#43 "Solving Problems" (By Grandpa)

Dear Grandchildren,

The following is brought to you by the "how to get help" section of your local app store, or some such agency. First, you decide that the trouble in the house (like a broken heating unit, for instance) has to start not only on a weekend, but on the one weekend during the entire year that absolutely no one is working, or stirring, not even an out-of-work mouse. Second, you also plan the problem for the coldest weather so far during the winter. Third, after that weekend, you set aside a full three days to try to get some help fixing the problem in your home (or your business, or whatever). Fourth, you carry your mobile phone everywhere you go for that three days in the expectation that someone will call you with the promise of help. Fifth, you arrange to welcome two technicians into your home, one on the first day of the waiting and the other on the second day. Each in his turn tells you that he cannot fix the problem. (It’s beginning to sound a little like the story of Billy Goat Gruff — just wait for my big brother to come.) Sixth, you make certain that, in this scenario, you are dependent on a landlord whom you have never met. Seventh, you fix things so that you are dealing with an agent who is calling the landlord on your behalf, but you don’t know how persistently. You hope for the best. Eighth, you wait and wait — patiently, of course — for the agent to call you for the full three days. Other than your whining calls to him, he calls you exactly twice. Well, a third time on the third evening at 9:00 PM, promising help the next morning, the fourth morning by our count, "before noon." Ninth, when the two technicians arrive to replace a malfunctioning water pump, they bring a used pump that, you assume, has been reconditioned. Tenth, after installing and testing the system, they pronounce everything "Tamam" (fine) and leave you with a system that will stop working five hours later. Eleventh (Whew! The last one.), now you have to figure out how to restart the system and make it work. That, my friend, is one recipe for getting spirited help to solve a major problem. Aren’t you glad you asked if we are warm yet?

Our Sacrament meeting today brought in only one person by Skype. Others who have joined us in the recent past were otherwise engaged or their wifi systems were not adequate today to make the connection work. But even that news is good. The one who joined us is an investigator from a distant city. The big news for us is that we welcomed thirteen people to our meeting, five of whom are non-members. One of the non-members is the father of three children who are members. His presence, having come to visit his children, was worth a lot. It was his first time to attend a branch meeting here. I was thrilled to welcome him. And I want to give credit where credit is due. The presence of three of those non-members, and a woman who is becoming active, all result from the YVs’ recent activities. They have been terrific. Their best day, as I measure such things from inside our apartment, occurred this past week when they held four meetings here — two via Skype and two with investigators sitting in our living room. Naturally, because they were here during the afternoon and evening, Grandma offered them dinner.

I have decided that the national pastime here is jaywalking. At least in the cities. Well, the two cities that I have visited or lived in regularly. People just pop off the curb at any point and cross the street. Never mind that a traffic light is just 50 feet away. Never mind that many of these people are dragging children with them. They seem to be teaching the children the refined art of dodging cars and trucks. Never mind that drivers here, when they see a little open road, even a hundred feet, tromp on the gas pedal and barrel along the road. More than once I have stepped off a curb on a city street, with what I think is a big, open space in the traffic, only to see that space close in a hurry with a car careening toward me at 50 miles per hour. So I have adopted a more cautious approach, deciding that I would like to survive our experience here. Now I only cross the street in the middle of a block when it seems suitable, not when it seems inviting.

I love you and pray for each of you.

Grandpa Brown