Boss Sister

Life is beginning to settle into a routine, of sorts.  Monday mornings President and Sister James are in the office around 9:00 a.m. for an office staff meeting.  We begin with prayer, sing a hymn, have a scriptural thought and testimony, and discuss and plan for the events of the upcoming week.  If there have been problems during the past week we discuss those and look for solutions.  Sister James's mother and sister were visiting this past week, so they attended a number of the events with the missionaries.  They also squeezed in some sightseeing with Sister James.

Friday was the final temple trip for the missionaries who are returning home this coming Wednesday. Two of the returning Sisters didn't have their own temple clothes, so two of the office sisters lent them their clothing to use in the special session.  Unlike in the Salt Lake Valley, where patrons can just show up pretty much any time they want to and do an endowment session, at the Raleigh Temple every visit has to be scheduled ahead of time.  The temple needs detailed information about the number of sisters and brothers who will be attending each session.  There are a limited number of sessions per day, most days just two; on Saturday there may be as many as five sessions.

Sister Porter, who is also in charge of housing issues, supervises meals for all such missionary events, with the able help of Sister Salgado and any of the other office staff who are available.  The Raleigh Temple is next door to the Apex Stake Center, which the mission can schedule to use for such gatherings.  Meals are provided by stake or ward Relief Societies for some other meetings, such as zone conferences, and all of that has to be scheduled at least a month ahead.

Now just to clarify, wherever you read the word "schedule" in this blog, you can insert the name "Sister Ambrose," as I am apparently in charge of scheduling everything.  But it's okay, because at Monday's staff meeting I learned that I am also the boss of the office.  The BOSS!  I've never been the boss of anything before.  I am great at taking orders, not giving them!  My children are rolling in the aisles imagining me being in charge, since I've been happily deferring that role to Denise, or anyone else willing to take over. Watch out, kids, I may just get used to this.

Last Saturday I signed up for WiFi in my apartment, so I now have access to the internet when I'm not at work.  As a Senior missionary I'm allowed a little entertainment, so I've been taking advantage of Netflix.  I've also set a goal for myself of doing at least one batch of indexing per day, and I try to do more than that if my stamina holds out. As a rank indexing beginner, I've been entering data from the World War II draft registrations in Minnesota and Nebraska.  I will have to consult history information to find out just why there were so many registrations on October 16, 1940.  I think at least half of the dates I've entered have been on or around that date.  Also quite a few in February, 1942.

Tomorrow is my birthday, and I will spend it putting together welcome books for the seven missionaries arriving in the afternoon to be picked up by President and Sister James.  They will go straight to the mission home where they will be fed, instructed, have a testimony meeting, and sleep for the night.  The elders sleep in the big basement room in blanket rolls; the sisters sleep upstairs in bunk beds.  That day is followed by transfer day, which I hear is quite chaotic, with the parking lot full of missionary cars and luggage, the building full of missionaries, several kinds of training meetings, more meals to be prepared and eaten, etc.; and then on Wednesday President and Sister James and the Assistants take the returning missionaries to the airport for their flights home.  I hear the three days can be very exciting.  I'll let you know more next week what it was like.

Tonight the office staff are gathering for a meal at the apartment of Elder and Sister Root, who arrived in the mission just over a week ago.  We also get together each Monday evening for FHE at the office after work, sharing a meal and good fellowship.  Family is what the Church is all about, but those of us who are far away from our biological families can support and love each other in a makeshift family way, and it's very nice.

My love to all.  As I suspected, the Church is true in North Carolina too!