Our First Week As Missionaries

Technology, is wonderful...This is my first attempt at blogging and hopefully all will go well. Grandpa and I have just finished our first week at the Utah Provo Mission Office. We completed a very large cell phone project because every set of missionaries was scheduled to receive a newer updated phone. Grandpa had to remove the battery from each phone...about 95 total, and check the 18 digit serial number inside. Then we assigned each phone to a certain district in each of the 9 zones. Grandpa was a great help in reading off important numbers while I put them onto an Excel Spreadsheet and then we wrote all the information on the outside of each box. We emailed back and forth to the Sprint Phone Company to get several number codes to be able to activate the new phones. I learned about "blue-toothing." Evidently, some of the sisters had almost 500 contacts in their old phones. It took awhile but was exciting to see how the data could be transferred from the old phone over to the new phone. All of the United States and Canada missionaries now have a cell phone that they carry with them. The phones are programmed to accept text messages from SLC only with referrals....no outgoing texts EXCEPT for the missionaries who teach using ASL. This really helps them to be able to teach the deaf. Also, all media, meaning games, are disabled from the phones.
We also are in charge of the housing for the missionaries. 68% are living in member's homes with the remainder still in apartments. The Brethren have indicated they want as many in homes with members as possible. We had the opportunity to go with our trainers, the Babcock's, to visit a basement apartment with a family in Provo. A very nice older couple met with us and it turned out the husband, Brother Glen Wilcox had worked with Uncle Larry years ago. They are trying to fix a water leak so it will be awhile before the unit is available. When we explained about apartments versus member's homes, they said it would be fine for the elders to just pay $75 a month for utilities and live there rent free.
These 9 zones extend from the point of the mountain down to the 4 corners and over to St. George. I want to get some maps figured out because everything is outdated on our walls. This next week is transfer week and there will be a special testimony meeting just prior for those going home. I am excited because one of my former student employees from Mongolia, who joined the church while working with me, is going to try and come. He was taught by the AP, Elder Mendenhall, who goes home this coming Thursday.
I am also in charge of organizing zone conference lunches and sending out letters to the Stake Presidents and contacting their Stake RS Presidents to coordinate everything. Every 6 weeks 4 different zone conference take place. This mission just created it's 214th stake so it is huge. Another exciting thing we learned is that it is the highest English Speaking baptizing mission in the world.