Transfer Week Craziness!
This week marked the beginning of the last full transfer we will experience on our mission. The next transfer day we get to be a part of, will happen 2 days before we return home. That is a sobering thought. This transfer will be different than any other one that we have experienced. We will be getting a new mission president and losing a rather large chunk of our mission during this transfer. Both of those things mean that we will be dealing with some significantly sticky logistical challenges to make sure things go smoothly through the changes.
The transfer day itself went fairly well, however, I had to feel sorry for poor Elder Smythe, our travel secretary. The transfer board was not finalized until late Friday night, and he just happened to go home sick right after it happened. To put that into perspective, they always try to have the transfer finalized early in the week, so he can get the travel arranged for everyone. He luckily had access to one of the office laptops from his piso and worked through the weekend to get everything done. He is a wonderful missionary, but he was sorely tested this week. Not only did he have almost zero time to get things arranged, but he was plagued with missionaries who didn't follow his instructions. When a missionary misses a flight or train that they should have been able to catch, they are on the hook to pay for the replacement ticket. One of the missionaries didn't just miss one flight because of lack of attention, but missed the replacement flight as well! That is a first since I have been here. She is going to have to pay the mission back several hundred euros as a result. There were two or three times that Elder Smythe needed to come into our office to "vent". However, at the same time, it was a miracle to watch the hand of the Lord help him through the challenges. At one point he told me that he had gone into the restroom to pray over a particularly tough problem. He said that when we got up off his knees and walked back to his desk, he got a phone call with the exact answer to his prayer. He said that there were several instances of immediate help that he recognized as coming from the Lord to get him through it all. We do love that kid!
There was a challenge that I ran into as well. When we went to the airport to pick up the new missionaries we went in 3 vehicles, the MAV (mission assault vehicle - 9 passenger van), Mini-MAV (7 seat minivan), and the president's car (Hyundai Santa Fe - can hold 7). The MAV was front to back, floor to ceiling luggage as always. That left the President's car and the Mini-MAV to take the people. After we loaded all of the luggage in the MAV, I grabbed 6 elders to ride with me. 5 got into the back and middle rows, and I tried to open the driver's door to get things going. However, the door didn't open. We tried the passenger's door, and it didn't open either. I had one of the elders climb from the back to the front to open the doors, and he couldn't open either one from the inside either. We pondered on what to do for a few minutes, and I finally decided to climb up there myself which I did, while realizing that I am not nearly as flexible as I used to be! However, I made it. As I experimented a little, I realized that I could drive the car and that the warning lights were all "yellow" meaning that there wasn't anything catastrophic happening. So, we drove to the office that way. Looking back on it, if there had been an accident, I would have never been able to get out of the car! However, we now have a car that needs to go into the shop on Tuesday.
Even with the challenges though, transfer day is always a shot in the arm because we get to see these amazing new missionaries meet their trainers, and find out where they are going to serve. That process never gets old for me. It kind of made me a little sad though because I will only get to witness this one more time before I go home, and who knows if the new mission president keeps those traditions alive?
The Heckmanns will be handing over the reigns on 25 June to the Newitts. However, before then, they have to be out of their house on the 9th so that the FM group can go through and paint/repair/remodel it for the new mission leaders. That means that the Heckmanns will be having to bounce around from hotel to hotel as they go through one final cycle of zone conferences and interviews. President Heckmann will also be giving each of his precious missionaries a priesthood blessing. It will be a pretty emotional month.
We are starting to head into the warmer months here, which means a lot of pollen in the air (to give me itchy eyes, and sneezes), and tons of phone calls complaining about non functional AC units which Brenda has had to field. With the pollen comes beautiful flowers in the trees. We are starting to see them fall to the ground to give us a "carpet" of orange or purple. Really kind of fun.
We are so very grateful that the Johnsons are here and are learning so fast. I no longer worry that we will be leaving the mission hanging when we leave. They are picking it all up really well. Brenda posted a little note at the breakfast table that says "Don't count the days, make the days count!" I must admit that as the Johnsons get more and more comfortable, I am starting to lose a little urgency. The tendency is to "count the days".
I am grateful for a companion who is determined to "run through the tape" even if she has to drag me along as well. She is a constant reminder of how I should be as she continues to love these missionaries and the people here in Spain. When the sweet sister missionaries come to the office and immediately run to her office to get a hug, I get to see first hand what a wonderful impact a sweet minister has on these sweet servants of the Lord. More than just keep a roof over their heads, she has loved them with all of her heart and that kind of love can't help but be contagious. I love them as well, and being around them will be the biggest thing that we will miss when we do finally go home.
The Lord's work continues to move forward. Miracles continue to happen. The Gospel is rolling forward here in Spain, and it is wonderful to be a part of it all, even if we see our time here slipping away! We love you billions. Have a great week!
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