One wonderful week after another as we make preparations for the tsunami of new missionaries coming into the field.  What a wonderful time to be serving and to see the excitement.  We will be getting (at last count) 27 new missionaries this week.  Seven of them are visa waiters.  To explain: visa waiters are those missionaries that have their call to serve but their visas are not yet ready for them to travel overseas so they are placed in a stateside mission to wait for them.  They are here only temporarily, but we don't know how temporary.  It could be a matter of days or it could be months.  In any event, we put them to work and house them with missionaries that are assigned here in the South Carolina Columbia Mission. Since housing is my assignment, I have been very busy finding new apartments to lease in the areas that President Holm wants to put missionaries.  I also need to find furniture and supplies for these new apartments.  I frequent the consignment shops, Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity has proven to be a wonderful resource.
Thursday we went to Hartsville to open a new apartment.  Our AP's went as well and helped with the unloading.  On Friday Elder France and I went to Greenville and Spartanburg to open two new apartments there and yesterday we went down to Augusta to make 11 deliveries of furniture and other supplies to missionaries in North Augusta, Harlem, Evans, Hephzibah, Aiken and Swainsboro Georgia as well as Barnwell, SC.  It was a day that began at 5:30 and ended at 10pm when we got home.  So glad I don't do that every day!  Doyle drove over 500 miles.  He's my hero! 

The Sisters in Greenville came to help set up the apartment and decided to show Doyle how to put the new table together.  Thank you sisters!

 

 Sister Chai and Sister Peterson in Evans, Georgia helped carry the beds in.

 

The Sisters were so happy to get new beds that they gave us an old desk to bring back with us.

 

Lamps only for these Elders.

Sisters Cottam and Stiemle pose for a picture in front of their apartment in Harlem, Ga.

When the bed frame broke (which we replaced) the sisters got creative and used pass-along cards to support it.  Creative!

 

Today I decided to make a big pot of navy bean soup.  I love making different kinds of soup, freezing it and then using it for our lunches at work.  I know what I put in it, so it's healthy and Doyle and I both love it.  Split pea with ham, chili, navy bean with ham, beef and barley, lima bean and ham.  Yummy!  I need to take advantage of it now, because when it warms up, I won't be able to cook on the stove.  The heat from the gas just gets the 5th wheel too hot!! I bought a large crockpot and I have used that several times, but some beans seems to cook better with a more direct heat.  I tried to make brownies in the oven for the first time last week to give to the elders, but this little oven doesn't bake things well.  I may not try again..we'll see.

Tonight we are going to dinner with some of the other senior missionaries and some of the young missionaries in the area at Elder and Sister Mihlbergers apartment.  It's always fun, so I'm looking forward to that.

As we travel, we see lots of reader boards in front of churches.  I either take pictures of the board or I write the sayings down to use later.  This week, I want to share one I saw yesterday in Georgia:

"On Valentines Day, give your heart to Jesus!"