MAY AT A GLANCE
May 4: We got our solar panels back up today. It was good to see the power production rise
steadily throughout the day. Our current
power bill is $8.42 per month. That is
the fee for a line with Rocky Mountain Power.
May 12: The first temples
reopen for live ordinances by appointment.
Payson was among them, but currently the Temple Presidency is handling
all patrons.
May 19: Today was a
memorable day! My friend Maggie Baum was
released from prison. She, Rusty and
Billy came by for lunch. Tears flowed freely
as we embraced. We had a long visit
while waiting for lunch to finish warming.
Maggie helped me cut up the veggies for the salad. She said it was the first knife she had used
in over five years. She opened the gifts
we had wrapped in Christmas paper. Any new item was wrapped. I had also gathered a whole truck load of
used items for our home and some from ward members wanting to wish her
well. Her heart was touched. Billy said, “I know some who left prison
without anything, including a friend.” Maggie
has much more than that and I hope that will help her chart a straight and wise
course for the rest of her life. That
evening we had a casual front porch gathering so ward members could come and
say good-by the Bethany and the kids before the move. We had steady visitors for three hours. Clearly, many love Bethany and feel invested
in the happiness and success of this family. I feel asleep feeling true
gratitude and joy that night.
May 21: We had Bethany and the kids up for a special
breakfast. It was the last time they
will be here as residents. It was
bitter/sweet. Part of the past 4 ½ years
I wish would never end, and part I hope to never have to repeat. For sure I find peace in knowing it is time
for them to begin a new life away from this place of healing and
sanctuary. I’m so grateful that we were
able to help provide security, love, and assistance during this time, but I’m
ready to take a seat further back in the theater. Bethany’s wings are strong now, where they
were broken when she arrived. She will
do well if she remains true to what she knows, has learned, and has covenanted
to do. Tory picked the kids up at 9:00
a.m. Bethany had them clean and ready
for photos. They said good-bye to the
animals and were on their way. Bethany went back to packing and we began
painting and re-doing the bedrooms in the basement.
May 20, 2020: Today was our 44th wedding
anniversary. It began with a gorgeous
sunrise. I got a call that Mom’s book
was ready for pick-up that morning.
Nothing would have brought me more joy than seeing the final
product. Darrel and I headed north for
pick-up. We learned that Andy was
promoted today and is now a Colonel and comes with a pay increase for
them. Shellie reported a break-through
in Brett’s recent struggle. We visited
several family members on our way home as we delivered books. The order was for
82 books. I was so thrilled with the interest of so many other people who knew
and loved my mom. We saw Aunt Mary Lou, Judy, Dick, Mark, Wendy, Kent, Kieth,
and Dad. I had five ordered for two who decided they didn’t want them. Dad
picked up that cost and we decided to give them to the granddaughters who bear
Mom’s name. That idea excited me. MaKenzie Smith is one of those and she is
struggling right now with home and family.
I felt like the book my help her and believe in time it will. It was a nearly perfect day in my mind!
May Ended Well for us---Our mission papers had been in since April
28th. We received a call from our Stake President, Doug Petersen, on
Thursday, May 28. The missionary department had contacted him saying that at
this point we had three options as far as serving a mission. 1) We could accept a call to serve in the
Provo, Utah mission and serve from home as missionary and re-activation
support. 2) We could receive a call to serve somewhere in the U.S. and serve
remotely from home as a mission office couple, until it was safe to travel to
the mission. This option would require
contact by ZOOM meetings and at least moderate computer skills. 3) We could
withdraw our papers, wait for the Covid19 dust to settle and resubmit them.
After some thought, we felt
that serving from home would be difficult. The distractions and demands of
being home would be difficult and did not fit what either of us had pictured as
full time service. We felt even friends,
neighbors and family would find it difficult to consider us full-time
missionaries from home, making their contacts and expectations more demanding
than we may need to focus wholly on missionary service. As we leaned towards withdrawing our papers
for a time, a thought came to me to contact my cousin, Kathy Losee, to see if
our names were still on the list of those to be considered for service at Adam-Ondi-Ahman. I called her on May 29th. Within ten minutes she reported that LaMar had
contacted Elder Sheldon
F. Child, who is over the Adam-Ondi-Ahman mission as a member of the First
Quorum of the Seventy and President in the North America East Area. Elder Child reported that there was one
vacancy left to fill for March 2021. The call and recommendation placed us at
the top of the list. The next morning we received a call from Elder Child. He asked a few questions and allowed us to
ask a few of our own. After a 10 minute
phone chat we hung up knowing all we needed to do to withdraw our papers and
use them to apply for service as couple missionaries in Adam-Ondi- Ahman. A hard copy of our papers will be submitted
to Elder Child, who will then submit them to the First Presidency. As Mission President to the Jerusalem and
Adam-Ondi-Ahman mission, President Nelson approves his own missionaries. If we are approved to serve, our official
call will come in October. We also
initiated another chat with our Stake President who offered request that the
missionary department return our papers to the Stake so copies can be made and
submitted quickly.
It amazed
me how quickly details came together on May 30, which was Randel’s 38th
birthday and Hannah’s baptism day, in California. We were able to join that
special event via Duo Google.
May 30th
was also the end of the drama with our recent bed purchase. The ad on KSL
appeared to be from a Mattress Warehouse in Orem, who was over-stocked and
selling at reduced prices to bring in needed income because of the Covid19’s
impact on them. Having just made some
purchases from a similar warehouse ad in SLC, we were not prepared to deal with
this con-artist scammer, who really had a storage unit where he buys used
mattresses from who knows where and sells them. We purchased what we thought was a new
mattress, still inside the protective plastic cover. As he pulled the bed, we didn’t see anything
but the top and even laid on it briefly.
I let him know that buying a used mattress was similar being to buying a
used toothbrush in my mind. There was no
indication that this mattress was less than new. He also sold us a used box spring with some
small tears that I was sure I could mend for the price. He filled our need for
a metal frame and we were on our way. It
wasn’t long before we realized the frame was missing parts, so Darrel made a
trip back the next day to replace it. I
was not happy when the replacement had a broken foot. By then I had mended the holes and we were
ready to open mattress. Upon closer inspection, I could see that the bottom of
the mattress was distressed, dirty and had deep holes in it. I let the seller know we would be returned
all merchandise the next day for a full refund.
Bethany and Randel had to get by on a full-sized bed another night.
By the next
morning I not heard back from the seller.
As I pressed for a time to return the bed, it was clear he was not going
to be cooperative, although he claimed he would refund our money upon
return.
I felt frustrated as I finished
sewing the final 50 medical masks I had agreed to sew for the Church’s “Five
Million Mask” project. The thought came to me to contact this man using
Darrel’s phone and arrange a time. I
mentioned seeing his ad on KSL and our need for a queen-sized bed. Gene was evasive, saying we’d need an
appointment, which was not the case the prior two days. We reported we’d be in the area between
2:00-2:30 p.m. Once we arrived I went to
the front door and found it locked up like Fort Knox. Darrel drove around back and found Gene
spraying another used mattress for sale.
Gene was not at all happy to see him, but Darrel unloaded the bed, box
spring and frame. He told Gene I was
waiting at the front door and he could refund our money through Venmo. Gene was fuming as he opened the door. He went through the motions of sending money. He even showed me the picture associated with
my account to be sure it was the right one.
Sadly, no money came although I heard the electronic sound that a
payment had been sent. By Saturday
morning, there was no money and no word, so I sent a text to inform Gene that
the “drama” was not over and we were not “done with it.” He assured me the money had been drafted from
his account and suggested I contact Venmo.
I asked for a screen shot verifying such a draft, but it never
came. I learned throughout the day that
a Venmo payment for $345 would be adjusted quickly according to the amount
available from the sender’s account. It
was clear the payment had been sent from an empty account. By night fall, I felt impressed to contact
Gene once again. I expressed my feelings of being scammed and my disappointment
that any appeal to integrity had failed.
I informed him that I would begin contacting agencies designed to expose
dishonest businesses and help reclaim what he owed if the full amount was not
in my account by Monday at noon. The
response was immediate, and within 30 minutes the money hit my account! The learning experience was over and we had
been guided in successfully working with a crook! I was truly grateful.
Sunday, March 31
dawned quietly, and a bit over-cast. We
went leisurely about getting ready for the day and getting Bethany’s animals
cared for while she is in California for the baptism. Just as I was ready to do
my hair for our Sunday Worship service, Colton called for a video chat. I was surprised by the early hour, but
excited to hear from them. He said hello
and then turned the camera on Malea, who was holding her new baby. I was stunned. The baby wasn’t due for three weeks, but
there she was and both looked healthy and beautiful. Fern Neva Potter had been born early that
morning in San Antonio Texas. She weighed 6 lbs. 6 oz and was 19 inches long,
with lots of dark hair and long eye lashes.
Malea was a trooper and the ordeal is over! What a wonderful surprise and a perfect
ending to the month of May.
Later that
day we met with Lionel and Linda’s family for a dinner in honor of their 48th
anniversary. It was lovely to be with
their family. Sarah Hunt helped me with
a small gift to honor their love and their day.
No comments:
Post a Comment