Elder Pedersen is from Cedar City. And we have Sister Price who is also from Cedar City.
There's an elder who called Sister Prior asking if he could get a bed for a woman they were teaching. She had just moved and didn't have a bed. Sister Prior told him that wasn't something she could do. He told her it would be okay, so she dismissed it. Some of the other missionaries had been telling her that he needed a bed, so she called him a couple of times and asked him if his bed was okay or if he needed a new one. He assured her his was fine and he didn't need a different bed. Then she got thinking...and called him and said, "Elder, did you give your bed away"? He confessed he had and had been sleeping on the floor, but that he was just fine the way it was. Needless to say, she got a bed and frame to him. It's interesting...when she was telling this story to some of the other missionaries, every one of them knew who it was, without her telling them. They said, "He is one of the most selfless missionaries and would give you the shirt off his back if you had a need".
I have really been able to see the hand of the Lord in protecting these young women and men. There are so many places and ways they could, and sometimes do, get injured. But they always seem to come out of it with the best possible scenario, so far. We had two bike/vehicle accidents last month. One ended with an ankle sprain and the other rolled over the hood and had no injury. The driving here in Kentucky is crazy!!! A yellow light doesn't mean slow down. It means speed up and as long as you hit the intersection by the time it turns red, you're good to go! The scary thing is, Don is getting quite good at driving here. He's navigating the freeways like a pro, and thinks nothing of driving in the city anymore.
Don is doing such a good job here. I'm really proud of him. Things were such a mess when we got here and he has worked so hard to get things organized and all the right reports in, and all the cars on maintenance schedules, etc. One day, on the way home, he said, "I didn't have much to do today". I told him that's what happens when everything is organized! He's finally gotten on top of things, so his days go smoother. There is a quarterly Driver Accountability Report (DAP) that shows where each mission ranks in regards to accidents, cost of damage, percentage of drivers in the green (good driving). Our mission is ranked first in the 18 Southwest missions in cost of damages, and seventh out of all 130 missions in the US and Canada. So he's really doing his job. The missionaries love him and he loves them right back! The cars are inspected every Zone Conference. This has been done by the senior missionaries, up until now, while the missionaries were in the conference. We are down 3 senior couples so he began having the missionaries doing their own inspections before the conference. It worked pretty well this last one. It is a good way for them to learn what it takes to maintain a car. The best looking car (cleanliness inside and out) in each zone wins a Subway gift card. One of the cars last conference had a pan of brownies on the back seat with a note that said, "Maybe this will earn us some brownie points. And no, it's not bribery". We have fun with them!
I think I mentioned before that I have four diabetic missionaries out here. Two of them had elevated A1c's at their last 3 month check...one was 8.4 and the other 10.9. They had three months to get them down or they had to go home. They need to have their levels no higher than 8. This is the week they get tested again. I got a call from Elder Hoole last night and his 8.4 is now 6.9! I just got word that our 10.9 elder only got his down to 10.8 so I'm not sure if he will be able to stay or not. I need to call the Missionary Medical dept. to find out. He really hasn't been putting in the effort he needs in order to get his numbers down. It's not easy, especially when they are eating at members homes quite often and can't control what they are fed...and passing up dessert is so hard! But it can be done.
So tomorrow I'm staying home. Going to get a haircut...it's pretty shaggy, and then make a cheesecake for Sister Prior's birthday and make some rolls. I promised Elder Breinholt I would try again...with different flour...since the last two tries since I've been here have been really heavy. They could have been used for skeet shooting! Don went to Kroger the night before Thanksgiving to buy some for our dinner the next day!
Love to all!
