To Do Good in This Generation: Down to the Riverton

December 14, 2015

So much happened this week, and I don't even know where to start. I
just have a bunch of random notes, so here goes nothing.

Monday: Pday, nothing overly exciting happened. I mainly just packed
and did emails.

Tuesday: got up pretty early to get ready, load my stuff, catch the
transfer van at 9 in Windsor. I was then on the road for 11 hours that
day. Passed some friends along the way when people would get on and
off the transfer vans. Got to Riverton, met a few people and my comp,
got all of my stuff situated. It's nice that now I have literally
about 4 times as much space.

Wednesday-Thursday: Blur. We did service at the food bank, helped and
met a few families. The work out here I was told is mainly less active
and inactive work, and that's turning out to be pretty true. There are
so many people on the ward roster, and only about 1/3 or a 1/4 of them
are active. Anyone will let us in and be really friendly, but no one
really wants to progress from where they're at. We also helped put up
sheetrock for 3 1/2 hours one day.

Friday: zone conference, which was just the Casper zone. Got up at 5
to get to the transfer van and make the 2 hour drive to Casper, got
there too early (so annoying), had a letter or two (yay!) had zone
conference. It was really good. I felt bad for all of the greenies
whose first Christmas on the mission this will be. There were some big
rule changes at this zone conference. 1) no Disney, PG/G rated movies
on Christmas. No movies at all. Which was offset, I guess, by 2) the
music rule is now the white handbook standard (wow, isn't that a
marvel idea? It used to be just music that could be played in
sacrament meeting). At lunch, we had a white elephant gift exchange. I
was so mad. My gift was a poem to be read aloud about sister brown
(mission president's wife), and it told whomever got it that they had
to read it out loud or they couldn't open the other package, which had
$5 in it. Well, the girl that got it was sitting RIGHT NEXT TO Sister
Brown, looked at it, read it, and then put it in her pocket and opened
the $5. I was so freaking mad. At least give it to her! I got gummy
bears. I actually had 2 gifts I gave, and the second one was a bunch
of old clothes I didn't want but had to give away. So now someone else
has to deal with them.

Saturday-Sunday: helped the Nelsons pull out all of their Christmas
stuff. They are kind of hoarders. They had box after box after
freaking box of stuff. He also had a real Olympic torch from the 2002
Utah Olympics, so that was pretty cool. Had church, met a lot of
people whose names I can't remember, heard 1000 bacon jokes in all
their variations, met a guy whose wife is from Mexico (I've been
talking to everyone trying to find Spanish work, and that's about all
I've got. It's slim pickings). He let us in, we talked for about an
hour, and then we found out that he was in the huge plane in the 60s
that did a barrel roll over the ocean (apparently this is some huge
event?). Actually, I think I remember Elder Palmer telling me about
it, but I didn't care then at all. It seems I can't evade airplanes
since being with him even though the only plane I care about is the
one taking me home. Anyway. We'll have Mexican food with them tonight,
so I'm thoroughly excited. He also remarried...late...in life, so he
has a 59 year old son and a 17 year old son.

Sorry I wrote so much. That was my hectic week. Since that sister
missionary refused to share the poem, I'm sharing it all with you now.
For the record, my actual mom is more caring.

I scrape my knee, my throat is sore, I have a little cough
But someone dear to me can fix it all, now don't you scoff
She's always there, for all of us, no matter hour or day
She always has a remedy to wish my woes away
I've only met two women in my life with so much carin'
One's my mom at home, the other's Mission Mama Sharon.