Six Hundred Ninety-six

"Interstate 696 (I-696) is an east–west auxiliary ... trunkline highway ... [aka] the Walter P. Reuther Freeway, named for the prominent auto industry union head by the Michigan Legislature in 1971. [a good year!]
... a bypass route, detouring around the city of Detroit through the city's northern suburbs ..." full of tunnels and channels of concrete.
– en.wikipedia.org

On this scary Halloween night, with winter approaching, I think of driving in heavy traffic back and forth between our apartment and Roseville, MI.  I believe most Michiganders have mutually agreed to drive in concert like a close congregation.  Snuggling up makes sense if you want to fit more cars on the road so more people arrive at destinations sooner.  Some skillful drivers seem overeager to join loved ones on the other side.  It's downright scary to us seniors!

There are approximately 696 members in our amazing Roseville Ward (congregation), many of whom need our encouragement and help to attend Church.  Could there be a correlation?

On the way home last Sunday, after visiting five member families, we discovered life above and beyond the concrete corridor.  It was slow and refreshing as we drove west on tree-lined surface streets.  In life, it's good to enjoy the scenery along the way, so to speak.

staying ahead of the pack

slowing down for a change

Scary-Month End

October is looking more and more like ... scary!
Sister Cannon and I are astounded.
Google defines scary as "uncannily striking or surprising."

Most surprising last week was the relief we received when another senior missionary couple arrived from wild-West Wyoming and agreed to work in the office here in Michigan Detroit Mission!  So, Kay and I are the trainers.  The Bassetts are a striking couple ... like cowboy action figures from a no-nonsense, hard-working, conservative community.  They are not scared to ask why some things are done the way they've been done in our office for ... who knows how long.  Instantly making friends with everyone, they fit right in and keep their sense of humor despite frightening challenges.  Sweet!

At the first of this scary month, I posted "End-of-Month Crunch", predicting "another crunch at the end of October."  And it came to pass.  Now we struggle through another end, dealing with scary situations every day.  The four of us beginners are relying on support from tech-savvy, young workers in Salt Lake City and younger missionaries here.  More importantly, we rely on prayer and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

More end-of-month relief came last Friday when our mission president assigned Kay and me to the Roseville Ward, a large congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  On Sunday we attended three hours of meetings and made new friends as we have in many other wards here.  The Spirit there and the unusual summer-like weather made our day.  We look forward to our "permanent" full-time assignment to work with members in the Roseville area.  Having taken on the temporary office job for nearly two months, we are "good to go" on a new "scary" adventure!

our pardners in the far West

Heavy Lifting

Last Saturday (preparation day for Sister Cannon and me), we moved a senior couple’s apartment to storage near the mission office.  Actually, the young elders did all the heavy lifting of furniture, not the apartment.  I could do that when I was young.  Now Kay and I are weaker and wiser, overseeing the work and letting the young ones decide how to stack things.  The two that helped us are experienced and better than two men and a truck, lifting the heavy things with a smile.  Moved by the same Spirit, our missionaries lift people spiritually and serve at non-profits in the community.

I drove the pickup truck and trailer without incident despite the rain, following Sister Cannon, who drove her car full of smaller stuff.  (Recalled backing the boat trailer into lakes when I was single.  Did a lot of that.  Good preparation for this mission.  Fun, too!  ... but that's another story.)

Life here in SE Michigan goes on, rain or shine.  Mostly sunny with clouds this autumn.  That’s kind of how life should be in this season of our life.

MDM Glossary

(Sister Cannon and I have been here in SE Michigan only one month, so this is just a start:)

area: geographic designation for part of the mission wherein two or more missionaries work.  The Howell Area of MDM is far out in NW of SE MI.

bedbug: an irritating pest in this humid climate. "Bedbugs won't kill you," said Sister Hill when receiving reports.

Coney: a favorite fast food in Michigan.  "Coney dogs are Detroit's signature food," says Katherine Yung, author of Coney Detroit.  -- citylab.com

house: imoss term for an apartment (typically not a house) wherein two or more missionaries live.  Sister Cannon set up a new house on her PC.

imoss: what I call the mission office computer system. I Manage the Office System Simply ... when actually it manages me, sort of.

Michiganders: residents (and loyal former residents) of Michigan.

mitten: the descriptive name of Michigan's lower peninsula -- shaped like a mitten.  Most Michiganders live on the mitten.  Some Michiganders show people where they live by pointing to a spot on their hand held up.

non-profits: community service organizations that are non-profit like Salvation Army and St. Paul's. 

obscurity: current lack of recognition by Michigan residents in general; MDM goal: bring the Church out of obscurity.

shave ice: like snow cones. MDM missionaries serve Hawaiian-flavor shave ice with "Aloha" greeting at community events.

STL: sister training leader – a sister missionary (usually about 20 years old) assigned to train other sister missionaries.

whitewash: a transfer of both/or all missionaries in an area. Dearborn South was whitewashed.

P.S.: I alphabetized it October 10th, converting it to a true glossary (a brief dictionary).

It originally went down as it came off the top of my head while up in the night in the Michigan Detroit Mission.

Locals loving our shave ice

Lots of cars in "Motor City", Michigan ... and beautiful sunsets

End-of-Month Crunch

Journal entries, reports, and corrections for accounting.  Praying for strength and guidance.  Opening and furnishing new missionary apartments!  Driving many miles through unfamiliar townships ... seemingly seamless; getting to know the southeast Michigan territory.  September ended on Saturday, our preparation day. Loading the mission truck, driving, unloading, just working all day with a one-hour break to watch General Conference in a meetinghouse near a lease signing for a new apartment.  We were inspired by the messages! 

Walking around Target for our week’s supply of food, etc.  Except for seeing piles of candy and decorations in stores, no thought about the holidays starting this month.

Anticipating more gospel study.  Adding some fun importing iPhone pics, emailing, sharing, ... maybe a little Facebook.  Expecting another crunch at the end of October.

Recalling names of extraordinary people we have met.  Recording daily miracles and tender mercies.  We can only begin to count our many blessings from our loving Heavenly Father!

That's what went down as we wrapped up the month of September.

Michigan Detroit Mission office in Southfield meetinghouse

daily visitors crossing mission office parking lot

Tech Blessing & Curse

Life before 1982 was so easy.  My cordless typewriter started up instantly. No device recharging necessary.  It got me through school, mostly with A's.

Soon our world changed.  I loved my first portable PC, purchased in '82 with the hope it would empower my business decision making as the traveling salesman promised, but I struggled to get a printer working with it.  The 64K and 5-inch monitor worked fine for me.  (Wish I had kept my first typewriter as a backup.)

Computers and I share a long history; I won't add details in this fast post. It's sufficient to say, for Kay and me, technology is a blessing and a curse. (She used a lot for school teaching and grading, as you can imagine.) Maybe we're not alone.

Why do I bring that up?  I write right now on a new laptop PC without a mouse or working mousepad since it quit an hour ago.  After turning the machine off and restarting, which is a reliable fix on other devices, it went from a frozen pointer to no pointer ... like it's getting worse.  So far, I'm getting by with a keyboard; if that quits, I'm done.  Fortunately I used computers for years before the mouse was invented and software started moving users away from the keyboard, where I've always tried to keep my hands in home position as I was taught in 8th-grade typing class.  Keyboarding, as the name evolved, is so simple.  Amazingly, despite that programmers' mentality, many keyboard shortcuts still work for me!  The younger generation has no clue to what they're missing.  Seriously -- how would life (as they know it) go on without a touch screen?

Thank goodness for the Internet.  We email, Google-search, and get around with Gmaps.  The Church programs at the office work great for our Michigan Detroit Mission.  If we had our router with us, and paid $50/month for Internet, I could write this on Blogger from anywhere in our little apartment and post it without going to Dunkin' Donuts or the office. (Yes, I've done it here at home with a tablet and iPhone "with data", but my mobile skills are too limited.)  Whatever.

How I miss my big black clunky typewriter.  They just don't build 'em like they used to.

Here & There, Now & Again

My companion Kay and I have been writing an email off and on since last Sunday night.  Mostly off, as we are busy learning and working the mission office, here and there.  (Some is done at home with snacks and drinks in our cozy apartment.)  Every now and again we find a few moments to add and edit on iPad Notes.  If and when we finish, it will copy and paste to gmail for family and friends who wait patiently to see how we're doing in Michigan.

Sister Cannon and I are feeling our age alright.  Thank the Lord, she's a trooper and saint!  Now and forever, with love to all.