ARRIVING NOVEMBER 2013

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

WELCOME NOVEMBER MISSIONARIES!

The start of the month meant 26 new missionaries to replace the 5 that went home.  Yes, our numbers continue to increase and we have over 250 missionaries now in our mission.

 We had three flights to meet this time, first for a reassigned Sister coming from California, then for our incoming Spanish missionaries trained in the Mexico MTC (above)
and then the other 17 who came from the Provo MTC.
It works like clockwork...except that Arizona is not on Mountain Standard time, so when the time changes in Utah, it means that our flights come in an hour later for us here in AZ, and we have one less hour during the summer to get everything done in that first day of the mission!

We all grouped up for a photo before heading down to get the baggage.  Don't they look great?

We all headed down the escalators towards baggage claim and we were quite a parade.

 And the parade continued well out onto the sidewalk waiting for the transfer van and other office vehicles to transport the new missionaries to our office for paperwork and training.

 At the office we have necessary paperwork filled out with the help of our 3 office couples and our Mission Presidency Secretary couple.  They are just the most incredible people, and if your missionary did not feel VERY LOVED by the time they left that office, they were way too tired to notice :)


From here, we surprised them with a stop at the new Phoenix Temple site so they could see up close how our temple is coming along.

This group will all be here for the open house and dedication of this temple sometime in 2014.  No dates have been announced...and we are holding out for a miracle that it will be dedicated before we head home next July.

Here are the newest APM Missionaries!  Front:  Sisters Beazer, J Turner, Elders Timm and Crandall, Sister Millet and Elder Wheelhouse.  Middle Row: Sisters Barton, Hixson, Elders Ramos, Fife, Adair, Jeong, Anderson, Thiel, C. Johnson and McMillan.  Back: Sisters McCoard, DeMille, Manwill, Elders Christensen, Scharf, Ogden, Canny, Nistler, Parkinson and Syndergaard.
I am pretty proud that I can remember their names the next day!  Now next week...that's something else!

After an orientation and lunch, it was
NAP TIME!
It was so nice out, that several elders got a tarp and napped al fresco!  They all ended up with the blanket on top of them by the time they were done!

 Inside there were bodies everywhere!
We told them we wanted them to be as awake as possible for further instruction later on.

 After naps, it was time for STATIONS.
I have three sets of things missionaries do while in the mission home.
1) Safety training DVDs for car and bike safety.
2) Sign the mission flag, sign quilt block for our temple quilt and write a letter home.
3) Prepare breakfast casseroles and prepare dinner, or in other words "COOKING WITH SISTER TAYLOR."
During this time, President Taylor was pulling one missionary at a time for a personal interview.

 As we prepare the foods, we all share what it was like to receive a call to serve the Lord in PHOENIX ARIZONA.

The stories vary from person to person, but most have a common theme, that they came to peace knowing that this is where the Lord wants them and needs them.

What is really fun is seeing that realization become even more personal as they serve.

 One of our silly traditions is to become human salad spinners.
Sister King taught us to do this a few transfers back and it has now become a tradition!

And, it works!

 The last group helped get our taco salad dinner all set and ready to feed this crowd.
We had a lovely dinner, then more training on the Mission Handbook and some time with President Taylor telling about how we received our assignment to serve here in AZ.

It is one of our favorite memories!

 That night, we kept 20 missionaries at the Mission Home and sent 6 Sisters to the Kings home to sleep.
Then we all got back together the next morning to run or walk together, just as all missionaries do 6 days a week.
It was the perfect start for real missionary life!

Then we had breakfast, got showered and cleaned up and ready to head over to the transfer building Church near us.
Before we left, we had a morning devotional where we gave each missionary a baton that was passed from a departing missionary to the new ones, with a letter inside from the departing missionary.  This is a very special letter.  We hope they keep and read them again throughout their missions.  The names of those departed missionaries mean something tender to us.

After the devotional, we all go to transfers to meet new companions, have more training with them and find out where in the mission they will begin their service.

Thank you for your wonderful children!  We love them already.  We told them that they are indeed a special group.  They had to be prepared to step into a very obedient mission where trust is key to our success.
This mission was chosen early this year to test digital devices, then to go online to proselyte and just last week to have digital devices to record all records, planning and teaching.  Only obedient missionaries can have success in using these tools, so we know these are truly wonderful missionaries.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true.  It blesses families.  We know that as you pray to Heavenly Father, he will answer your prayers and lead you to obey the commandments so that you can be truly happy.
May the Lord bless you as  you support your missionary and try to follow the example of Jesus Christ in your own life!    Sister Taylor