RANGELY, COLORADO!

 

On the bus ride to Rangely

I am in Rangely! It is as far into the middle of nowhere as anything could be! On Thursday I woke up at 5 am, loaded onto the transfer bus at 6 am, and drove about 4 hours to Rife, CO. There I met my new companion, Sister Sarah Craig from Lehi, Utah. We were given our vehicle, a 2022 Nissan Frontier (aka a fetchin' TRUCK!) and instructed to take the main road west until we saw a sign for "Rangely" from there it would only be about 30 minutes until we reached town.  So Sister Craig and I started on the journey, doubled back because I forgot one of my bags at the church, and then started again! When we arrived, we found our house; (Yes, an actual house. Like the whole thing. All ours.) ...which had a trashcan overflowing and trash on the ground outside. It was certainly not a great first impression from the Elders who lived there before, but I imagined that the trash outside meant they had cleaned up inside. 

When we opened the front door, the scene in front of us was as dismal as one could imagine. To quote my sweet companion, "It's hell. I've walked into hell." Heaps of trash, were found in every corner. Random crap- broken chairs, a cracked rim of a car wheel, heaps of cardboard boxes, golf clubs, disintegrated balloons- littered the front living room and kitchen. A thick film of dirt covered the floor and dust covered everything else. The rugs looked like they had never been vacuumed, and the table was covered in a sticky, greasy film seasoned with the usual crumbs. In the kitchen, the cupboards and fridge were also covered in a sticky, greasy yellow. So okay, they don't wipe things down. But at least they didn't leave us any dirty dishes in the sink! I open the cupboards to find the dishes are heaped in disorganized piles. I remove a plate from the cupboard and find the same grimy residue coats the "clean" dishes. My one thought at this point was, "How on earth are these Elders still ALIVE?" 

Chunks of food remains were also to be found in the cupboards, especially on the silverware. At this point, I moved on from the kitchen out of sheer overwhelm. Moving to the bedroom I found the mattress protectors still on the bed, covered with hair and dirt. The carpet looked like it had never been vacuumed, and trash was behind each bed. The closets were covered in the same dirt/dust. We were puzzled to find that every window in the house- bedroom, bathroom, laundry room, kitchen- had been covered with cardboard boxes. The bathroom had a broom in the corner- a sign that someone had attempted to clean. But I believe they swept and then gave up based on the rest of the bathroom. There was no clean place to put our luggage, so we simply left it in the bed of the truck. 

We located trash bags and cleaners; there seemed to be plenty of each, presumably because they had never been used. Much to Sister Craig's relief, we also found rubber gloves. I began collecting the trash out of the apartment, and my companion went to scrub the tub. 

We spent 4.5 hours cleaning before Sister Craig came to me distraught. She began to cry saying she didn't want to sleep here, we hadn't had lunch ( which was true, and it was now 6 pm), she was so angry with the Elders, and it was all too much. Then she asked me how I was so calm. I just hugged her, apologized for not realizing (as the senior companion should) that there were some basic needs to attend to here, and explained that for whatever reason, when everything is falling apart I am well; when everything is well, I pick myself apart. She cried and we laughed. I handed her a bottle of Propel- the one redeeming deed of the Elders was leaving us food and Propel- and told her to sit down and drink while I put a pot of rice on the stove. At that point, we hadn't evaluated the food in the fridge and cupboard, so I wasn't sure what we could trust. But I knew I could make rice. So I washed a measuring cup, a pot and a lid. When the water was boiling, I added the rice and realized I hadn't washed a spoon with which to stir. 

Just at that moment there was a knock on the door. Still red-faced and weepy, my companion answered and a large old man with a kindly expression stepped inside. As I tried to wash and rinse a spoon, he introduced himself as Br. Sims, a member of the Church, our neighbor, and our landlord. The house was his mother's and his own childhood home. We chatted lightly as I dashed to stir the rice and found I had just added soap to the recipe. Grabbing the pot and putting it in the sink, I shifted my focus to attempting good conversation and hostess practices, but realized I couldn't so much as offer him a cup of water for lack of a clean glass. He didn't seem to notice my frazzled state rather just expressed excitement to have Sisters in Rangely. He was sweet and comforting to Sister Craig as he explained that the nearest grocery store was an hour and a half drive from Rangely. (Well, for missionaries that is. Locals drive to Vernal, UT which is only about 35 min. But that's outside of our mission, so we have to drive to Craig.) The missionaries in Rangely go grocery shopping on Tuesday after District Council which takes place in Craig anyway. But seeing as it was Thursday, we wouldn't be going to Craig for a while. Br. Sims continued with all the stern love of a concerned grandfather-figure, "If you don't have any supper, you come right next door. Me and my wife would LOVE to have you over, and if I find out you've been going hungry, I will be VERY. UPSET." His warmth was a light in an otherwise dismal situation. We apologized for the state in which the Elders left the house and promised to fix it. He politely waved away our apologies and reaffirmed that if we ever needed ANYTHING, we should come right over to him and Theresa. 

After he left, we made another pot of rice. Rice with soy sauce, some deli turkey and propel was enough to carry us through. I had spent about an hour vacuuming our bedroom, so we moved our luggage in there. We set up our beds and put a few things into the closet. That room quickly became our refuge, the one place in our house we didn't have to wear shoes. We would spend the next 3 days cleaning; Sister Craig spent 4 hours scrubbing the tub alone, so enjoy those before and after pics! 

Now that the house is clean, I've grown quite fond of it! The 70's wood paneling on the walls reminds me of my childhood home in Wrightwood, CA and the gas stove is a luxury I haven't had as a missionary these last 13 months. The Elders left lots of good food; almost nothing had expired. So we will have plenty to eat, despite district council being moved to this Thursday. Our welcome to Rangely as a whole has been so warm! Our ward is full of incredibly missionary minded members! Our first Sunday 3 unbaptized children attended church! Two sisters-eleven and nine years old- who came with their mother. Their father is not a member and the situation has been delicate with missionaries in the past. However, Sisters are known for having a gentler touch, and Sister Craig and I have already agreed that we aren't the guns-a-blazin', get baptized this weekend sort of missionaries.  The third unbaptized child is 11 turning 12, has a firm testimony and wants to be baptized, but her father has forbidden it until she is 13. Her mother is a member and the whole ward is working to support them. We talked with our Bishop extensively about these three girls (who are friends, by the way) and we are excited to be the softer missionaries that these families and this ward has been hoping for. 

We are also working with the many new members that are in the ward to help find new people to teach! One of them, a woman named Sis. King, is so gung-ho about missionary work, she gave us 4 potentials on the spot and told us all about our current teaching pool because she had already met several of them. Her information was much appreciated, for it seems the Elders were not exactly vigorous note takers.

All in all, I think Rangely is my favorite area yet!!!

My new mailing address is:

151 S White Ave.

Rangely, CO 81648