I Can Fix That

Those are my famous last words - I can fix that.  Anyone who knows me knows that either I can't fix it, or if I can fix it, the project will end up looking like a four year-old has fixed it. In any case, we are usually better off just getting a new whatever. Still, Olivia and I are trying to save the tithes of the Church by fixing what we can rather than buying new.

We visited the apartment of one set of elders where we were told that the missionaries had been putting the dish drying rack on the butcher block counter top, rather than the stainless steel on the other side of the sink. The result was mold and several splits in the butcher block.  It was also reported that they had somehow ripped the curtain rod bracket from the right side of the window leaving a gaping hole in the concrete wall and a large piece of plaster broken off. They have a small apartment, and a large sofa, so it was also suggested that we remove the couch and replace it with a small desk and a bookshelf.

When we inspected for ourselves, we agreed with the elders that the couch should be replaced with the desk and bookshelf, but I was quite sure the mold was not that deep and that we could just sand and re-seal the wood.  I was also sure we could fix the wall.

We bought the desk and bookshelf at (you guessed it) IKEA. The mission has a good set of tools including a sander, but we needed the sealer and something to repair the wall. Luckily, Olivia was with me at the hardware store because she had the presence of mind to actually ask for assistance. What is called "spackle" turns out to be something like Bondo and what I thought was sealer received scornful looks from the helpful clerk who also mumbled something in Swedish that sounded like "You idiot."

When we arrived at the elders' apartment, I took charge of the butcher block, one elder took the tube of whatever-it-is-that-fixes-walls and Olivia and the other elder assembled the desk.

I found that the mold was not just skin deep. No amount of sanding was going to go below the mold. When I thought that I had gone deeply enough that the mold looked like just darker grain, I made the mistake of cleaning off the sanding dust to find that the mold was more distinct than ever. I decided that it will just have to do. I used an old shop class trick to fill the cracks. I put a little sealer in a small lid that was in the garbage. To the sealer I added some of the sanding dust and mixed it in. I took a piece of heavy paper and filled the cracks with the mixture and it filled the cracks perfectly. The sealer is clear, not a stain, so the elders now have a counter top that still looks like mold is all over it, but it is safely sealed.

The wall looks great and the desk is perfect. When the missionaries are no longer able to rent that apartment, we will have to replace the butcher block, Until then, it's fine. We didn't have time to put the bookcase together, but they have the tools and the instructions, so they can take care of that.

From there we rushed over to the sisters' apartment a few kilometers away (I know you are impressed that I used kilometers rather than miles), where we had been the night before. They had hosted several other sister missionaries the night before prior to the Sisters' Conference. The next morning all the electric hair appliances were going at once and blew the breaker. We went over to see if there was something they missed in trying to flip the switches and found that there was nothing else we could do. Later that evening, however, we had dinner with President and Sister Beckstrand. President Beckstrand served his mission here as a young man and has been here 27 months as president of the mission. He was familiar with the system I had described and knew that there was a main fuse associated with the breaker box. He was quite certain I could just replace the fuse and it would be fixed.

 

That is why we rushed from the elders to the sisters the next day. I replaced the fuse and flipped all the switches again with no success.  At that point we did have to call in the electrician, so I called the agency from which we rent the apartment. They were unconvinced that I had replaced the fuse, but eventually put me in touch with the building manager who was also unconvinced.  Finally, I was able to talk to the emergency manager and gave him the sisters' phone number so arrangements could be made for an electrician. By that time it was after 4:00 PM, so no one could come out for another day.

The next day contact was finally made for the electrician to appear. He, of course, was unconvinced that I had replaced the fuse so he came without tools or parts, so he had to return to his shop and get another fuse. This time the fuse was behind a locked door in the basement of the apartment building.
The result is that the sisters now have electricity, but after all that time, all the food in the fridge had spoiled, so Elder Clouse had to arrange for extra money in their accounts to replace it.

The reason for the other sisters to be staying with the Stockholm missionaries was that this week was the big Sisters' Conference.  Much of our time was preparing for the various aspects of the conference.  Olivia was asked to assist Sister Clouse in her presentation which was based on the story, or rather the movie of Cinderella.  In the Grimm version Ella's mother advises her to be pious and kind, but in the movie she is advised to be courageous and kind. That was the theme.

The overall theme was Disney princesses, so the cultural hall was decorated in Beauty and the Beast, the other presentations were Snow White and Little Mermaid themed.  We spent shopping time looking for a candlestick, tea pot and cup. I was then tasked with the duty of finding and printing off pictures of the characters in B & B those items represented. Olivia also needed props for Cinderella, so she decorated a pumpkin to look like it was turning into a carriage. I was in need of something to do during all her preparation, so I found an image of a goose and lizards and made them to go onto the carriage. No picture, unfortunately.

The men got the opportunity of setting up, driving out to the COOP (a local grocery store that also caters) to pick up the food for the meal, cleaning, washing dishes (my specialty as everyone else disappeared when the time for cleaning pots and pans arrived), cleaning up and just making sure details were taken care of. It was so much fun seeing these excited, hard-working women enjoying each others company and feeling so special.

Sisters Woolsey and Wilson from Uppsala where we 
attend church                                                                              The APs as candle & clock at photo                                                                                                                 booth with some of the sisters

The entire group with Sister Beckstrand and senior sisters         Sister Clouse w/ office elders                                                                                                                  (note the candelabra and clock) 

Olivia, Sisters Hurlbut, Beckstrand, Clouse, Mitchell, 
and Watson (senior missionaries)                                                       
                                                                                          Sisters Heaps, Gow, Hansen, Botchway,                                                                                           Capuccio, & Nelson (they came in our group)

 Sisters Trotter & Young      I did get hot chocolate & brownie                 Elder & Sister Clouse

 We have spent a wonderful day at the Uppsala Ward where everyone is so accommodating to our lack of Swedish. I am finding that for many in the ward Swedish is a second language. A couple from Iran speak Italian and English; the ward historian is from France, one single man is from Norway, another woman is from Philippines, another couple (both working on PhDs) is from Vienna, another man is from Bolivia, one woman from New York, a woman from Finland, a family from Mongolia, another from the US and there are others, as well. English is commonly spoken, some better than others.

The last two Sundays, students from the university in Uppsala have visited as an assignment. Today it was just one young woman who expressed how welcomed she felt in our little ward. Olivia is so good at making people feel comfortable and carried on a conversation with her. Afterward, we invited her to come back when it was not just an assignment and she again expressed that she felt comfortable there, but made no commitment.

We are enjoying our mission and love helping move the work along even though it is mostly non-ecclesiastic. We take a huge burden from the mission president and make the living situation of the missionaries much more conducive to their study and lives.

We love and miss you all. We love receiving your emails and hope you enjoy this rambling blog.