#Because of Him

#Because of Him

March 29, 2015

       On a late Wednesday afternoon this week, I was working in my office when I heard a group of elders came in the front door. I could tell by the noise that they were in my elder's office. After a bit, a newer elder poked his head around my door and more to himself than to me he whispered, "oh, you're Sister Seaman." I jumped up and reintroduced myself to him telling him that I knew him from his file. After a bit of small talk, he sheepishly told me he wanted to see the real Sister Seaman because there was a guy next door with that nametag on. We went over there together and, sure enough, my Elder Seaman was wearing my extra nametag. Now, notice I told you this was in the afternoon. My elder had been out and about Independence buying mission supplies in stores and lunch at Buffalo Burgers (who knows).
     So goes the life of Senior Missionaries. I live with the guy. I know who he is. There are several office missionaries and none of us caught it. My elder and I just have to come home some evenings and play the Glad Game. We have to find silly things to laugh at. This seems to have been a long week as we have both been fighting colds. The weather has been fickle. Our little apartment has seemed extra small. The work has been slow.
     This week, the church came out with the new Easter video #BecauseofHim. I can't quit watching it. It is so simple, yet so profound. The phrase that has been going over and over in my head this weekend is........"Because of Him we can start over again and again." I love that. I believe that. My cold will go away. We will keep our eyes open for silly things to laugh about. Salt Lake will send a new batch of missionaries' names out on Tuesday morning and I will start over again. Occasionally, when I hear my elder come in the office door, I will get up to check his nametag to see if he is really who I know him to be. Here's to a new week.

Oh, my LOVE to all of you,
Sister Seaman

Bat Cave.....

     Here at the Mission Headquarters we have a storage space called the "Bat Cave."  The storage space is located beneath the Stake Center which is located just down the street from the Mission Office on sacred ground. It sits on a part of the site where the 24 temples that were laid out by Joseph Smith for the New Jerusalem. The Stake Center's design is the one that was popular in the late 60's and early 70's.  It is a large,  irregular shaped building with a full sized basketball court in the gym.  We have one of these in Show Low. They were built all over the place.  This one is peculiar in that it has a full basement under the entire structure.  It is huge.  Only about 25% of the basement is finished for classrooms, the rest is pretty much wide open.  Over the years, a Scout Room was created and some maintenance storage and the rest was divided up for the mission and the wards by 14' high fencing.  The mission has the majority of the open space.  I heard that in the original plans, the unfinished part of the basement was supposed to be back-filled.  It never was and is now known as the Bat Cave, of which I, the mission housing coordinator, am in charge.  We store furniture, washing machines, dryers, kitchen equipment, bedding, vacuum cleaners, etc.  Everything to furnish a missionaries apartment.  It is something.  It is dark and damp, hence the name "Bat Cave."  Just the other day, I talked the FM missionaries into borrowing their dump trailer and filling it up with years and years worth of trash from the Bat Cave.  It took two loads, with the FM folks smashing and flattening everything.  It sure looks better to me, but if you saw it you would wonder about me.  Anyway, Sister Seaman took some pictures of all who were involved.  It was kind of a big deal.           
    Anyway, it was a slow week for me.  The mission is starting to lose its complement of missionaries.  The swell of 18 year olds is waning and the Church wants the complements no bigger that 200.  We were at 280 (when we got here) and by this next transfer will be at 260.  If things don't change, we will be at 220 by August.  Remember that we have 2 visitor centers in our mission which adds about 40 sisters and senior missionaries to the regular complement, which would put us 180.  I am beginning to non-renew the leases on missionary apartments and empty them as the mission decreases in size which means all the good furniture coming out of them goes to the Bat Cave.  Good thing we have it.
    The name tag thing may be funny to some of you, but I wore the thing almost all day and nobody noticed.  I do remember some strange stares from the heathens, otherwise nobody cares what my name is.
     Richard, my brother, showed up at the apartment the other night.  He was doing his thing in Wichita and drove an hour plus just to see us for a few minutes.  He went way out of his way, it was good to see him.  It does make us homesick though.

Sincerely,
Elder Seaman
    

Elder Seaman at the entrance to the Bat Cave.



FM Director Mark and the Trash Trailer.



The Trash Crew. Notice the "Star Ship
Enterprise" in the background and I don't
mean the Other Temple.  See the mission van.

Notice the discreet difference.