Good Intention, Poor Execution

Last Sunday, there was a new member that came to my ward for the first time.  His name was Samuel and he had just moved to the area from Mexico, though he's originally from Nigeria.  He wanted to come to Church, but had no transportation.  I volunteered to be his ride for the foreseeable future.  I had been thinking that my life was missing a means of offering service on a regular basis, and then this opportunity presented itself very soon after.  I recognize Heavenly Father's hand when I see it.

Anyway, I had his address and a new GPS unit (thanks, Mom and Dad!), so I didn't bother looking up where his apartment was.  Well, I had forgotten to charge the unit before I left the house and I don't have a car charger for it yet, so the unit died.  (I should probably also mention that I was driving from Ian and Amanda's place, since I'm house-sitting for them this weekend).  Before the unit died, I had made it to my last freeway exit, but in an area that I had never been to before, though it's not too far from my apartment.  After thinking about what to do, I called my folks, explained the situation, and asked for them to look up my location online to help me out.  They were very kind and helped get me to where I needed to be and gave me directions on how to get to Church.  With that done, I hung up and knocked on Samuel's door.

Once back in the car, I immediately made a wrong turn, rendering my directions useless.  Samuel knew the area a little bit and within ten minutes we were on the right freeway and I soon recognized where we were.  We made it just in time for the closing hymn in sacrament meeting.  Drat.

After Church, I got lost again.  I pulled off and asked for help at a gas station.  I had simply gotten on the freeway going the wrong direction, but had driven fifteen minutes or so in the completely opposite direction.  With the new information, we got back on the road and soon I was able to get Samuel home without further trouble and made it back to the Larsens' on the first try.

Samuel was very appreciative and never said anything negative about my complete lack of direction (which I'm sure Allison can vouch for).  With all of the driving I did today, I think I can make it back to Samuel's apartment without needing directions, but I'll charge the GPS unit for next time, just in case.