Week 16

This week was pretty relaxed, which is a nice change. Fantastically Unfortunately,  PeopleSoft, the software we use for everything HR related, is down for maintenance, so whenever somebody wanted something pushed through right away I could just say, "I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait until PeopleSoft is back up and running."

Our district has also split, which is really strange. When I started my mission there were maybe 20 missionaries, but as of this week we have 42.

In other news, the Elder that took over doing the mail is going to train a new Elder to do it so that "We'll both be free!" I have a feeling that this job is going to keep on getting pushed down to newer missionaries, because nobody wants to do the mail. People either don't have time, hate it, or aren't reliable enough to do the mail every day.

Ready for the crazy list? Here are some of the other things I did this week:

• Watch and read articles from the Leadership Enrichment Series to find quotes for the Directors talk for the meeting I do not attend. They aren't available to the general public, which is a shame, because they are really neat. They are all about leading like the Savior. Also, the unscripted Elder Hales is hilarious. Who knew?
• Puzzle out the mistakes in spreadsheets
• Set up meetings and agendas
• Work on cleaning up the leadership directory for the one person who uses it (and happens to be the manager).
• Call a bishop for a interview clearance (This one did not yell, thank you).
• Discover that if you thank someone for their patience ahead of time, they feel like they can't be cranky with you.
• Assign more badge access to the North Office Building (why don't they just make that part of the package deal? It's part of PSD!)
• Start Accutane...again.
• Let Ringo chase seagulls.
• Go to institute and attend the temple.
• Do sealings for the first time with Mom and Dad! This was a really neat experience. On top of that, I was able to do work for the same names that I have done baptisms for. I wish I knew what these people thought as the blessings were made available to them. I think some of them have been very excited. Really, the sealing work is the culmination. It makes me glad to know that these people aren't alone, that they can be with their families in the spirit world.
• Conveniently escaped the district meeting which had a lesson on dating while you are a service missionary (which I can not), and meeting with advisors (I do not need help selecting a school or major thank you. If I change my mind at this point, I have bigger problems).
• Spend over 9 hours driving.
• Tease the cat. He still likes to sit in front of Bethany's door and whine. He thinks if he makes enough of a racket she is just going to let him in to dine on her goldfish. It can't be that we would deny him the shiny swimmies that he so desires, so we must simply not understand what he wants!

I can't link to the articles I read in the Leadership Series, but I think I can share a couple of the quotes from Elder Hales that really stood out to me as I was reading:

This one is funny, but I think is good for anyone willing to invest in any kind of relationship:

 "I tell the priesthood when I’m with them, “I want you to go home from this meeting today and I want you just to ask two questions of your wife: How could I be a better companion? And how could I be a better husband? How could I be a better father?” And then I say, “Duck.” Because the next half hour will be the toughest half hour you’ve ever had in your life. But listen. And if you’re willing to listen on how you can improve, that makes all the difference."

This one was my favorite: 

"Well, we’ve talked about it even in personnel matters. You have to understand what you have to do is start with your personal life. What you have to do is start with three columns. And one says “fight,” one says “flow,” and one says “flee.” I would not have understood this. I didn’t learn it until my third heart attack, literally, and realized that I was trying to be everything for everybody. I was trying to do everything for everybody.

And what I began to realize was in my personal life, there’s only two or three things I will put everything that I have up against: my family, for sure; maybe one or two projects that I get in the Church like the curriculum project and what we’re doing. I can do one or two of those. I can give everything I’ve got. And the third one is service opportunities. But then I had to drop a whole list of things. I couldn’t go to all of the funerals, I couldn’t do all of the sealings, I couldn’t go to all the weddings and receptions. I just can’t do it. And so the hardest thing was convincing myself. So I do it with letters."

 -Elder Robert D. Hales