Christmas Eve Zone Activity

 The Peoria Zone asked if they could hold a Zone Activity at the Mission Home today...and we consented.  Little did I think how busy our day was to fit that in, but it was a lot of fun!

 The nice thing was, they did most of the cooking; bringing the turkey, potatoes, fruit and dessert.  I was IMPRESSED!!!
I provided the stuffing, leftover green bean casserole, rolls and water...oh, and I made gravy when the turkey arrived.

 It was a feast!  They all got a wonderful Christmas Dinner.
They got to play basketball or Bocce ball before lunch.

And they hosted a white elephant gift exchange and ugly sweater contest.

 I think Elder Graybill won for the most creative gift...as simple as it was...a CUCUMBER!
We laughed so much!
We also joked around that if I immerse it in vinegar long enough..maybe it will turn into a pickle (OK, you have to know Elder Bednar's talk about cucumbers and pickles to get that one...read it, it is great!)

There were some hot items that got stolen several times, and it was all around a lot of fun!

By default, Elder Burden won the ugly sweater contest!  I think he looks darling!  You cannot see it, but he has sparkles on his sweater!!

Thank you Peoria/ Peoria North Zone for a very fun afternoon activity!
WE LOVE OUR MISSIONARIES, EVERY ONE!!!

SANTA EXPRESS

 Sunday after Church we loaded up the Transfer Van to take Christmas goodies to all the Zone Leaders to distribute to some of our missionaries.

 The van was packed to the brim with donated gift bags and the recent mail that had come in on Friday and Saturday.

 I had the bright idea to decorate the van to look like a reindeer...but had not been able to find one of those kits, so I made my own.  It worked.


Scott humored me.



Here we are after loading up and we are READY TO ROLL!

We spent all afternoon and evening delivering Christmas Cheer through the mission.

WE THANK THE STAKES THAT DONATED GIFT BAGS to help make this holiday even more special.  We are blessed to serve where we are supported by the members in an incredible way!
WE THANK YOU PARENTS who also donated towards some particular Christmas needs.
MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!

DEVIL'S BRIDGE

 Saturday we took Christmas packages up to the Cottonwood and Prescott Zones...and while we were in the area of SEDONA, we went on a hike we had been wanting to go on...













TO DEVIL'S BRIDGE!!

It was an incredibly nice day, especially for up north, and we were able to go it without needing much by way of jackets.

 Lots of time to walk and talk.

 From a distance, after walking about 1.7 miles, we saw the natural bridge.  It was AMAZING!

We got someone to take a family photo partway up at a good viewpoint...can you say "Next Year's Christmas Card?"










 The little girl in the family taking the photo wanted us to put our hands up...so we humored her!

 We enjoyed the natural steps of the red rock as we got closer up to the bridge.

 Braden played photog as we went out onto the arch.  It looks super scary and narrow from above...but when you are out on it, it is not bad, wider than it looks for sure!
With a couple of height challenged family members, we were very cautious!








But we did get Bre to go back out when we saw the view of the arch from the other side as we came back off...it was spectacular!

And she showed her enthusiasm with a leap of faith!

 We are loving exploring the trails of our mission area here in Arizona!  Come hike with us!  There are many more places we want to go!

MESA TEMPLE TRIP---DATE NIGHT

 We had a very special experience last weekend going over to Mesa to the Temple with our friends, the Janulis and Kings.

This was a date we had planned for a long time.

The Janulis had been working with the Kings on collecting their own family history names to take to the temple.  As recent converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they can go to the temple to do baptisms for their family members who have passed away without the Gospel in their lives.
We can all help our own or our friends' with their ancestor names.

 We spent a wonderful evening together all doing family history names in the temple.  It reminds us of the promises we each made to follow Jesus Christ when we were baptized.
We are also reminded of the blessings we were promised and that we see being fulfilled in our lives as a result.
We are changing and growing each day!
What a special experience to offer the blessings of eternal life to our family.  We felt the Holy Ghost so strong as we participated in the temple.

 

  As we came out, the temple was now lit up and so beautiful!

Dana and Ed are dear friends and it was amazing being in the temple with them.  We look forward to many more times in the temple together!
My greatest desire is to be with my family and friends with God and Jesus for the eternities.  I know this can be so as I follow Jesus Christ; follow his example to be baptized and to keep his commandments.
The temple is a great reminder of the love Heavenly Father has for each of us.  He wants to bless us!

  Next to the temple is the Visitor Center with the light display and nativity displays.

 See how pretty the lights are near the Visitor Center and looking towards the temple?

 There are life-size nativity displays on the grounds that you can walk around to view.

 And look who happened to be at the Visitor Center with some recent converts...our own dear Elder Vaoga...he was one of the first to teach Dana last winter and is a dear friend of their family now.

Crowds of visitors were in the Visitor Center listening to a choir since it was rainy outside.


It was a beautiful night with our best of friends.
We were in the best place we could possibly be.
It just gets BETTER AND BETTER!

We are so glad to be part of each others' journey!

CHRISTMAS CONFERENCE DAY #2

 PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR ALL PHOTOS OF THIS DAY!  THERE ARE INDIVIDUAL PHOTOS OF YOUR MISSIONARY WITH SANTA (if they would consent to do them) AND ZONE PICTURES.  THERE ARE SOME PHOTOS WITH US ON TEMPLE GROUNDS AFTER OUR TEMPLE SESSION.
ENJOY!


We had another wonderful day of ZONE CONFERENCE with the Glendale Zone, Phoenix Zone, Phoenix South Zone, Phoenix North Zone, Prescott Zone and Cottonwood Zones.

 We spent the morning learning together about the Wise Men and the meaning of the GIFTS they brought to Jesus Christ and his family.   We had musical numbers all day that were AMAZING!

 As I do in most every zone conference, I am to teach a health or practical skill to the missionaries.  Today was about upper respiratory...hence the very fun skit titled "MAN COLD!"  It was super fun! President and the Assistants were great sports  in participating :)

Our mission is SO MUSICAL!  We love to sing, and it was great to sing carols together during the conference.

 At lunchtime we took fun CHRISTMAS PHOTOS of each zone.  Click on the line above to see all the photos!
We do have fun!

 At lunch we also ate a wonderful meal provided by the Glendale Stake...we eat really well and appreciate their help so very much!

After lunch, we had SPECIAL VISITORS!



Our son Braden and daughter Breannna helped out as Santa and Elf to give some Christmas gifts and for a photo op.
(See link above for all missionaries with Santa)

 OUR FAVORITE ELF AND SANTA!

 We celebrated December birthdays for Elders McCauley (His is January but he will be home before then :(   ), Elders Killian, Gorham, Wilson, Elcock, O'Neal, Weston and Barber.
HAPPY DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS!

 We finished lunchtime with our special thank you song and then our fight song.

We then finished the day learning about the Atonement of Jesus Christ, about the prophet Joseph Smith whose birthday we celebrate on December 23, and learning some of the endings of the conversion stories of some of our Preach My Gospel DVD friends.
It was a very special day.

 In the afternoon, we all went over to the Mesa Temple to do work there to help those who are not able to go to the temple themselves.  We learn as we make promises with God.  The blessings of serving in the Temple are very real.

Afterwards, when we came outside, it was dark and the beauty of the lights near the Visitor Center there was apparent.  Our missionaries got to browse the grounds and we took pictures with those that came by where we were.

 Braden had fun with our camera taking photos of many of his missionary friends!  They have missed him while he has been up in Utah attending high school this fall.

 It was not so cold this night as Wednesday...so a winter jacket was not a requirement...a sweater would do.  I was just glad I got to wear my coat even once since I have been here.









It was wonderful having our youngest children at the temple.  They did baptisms for some who died without the opportunity to be baptized, an essential ordinance to enter into God's kingdom.

We are grateful this time of year to know that through Faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, we can continue to change to be more like Him.  We can act on the promises we made when we were baptized, we can follow the Spirit as it helps us make better choices each day.  We are eternally grateful for our Savior, his birth, his life, his mission and ministry and how our lives are BETTER because of Him whose birth we celebrate!  MERRY CHRISTMAS!  May we serve Him all year round!

MERRY CHRISTMAS CONFERENCE DAY#1

 CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR ALL PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT INCLUDING  YOUR MISSIONARY WITH ZONE PICTURE AND SANTA.  ONLY PART CAME TO TAKE PICTURES WITH US AT THE TEMPLE.  

Wednesday we had the first of two Christmas Zone Conferences.  Half of the Arizona Phoenix Mission was in attendance including Glendale North/Deer Valley Zone, Surprise Zone, West Maricopa Zone, Buckeye/Goodyear Zone and Peoria/Peoria North Zone

 We had musical numbers mixed in throughout the day and they really brought the Spirit and atmosphere of Christmas.

 We made sure to have some Christmas hymn singing as well.
Our mission is very musical!

During lunch we took zone photos with our Christmas props.  Click on the link above to see your missionary's zone photo.

 Part of the decorations included notes written by children of the ward and they were really sweet and heartfelt!

 Lunch is one of our favorite times to catch up with friends and share a meal together.

 And at the end of lunch we had a special visitor...SANTA!!!

 Santa had an elf along today...who was perfect for the Sisters to sit on!


THANKS RODGERS!!!

 Our Mission Fight Song was great!

 And we celebrated our December birthdays!

After lunch we had our afternoon session including more music...and more great instruction.

It was a very spiritual day!
We learned about the gifts of the wisemen and the value they held.

We learned about the Prophet Joseph Smith and attributes he had.

We learned about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

We learned the "rest of the story" for some of our favorite Preach My Gospel teaching situations.

 Then it was off to the Mesa Temple to go serve the Lord there as a mission.  Nothing can compare to being in the temple with those that you love...knowing we can be together as family and friends FOREVER!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is so simple and so beautiful.  We know how it will end.  It is just up to us to choose the right to make the most of this time on earth.

 We took time with whichever missionaries wanted photos with us after our temple time.
Once again, there are many more photos through the link at the top.

 Back in Glendale, we met to distribute the current packages and mail along with a food delivery.

And we posed for a COAT PICTURE!  This was a red letter day for me...the first time I got to wear my winter coat since we arrived in Phoenix almost 18 months ago!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

We are doing what we need to do to keep the Spirit of Christmas all year round...sharing what Jesus Christ came to earth to teach us!

WE LOVE YOU!