Week 3

Elder and Sister Blattman’s Missionary Weekly Journal
January 17-23, 2011

Here’s our CES group on the first week. Some couples in the group were leaving to be coordinators and office staff, others left to run programs on military bases, some were called to operate youth centers in Europe, a couple couples were teacher trainers in the South Pacific, and only a few were called specifically as teachers for Seminary and Institutes. There were all sorts of personalities in this group. The couple going to New Zealand were very pleased with their assignment. The couple that didn’t get selected for that assignment seemed a little miffed. For many couples this was their second or third mission.

The next photo is of our MTC district taken at the traditional world-wide photo spot. In the photo it looks like there’s a UFO sighting on the map somewhere in the South Pacific just below Elder Curtis’ right ear. Which reminds me that I realized during training that old men are generally not very funny. Our jokes are often in a context no one else is sharing or part of some obscure reference that hardly anyone understands. For example, if I were to call some wattled and jowled old codger with deep creases that push the edges of his mouth together so he looks like one of those wooden soldier nutcrackers a (I’ve lost you already haven’t i); well, if I were to call this old guy a ‘’Howdy Doody” it’s likely you might think I was just saying a quaint “Hello.” And then to explain it with, “Well, when I was a boy there was a black and white TV program for children...” I’m sure there would be some great arcing eye-rolls or that the squinty-eyed-tight-jawed look of someone stifling a yawn. We aren’t dumb, us old farts, we can see those stifled looks just like we could tell when you were getting ready to poop in your diaper, but we tell the joke anyway. Some of us old guys can’t slap you young folks anymore for your insolence, but we can still inflict pain with pithy jokes.
The newly minted Elder and Sister Blattman have been feeling somewhat like fish out of water so we’re adapting to walk on land. Here’s Elder Blattman prepared to go to the gym to exercise. Sister Blattman took to the circular track while her companion tried the machines.