Just another day at the office

Today we welcomed a new missionary couple who will be working humanitarian and living in Moscow. It's always wonderful greeting our new missionaries. Later in the month, we will be greeting 6 new elders to our mission family. Throughout the course of the day, I answered the phone and before I could slow them down, Russian speakers were talking a mile a minute. I transferred them to our Russian-speaking office elders. (one from the States and one from Sweden). Sometimes I go next door to get Onya to help out or Diana, our Russian visa clerk will take the call. I'm used to it now, hearing Russian around me and I'm used to not understanding it.

Today was mail run and the office elders came back around noon bearing packages from back home for missionaries for Christmas. There were 4 extra missionaries in the office and of course, they were very excited and started going through them to see if there was anything for them. Later I sorted through the packages and put them in our mail center in different places to go to the different outlying cities or the schoff at the Central Building, to be picked up by missionaries working in the Moscow Oblast (equivalant to a county). I also sorted letters. I love seeing our missionaries get mail and packages. It makes them so happy to get mail from home
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We were pleasantly surprised to see that one of the packages was for us, from our good friends the Ladieus back in MA. We served with them in the Boston Temple and they are very special to us. AND we received 3 Christmas cards. Thank you Sue and Rachel! Thank you Linda! Thank you condo family!

Sometimes, I look at my list of things to do and I don't know where to begin. There were many things I could have done today, but I have learned the importance of being flexible. Things come up. One sweet missionary called for her companion yesterday who has been really sick. I talked to Sister T (the sick one) and I gave her some suggestions and told her I would check in on her today. She beat me to the punch and called today to tell me she is feeling much better!

Clothes keep trickling in that need to be sorted and passed on to those who can use them, or given to those in need in Moscow.

I received notice of another 4 missionaries who will be joining our ranks in April and May and there is quite a list of things to do for each one in preparing their folders and planning for them. Then there are another 4 missionaries who are going home before Christmas. Let's just say I don't have a lot of time to get into trouble.

One thing I did today was place an order with the Distribution Center. Missionaries let me know what they need and I try to get it for them. Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes I don't. For instance, Sister I and her companiion need French materials for their French speaking investigators. I scoured the supply closet, took what few supplies in French that were there. I was told by Distribution that it would be a couple of months before the French and Armenian supplies would be in.

Dave, on the other hand, spent a lot of time on the computer funding rent and other expenditures, was involved in a couple of projects he was asked to help with. He met with President Sorenson on mission business concerning calendaring and release dates for our missionaries. He is also involved in helping find apartments, working with our realtor and coordinates everything to make it possible.

I am trying to become more organized. Let's just say that it is a work in progress. I am a work in progress. My sweetheart is so organized. Always has been. I am only organized in certain things. I'm working on it.

Tomorrow we will not be in the office at all as tomorrow we have to leave the country on a visa trip. I'll report more on that tomorrow.  Until then, dosvidonya.