It is not uncommon for me to put in a ten hour day on Sundays(counting the three hour block) and another four to five hours or more during the week. This has been one of the most challenging, and also rewarding callings I have held. The job carries it's challenges- I struggle to shape my hours every week around meetings that I am expected to be at, I have a hard time getting up in the mornings on Sunday, I schedule an individual and forget to write down that they are coming, and the anticipated “five minute meetings” can go for 20-30+.
With the service I have been involved I feel that I have been very blessed. Preconceived notions are seeming to be swept away, and I sense that I am seeing those I serve with a purer perspective. When people ask to talk with the Bishop I do not judge them for anything that may have been done or had done to them, because there are so many reasons for meeting with the Bishop. I see those who come in for counsel and support and feel a greater love for them than I had before.
Wednesday nights appointments start at 6:00pm and and things wrap up around 8:00 or nine of it is a busy night. We go out to eat after the appointments, and talk about what we can do to streamline our efforts, and how we can better serve those in the Ward.
This previous week I convinced my roommates and they talked some girls to go for a little polar dip in the Snake River (Henrys Fork). We had a little grill session with hamburgers, Smores, salsa and and a few other trimmings. The spot that I used last year for my dip was frozen over and extended out fifteen to twenty feet into the river with Fast current, so there was little chance for the same entry spot if we wanted to stay alive. Initially the whole idea was called of, but with a little persistence I found a spot that was not frozen over and the current was reasonably safe. One of the issues that we had to deal with was a walking of two to three hundred yards from our cars to the spot of choice. Another was the Barbed wire fence. That is all I am saying. We had a great time together and all who went came home with no regrets.
January 23rd 2010- we had our ward tubing activity. We planned on a canyon a that was some distance from us due to the ideal tubing hill that it has, but thanks to an “excessive” amount of snow the roads were impassible. Second choice was to go sledding down the hills at the sand dunes, which we did. I like to think that everyone that went had a wonderful time, and to my knowledge no one was seriously injured. We all took home a few bumps and bruises, but it was worth it.
