. It baffles me because most students have tutors for math and chemistry/physics here. If you look at the prerequisites on the syllabus for the class, he shouldn’t be taking it but it’s required. Plus there isn’t another class he can take to fulfill the biology requirement. Doesn’t make sense to me. I was able to finally find a Biology tutor for him. I am hoping that helps.
Out new missionaries met their trainers, got a lot of training: on cars, apartments, 1st 12 weeks, seeing their investigators beyond baptism and this time I gave them an assignment from Adjusting to Missionary Life. I will follow up with that assignment in two weeks when they come back with their trainers for more in depth training. I really want them to utilize the tools and have an open discussion about how it can help them manage the changes and stress that they will experience. We had a great lunch provided by one of our ward Relief Society presidencies. Love the help. J After that we have our transfer meeting. I love my role in this meeting because I get to introduce the new missionaries to all that are in attendance at the meeting. I like to share fun things about them to make it more personal and light-hearted. It really makes me happy doing this. Introductions were going well, lots of smiles, a little laughter here and there just the way I like it. However when I got to the third to last missionary introduction I got side tracked by her ability to Latin dance. She is from West Valley but was born in Peru. I just mentioned that we should have her teach us how to Latin dance at our next zone p-day activity. It didn’t even phase me what I was suggesting until some chuckling so I looked back at Aaron wiggling his finger in the no motion. So giggling I quickly revised to suggesting the sisters could learn Latin dancing, more chuckling and finger wiggling and then it dawned on me what I was saying. My giggling quickly changed to uncontrollable laughter. I could not stop laughing at what I just said and did. I had to motion Aaron to come up to finish the introductions because I could not get it together. As soon as I thought I was good, I would start laughing again. I finally reined in my laughter and was able to finish the last two introductions. Unfortunately, this will not be forgotten. Many of missionaries came up afterward telling me how much they enjoyed my fit of laughter and loved seeing that side of me. I am glad they enjoyed it but oh so embarrassing.
I was invited to lunch by one of the moms, Kitee, that I met in the cul de sac where I pick Jessie up after school. She likes to get moms together that are fairly new to the area so they can get to know others. We met at a little restaurant in town square called, Ruggles. It was nice to meet other moms most of them have 3rd graders as well. I also volunteered at the elementary for the first time. I will go every other Friday to help in Jessie’s classroom. Afterwards I helped in the lunchroom so the teachers could enjoy their teacher appreciation lunch that the PTO sponsored. Wow! They have hand signals for getting a drink, going to the bathroom and getting more food. They can only sit two to a bench. They can earn buddy passes to sit by their friends otherwise you just sit with you classroom. They are encouraged not to talk much but they have a full half hour to eat. On Fridays they can buy the treat of the week, which is either an ice cream bar or chips. It rotates each week. You have to have money in your account because they do not accept money at the register. You follow the rules no exceptions.
Saturday was the laziest day we have had thus far and none of us liked it much. It was very rainy (inches) so no outdoor activities. Although Aaron ran before the rain came down. The boys got wings to watch the BYU game. Jessie and mom binged watched HGTV. We decided that it was a waste of our time, big time. ;) I was able to write my weekly update so there is the bright side. Oh and we got booed! Another highlight! Next week is going to be busy and full with Elder Corbridge coming so maybe a slow day was a good thing. J