March 14, 2012

Transfer table used to make plans regarding transfers

The Opel Cosa used by the office elders

Missionaries in the old part of Toledo on P-day

Alex and his companion, Elder Forrest, in front of the cathedral in Toledo

The "Captain Moroni" sword Alex had made in Toledo

Family,

Well, this week has been crazy for me. I´m glad to hear that everything is going well with you guys at home! Well this week has been both stressful and fun for me, so I´ll start with stressful first.

So I found out transfers last Thursday or Friday and from there I´m supposed to print out a little thing called a transfer table (shown in picture 1.) Everyone´s faces where they are going to be and all. I then mark it up and compare it with the old one of where people went and where they are going and all. That takes quite a while just because you can´t really miss anyone. Then on a separate sheet of paper, I write down two zones, for example Madrid going to León as a title, and then put all of the missionaries underneath of people going from Madrid to León. After figuring it out I start looking up trains/planes to the north or to Madrid/Islands and compare prices. After searching and finding, and writing and planning, I go to my wonderful companion Elder Forrest and talk to him about what I found out and what I´m planning for people. After he sees what I´ve done and what I´m thinking and he sees that it´s good, it´s time to pass the test with Hermana Watkins [Sister Watkins is the wife of the mission president].

Monday I showed Hermana Watkins the travel plans for all of the missionaries that are coming into the mission and traveling from one area to another. When she sees that it´s good and after writing some more I can begin buying tickets for the missionaries going to the appropriate places. The hard thing about all of this is that no missionary can be alone so it´s pretty hard. You have to buy tickets from certain places where all of the missionaries can come together to wait for their companions and get people traveling together if possible. So that´s pretty much what Hermana Watkins and I talk about and all of that good stuff. Tuesday I made the Transfer Tabla [Table - I know its obvious] which is an Excel spreadsheet that I convert into a PDF File so as to send it to the zone leaders and they can open it and print it and all of that fun stuff. The Tabla is the spreadsheet of instructions for all of the missionaries that are being affected with the transfers. Even if they aren´t moving, they get instructions if they are picking someone up or something. So I make that with a lot of thinking on how specific I can be with only one or two lines of details. When that is done, I convert it, and send it to the Assistants and the Zone Leaders in the mission. I was in the office yesterday from 11am until 8:30 pm working on that. My brain was fried!!!

Today was P-Day and we decided to spend the day in Toledo!! Super cool little city! I drove down and Elder Forrest drove back and that was fun as well. In Toledo we saw the cathedral and a museum of history which were both super cool!! We also went to some souvenir shops and I got a handmade sword that says Captain Moroni on it, and a handmade dagger!! Super awesome!! Now I´m here typing this long email. I hope everything is going well with all of you and that you have a good week!!! Love you all!

Elder Bauer