Serve 'Til You Drop

On Saturday, the Elders Quorum was assigned to help move a family that was moving out of the ward.  While Samuel and I arrived a little late, we arrived with most of the moving truck still empty.  After bringing out some larger pieces of furniture, I stayed behind to help with what I call "truck tetris," or arranging all of the boxes and furniture in the truck to be as tightly packed as possible.  It paid off, because a couple of hours later, everything was on the truck with only what seemed like millimeters to spare.  The family was very grateful for the help and thanked us for our service.

Afterwards, Samuel and I stopped for some lunch before heading to Baltimore.  He had asked if I would take him to an international market that specializes in Nigerian groceries and I was happy to assist.  We drove to the store, which was farther away than I anticipated (that'll be important later), and he was able to complete his shopping.

Before heading home, he asked me if we could make one more stop since to we were already in Baltimore.  I was very tired from the move that morning, but I agreed to drive him so that he could pay his phone bill.  We drove even farther and arrived at a mall.  Apparently, Samuel has a friend that runs a cellphone kiosk and he has been paying him to cover his phone bill.  However, when we got to the kiosk, we were told that Samuel's friend was on vacation.  Samuel looked at me apologetically and said that he hasn't been able to get in touch with his friend and was worried that his phone would be disconnected.  Since there was nothing we could do, I suggested that we leave.  Back in the car, rather than express my frustration with situation (or Samuel), I suggested that since he now has a checking account that he should simply mail his friend a check every month.  Clearly this was a new idea to him, but he immediately liked it.

Once home, I practically fell into bed.  No, we hadn't been out for the whole day, but I was exhausted from the move that morning and from driving Samuel around Baltimore to run his errands that afternoon.  After a well-earned nap, I took Samuel to the learning center that I sometimes tutor at for him to do some cleaning (it's a once-a-week job for him, but it's a good addition to his job as a dishwasher).

I slept very well that night having served nearly the whole day.