...in the service project to
end all service projects. Here's the sitch (short for situation. my new comp
abbrevs so I'm getting in the habit now of not finishing any of my words. It's
amazing how fast you and your companion become the exact same person when you
spend 24-7 with them) : the Spanish Elders (our best friends) knocked into this
woman Joanne like 8 months back. Whenever we knock into someone who's not
interested in the church, we ask them if there's anything we can do for them.
Most of the time people say no, but depending on where you tract, we'll get a
lot of, "yeah, take out my trash for me/mow my lawn/wash my dishes/vacuum my
floors, will ya?"And then we do whatever they need done. Joanne was one of
those, but her yard is so overtaken with blackberry bushes that it took weeks
to get it done the first time. Wild blackberry bushes are all over Tacoma, just
growing casually on the side of the road, and they sell blackberry killer
everywhere. Funny thing about blackberry bushes: you can't use a weed-eater on
them, they're so tough and large that it will actually break the weed-eater. We
have broken several. Same thing with a lawnmower. And with most gardening
shears. So we pretty much have to go in there with a chainsaw and our eyes
closed and hope for the best. But it only took a month or so before all the
work the first missionaries did grew back and so a whole new group of missionaries
came in and did the same thing. Missionaries have been going back and re-doing
this same project every 2 months since December. I am determined for it to end
with me.
So, our days at Joannes are as follows: we cut down every branch so we can get down
the the roots without killing ourselves (I'm talking thorns that slice through
heavy duty work gloves, rubber boots, and could probably impale a small bear).
Then we dig up each individual blackberry root (the base roots are the size of
soccer balls) and drench the ground where we pulled them from with blackberry
killer. Then the Elders usually lift the roots above their heads in some sort
of caveman/He-man display of manliness and cheer and joke that they're going to
mount the root on their wall like you would when hunting. Then we put all of it
in a huge pile, wheelbarrow it one load at a time around to the front yard, and
go back to find the next bush. This process is slow, and no matter how many
layers we wear in the hot humid August, we always come home looking like we
just lost a fight to all the felines in Aristocats and the show CATS combined.
But I say 'buried alive'
because in addition to a yard that would make Hercules himself tremble, Joanne
has a hoarding problem. My comp and I left the Elders outside to hold roots
above their heads and grunt manly things and we sisters braved the inside. We
filled 2 giant recycling bins and trash bins just from the stuff in the
entryway to the house. Much of it had its own full ecosystems living and thriving
in it. I'm pretty sure we discovered new species of animals in that house. You
know how you can cut down a tree and look at the rings in the stump and tell
how old it is and how each year was?
Yeah, same thing with Joanne's. There are layers from the floor to the ceiling, and each layer has its own distinct smell and tells us about what kind of year it was. Ah, here you'll see that back in 2007, Joanne had a craving for Marie Calender's pot pies. And a few layers lower you'll notice that Joanne watched a lot of QVC in 2003, based on the layers of unopened As-Seen-On-TV boxes.
I debated calling the local school district and suggesting they bring 3rd grade science classes down there to take sample and study the life there. Then, we uncovered what appeared to be human feces. So we decided maybe we'd had enough for one day. We'll be back next week.
Yeah, same thing with Joanne's. There are layers from the floor to the ceiling, and each layer has its own distinct smell and tells us about what kind of year it was. Ah, here you'll see that back in 2007, Joanne had a craving for Marie Calender's pot pies. And a few layers lower you'll notice that Joanne watched a lot of QVC in 2003, based on the layers of unopened As-Seen-On-TV boxes.
I debated calling the local school district and suggesting they bring 3rd grade science classes down there to take sample and study the life there. Then, we uncovered what appeared to be human feces. So we decided maybe we'd had enough for one day. We'll be back next week.
I am serving the bejeebies out of Tacoma, and still alive to
tell the tale.
I've been in the WA-TAC 14 weeks, and the church is true
here too!
-McQuivalicious
