Lillies and Shopping

Shana is the best deal finder and fashion consultant, so it makes sense that I would enlist her to help me accomplish the tricky task of shopping for missionary clothing. We went for our first round of shopping yesterday and the task, which I assumed would be extremely challenging, was a whole lot simpler than I expected. And that is pretty much because Shana is the bestest.

Anyway, we were finding deals left and right, but the catch of the day was by far the boots. Because I'll be spending the next two springs and winters in Salt Lake, a good pair of boots is imperative. After all, in that part of the state it can potentially be very chilly and from October-June there's a risk of snow and slush. The list of items needed describes the boots very specifically and at Nordstrom's Rack we found several pairs that qualified in a general sort of way. However, Shana found what she felt were the perfect boots: black leather, with thick rubber soles, great arch support, sheep skin lining, and made just dressy enough by low heels. I wasn't sold on them though. Like a lot of items produced by Uggs & Co., there were little details that made them a bit showier than I liked, e.g. gold colored zipper in the back, little silver nails around the tip of the boot that look like rhinestones (apparently they're supposed to show the boot is "well-made"), and the brown rather than black heel. Shana pointed out that the good attributes far outweighed the negative and she assured me that the $170 I would be spending for these originally $600 boots was well worth it. It wasn't too difficult to convince me of the beauty of the bargain. So we proceeded to make the largest single purchase of my life (yup). The cashier rang up the boots last and to both of our surprise $0.01 appeared on the screen. We paused, and then she announced, after scanning it again with the same result, the company policy was that they must sell all items for the price that comes up when they're scanned. So... I basically got a pair of  $600 boots, made in Italy, for one hard earned penny.

Fancy Schmancy

It is probably no surprise that funding has been my biggest worry about the mission from the very beginning of the decision process, and not just what needs to be paid while I'm in the field, but everything I have to buy before I even go. But everything has been falling perfectly into place, and this latest tender mercy has made Christ's Sermon on the Mount very real.

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

(Matthew 6:28-30, 34)