Our First Transfer

Last weekend was the Camarillo Stake Conference.  We attended the Saturday night adult session and it was one of the best ones we have attended.  It was well attended.  As it turns out the theme was on missionary work.  The Stake Presidency asked President and Sister Castro to attend and to speak.  There are also 34 missionaries who are serving in the Camarillo Stake and we were all there.  They had asked 3 converts to tell their story and it was wonderful.  One Hispanic sister joined the church about 11 years ago and has 3 children and they are all serving missions at the present time.  She mentioned that it was very hard converting to the Church – and changing her friends, but it has been a blessing in her life.  She said that she tries to support her children as much as she can by herself, but is appreciative of the help that the Stake has provided.  Her testimony was so touching and we really felt the Spirit.  Then the other two converts told their stories and the commonality between them all was how hard it was in the beginning, but their hard work has paid off.  President Castro told his story of conversion and how his friends in Ecuador had tried for 2 years to get him to join and he wouldn’t.  When it became close to his birthday, they gave him a wrapped up book in beautiful wrapping paper and he was so embarrassed to unwrap it – because that wasn’t the “boy” thing to do, so he hid it behind his back and unwrapped it when he was alone.  It was a Book of Mormon.  It was many months later that he read the book and eventually was converted and baptized.  His point was to never give up on anyone and don’t get discouraged when it takes a long time.  It was a great meeting.

Transfers were this week.  It starts on Monday morning when the new missionaries are picked up at the Santa Barbara airport.  10 came from the MTC in Mexico, 18 came from the Provo MTC and one was driven here by his parents.  We had 29 new missionaries.  They spend Monday in training and interviews with President Castro at the Ventura Stake Center and then they are picked up by members in that Stake and they stay the night with them.  Then we took 2 “visa waiters” (these are people who are waiting for VISAS to other countries and so they were serving in our mission for 4 months until their visas came) to the Los Angeles airport on Monday at 4:00 to catch their flight to Australia.  Here they are checking their luggage in at the airport:

 Here are Elder Jamison and Elder Castro who have been in our mission for 4 months waiting for the visas to Australia.  They are now in Australia after about a 22 hour flight.

 

We arrived home at 10:00 p.m. and had to get up at 5:00 to be to the Ventura Stake Center on Tuesday morning by 7:00 a.m.  We stopped by our office at the Oxnard Church building to pick up the many, many packages that came in for the new missionaries, and the packages we haven’t mailed in the last few days to those who were transferring to new districts.  So we loaded the van and I drove the van, Sister Truman took her car, and Elders Ruse and Truman took the truck because they had to pick up bikes in storage for those elders who were going into a bike district.

Then at 7:30 we started the new missionary orientation, and welcomed the new missionaries.  We do this in the primary room.  I gathered their licenses and passports, and make copies of all of those and returned their licenses to them.  Then I told them about the mail and how everything has to be sent to the mission office first class or priority mail.  If they don’t do that, then the package has to wait in the office for zone leaders to take it back to their areas.  And then I talked about phones.

It was just like MBA orientation.  They didn’t smile at all!  I know exactly how they feel, because that is how we felt a month ago.

Then at 10:30, they go into the “transfer meeting” in the chapel.  This is where they are told who will be their companion.  This is also where those who are being sent to another area of the mission will find out where they are going and who will be their companion.  Then the 7 leaving missionaries bore their testimonies and President and Sister Castro spoke.  It really was an incredible experience to have.  The entire chapel was filled to the brim with missionaries who were involved in the changes.

Elder Ruse, Elder Truman and myself had to go to the cultural hall when it was done and I gave the new areas a new phone, Elder Truman gave them keys to their apartments and Elder Ruse gave them keys to their new car.  As soon as I gave out my last phone, I went out to the parking lot to see if I could help Sister Truman with handing out the packages that we have been collecting – and gratefully, they all were picked up.

It was a very tiring day and we returned to the office about 2:00 and the phones starting ringing!  A set of sisters called and said that their new car’s engine was racing – so Elder Ruse called the chevy dealer to see if anyone could look at it – they drove it back to the dealer and found out that they were driving it in first gear.  Then a set of missionaries didn’t have a key for the gate around their apartment – and Elder Truman had to help them with that.  And then a set of  missionaries were in an accident – and we are grateful that no one was hurt – but the car isn’t drivable, so they had to come and get another car at the office.  WHAT A Day!

Elder Ruse and Elder Truman had to leave at 5:30 this morning to take the 7 missionaries who are going home to the airport.  It takes the truck and the van to get them and their luggage to the airport.  They spend last night in members homes in Ventura.

It really is a very busy time.

Week of October 7 to the 13th

I don’t want to sound like a broken letter, but we processed another 7 cars this week.  This week they were Toyota Corollas.  You probably are wondering what it means to process cars.  First of all it takes all four of us – us and Sister Truman and Elder Truman, and we get in the mission van and we head to the dealer.  If they are Toyota, the it is close – right by the freeway off of Victoria avenue.   Elder Ruse signs for the cars while the three of us inspect the vehicles with a check list.  We look around to make sure there aren’t any dings or dents or scratches, then we open and close the doors, and the trunk.  We turn the car on and check for sounds, roll up and down the windows, check the lights and the wipers and write down the VIN number, how many miles it has on it and the color.  They usually have between 4 and 8 miles on it.  Then we drive that vehicle back to the mission office and then get back in the van and return to the dealer until we have all the ones back at the mission office that were sent to the dealer.  The dealer in Utah that they use is now in Riverdale.  I suppose they won the contract for a while.  By time we get back to the office, it takes about 2 hours.

Once they are in the parking lot, then Elder Ruse and I make packets for all of them which includes a daily log book (this is where the missionaries write down their mileage for the day, when they got gas, how much the gas was and then they put the receipt for the gas in the envelope in the log book).  The packet also includes insurance and accident reporting information, and procedures to follow if there is an accident.  At the end of every month, they have to send Elder Ruse the receipts for gas and the sheet from the record book for that month.  It has to have the VIN number, the missionaries names and license #.  Even though we have that information on the front of their packet, sometimes that information isn’t included on their daily log when they turn it in at the end of the month.  We are working on their reporting skills.

We then make a hard file for each vehicle and then put the vehicle into the database.  We have to have a hard file, so that we can put information in the file for when we are ready to sell the cars.  The Church starts looking at selling the cars at about 50,000 miles.

So once we have the cars, it take us the next day to get the information all done.

Then every car has to have a TIWI put on the car to log information about how the missionary is driving.  I drove one on Thursday to the U Haul to have a bike rack put on, and I forgot about the TIWI – so I had to hurry and look for my TIWI card – put it by the TIWI and then it stopped saying, “driver not logged in”.  Then when you are finished driving the car, you have to put your card up to it again and it will log you out.  Elder Ruse gets a report daily of those who received “TIWI incidents”.  Then he has to call the missionaries and get a report from them.  It is a very elaborate system.

Elder Ruse has been dealing with 5 accident reports since he has been on the job – and they are close to being settled.  That will help.  It also helps when missionaries are “obeying with exactness”.  I have come to realize that is what we all must do is obey with exactness!  That is what we need to teach in young women and with the young Men.  OBEY WITH EXACTNESS.  It will bring peace and safety to their lives as well as ours!

I continue to do the mail.  One day, we had about 25 pieces of mail and I was ecstatic!  It was like a holiday, in fact that is what I told the mailman.  I told him thanks for giving me an easier day.

When it is a normal day, we get over 100 pieces of mail.  If the packages come priority or 1^st class, then we can forward them on to the missionaries.  But if they come standard, or fed ex, then we have to put them in the hall according to what zone they are in (we have 8 zones) and then the zone and area leaders will pick them up when they come in for a leadership council and deliver them to the missionaries in their area.

Anyway, it has been a very busy week.  So Saturday, we decided to just do something fun.  So we went to the sportsfishing store and found out about a deep fishing trip for when someone comes and then found a place that we can rent an electric boat and cruise around the channels and see all of the boats and the houses.  You can’t take the electric boats out into the ocean – just the channels.  So, we decided to try it out and it was very fun and relaxing.  Even the little kids would be able to drive the boats – they will have a great time.

Today we speak in Church to introduce ourselves and then talk about obedience.

This next week, we will be preparing for transfers on October 21^st.  On that day, we will get 29 new missionaries and then the next day we will send 9 home.  The ones coming in this time, come to the Santa Barbara airport and then the ones going home go to the Los Angeles airport.  Elder Ruse had to rent a bus to pick up the ones coming in and then Elder Truman and Elder Ruse will drive the truck and trailer to the airport to put the luggage in.  Then Sister Truman and I will meet them at the Ventura Stake Center for a day of orientation.  The new missionaries will stay with members in their homes on the first night.  We really rely on the members in the area to help.  They also prepare the lunch for that day.

I have been busy getting cell phones ready for the new missionaries.  I am learning a lot about cell phones.  We have a designated number to the Sprint office and they have been good to help me.

Here is Elder Ruse driving an electric boat in the channel.  That was a relaxing Saturday - but we are paying the price on Monday for not working on Saturday!

 

Here is Elder Ruse getting bike racks out of the trailer.

 

This is how we watched conference.  In a classroom with a small TV - however, when we all stood to sing the intermission song, it was wonderful.  Then the transmission to the TV died during the closing prayer and no one knew what to do until an Elder said "amen" and then we all stood up.  He said he did it or else we would be suspended in an eternal prayer!

A few more pictures from last week:

Elder Ruse on the beach - working.  We have talked to some very nice people!

Elder Ruse in "car" class at the MTC - little did he know what a HUGE job the cars would turn out to be.

Jana standing by the Megan Marie boat!

 

More cars...and more cars...