Week 12: Celebrating Christ and Technology

For Family Home Evening we went with three other Senior Missionary couples to the Spanaway Fantasy Lights. Light displays are set up in a park in Spanaway; you drive through in your car to see them.  It was pretty good, but a little snow on the ground would have helped. 

Sister Garmin

We spent much of Christmas Eve on the road. One of the mission cars got out of the body shop on Christmas Eve. We decided to deliver it to some elders in Chehalis (about 60 miles away). To make the trip even more worthwhile we took packages to missionaries who are in the southern part of the mission – stopping in places like Centralia, Elm, Olympia, and Lakewood.  Thank heavens for technology and “Sister Garmin”. It was dark, and we had no idea where we were.  We were glad, though, to serve our missionaries in some small way.

A Christmas without snow was a first for us. Van even said he kind of misses shoveling snow. A Christmas without family was a first, too, but … we were glad to have each other. We read together the Christmas story from Luke and opened gifts from home. And what a blessing to be able to Facetime with family members, including Elder Benjamin Hadlock who is currently in Arlington, TN. Technology is wonderful. Quiet, peaceful day that ended with a movie. We went with another couple to the movie Frozen – excellent movie. Another blessing of technology.

Back in the office Thursday and Friday -- using technology to generate letters and information to soon-to-depart and soon-to-arrive missionaries and their parents. 

 Thanks to my brother Dale, the office armadillo, now has a companion. 

Sister Gurr and Sister Graves

On Saturday, we traveled south again with Elder and Sister Harwood. Elder Harwood is the Housing Coordinator for the mission. He found out about some sisters who live in a member’s “pool house”. It’s a nice pool house, but there are no curtains. They are in a rural, gated community – very beautiful actually. The owner doesn’t have curtains in his house and he did not want to put curtains in the pool house. Elder Harwood decided that privacy screens might help, so we delivered them to these cute sisters. They were very appreciative.

I believe they are very good missionaries, too. I was impressed with this bulletin board in their apartment. Looks like they know how to plan, prepare, know and "feed his sheep" -- even without technology.

  

Rokie Tarbutton & Elder Hadlock

Made a stop in Spanaway to find a couple (Tarbuttons)  that Van’s brother Kent had baptized in Hawaii. We didn’t know for sure where they lived, but tried an address we found on a Google search – turned out to be the one. Technology helps again! 

 

Saturday ended with house cleaning and grocery shopping – and a new, used, lamp. Van found a lamp in the dumpster. We’ve been wanting one so he decided to see if he could fix it. And fix it he did – with a little effort and duct tape, I now have a lamp to read by. Isn’t technology wonderful. 

But, even better, isn't the birth, life, and infinite atonement of Jesus Christ the most wonderful gift ever.