I've been feeling sorry for the cats. I went in search of a large styrofoam ice chest that could be converted. I found a medium sized one... waste of money. Too small. So I talked Tom into buying a 4'x8' sheet of foamboard and creating a cat house with me. We just taped the sides together with duct tape and made a round hole in the front and in the top, so there would be two exits. This one is big enough for two cats.
The were unimpressed. I washed the towels that served as cushions and put them out, hot from the dryer, then put Athena inside. She peeked out the top opening, but stayed put. Now even Zane will go inside. Today it looks like both tried to make a quick exit. The front panel was a bit off it's duct taped hinge. We were planning on eventually encasing it in wood. Maybe that needs to come sooner rather than later. Anyhow, I'm glad they have someplace warmer than the barn.
This week has been a frenzy of mission preparation. It seems we've had long lists every day. Get power of attorney, put rental loans on automatic payment, call missionary health department about flu shots... yes we really must have them... go get shots. Get tax prep done so it can be turned in early and we can sign before we leave the country, arrange travel, get set up with a language tutor, arrange travel.
The original flight out left on Monday, 19 March and had us arriving on Tuesday. What? Waste two whole days since the MTC was finished Friday late afternoon? However, the mission president wouldn't be there to greet us over the weekend since he had a district conference. So that got me thinking about possibilities...
Zurich was kind of on the way... which wasn't too far from Bern... and this might be our only chance to see Sue and Steve for a while... and we needed a chiming clock... and it might give is a day or so to get used to the time change... Tom looked at me like I was crazy (don't know why, he should be used to it!).
I called travel. They said we could go any way we wanted-- if WE made the flight arrangements. They would reimburse us for what it would cost them to fly us direct. So for about $500 more, we get to spend a day and a half with Sue and Steve! We'll fly from Zurich to Zagreb, Croatia Monday night... and still get there a day ahead of the original plan. It was a little hectic as we checked flights, baggage allowance (we'll have to pay some extra for our extra luggage), checked with the mission president to see if our arrival time was okay, and finally buy the tickets.
After a two week break, we resumed our Tuesday evening religious discussions with John. He is such a nice guy and we have a lot of common ground. I just feel so sad that he has not learned to access the Holy Spirit and all the guidance and help available that way.
Wednesday we had the sister missionaries over for dinner with another new convert. I made Taco Soup and it was tasty. Later we went in to get a temple recommend interview with the bishop's counselor. While our recommends had a half year to go, they asked missionaries to go out with new recommends.
We need a state wide criminal background check and then it has to have an apostille from the Secretary of State of Arkansas. And it can't be more than 9 weeks from our arrival date. This is for the visa into Bosnia. So the request for the background check needs to be notarized, sent off, returned, then sent to the Secretary of State with the appropriate form and money. I will say that in my several calls to Little Rock, the civil servants there were both civil and helpful. They walked me through the website to download the correct forms and explained turn-around time frames. I like my state!
Friday we spent the morning getting things notarized, getting flu and Tetanus shots, paying bills, and getting tax stuff. We met up with some friends for lunch and had a delightful time.
I have been trying to spend several hours a day on finishing up my writing projects... without the necessary feedback from the stakeholders. They keep saying it's coming... We've also been spending time practicing the language. I'm afraid we only remember a few words, but we keep trying. I figure if my tongue and mouth are sore, I'm practicing enough. It's the Tsv's and the gzuh sounds. My tongue isn't used to running these letters together.
Saturday we went to the temple on the van with 8 other people. As usual, it was nice to chat up and back and good to be in the temple. I can't attest to the fact that I was awake 100% of the time. While it's been exceptionally dry and we desperately need rain, the good news is that it made for smooth driving up and back-- no ice, no snow.
Today was a good Fast and Testimony meeting. We have good people. We also started the new Relief Society curriculum with a Relief Society Council. I like sitting in a circle where all can participate.
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