Saturday was a special 3 Mission Conference over in Tempe. It was originally planned to be Jeffrey Holland, but something came up and he cancelled...so, we held the conference without him!
We did not know that we were part of the replacement speakers until we arrived and met with Elder Jim Wright an Area Seventy. He asked us all to speak along with him.
It ended up being a great meeting!
For us, it was also sweet to be there with two other Mission Presidents and wives that we love so much! The Toones from Tempe are new friends this year and the Killpacks from Tucson are older friends that we came out to the field with.
We are like mission buddies ourselves when we get with other Mission Presidents!
It was extra special to be back with the 23 missionaries that began their missions in the Arizona Phoenix Mission but were moved into Tempe with a boundary change in July.
Several of them will return home next week...
Sister Greenwood...
...and Sister Scott being two of them!
We had them for 2/3 of their missions, so it was sweet to get to say "Hello again and SEE YOU LATER!"
We love sharing them with the Toones! They make a difference to that mission!
Afterwards, our entire mission (minus 8 that got lost by bad GPS instructions)
came back over to the PHOENIX TEMPLE SITE for a MISSION PHOTO!
It was fascinating to see risers so steep and how to pack in well over 250 with our Presidency and Office Couples in attendance!
I could not resist taking some straight up shots, it looked so funny from where I was sitting!
The reality is that in most missions, other than maybe the Assistants, no one knows all of the missionaries other than the President and Wife and maybe the office staff have met them all once.
So our missionaries had never been in one spot since the October before this, in 2012. And back then we had about 180. Now we are over 250 not including our couples and office and Presidency. How great is that!!!
Sister Baumgartner was excited to be with two Sisters that she trained...Sisters Jenson and Esplin!
And just for you Sister Jensen...all the REDHEADS IN THE MISSION!! (unless any were in the two cars that were lost)
Sisters Barlow, Harris, Rodgers. Elders Wheelhouse, Z. Jensen, Van Kampen, Beck, Busick, Scott, Luke and Maxey.
And the redheads getting a little silly!
And our ISLAND MISSIONARIES...McMillan, Kwock, Laititi, Shin, Moala, Wolfgramm, Sisters Matuauto, Hunt and the Templetons
And then we added in a couple more foreign background missionaries Elders Hunsaker and Linkogle.
And here is our temple! The scaffolding is to put in windows. They are putting in glass, adding little details in the trims and working on landscaping.
We do not know a date of completion, open house or dedication, but we believe it will not be before our departure the end of June.
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