Drip

We had a leak in the drip system where the California Pepper Trees used to stand. The roots of the tree had caused leaks in the drip system. I got the ax out to chop through the roots and reroute the flexible piping of the drip system. After several blisters, I was successful.

Russ and I rode out to Davis Mesa a week ago. It is a pretty isolated location but has native grass that grows there and was identified by ranchers long ago for grazing.

Davis Mesa: The whips of grass grow naturally

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Mission Memories:

My first mission field companion was interesting. He told me that he and his previous companion had quit tracting and they had decided to study scriptures and be tourists because nobody listened to them anyway. I arrived and replaced this previous companion who was going home because the 2 year mission commitment had ended. My arrival to be trained by him was his chance to redeem himself and work hard before he went home in 6 months. I can honestly say that he tried but Elder Green's missionary manners were not the best. He would get upset and be harsh at the door with people who rejected us. On my first day tracting one lady threatened to call the police on us after Elder Green berated her. Because the previous companionship had not been working, we had no investigators when I arrived. We were slowly able to build up some appointments over time.

One month after I arrived, the land lady raised the rent on us. Our parents sent us allowance for paying for our missions back then and Elder Green did not want to ask his parents for more. The apartment had one large bedroom and we shared the kitchen and bath area with 2 other rooms. He told me that we were moving to a new apartment. This started a new activity for us. For one solid week we tracted half of the day and looked for an apartment the other half. We found a new one-room furnished apartment after that week and the landlord agreed to put two beds in. It had a little oven and sink for cooking in the room. There was a bathroom in the hall and a shower downstairs in the laundry room. We moved in and everything seemed fine until about 5 days before Elder Green was to get his last transfer. We came home for lunch and the lady upstairs met us screaming about some kind of mess then she held up one of my lost blue socks. Apparently I left it in the washing machine and she washed all her fine linen and turned it splotchy blue. She wanted us to pay for everything. Elder Green told her she should have looked in the washing machine before she put her whites in and that we weren't paying. That was the beginning of the decline of our welcome at the new apartment. The rest is for another story, but the lesson for the mission was: always remember you are a representative of Jesus Christ and you must be understanding and be willing to treat people fairly.