SPECIAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE May 2013

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We were so blessed to have a special leadership conference with guests from Salt Lake while they were in the area this week.

We have worked several times with Tracy Watson, Director of Proselyting in the Church, and begged for the chance to have him and his companions meet with us this week.

 Our missionaries were thrilled to hear not only from Tracy, but from Brother Donaldson...known to ALL missionaries from the "DISTRICT 2" DVDs used in training of missionaries.  He was Mission President in California during the filming of one of his mission's districts which is now famous.

 You can see from the expressions on the faces of our missionaries that they were really being engaged and affected.

 It was very exciting to spend the entire day learning and practicing what we learned together.

 One of the skills we focused on was using the Church's pamphlets in teaching.  We have taught how important visuals are, and this was just the perfect follow-up.

 The teaching needs to be simple and easy.  Using our senses to see how what we see and hear makes us feel.

This is how the Holy Ghost speaks to our hearts and souls.
I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true.  Everything testifies of a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to return to live with him as families.

We had a lunch break as usual...and we discovered we had TWINS separated at birth!  Check out the retro suits!


Oh, by the way, one of them really IS a twin! Lucky brother!

 We now have SIX SISTER TRAINING LEADERS!!
Welcome to Sister Mejia, Sister Folsom, Sister Pickett, Sister Fluckiger, Sister Follett and Sister Baumgartner!  They make sure whatever we train on gets to the Sisters through exchanges.  They are on the ball for sure!
Before they left the meeting today, they had planned how and what to make sure they focused on in their exchanges this month!

And, of course, the Elders all love a good meal together!

 Today I got to bring all the food...since it was an unexpected meeting and we did not have a ward or stake assigned to feed us.
Believe me, I appreciate our wonderful OFFICE SISTERS who came to help out!

It is important that I am in the meetings to know what is being taught and to be involved, since I go out and teach and train with the Sisters.

 We treated our office Sisters with the traditional thank you song "Army of Helaman" along with our MISSION FIGHT SONG!







The Assistants do a great job leading the songs!

President & Sister Taylor with Brothers Watson, Donaldson and Dittmar from the Missionary Department.

Here we are after having our visitors sign the Mission Flag.

New Assistant May 2013

 Change is constant here in the APM.

We just sent home Elder Griffin, our former Assistant to the President and we now welcome Elder Austin Bartleson to join Elder Talon Campbell as Assistants to President Taylor.
WELCOME ELDER BARTLESON!

Elder Bartleson grew up in Florida, then his family moved to Utah.
He and Elder Campbell really got put through the wringer this week with Transfers then a couple of special leadership meetings...this is how we feel most of the time! Exhausted and Dazed!
We are so blessed to have humble and teachable and lovable Assistants!

These Elders really "obediently love and serve" as our Mission Statement says!

MAY VISITORS 2013

 We started May with visits from missionary families and Returned Missionaries!

Friday we met the Bryant Family who were here for a very short stopover, but took the time to come see us at the Mission Home.

We met Jena, Rily and Brin, Elder Bryants little sisters...except that Jena is taller than me at age 12!!
What a great family with lots of faith!  Now we know part of the reason that Elder Bryant is so amazing!

Saturday night we met Brandon Johnson...formerly Elder Johnson, and his great parents!  Oh how good it was to see Brandon again in person!  He is just as happy as ever and doing great things.
Missions bring out the best and help us grow, and we love seeing the "down the road" of our returned missionaries!  Thanks so much for coming back!

 Saturday morning we hiked over at White Tank with Michael Gould, another great RM.

We saw two mule deer on our way into the canyon...

 ...enjoyed the "pool of living water" D&C 133:29 our mission scripture (We know it was living because it was green) ...

...and loved being together in such a beautiful place.  You cannot see well, but behind us is a rock covered with petroglyphs.






So great to visit with Michael and to see how happy he is and what good goals and plans he has to reach his vision!














More visitors this second week of May!  We were thrilled that Clark Keele would bring over his new bride, Emily to meet us.  They were married last weekend and came back to Phoenix for their honeymoon!  And the weather was great, nice and cool evenings still this year!  So great to spend time visiting with them.  They are off to a great start!

The third week in May brought us a visit from ANDY PEARSON!  We have missed his smile and enthusiasm so much!  He hung out with us and helped us with projects as he was here for several days.  He looks great and is doing great!








We invited over some special people in his family's lives, the Mission President and Wife from his parents mission!  The Cannons were delightful to visit with.  They were a young family when they served that mission, so we can only imagine how it feels to have the CHILDREN of your missionaries faithfully serving in the Church!  That will be the true test of how successful we are as Mission President and Wife!




We had a couple more visitors this weekend.  First we got to meet Jonathan Romrells cute Mom and grandma!  They were in town and stopped by to see us.  They were delightful.  I can see why Elder Romrell was so energetic and creative!  It runs in the family!

Next we got a call from Jacob Baldree who was in town for the weekend.  We were so excited to see him for one because we love him, and also because he is in our son Bradens Book of Mormon class at BYU and he has been such a good friend to him!
He is as happy and wonderful as ever! We invited him to join us with some friends to go to a favorite taco stand from his mission days...Waldos! Yum!

 May has been so much fun!
We were delighted to have some friends from our home ward in Provo come by this week.
The Robbins have been friends...FOREVER :)

It was so good to get caught up on things in the neighborhood and see how happy they are serving in their BYU ward and other service and job opportunities.

 We led them over to the Phoenix Temple site so they could see our beautiful temple.  It has been a great journey to see it rise from bare ground.












We also had some beautiful visitors around the same time...former Sister Anderson, now Jennica, along with two beautiful daughters of a recent convert family...Indara and Kimberly who I went to teach a couple weeks ago with our current Sister missionaries.  It was SO FUN to see them again!

 We came back to the house and baked tollhouse cookies...and ate a good share of them!

I keep inviting myself to the girls baptism...Just waiting for a date :)  LOVE YOU!!

Today we met the adorable wife of one of our great returned missionaries.  Todd Choules brought over Lizzie to meet us.  What a great young couple with their heads in the right place!

It is heartwarming to see our returned missionaries making good decisions...going to the temple regularly, serving in the Church, loving and caring for each other.
Wow...just keep moving in the right direction...no matter what!!
LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE VISITS IN THE FUTURE!  WE LOVE YOU!

TRANSFERS MAY 2013

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Hard to believe that transfers were really this week.  It seems like a month ago already because of how busy it has continued to be.

 Wednesday of Transfer week we take our new missionaries to the "Transfer Building" near the Mission Home.  We line up all the Trainees on one side of the room...

...and the Trainers on the other side.
President Taylor then announces who will be training who!  It is so exciting!  It is a process of inspiration that  leads him to place who with who.

 We then take photos of each Companionship... or in some cases, Tripanionship!

 Don't they look great together?
Go to the web album to see all the pair-ups!

After a great training session with these new companionships, we take them all into the chapel as the rest of the group being transferred sings "Called To Serve."  It is so exciting!

 When we got them all up on the stand, this is how full the choir seats looked.

(Just saying...next month there will NOT be room on this stand!  At least 7 more companionships than this group!)

 Transfer meeting is really spiritual.  The Spirit witnesses the guidance of who goes where, and President Taylor shares his testimony in word and in a DVD photo presentation.

These are our Spanish Hermanas after the meeting.  Aren't they colorful and beautiful?

 This photo is fun...two companionships...one that looks like twins (Ure and Farnsworth) and one that have more opposite hair and skin (Beck and Cabral) but both totally amazing and so happy to be serving the Lord!

 After transfer meeting it is organized chaos in the parking lot area of the Church.  But it all is happy and so fun to see each other as bikes and luggage are transported to new locations.

 Oh how we love these missionaries!  Many of them in these pictures here will become part of the new boundaries of the Tempe Mission on July 1 when two new missions are created here in the Metro area.
It breaks our hearts to think of the change, but we know the work here is hastening and we cannot stand in the way.  We are so grateful for eternal relationships!

Fun to get President Taylor outside in a photo for a change.
MARCH ON APM!!!

INCOMING MISSIONARIES MAY 2013

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And here they come!

This month we had 23 great missionaries join the Arizona Phoenix Mission!

Can you see the enthusiasm on their faces?  They are SO READY to get to work!
Welcome to...Front:  Sisters Franz, E. Walker, Woo, Lathrop, Wade, Probeyahn, McAllister, Beck, Gacutan, A. Walker & Matuauoto, Elder Fackrell.  Back:  Elders Jones, Lundgren, Pettingill, Bressler, Farnsworth, Busick, Frost, McFarland, Francis, Beck & Aranibar...I can remember them today, but give me a few days to struggle!  So many new faces in the mission in the past 6 months!!!

We love to get a shot of them coming down the escalator.  So fun!

 We had lots of willing helpers to get all that luggage loaded into the transfer trailer.  It was organized chaos!

 Our first stop was the Mission Office.  Here our new missionaries meet the office staff, fill out paper work and are oriented to the responsibilities of the staff that will play a large part in caring for them and their work over the next 18-24 months.

THEY ARE INSTANTLY LOVED BY ALL OF US!

 Our second stop is the Phoenix Temple Site...construction is really moving along, with Moroni now gracing the steeple of this beautiful temple!

 Last stop for the day is at the Mission Home where we unload and take some group shots and then individual shots with President Taylor and myself.
If you are wondering, it was about 92 degrees this day, but felt not too bad to us Arizonians...HOT to those who just arrived from Utah.

We spent the afternoon getting acquainted, getting more instruction, eating a couple more meals together and...

 ...even some NAPPING!

There were some serious nappers here.  A couple braved the outdoors, loving the heat.

 Others lined up in mass napping form.  Wall to wall Elders!

 One even chose the entryway for his napping ground...actually he studied and wrote in his journal, don't think Elder Pettingill napped.

 The next morning, we were up bright and early, to get out and run and walk together.  It was a great day, and not so hot in the mornings.

This is how we start each day, by praying, then exercising and getting prepared to study and be open to the Spirit to guide us.

These great young people are full of desire to serve the Lord; to give it their all.  We love and admire them for who they are and who they will become!