Where has Dad Been??

Once upon a time I thought retirement was when you got up late, did what ever you wanted to do and had all this leisure. How could a part-time mission mess that up. Easy - every day! You all know I like to teach. Well I have decided teaching is so much easier than being the student.
Weekly (CYP - Check Your Performance) activities are a source of fear. Using several very technical programs simultaneously while your trainer watches every key stroke on his view of your desktop is meant to drive you crazy.

Here I am at my favorite activity - talking on Skype. Rob and Cody came over Sunday afternoon to visit (and get fed) but I was in the middle of a 3 hour practice session with my fellow trainers. We broke into two groups. One half "played" missionaries and the other half were patrons and we went through the whole process of creating a case, solving it and then did a critique of the process. Then we reversed roles and did it again. Then we spent another hour trying to find knowledge base documents to answers that were posed to the group. At one point we actually had 9 people in our conference call. Our trainer said we would never be able to continue the group with more than 3 but we showed her!!!

This is a weird experience. I have never met, fact to face a single person in this group. Thursday is our final day together and it is truly sad to see that day come. Many of us are really good friends now. It probably is like when full time missionaries leave the MTC. Not ever having had that experience I am only guessing.

This mission has quite a chain of command. I don't actually know the mission president - though I do remember seeing pictures of the presidency on the wall in the Joseph Smith building when I was back there this summer to meet the recruiter who processes me into the program. Our Department Supervisor is Sister Mary King. Our Team Leader is Sister Diane Carter - I don't know where either of these sisers are located. My Missionary Leader is Sister Jean Evans of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada and her Assistant Missionary Leader is Sister Darlene Jacobs of Murietta, California. I'll have to ask Roweton if he knows her. All I know is I better behave with all these Sisters over me. Where are the Brethren???

I never thought I would reach a place in life where I have three headsets that would rule my life. But I do love it - other than the stress. That reaches the apex on Wednesday when I start taking live phone calls (with my trainer spying in the whole time.) Pray that I survive. :-)