Tender Mercies

We have long wanted to serve a mission for our church, but circumstances wouldn't allow us until sometime last fall, when everything seemed to smooth out  for us to "put in our papers" and fill out an application. Of course as soon as our papers were turned in, everything fell apart, especially concerning our farming operation. We wondered if we would even be able to go, or whether we would need to postpone the date we would leave.

Fortunately, we had planned enough time to dedicate to what we thought would be less daunting problems, but it proved to be enough time to take care of all the added concerns. We knew there was a lot to do, and we have been running as fast as we can since early in the year.

Hauling the Ugly Trailer  and its contents off to the recycling center

Included in our preparations:

• Selling the cows, 
• selling equipment, 
• trying to sell worthless property we own in Nevada to offset the capital gains taxes on the cows, 
• leasing the hay ground to a neighbor, 
• giving our oldest daughter Power of Attorney,
• retiring from the Oregon Dairy Farmer's Association Board of Directors,
• training the neighbor's hired men in our irrigation system (we are on a hillside so it is gravity flow,) 
• making sure all the remaining equipment is in good repair, 
• fixing up Grandpa's house so we can rent it out, 
• convincing Grandpa he needs to live with his caretaker in her efficient, comfortable home rather than in his old dusty and dilapidated home, 
• finishing up the summer term and then retiring from my job teaching at the community college, (retiring to the state pension system is a process in itself,) 
• figuring out what to do about health care when we get back and I'm not on Medicare and Clint is, 
• visiting all our children before we go, 
• going through everything in the house for the fourth time and giving away, burning, or throwing everything away I don't want to see when we come back, 
• emptying out the basement, covering the floor with pallets and storing all our belongings there, 
• interviewing possible renters (who will want to tend my half acre garden?) and 
• finding out the property management companies in town don't want to take care of homes in the country (something to do with the problem of renters growing pot), 
• attending the Spanish Branch to brush up on our Spanish and 
• reading 7 pages of the scriptures every night in Spanish, 
• trying to figure which credit/debit cards to take with us to minimize transaction and ATM withdrawal fees, (Capital One for no foreign transaction fees and the UBS brokerage account credit card for no ATM cash advance fees),
• contacting the people in Chile to see what kind of clothing to bring, 
• buying the clothing, (they don't have central heating so you wear many layers of warm clothing,) 
• arranging for our cars, (give one to a deserving relative and keep the other?),
•  figuring out which smart phone to bring (GSM, unlocked Samsung S3 international version, uses local SIM cards, a micro SD card for extra storage) with a contract-less Ultra Mobile monthly account until we switch accounts in Chile, 
• collecting all the books and documents we'll need on the Kindle, 
• bringing portable electronic gadgets,
• meeting with the CPA so he can figure out how much in taxes we may owe so we can pay quarterly taxes,
• hiring a bookkeeper to take all our mail and pay bills,
• arranging for my sister and her husband in Salt Lake City to pick us up at the airport and drop us off at the Provo Missionary Training Center, 
• and other things.

Included in the Tender Mercies are all the people that showed up the very day we needed them, often without us even having to ask. The livestock broker, the equipment broker, our custom hay neighbor whose wife is the bookkeeper, random neighbors wanting to buy random and obscure equipment, our neighbor who offered to manage our rental property, the young couples who want to rent our home. Everyone has been so kind and supportive. People we have not seen for years come up to us and congratulate us on our South American adventure. Apparently the word has gotten around in our small town, and they all wish us well.