Day 190 continued...Tickle Me Elder Pierce

Thanks for the kinds words, Elder Pierce2. Oh man, I'm beat. I've spent my whole p-day packing up my things. It's so stressful. You have NO idea.

I have my two big suitcases, both of which are full to the brim. One has all of my clothes. The other one has my big, blue comforter along with my blender and my air popcorn popper-you know-the essentials.

In addition to that I have one carry-on bag, my rolling suitcase and my backpack full of stuff. The good news is that I'm all packed now. Well, except for a few odds and ends... but I'll worry about that later. Right now we're going to go have dinner with Sister B and her family.

Happy Thing for Day 190-The Whole Evening! starting with dinner. We had dinner with Sister B. It was wonderful. Sister B always fixes the best food. I told Sister B that I was getting transferred tomorrow. She was sad to hear that. She is not a big crybaby (like me), but I knew how much we were going to miss each other.

"Well," she said, "before you leave, let me give you a going-away present." "A present! For me?, I thought. I also thought (just for a moment) where am I going to pack it, but that quickly faded. I was so happy that Sister B would think enough of me to get me a present.

"First, look at this," she said. "It's a clue as to what your present is." She showed me a copy of a page from my journal that I gave her a while back. It was of Day 108. That was one of the first days that I spent with my companion, Elder Pierce. This was the day that I introduced him to Sister B. We talked about him working at Toys R Us. I made a joke about a "Tickle Me" Elmo/Elder Pierce doll. Sister B asked me what I thought my surprise was. "You got me a "Tickle Me Elmo?" I asked. "No," said Sister B. No way! Those new 10th Anniversary dolls are like $40." "No, here's what I got you," she said. She put a colorful bag on the table. I picked up the bag and opened it. I pulled out the present inside. "It's your very own Tickle Me Elder Pierce!" she said. "Where did you get this?" I asked in amazement. "I made it," she said. "No way," I said. "You didn't make this!" "Well, she said, I got some of the parts from the Teddy Bear Workshop." I was still in shock. It was an Elmo doll in a dress shirt and dress pants, nice black shoes. He had a name tag that said "Future Missionary-Raise the Bar." In his right hand he held a little black Book of Mormon. He also had a back-pack. "I made that back-pack myself," said Sister B. "It's one of a kind." "You're one of a kind, Sister B."

Sister B told me that this was an older model. It was marked way down. She got it at Wal-Mart. My companion asked Sister B if this Elmo talked. "Well," she said, "that's the problem. They had all shapes and sizes. This was the only one that would fit the clothes. And to answer your quesiton, this one does talk and sing."

My companion squeezed Elmo's left hand. Elmo sang: "Yea! Elmo uses the Potty!" "Yeah," said Sister B, that's the Potty-Training Elmo doll." Oh, this is so funny! I have an Elmo doll that's dressed up like a missionary, and when you squeeze his hand, he talks to you about how proud he is that he is using the potty. Now, bathroom humor is NOT one of my favorite forms of comedy. It's probably one of my least, but coming from Sister B, this works. I think this is funny! I have a missionary-in-training. Potty training, that is.

I told Sister B how MUCH I appreciated her gift and that I would always treasure it. "You're welcome, Elder Pierce," she said.

She had a gift for my companion, too. It was an envelope with some writing on the outside that said, "Press Here." The envelop started to laugh like Elmo. "Okay, now you can open it," she said. It was a gift card from Target. "It's a limited edition Tickle Me Elmo gift card. It laughs when you press the button. I would have tried to make you a doll, too, but I could not find another one small enough to fit the clothes. If you can find one that's about the size of your companion's, I'll make you one, too."

Sister B has been so nice to the missionaries. I'll treasure my Potty-Training Tickle Me Elder Pierce doll always. I just wish I had time to make Sister B something before I go. I'll have to settle for writing a thank-you note. For now. I've done so many fun things with Sister B and she has helped me so much. I can remember the new bike light she got me on Day 137 and the breakfast for dinner that we had with her and her family (Day 145), not forgetting the Elmo cake that we had for dessert tonight. That was fun. Good times. I will miss Sister B.