Prescott Zone Interviews 4/13

 PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR ALL PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT!

This has been a busy, busy month!  If you have not noticed, we have been out and about about every weekday meeting with a zone.
Today was the Prescott/Prescott Valley Zone.  Each zone is named for the stake or stakes it serves.  No zone has more than two stakes, we are SO FORTUNATE!

 We started the day with CAR INSPECTIONS by Elder Rodgers.  It is hard to keep our vehicles clean, and to drive carefully and not too fast, but we try really, really hard!

We had lots of instruction today, about Obedience and White Handbooks...I encourage parents to order one for $1 from LDS.org.  It helps if you know what guidelines your missionary is expected to follow.
 We had instruction on planning our preparation days which was fun.  We had instruction on cleaning apartments including a 40 minute video of our own missionaries showing how to clean everything in an apartment!

Then it was the CLEANING RELAY, annual event for game time with Sister Taylor in April!

 The great Prescott/Prescott Valley Zone!  Front:  Sister Groo, Elders O'Neal, Mason, Skalka, Cardwell.
Middle: Sister Jensen, Elders Nelson, Hall, Severe, Kane, VanKampen, Graybill and Westlund.
Back: Elders D. Jensen, Nielsen, Castanos, Nield, Lane, Handy and Finklea.

HAPPY MARCH and APRIL BIRTHDAYS TO:
Elders Hall, Kane, Westover and D. Jensen!!
This is their silly photo...look at the link for a more serious one :)

After great instruction from zone leaders Nield and O'Neal, President Taylor concluded with the teaching of "LIFT WHERE YOU STAND"

IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE YOU SERVE, BUT HOW AND WHO YOU SERVE.  It does not matter where, what position etc.  It really matters how we do it and for what purpose.

WE LOVE SERVING THE LORD!

PHOENIX N ZONE HIKE 4/13

 I totally forgot to post after hiking with the Phoenix North Zone a couple Mondays ago...
Braden and I joined the zone for an early morning hike up North Mountain Park.  My goal is to hike as many of the local trails as possible while we are here.

I NEVER get tired of being around missionaries!  Their goodness emanates and it is refreshing no matter what we are doing.



It is also just fun to see them in another setting other than training, and to just watch them in action one with another.

You learn that they REALLY ARE THE BEST PEOPLE!

L to R: Sisters Carter and Vallejo, Elders Lemon, Blackburn, Wrigley, Bartleson, Cordero, K. Gerber, Vaoga, E Jones, Wainwright, Buechter, Lutz, Heiner, Blake, Martinsen, and Braden Taylor

Elder Cordero and Wrigley

Sisters Carter and Vallejo

Elder Blackburn eating healthy snacks

Thank goodness for those little tripods and camera timers...  We got a photo up on top with all of us!


This has been the most wonderful spring in the valley, nice and cool!  We know it will not last long, so enjoying it while it lasts!

TEMPLE PROGRESS 2013

        April 2013-  Here is the latest shot of the Arizona Phoenix Temple.  The steeple is now as complete as it will get until Moroni blows his horn sometime next month.

We missed going over last week with all that was going on, and going hiking instead of my weekly run to the temple on Monday.

What a pleasant surprise this Monday to find the steeple complete!










We cannot wait to see the doors and windows!  It is really looking beautiful with all the little spikes (We think they look like agave leaves) coming up from the corners.     




                                     

March 2013


The work was progressing on the steeple.  Some delays due to not having the material ready from Texas, but all in all, going up pretty fast.










And as always, lots going on inside that we cannot see from out here.




















February 2013
Here is a recent aerial shot of the temple.  Gives you a better idea that it is pretty good size.  It does not look that big from the front view.












Just another quick update on how the temple is coming along.


The other day I posted a couple shots trying to show the little corner spike at the back of the temple.  Now they are on all four corners so you can see them better.




We do not know if they are also part of the Agave Leaf design used in the printwork and window design of the temple, but they are really interesting.

There are many variety of agave plants, but they do have a long spiky leaf, and when they bloom, it goes up a tall stem.

Agave nectar is also very commonly used here as a sweetener, like honey.  Good stuff!

December-2012
Mid December they were caught up on placing all the outer walls that they could...the production in Texas could not keep up so they just stopped and worked on the inside until the second week of January.

 Now they are back placing walls...the shorter upper section is pretty much up all around the temple at this point.


How about this rainy and cloudy day??? It really does not look like Phoenix at all, but we love it!















Just the spire will remain to be covered, and they expect to do that over the next couple of months.  This will be difficult as there are many concave and convex shapes on the spire.  It will be beautiful though!

As of December, the lower level of the Phoenix Temple is close to complete in the precast concrete exterior.

 Monday Dec. 3, this is how the front looked.
They were putting on the beginning of the front panels of the patio area on the front of the temple.

The roof of the patio is complete and they were ready for the crowning piece of the entry.

Luckily, Elder Winchell let us know that they would be installing this piece on Tuesday Dec 4 between 7 and 7:30 AM, so I was able to be there to photo document it.
Brother Simonson was also there...but we were the only two other than site workers who were there.  It was amazing!

And up it went.

After they rested it on the ground for a photo op for the site managers, it was hauled back up and onto the porch area.

And HERE IT IS!

HOLINESS TO THE LORD
HOUSE OF THE LORD


This phrase is on most LDS temples, stating what this house is.  It is the Lord's house.
It is a holy place.

 I am grateful for temples and the promises that I have made to follow Jesus Christ, and the blessings that have been promised me in return.  I am experiencing those blessings in great abundance every day with many more in store!

SURPRISE ZONE INTERVIEWS 4/13

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Today we held INTERVIEWS with the Surprise/Surprise N Zone.

If you have been looking at other blog posts, you will know that interviews are held quarterly with the express purpose of President Taylor checking in personally with each missionary.





Every mission around the world may have a different format for holding interviews...and they are all right!

It is a STYLE issue and a DISTANCE issue and a TIME issue.

Lucky for us, we can easily gather one zone at a time to do training with the zone while President does the interviews.

I get to train much of the day, along with CAR INSPECTIONS by Elder Rodgers and training with the ZONE LEADERS. (Elders Robinson and Peterson in this zone)


It was a GREAT day!  We had lots of wonderful key learnings about the importance of extending and keeping commitments...can you see how this principle is eternal in nature?? About Obedience and the WHITE HANDBOOK.

 About PLANNING our preparation days.
About FINDING people to teach.

Wow!  All these things are amazing and helpful for the rest of our lives!

We took a break and played the CLEANING RELAY after watching a 40 minute training video of 52 of our missionaries showing how to do all our DAILY/WEEKLY and MONTHLY CLEANING!  It was a lot of fun!

 This relay race is just for fun and gets the wiggles out.  Games are not just for little kids!


Check out the crazy hands when the elders do not get the yellow gloves on just right...

...and the crazy expressions as we are racing to help our team win.



May I present to you the SURPRISE/SURPRISE NORTH ZONE
Sitting/Kneeling: Elders Pehrson, A. Jensen and Wade, Sisters Muhlestein and Riches.  Row #2: Elder Cardoso, Sisters Chord and Robinson, Elders Robinson, Petersen, Meredith, Maynes, Burgoyne and Loper.
Back row: Elders Scott, Parry, Hughes, Stevens, J. Miller, Sutcliffe and Ja Weeks.

President Taylor ended the day by teaching the principle of LIFT WHERE YOU STAND!

This was taught by President Uchtdorf in conference a while back, and it very true.

IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE YOU SERVE, IT MATTERS HOW AND WHO YOU SERVE.

As our mission changes and grows, and with upcoming boundary changes July 1, we are very aware that we need to be able to serve wherever we are called to serve.  This will be true the rest of our lives.  May we all serve the Lord wherever he calls us and find joy in the journey.  ETERNALLY A FAMILY!!!  Arizona Phoenix Mission!!

PHOENIX SOUTH INTERVIEWS 4/13

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We had a great day with the PHOENIX SOUTH ZONE on Wednesday this week.

It was business as usual, with car and bike inspections.  Our missionaries are expected to keep their vehicles safe and clean.
Elder Rodgers awards them points towards extra miles for keeping clean cars.

 During our day of instruction, we work in a game each interview day...to break things up a bit and have fun together.

April is "SPRING CLEANING" month so we do a cleaning relay game involving all sorts of cleaning implements.

I think tossing the toilet paper into the toilet seat hoop is a favorite!

 IT IS GOOD, CLEAN, FUN!

 Today President Taylor and I faced off after the first total tie between senior and junior companions.
Needless to say...I smoked him:)

 We celebrated March and April birthdays as well.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ELDERS MILLER, HICKS, ARIAS and BORRAYO!!

 Zone Leaders C. Johnson and S. Larsen did a great job with their teaching and skills training.
It is amazing to sit back and watch these missionaries take on leadership and love and guide their zones!
They grow so much!

 Practice teaching is a time of revelation for those that we are teaching in real life.  As we practice teaching principles and methods, we learn what our investigators really need.

 Towards the end of the day, President Taylor and I discussed the upcoming changes with this area of the mission and how boundaries are going to change July 1.  We learned that we are to LIFT WHERE WE STAND!  We are here to serve the Lord wherever that may be.

IT DOE'S NOT MATTER WHERE WE SERVE, BUT HOW and WHO WE SERVE!

 With one hand, we can easily lift something that weighs more than seems humanly possible when we work together!

As part of our spring cleaning, we have also been re-stocking all apartments with anything they may need to bring them up to speed.  The members here in Phoenix have been incredibly generous in donating new or used furniture and housewares that can be used to outfit new apartments for our growing missionary force as well as upgrade existing locations.

Sisters Macy and Haar are loaded down with all sorts of goodies!



The Phoenix S Zone!
Kneeling: Sisters Macy, Pousima, Murdock, Harding, Elders Gaspar, Hicks and Arias.  Standing: Sisters Haar, Jenson, Flint, Elders Absher, Hyer, T. Miller, S. Larsen, Alvey, Goff, Keene, Borrayo and C. Johnson.