EXCITING MISSION ORGANIZATION

MISSION REALIGNMENT: At mission transfers Wednesday, we announced several organizational realignments.

• We took the largest zone - the 33-missionary Phoenix Zone, serving the Phoenix Arizona Stake - and created two zones of 17 and 16 missionaries respective, the Phoenix and Phoenix South zones, both serving the same stake.
• We took two of our next largest zones - the Peoria/West Maricopa and Peoria North/Surprise zones - and created a third zone. The new zones are: the West Maricopa Zone, serving the stake of the same name; the Surprise/Surprise North Zone, serving the two same-named stakes; and the Peoria/Peoria North Zone, serving the two Peoria stakes.
• We also took some of our largest districts - some with 10 and 12 missionaries each - and divided them.

The hope is to get more zone and district leaders working directly with a smaller set of their missionaries more often and giving the leaders themselves more time to work in their own proselyting areas.

TRANSFERS JULY 2011

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We had TRANSFERS along with our new arrivals to the mission. It was so energizing to see so many of our missionaries in the same place!

I loved seeing the new missionaries with their trainers; getting to know a new best friend.

Sister Watson and Sister Kigueta learning about each other...

President chatting with Elder Johnson and Burden...trainers and trainees...

Elder Bolton and Killian put their heads together.

Elder Cannon and Griessman share a light moment together!

The lawn outside the church with transfer goods.

Elder Egan helps move a bike...

Yay! Everyone got out to their new areas and BACK TO WORK!

CALL OUT THE BOMB SQUAD!

This innocent looking bag was the subject of a lot of airport security as we picked up our new missionaries...here is the story...

If you notice the previous photos, you will see one of our missionaries holding this cute, smiling, red bag. The funny thing is that it was just given to them by three of our departing missionaries before they boarded the flight back to Salt Lake. Usually the missionaries do not see each other, but because of the delay, they crossed paths...and shared the goodies!
Well, the bag got left by the baggage carrousel, and as we came back by to head out to the trailer, a security guard asked us if it was ours...there were about four security people there with walkie-talkies...and as we claimed it, they called off the dogs that were on their way to sniff it out for bombs! So funny!
So, our Elder Bolton (who had carried the bag back into the terminal), and Elder Larsen, created this beautiful masterpiece tray with the goodies inside!

FIRST ARRIVALS

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It was with great anticipation that we awaited our first arrivals to the Arizona Phoenix Mission! And, we were blessed with not only one flight to greet...but with THREE! Two were supposed to come at the same time, but as luck would have it, the largest group was delayed over an hour so we were able to greet all three flights in person.
The first two flights brought us Elders Gerber and Northrup, both so excited to be here! Our Braden on the far right, enjoyed wearing his new nametag and looking the part of a missionary as well.
We sent the first two missionaries with assistants to the office and met the large group from Salt Lake. Sisters Overy and Watson in front. Middle row: President, Sister Taylor, Elder Robinson and Brame. Back row: Elders Neves, Hamblin, Burden, Weston, Tucker, Larsen, Estes, Johnson and Bolton.
After a visit and orientation at the mission office, we headed to the mission home. We took pictures out front and then again in back with our mission flag.
We have a new logo for the mission while we are here that focuses on the building of the new Phoenix Temple, due to be completed while we are here!

All our new missionaries signed the flag...

wrote letters home...

signed their quilt block for our mission "Temple Quilt"...

And, I even talked some of them into being brave enough to go on a run in the Phoenix heat the next morning! Elders Larsen, Hamblin, Gerber, Robinson and Bolton took the challenge.

We LOVED having the new missionaries in our home overnight! It filled our home with love, music and the Spirit! WELCOME TO THE PHOENIX ARIZONA MISSION!

FIRST DEPARTURES

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Elder Gibson's got it right with the little license plate on his very duct-taped bike!

Elder Gibson's parents were coming to pick him up, so he had a LOT OF STUFF!

Here is the fine group of missionaries that we had to say good-bye to.

Front: Sisters Kunz and Urias

Middle: Elders Gibson, Harker, Gibby, Seiber and Sundles

Back: Elders Klemme, Brase, Ray, Oesterle, Tripp and Tanner

There was LOTS of good food and the house was filled with conversation...something we have missed a lot with our older children staying in Utah.
Sister Taylor also got to cook for a crowd which made her really happy as well!
SURPRISE! That 18 months and those 2 years just flew by for these missionaries! They have given their all...and have promised us that this is just the beginning of lifelong lives of service!
We could not believe how attached we had become in only three weeks since our arrival. Especially to Elder Jason Brase, who was one of our Assistants and spent the last four weeks helping us learn the ropes of this wonderful mission.

We cried all the way to the airport to send them home to you. THANK YOU for your service to the Lord, and to you parents who raised such wonderful children! May the Lord bless you!

A Concert and a Wedding

This week we were able to get out to several activities with the missionaries including an amazing concert performed by the missionaries serving with our own talented Elder Pryor!I would say to look for the missionary wearing the red tie to find him...but they all color coordinated for the event! Elder Pryor is in the center of this group. It was fun for Braden and I to get out and support their event and see their great enthusiasm and love for the Lord through music.

Above is a photo of sisters Briggs and Belnap after the concert with ward friends/mission leaders.
We also took time to join a set of our Spanish-speaking sisters; Graves and Okeson, in attending the wedding of one of their investigators. Rafael will be baptized this week! Here they are not only with the happy couple, Berenicia and Rafael, but with yet another investigator that came to the reception. They had two investigators join them at the reception dinner! Good job sisters!

FIRST TEMPLE TRIP

We had a wonderful afternoon at the Mesa Temple with our Mission Assistants. We had to begin planning transfers early this month due to the temple closing for summer break.Elders Perkins & Brase, Sister and President Taylor, Elders Miles and Falconer July 15, 2011

SOME ZONE ACTIVITIES July 2011

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We have had so much fun getting to know our missionaries...and for Sister Taylor to get to know her new phone that has a really cool camera!! Our first zone activity was Monday July 11 with the Peoria North/Surprise zone.

Here are some of the fun "ART SHOTS" that I took with my new camera phone...Sisters Glenn and Kolo were my first "victims." They are even cuter in person!
Next I captured the magic of Elder Kelley's old-school typewriter that he brought to write letters on. VERY COOL!
Sister Burton kept score when she was not playing...
...and Elder Jensen brought his own camera to document the activity.
And the high honors of the GOLDEN SHUTTLECOCK TROPHY went to Elder Brase and Elder Perkins, presented by Elder Turner.

The following Monday, July 18, I got to take Braden to two different zone activities...no laundry for me on P-days!!! I get to shuttle Braden to play with the missionaries! Much more fun than sorting lights and darks!
We spent the morning with the Deer Valley/Glendale North zone for volleyball and basketball...

...then to listen to the song practice of Sister Swallow and Elder Giles with Sister Zollinger on the piano...BEAUTIFUL...

...and the afternoon with the Peoria N./Maricopa zone for yet more volleyball, basketball and DEATHBALL!! I saw a few lives pass before my eyes during this activity! But Braden was in heaven with his mission friends!
He made the day of Elders Catlett and Grady when he wore his North Carolina tee shirt! Friends for life!! THANKS to our Missionary friends for accepting Braden and letting him play!

INTERVIEWS

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We have had a whirlwind of a mission tour the past week! The Arizona Mission currently has 9 zones spread out over the mission. We met with all nine zones starting with the largest Phoenix zone. What an amazing group of enthusiastic missionaries!
We had them all introduce themselves and then broke into stations to do some tasks...
Like writing letters to the Becks thanking them for their tireless service over the past three years!
President Taylor taught the principle of "Obedience is like an onion" and gave each missionary a "gift" of an onion to remember this principle of looking deep inside to find the true reasons we are obedient.
We think our missionaries will never look at an onion the same way again!

In each zone we went to, we had the missionaries do several things...We had each missionary sign a quilt block that Sister Taylor will sew. It will be a picture of the new Phoenix Temple that is just beginning construction here in our mission.
We really enjoyed just visiting with and relaxing a little with our wonderful missionaries.
One of our stations was our new Mission Flag. Our son Austin is a graphic designer and we asked him to design a flag based on the mission logo that would focus on our new temple being built here. It turned out really nice!
Lots of enthusiasm and welcoming smiles from our missionaries!
What can we say...we have the best missionaries in the world!!

More creative quilt block signings...
More letter writing...
More people to LOVE! We love our missionaries and we are so grateful for how prepared they are to serve! Thank you parents and friends for the impact you have had and continue to have on these amazing people!

First "FAMILY P-DAY"

We received some timely counsel from the apostles at our New Mission President Seminar about how to conduct ourselves on our Family Preparation days and specifically when we go out as a family or on dates. We were told to "blend in with the crowd" so we did just that.We first drove past the temple site for the Phoenix temple that is just beginning construction(we are SO EXCITED!), and then over to Mesa to the beautiful temple there. This was the hottest day of the summer so far...about 117 degrees, but the temple was just beautiful and we really enjoyed it.
We are so grateful to have Braden with us on this mission! He has been a really good sport to go with us on all our preparations and to dinners with ward members and area leaders. What an amazing young man to "go and do the things the Lord commands" at such a young age!

We were excited to see a couple of our missionaries over at the visitor center with some new members...they looked sharp and had no idea who we were in our street clothes...pretty exciting to see them in action! (Elders Whitlock and Anhder)