May 19, 2012

 President Stumm went with the missionaries to a service project to help an investigator take out a tree. (Actually it turned out to be a gnarly tree/bush that scratched him up pretty good!!)  While he was helping others, I went shopping. We needed a few thing and the young Elders were in need of cleaning supplies which we purchase and then get reimbursed by the mission.  When I returned home, I thought I had turned off the security alarm, but I was so wrong. It turned out that no matter how much you want to silence the loud, annoying alarm it’s just not going to happen once you set it off. I called the alarm company and told them about the false alarm but before I could finish the call the building security was calling on the other phone. When I want attention I know now how to get it. The guards showed up and showed me what I did wrong.  You have to hold the button down until the light on the device comes ON and then the alarm system will shut off.  Me and alarms just don’t get along!!!!!  What a day.

Ricks day was a little different.  He and the Elders had a service project taking out some brushes and trees for and investigator because they didn’t have the money to hire the job out.  The Elders said that they could get it done in a couple of hours, but Rick was highly suspicious of that.  The only tools the Elders came up with were a couple of machetes, an axe and a small bow saw.  The axe was pretty sharp, but the edge of the machetes was about like the side of a 2x4.  They tried bludgeoning the bush with the machetes for about 20 minutes. Great exercise and the bush didn’t seem to mind, in fact when they were sitting down sucking wind the bush showed no signs at all of giving in. Seeing that they were having no success in falling this mighty bush, Rick headed off to the hardware store for something to sharpen the machetes with. He also was going to contact some members and pleaded for some mechanized equipment to even the odds against this devil bush.  No luck, I guess here in South Africa people would rather work all day with a machete rather than an hour with a chainsaw.  He has found that nobody seems to have any tools. When working on a few things at the chapel, he had a hard time coming up with a pair of pliers and a screw driver.  He is going through withdrawal.  He has decided he really is a tool junkie!!  To make matters worse, it seems like this bush had the ability to reach out and get you with its thorns, even if you didn’t touch it.  He came back looking like he had been in a cat fight and lost!!!