CHRISTMAS IN THE MISSION 2013

 Thought you might enjoy seeing what our Christmas was like here in the Arizona Phoenix Mission.

It began well before Christmas as you can imagine, and this is what the Mission Home looked like as we made preparations to take some Christmas cheer to some of our missionaries...

 ...bags and bags and bags everywhere!  We have a couple of stakes who put together donated items and gift cards so that we can make sure everyone has something for Christmas!
Thank you to those of you who contributed towards this effort!  It is truly appreciated and we met many needs!

 The Kings stopped by and we got to share some cheer with them too.  We have one question for them..."What does the fox say?"
We love them so much and appreciate all they do to make our jobs possible!  They are part of the behind the scene support that are pillars of strength to us!!






On CHRISTMAS EVE, well on the eve of Christmas Eve, we loaded up the transfer van and trailer so it would be ready for us to leave early on the morning of Christmas Eve to take all the packages that had arrived in the Mission Office, along with the gift bags, out to each set of Zone Leaders so they could distribute them to their zone.

 I apologize, I did not decide to take photos until we had already stopped at our first destination...FLAGSTAFF!  Sorry Elders Bryant and Cardoso!  Catch you next time!
From here, we drove down to COTTONWOOD where we met up with Elders Barlow and Zayas and shared some cheer with them.  They gave me my own Santa Hat that I had for the rest of the day!
THANK YOU!

 Next stop was PRESCOTT where we met up with Elders Wrigley and O'Neal.  We lent them some hats to use in making their deliveries.

 From here we headed on south back to the valley and met up with SURPRISE and Elders Parsons and E Jones.  President Taylor shows off his cheery striped tie (thanks to his Sister Lori I believe) and we shared more hats with them.

 Next stop was in GOODYEAR with Elders Knabe and W Larsen who took Santa and a reindeer hats for when they made deliveries.

Our next stop had two zones. Elders Baker and Livingston in GLENDALE and Elders Wade and Barley in PHOENIX NORTH!

 After that we drove to meet two more zones; Elders Wardle and Weiler (left) and Elders Leonhardt and Ure (right) from the DEER VALLEY and GLENDALE NORTH zones.

 Our last stop was for PEORIA and WEST MARICOPA with Elders Andrus and Hughes and Elders Q Wilson and Lower.

They were all so excited to go share some Christmas love with their zones!
And at this point...
THE TRAILER WAS EMPTY!!!







You have to know just how much President Taylor loves me...that he would let me put antlers and a nose on the van, and wear a hat and spend the day in the van with me talking his ear off.  It was a GREAT DAY!
We love the spirit of giving and the example of our Savior Jesus Christ in that!

Back at the Mission Home, we barely had time to unload when we were joined by Sisters Gacutan and Jensen so Sister Gacutan could call her family in Philippines.  After a few calls to arrange things, she was then able to SKYPE her family there!  How happy they were to get to see each other!

 Then we ended our CHRISTMAS EVE by inviting over the Peoria North District to share the NATIVITY with us since we had no children here with us this year.

This is a family tradition we love, and we had the best sheep, shepherds, angels, wise men and narrator ever!

(President and I were Mary and Joseph so it would not be awkward for the missionaries.)

 And we had our babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.


It was a sweet experience.
We all shared a favorite Christmas memory or tradition with each other before it was time to send them all home.

Their Zone Leaders stopped by to deliver mail and gifts so they joined us for the nativity as our audience.

They could both fit into the Santa coat at once!

 Elders Q Wilson and Lower as Santa part I and II.

 And Elders Zaugg and Syndergaard just enjoyed that there was actually a fire in a fireplace in Arizona!  PERFECT!

 CHRISTMAS MORNING we invited our ASSISTANTS to join us for morning exercise hiking up at Thunderbird Conservation Area...it was dark when we started, but the sun rose and we met a family group at the top with a lit tree and got a photo there!

One tradition that I will really miss next year is the decorated cactus and trees at this hiking area...I will really miss hiking all year round as well!




Our Christmas Day we skyped with our kids on both coasts, spoke for about 40 minutes with Braden on a phone call from his mission in Auckland New Zealand (he's doing great!) and had about 2 sets of foreign missionaries come to make landline calls home, and a couple other groups just come over to visit for a while!  Elders Schull and Hicks came and played Carcassonne with us and made us feel like parents for a while THANK YOU!

 And we had about 8 come from the Surprise Zone to visit and share Christmas memories with us as well.  It was a full and busy day for us associating with both our birth and mission family!
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is our most precious gift!  It grows more precious the more experience we have in life, and grows in our hearts the more we give it away.  I promise blessings to all who will live the counsel that our Savior gives us through the scriptures and living prophets.  We are so blessed to serve Him daily and pray that we will all remember that the magic of Christmas is not in the PRESENTS but in His PRESENCE!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!  The Taylors

MISSION TEES & HOODIES!

CATCH THE WAVE!!!  2014 "Living Water To A Thirsty Land" AZ Phoenix Mission Shirts
OK folks,  This is really out of character for this blog, but we have a unique situation.  You may have seen that we got Mission Tee Shirts for the missionaries for Christmas.  They turned out really nice, and we were excited.  However, there was a glitch in what got sent to our printer, and additional womens M and L shirts were sent instead of our men's M and L.  Since we did not know this until they were delivered, we were responsible for the error, and had to reorder about 180 mens shirts and have them printed to get to the missionaries. Yikes!
So...we have a surplus of Jr Size M and L shirts that we are selling for only $4 to try to get a part back, as well as offering to family and returned missionaries the chance to order Mission Tees or Hoodies since we would like to place another order.
(Please check with your missionary on P-day or email me at cjt1959@gmail.com to have me check with them to see if they have ordered for you.)
The goal is to place an order no later than Jan 10.  Since this is personal funds, we ask that you pre-pay. Email me your order and I will get you a total back and you can mail a check to Cheryl Taylor c/o AZ Phoenix Mission Office 18001 N 79th Ave. #C50, Glendale, AZ 85308.  Please make checks out to Cheryl Taylor.
Or you can pay me through paypal using my email address above.  Please do not put your shipping address label info or they will charge me for that.  I can give the tees to your missionary to send you or, we can ship if you want to add $3 for first tee and $1 for each additional tee and $6 per hoodie.  Please tell me how you want them delivered.

JR WOMEN'S SIZES- these run REALLY SMALL- You can see our daughter wearing a LARGE in this photo. She normally wears Misses S.
Most Sisters wear L-XXL or into men's sizes.
XS- we have a couple that would work for small sisters  $4 each/ additional $6 each
S- we have about 2  $4 each/ additional can be ordered for $6 each
M- we have about 140  $4 each (dark or heather gray)
L- we have about 130  $4 each (heather gray only)
XL- we can order for $6 each
XXL- we can order for  $6 each

In this photo Bre is wearing a Jr size MEDIUM.  It is snug on her, as I said, she wears S in Misses sizing.  I choose to wear a XL to have it loose enough.

MENS SIZES
S- we can order for $6 each
M- we have about 25 at $5
L- we can order for $6 each
XL- we can order for $6 each
XXL or XXXL we can order for $7 each

CHILDRENS SIZES- can be ordered for $7 each
(yes, they cost more)
Y-XS (2 - 4)
Y-SM (6 - 8)
Y-Med (10 - 12)
Y-Lg (14 - 16)

HOODIES
Unisex sizes S-XXL for $14.00 each
(Pres is wearing XL I am wearing S)
You have no idea how much he loves me to wear "matchy" hoodies while hiking!!!


HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
CATCH THE WAVE!!!

JUMP DOWN, TURN AROUND, PICK A BALE OF COTTON! Dec 2013

 PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR ALL PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT

I fulfilled one of my ARIZONA BUCKET LIST items last Saturday!  I got to see and ride in a cotton picking machine!!!  It was beyond my dream.

We went with Brother Scow from Buckeye at the invitation of the Sisters who live at their home.

He took us in his truck to show us all about cotton farming and the equipment it takes to do it.
One of the newer machines is one that makes round modules, wraps them and then is able to pick them up and move them, all on one tractor.
It was pretty cool to watch!

 Brother Scow then took us out to watch a traditional cotton picker that dumps to make compressed rectangle bales.

There was a broken bale and we had a mini snowball fight!  Sisters Barnett and Ratto were dressed in their scarves and ready for fake snow.

 Don't you love how Google plus thought this photo was of snow and added the falling snow feature?  Pretty perfect I think!

 Our daughter Breanna was out for a visit and we enjoyed some photos together as well in the soft pile.

I really like this one of the Sisters and President...looks really classy!  I think we will be seeing this one in an upcoming transfer video or something!

OK, here is the tractor dumping the cotton that it has picked so far.

 And here I am after my ride with Jose on the cotton picker.  It was so cool!  Jose was very gracious, and my Spanish came in handy!

Our daughter got a ride as well, but her German didn't work. ")

And here are the reason we love FIELDS WHITE AND READY TO HARVEST!

I am sure I will be using these photos in an upcoming training for missionaries.  The harvest is good, and it is now!

So, thrust in your sickle with all of your might, labor to do your part!

Jump Down...Turn Around...Pick a Bale of Cotton!

TRANSFERS DEC 2013

 PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR ALL PHOTOS OF TRANSFER MEETING DAY!

The culminating event of Transfer Week is Transfer meeting.
The day begins with both a Leadership Meeting and a Trainer/Trainee meeting going on simultaneously.
President Taylor goes back and forth and I stick with one of the APs and we do the Trainer/Trainee Meeting.

 You can see the Trainers on one side and the Trainees on the other...just like 4th Grade Square Dance Practice!

The process of assigning Trainers to Trainees is one of inspiration.  It is always amazing and humbling to see.  There is purpose that the Lord has in all things and we get to see so many examples in missionary work!

 The Trainers and Trainees spend about 15 minutes getting to know each other while I am pulling them into the hall to take their photos.

Elder Thompson has a hard time keeping his eyes open in photos..super sensitive eyes!  So, President T takes time to help me out!
Look on the link to see all companionships!  They are awesome!

 The 12 Week Training Program is perfect.  We taught about it and had Elders Thompson and Belnap role play how to conduct a companionship study.  They did a great job!

 After our training meeting, the new Trainees and Trainers are led into the chapel as the missionaries who are at the meeting sing CALLED TO SERVE!

 Here is one of those Google plus moving photo collages...click on the link to see all of them individually.

The transfer meeting is a time for introducing the new Trainees, for some instruction, and for telling everyone there who their new companion will be and where they will be serving.  It is really so exciting!

 During this meeting, President Taylor and I stepped out to say goodbye for a while to our sweet Sister Bullock who went home for some medical care.  Sister Riches was her trainer, and this is her first transfer really.  We pray for her well being in every way!

After a great meeting, it was the normal chaos as packages were loaded into cars for Christmas... (Goehring and Kroeger)

 ...as groups of Sisters and Elders try to fit everything into the vehicles and love visiting as they do it...

 ...and as lots of bikes and goods are moved all over the place!
It is organized chaos at its finest!!

We LOVE being with these great people!  Know how incredible they are and how hard they work to make other peoples lives better!

Speaking of making other peoples lives better...
our wonderful Assistants wear themselves out much of the time in serving everyone.
We traditionally collapse after the marathon of transfers so this photo represents how we all feel at the end of this third day!

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR LOVING SUPPORT!  This is the work of the Lord!  It is worth the effort.

ARRIVING MISSIONARIES DEC 2013

 PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR ALL PHOTOS OF OUR GREAT INCOMING MISSIONARIES!


WELCOME TO THE AZ PHOENIX MISSION!
Tuesday we dropped off 5 of our dear departing missionaries and received 12 great new missionaries to take their place!  And how great it was to only get 12 instead of the usual 25-30 we have had all summer!  It felt doable.

The only awkward thing was that because of Christmas, the Gilbert Mission was also there meeting their dozen new missionaries, so we were sorting missionaries as they came off the walkway!  I just took photos of all of them and sent the ones of their missionaries to that President and Wife...they are friends of ours!

 Here we all are!  So excited to start life in the mission field!

 We got the traditional shots coming down the escalator...
got our luggage and headed towards the mission office for an orientation there.

At the office all new missionaries fill out paperwork about health, driving records etc. and the office staff introduce themselves and tell what their responsibilities are in the office and how they support the missionaries.
If the new missionaries did not feel loved by the time they left that office, someone was not doing their job!  But, no worries...they all felt loved!!!

 On our way to the Mission Home, we stopped off at the new Phoenix Temple for a little orientation there by one of the couples that man the information center in the Church building nearby.
If you look on the weblink for the other photos, you will see that there are now windows being placed in the outside.  Now, if they could only get the artglass for the ceiling of the celestial room, this temple would be done before we leave late June...but, we think it will be dedicated next fall.  And these missionaries will be here for that!  How exciting!

Here is our fearless crew!  Front:  Sisters Hale, Taylor, Polander, Hunt and Palomino.  Back:  Elders Hunsinger, Bunnage, Lewis, Young, T Anderson, Greener and Cecena.

The Assistants did a training with them before lunch, then it was NAP TIME!  Believe me, they sleep as long as I let them!  They usually get close to 2 hours, so it really helps!
We want them to be able to stay awake when we train later on that night.

 We split them into two groups to sign the flag and quilt, write letters home and the other group to cook with me in the kitchen.

We switch off so everyone gets to do everything.  President is conducting interviews this whole time to get to know them and their testimonies.
It was a wonderful evening with these faithful and very prepared young people.  They are just amazing!

 After a FHE to get to know each other, we all went to bed.  Sisters get bedrooms and Elders get the floor (on pads.)

We get up at 6:30 AM just like every morning of a mission and exercise.  We walked or ran about 2 1/2 miles before getting ready for the day and having the breakfast casseroles that we prepared the day before. YUM!

After we all were ready, we met to have a morningside before our big day.
They all got a letter from a departing missionary telling them their feelings and advice for the mission. They are very sweet letters.
I tell them the story in  the book "The Quiltmakers Gift" because it reminds me of the gifts they are giving as well as creating as they serve God's children all over the world.
Parents, these are special young people.  They are not perfect, neither are we, but we all have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in common and a desire to serve our Lord.
We pray that you will feel the strength that comes from having a missionary serving.  I promise that as you make efforts to share the Gospel yourself, you will understand better what they are experiencing.  Ask them how you can help them as they serve.  Make commitments to invite others to anything related to the Church so they can learn who we are and what we believe.
We were all issued the challenge by Elder Ballard to invite someone by the end of the year...so, it is not too late!  May the Lord bless you in your family as your sweet daughter or son is serving here.  There is no place that we would rather be, nothing we would rather be doing!  MERRY CHRISTMAS!  Taylors