Luck favors the backbone, not the wishbone

First for our wildlife fans...


 A tortoise waiting for the race to begin

Father and daughter or mother and son out for a stroll? We are not sure which, but they were so cute we couldn't resist the Kodak moment.

The call of the wild? 

How many lizards do you see on the Customer Parking sign?  Initially we only saw one until we noticed that the black lizard was puffing out his bright red neck.  We wish we were quicker on the camera, but it is definitely a sight to see.  During mating season, or when threatened, the lizards puff their colorful necks way out.  It is quite a surprise to see a big, bright red neck on a tiny, dark, black lizard.  Anyway, after a little more research we soon discovered a little green lizard, located toward the top of the sign, responding in like.  Love must be in the air.

Please welcome Sister Dingess, on the left, and her new companions, Sister Blake and Sister Murphy, assigned to the Titusville area. Sister Dingess is our newest arrival in the Florida Orlando Mission.

The office is plugged in for iPad training for our recent May 19th arrivals.

 This is what happens when the University Park Ward expresses their love

for the sister missionaries assigned there.

The Mission President is planning to open three new areas before our next transfer the 1st of July.  As a result we are busily looking for apartments (again) in specific geographical locations.  Not an easy task I can assure you. 

Well we got lucky and quickly found apartment #1 for the Valencia Elders. To make our find even more rewarding the apartment complex had an incentive we couldn't refuse.  Because we were taking occupancy during the month of June we had the opportunity to select not one, but three little "messages in a bottle". The first message was $100.00 off the first months rent!  We were so excited we can't even remember the other two messages.  All we know is that when all three messages were reviewed and the incentives calculated we earned a savings of over $250.00!

While out and about looking for apartments #2 and #3 we tended to be multi-taskers.

Unfortunately the mission recently had to send three missionaries home due to health reasons, two of them as a result of pre-existing knee injuries and lack of common sense :(

So beds had to be moved and missionaries re-assigned. Since we "just happened to be in the neighborhood" we decided to perform spot inspections and the Goldenrod Elders apartment didn't turn out as well as we would have liked.  So suggestions were made and a return visit for a do over was scheduled for next week.

Elder Busath loading up another bed to be transported

to establish a last minute trio of Elders.

While dropping off a bed at the University Park Elders apartment we were surprised to discover in an otherwise nicely kept apartment this in their hall closet. "It was here when we got here," they lamented.  Well they have exactly one week to find a new home for the miscellaneous items magically growing in their closet.

The above picture is a perfect example of why you should never judge a book by it's cover.  At first glance we were more than a little concerned that we had driven all the way to Melbourne, in an effort to relocate the Melbourne Elders off Merritt Island, only to discover this tired, little old house for rent.

But good news, first looks can be deceiving! 

The inside of the house had been completely renovated and it was amazing-

definitely well worth the trip!

 



Kitchen, dining room and living room



 The master bedroom and bathroom

The second bedroom and bathroom



  

Walk in closets in both the master and second bedroom

 

A full sized washer and dryer

The complex business center to check your e-mail.

Even a storage shed for bikes!  Go ahead and say it, oooh, ahhh!

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity...

The above pictures are of a fabulous brand new apartment complex in the Windermere area we actually found on Google map for the new Lake Crescent Ward Elders. 

Our GPS "Samantha" didn't even know it existed. 

To be honest, even when keeping in mind that the models had been professionally decorated,  the apartment is WAY too nice to put young missionaries in it. 

Seriously if the Mission Office wasn't so far away we would have been tempted to try and persuade the Mission President that this apartment was perfect for a senior couple like us, but we don't get to decide and just do what we are told. 

But, it's all about location, location, location and this apartment complex just happened to be in the right place, for the right price and the apartment management was willing to lease to missionaries-two apartments down one more to go!

You will never guess what we found while driving around and after replacing some old, worn out furniture at the College Park Sisters apartment. 

Apartment #3, for the new Conway Ward Elders! Mission accomplished!

The apartment complex even had hurricane doors, (the first we had ever seen)

just in case of an emergency!  Which by the way is the hot topic of the day here in Florida. It has been over five years since the last hurricane touched down and so residents are not taking any chances this year. We have all been advised to get our emergency kits in order and make plans to hunker down if and when the hurricanes hit.

We caught our Poinciana Spanish Elders, Slade and Brown, taking pictures this morning and we had to get in on the action. Elder Slade, on the left, will be departing to his home in Queens Creek, Arizona at our next transfer so he wanted to capture a few memories of his time well spent here in Poinciana.

If you are doing your best you won't have any time to worry about failure!

Normally we would sign off with a...see you later Wally Gator, but we just happened to see this sign during our adventures this weekend and thought it fitting.  Especially now that spring has sprung and the Florida summers are soon to come.  90+ degrees with lots, and lots, and lots of humidity.  It's enough to make your hair curl :) 

But seriously before we go we would be truly ungrateful if we didn't take a

minute to express our heartfelt appreciation to the Super Heroes in the Vineyard Ward who went above and beyond and provided much love and support to our daughter Katie and her family, when she needed it most. 

Jim and Diana Hunt-adopted parents and grandparents

Paul and Gayle Warren and family-Home Teachers Extraordinaire

Janiece Pierson-Relief Society President

Alisa and Jimmy Pierce-Forever Friends

Angie Jerome

Christian Hogge

Jeremy Pritt

Shane Hamilton

And of course we would be remiss if we didn't recognize the never ending contributions of our family members GG, Marian, Rachel, Tracy, Sam and their families who have always been there for her and for us.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

  It's during times like these that we absolutely know that the Lord is blessing our family through your efforts and because of your labors it makes it possible for us to lose ourselves in the work and not worry about home and family.

We apologize if we missed anyone.  Please know that we appreciate you!

By the yard it may be hard, but by the inch it's a cinch

"I have often said one of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work!  If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit, if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the Spirit; if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people and he will be happy.  There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families, for all time and talents and interests are centered on the work of the ministry. 

Work, work, work-there is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work."

President Ezra Taft Benson

 

It's spring in Florida so of course it's raining and pouring,

but that doesn't stop the "Super Seniors".

 

 

Our senior missionary district surprised us with a delicious "Cocoa Beach" cake to help celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary!

The Florida Orlando "Super" Senior Missionary District at a recent district meeting.

From left to right, seated and standing behind, Sister and Elder Nielson, Sister and Elder Boynton, Sister and Elder Clare, the Busath's :), Sister and Elder Johnson, Sister Danes and Sister Vaden, Sister and Elder Hansen, Sister and Elder Western, Sister and Elder Johnson, and Sister and Elder Bevans.

Sisters Bracken and Lowry probably commiserating about the early hour Zzz.

 

 

 

On Tuesday, May 27th DeLand, Leesburg and Orlando held their Zone Conference at the Lake Mary building and first on the agenda were vehicle inspections. Fluid levels, tire pressure, overall condition of the vehicle, check, check, check.

 

 

 Elders McGregor, Dearden and Waller with matching ties!

 

A rental car for the missionaries due to a Chevy Malibu recall.

 

The library was closed and Elder Patten was trying out a few tricks he had up his sleeve to gain entry. DVD players and monitors were needed for the medical, vehicle and administrative breakout sessions scheduled after lunch.

 

Elder and Sister Western patiently waiting for Zone Conference to begin.

 

 

 Relief Society sisters from the Goldenrod Ward volunteered to repair missionary clothing while the missionaries received training at Zone Conference.

 

 

The DeLand Zone

 

 

Lunchtime! 

 

 

The Goldenrod Ward sisters, who provided lunch, being sung the FOM version of Helaman's Army by the well fed and very appreciative missionaries.

 

 

 

 Following a morning of instruction it was lunchtime, where we enjoyed pulled pork sandwiches, green salad, chips, and best of all Mickey Mouse cookies for dessert.

 

 After lunch birthdays celebrated since our last Zone Conference were recognized, and a special award was presented to the Leesburg Zone for their outstanding achievement in referral response, baptism record completion and housing inspections.

June 1st is the official beginning of hurricane season in Florida. 

In response the mission provided individual Emergency Kits for each of the missionaries.

 

 Sisters Brooks and Jackson sporting a new fashion trend.

 

 

 The "red heads" Sisters Williams and Hart doing their special welcome handshake routine.

The Cocoa, Hunter's Creek and Orlando South Zone Conference was on

Wednesday, May 28, 2014. 

 

 

 

Not to be outdone, the sister's from the Lake Nona Ward at the Orlando South Stake Center also provided mending services for the missionaries.

 

The Hunter's Creek Zone, our Zone, but we were too busy to stop and get into the picture.

 

The Lake Nona sisters just before the stampede for their delicious chicken enchiladas, rice and bean luncheon.

The cute and edible table decorations

 

Sisters Allred, Bowman, McLeod, Blair and Johnston appear ready for their birthday chocolate candy bars!

As with the previous Zone Conference the day before, the Cocoa Zone was recognized as the Outstanding Zone for their accomplishments in referral response, baptism record completion and housing inspections.  Each individual in the winning Zones were presented with a certificate and a Wendy's mini frosty token, redeemable once a day for the remainder of the year!

 

More Emergency Kits waiting for a home...

 

 Our newest FOM missionary, Elder Horne, on the left, and his trainer Elder Robert.  Elder Horne and Elder Robert have been trained to speak Haitian French Creole and are currently assigned to the Bumby area.

 

The décor inside a McDonald's restaurant-really!

 

 

 

Don't ask the Lord to guide your footsteps unless you are willing to move your feet! 

 

Friday, following our two Zone Conferences and playing catch up in the office, Elder Busath and I took to the road to take care of some missionary apartment "needs".  Driving from one zone to another we made an attempt to replace broken study and kitchen chairs, provide much needed bookcases, and switch out damaged desks and or beds with those in better condition. It is a never ending job, but we were happy to have a free day in which to make a dent in our long list of requests. 

 

We had originally figured that if we left early enough in the day we might actually catch some missionaries home "studying" to help us move the items, but unfortunately this was not to be.  I wish I could report that we are getting buff with all this heavy lifting, but the opposite seems to be true. As old people when we get tired we eat, and our favorite pick me up is something sweet.  So all the exercise we get isn't doing us much good physically, but emotionally we are happy campers as we continue to check things off our list.

 

 

The younger missionaries had raved to us about the Waffle House. 

So on Friday night, after a very long week, we decided to try it out for ourselves.  Let me just say on a scale of one to five with five being the best it was definitely a ...one :(

 

 

 I just love new apartments, don't you? 

This one actually belongs to the Hunter Creek Spanish Elders.

This past weekend two companionships, two sisters, and two elders,  moved from very large apartments to much smaller apartments in their same apartment complexes in order to save on utility costs. Usually they ask members of their ward's to assist in the move, but unfortunately since they were both doing some serious down sizing and unable to find a home for some of their surplus/obsolete/beat up and broken furniture we had to come to the rescue. To top it off the elders had been enjoying the comforts of some oversized beds which had to be switched out to the traditional twin beds to accommodate their new smaller bedroom.

 

 

When we returned from our travels on Friday afternoon we were notified that the mission would be receiving another sister missionary on Monday! With no time to waste, we packed up the trailer with another bed, a desk and dresser and headed for Titusville to prepare for a trio of sisters.

When we arrived we were met by Sisters Blake and Murphy, and quickly began setting up their house for a third companion. Once the furnishings we brought were in place we discovered additional "needs" and had to make a quick trip to Home Depot, Lowe's and to Wal-Mart for a large white board, a smoke detector, light bulbs, and an oscillating fan.

 

Our new motto-the only things you can be sure of is accomplishing the things you do today. Our To Do list was long, but we got a good start on it.

 

The past few days were filled with ups and downs; beginning with a key left under their mat by well meaning elders that did not unlock their apartment, desks to be replaced that were not emptied, a saw at Home Depot that was not operational so we had to go to Lowe's to purchase the whiteboard, a smoke detector that promised the battery was included only to discover that that was not true, special light bulbs that we actually remembered to purchase that never made it to the cash register.

Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature.  There seems to be an unending supply of challenges for all.  Our problem is that we expect instantaneous solutions to such challeneges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required." 

Thomas S. Monson

 

So as we continue to work on our patience please know that although everything isn't always perfect it is an amazing experience just the same.

 

We appreciate your support and look forward to sharing our adventures with you next week!

 

 

 

See you later..........