Busy Monday
We got a lot done today! There were a number of things on our to-do list in the coming days, and we got most of it done already. First off we went to Lidl to buy food for us and for the Institute, then we went to the mission office to get some documentation (e.g., a photocopy of Pres. Pickerd's passport) to use in getting the ZTL pass, as well as his signature on several docs. On the way back we passed the open market, so my wife ran in and bought a couple of blankets for the twin beds in the back bedroom, which will get used on Wednesday night. We then ran back by the apartment to drop off everything we had bought, as well as picking up a couple of things we had forgotten to bring, such as the beef for tomorrow's Taco Tuesday. Even before leaving for the Institute we were tired!
We got there a bit early, which was good because I had a 2pm appointment to renew the ZTL at the Archives office. That involved walking a few blocks to the train station, buying subway (Metro) tickets, going ten stops on the Metro, then walking a few more blocks. Turns out an appointment was superfluous at that hour -- everyone is home for lunch and a rest -- so I got right in. The guy was very helpful, despite not being exactly happy with how we filled out the paperwork last year or this year. Next year I'll know how to fill it out better. In any case, I left with a new pass printed out (it's just black and white with a QR code on normal paper), and a 797 euro charge on the mission credit card.
My wife was at the Institute cooking for FHE while I was gone -- we don't have to stay together as a senior couple, unlike the young missionaries. She also made up a nice new sign-in sheet for the Institute. Every young person has to sign in when they enter, and this helps us log better what everyone is doing.
When I got back I worked on my FHE lesson, using a talk by Ardeth Kapp from October 1984 entitled "Striving Together" which has one of the best, most insightful, and favorite stories ever. I also got to help out our visitor for later this week with embedding a video into his PowerPoint presentation, which is much more complicated than it should be.
My wife made carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese filling, which were awesome!
The lesson went fairly well, I think, with a good-sized group, and afterward we played a couple of spirited games of Uno, with some interesting rules we'd never seen before.
By the time we got home we were pretty tired, but it was a very satisfying day.
