Week 20, Ryan's Mottos, and a Story of Enchantment

Things I did this week:

• Took 3 hours to transcribe a very rough draft of a 35 minute talk. I volunteered, but it's a good thing it was a very interesting talk.
• Delivered mail to get the new mail-missionary caught up.
• Deliver a package that will assist in the translation of the scriptures into Lao. Pretty cool.
• Become anxious to the point of nauseousness because someone flirted with me. Hopefully I'll get over that by the time my mission ends...
• Run into my best-friend's husband's grandma at the temple, which made me ridiculously happy.  She was so sweet and gave me a hug, which was just what I needed that day.
• Only had to drive to Salt Lake twice this week. The office was slow, so I worked from home. =)
• Try to figure out some really confusing paperwork requests
• File more educational reimbursements...must be that time of year.
• Explain that I can't change information for an employee we haven't hired yet.
• Be at least the third person to tell someone that managers have to request employee data changes, not them! They thought they could get around the rules by getting the gullible missionary to do it. Not today, bud!
• Have a manager request to get around the system for employee changes. My manager gave him a one word answer: "nope." =) If only I could get away with that. So far, it looks like he didn't need it that bad, because he never filed the proper requests.
• Deliver five bottles of white out.
• Search the whole NOB trying to figure out who absconded with three video-carts. I only look like an innocent lost missionary...I'm really hunting you down and reporting you to the authorities. ;)
• Set up lots of agenda items.
• Set up an agenda item entitled "DAM presentation." Maybe they shouldn't use an acronym for that one. Then again, maybe it's for our own entertainment.
• Attempt to convince and/or teach people to correct their office addresses so we can deliver their mail...I should make it an assignment they have to check off so that it nags them until they do it.
• Give people access to buildings and church directories.
• Get myself into a small wild goose chase trying to figure out whose cows got loose. I thought I would just chase them back and close the gate after them, but I couldn't figure out where they got out in the first place. I guess cows are smarter than they look.
• Take Ringo for a ride in the car while I returned some library books. He was shaking with fear and smiling into the wind at the same time. Just a guess, but I don't think he's a roller-coaster kind of dog.

I always forget to post this, but within a couple of weeks Ryan made two statements that were so true to his character that we couldn't do anything but laugh.
Ryan's two mottos:

1.You should never, EVER, hurry.

2. Condiments should NOT be taken lightly.

I also have a really neat story for you this week. This is about a manager I call Enchantment. Enchantment is the nicest person. She is one of those beautiful people who glows from the inside and makes everyone around her feel loved. She even makes work requests sound loving. And she is leaving in January. I'm really sad that she's leaving, but I'm happy for her at the same time.

You see, Enchantment had cancer when she was three. The doctors saved her life, but she grew up knowing that she would never be able to have children. This is heartbreaking to me. There is something so special about the knowledge that someday I will get to feel that precious little person inside of me. Enchantment would make a wonderful mother, yet she grew up knowing she may never have that chance. This year, that changes.

Adoption is difficult, and Enchantment and her husband haven't had that opportunity so far, although they want to. Furthermore, I think it must hurt someone as empathetic as she is to know that for her to have a child, another woman must give hers up. However, Enchantment's cousin felt prompted to make a beautiful offer to this family. She offered to become a surrogate mother. I am sure this is a huge sacrifice, but you can see the joy on Enchantment's face. This baby was hers from the beginning. She gets to feel the baby kick, and wait with anticipation for his birth. They have already chosen a beautiful name for this baby boy of theirs. And when he is born, she will be right there, and the doctors will put that baby in Enchantment's arms. Her own little boy, forever. The miracle baby she never thought she would have. Miracles may not happen in the way we expect them to, but they happen. I am so happy for Enchantment and her family, and feel so blessed to watch this miracle unfold for them.