Cottonwood Specialized Training 3/12

 We went for quarterly specialized training with the Cottonwood Zone next.  L to R: Elders Duke, Bartlett, Dunn, Fagersten, Killian, Brown, Davenport, Morton, Pierson, M. Nelson, Labrum and Martin.

Elders Skonnard and Rodgers came from the office to do vehicle inspections so Elder Rodgers could learn his new job in the office.  Oh how our missionaries love their clean car awards and the chance to earn extra miles!

We had a great meeting with them including some skills training that was wonderful.

They are humble and teachable and they are teaching THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, so they have the help of the Holy Ghost to guide them in their teaching.

Elders Davenport and Martin the fearless Zone Leaders of the Cottonwood Zone!

Prescott/ PrescottValley Specialized Training 3/12

We began Specialized Training by zones the day after our leadership meetings...no time to lose!

We enjoy going up to our northern zones very much!
Elders Heiner and Romrell surprised us with matching CROCHETED TIES!  Talk about creativity at its finest!

 Elder Gillen was busy cleaning his truck and wiping it down.




This was the first Car Inspection day for our new Office Missionary, Elder Rodgers.  He came up with Elder Skonnard to train in how to take this position in our office.  We welcome him!  He has a great testimony and will add even more strength to our office!  We love all our office missionaries so very much!

 I always love seeing my sisters that have a truck! It just entertains me so much.  They are happy and just so cute!

 Elder Skonnard shared his departing testimony with the missionaries before they left today.  He will be missed!

 And the CLEAN CAR AWARDS go to...




The Sisters!!! (Falke/Parks/Bruckman)

And Elders Shelton and J. Young.

Elders Hilton and Carroll, CONGRATS!

 Here is the great Prescott/Prescott Valley Zone!!!
Front: Elders T. Anderson and Martin, Sisters Parks, Falke and Bruckman.  Back: Elders Shelton, J. Young, Hubbard, Gillen, Keele, Hohman, Romrell, Heber, Bolton, Heiner, Carroll and Hilton

Zone Leaders: T. Anderson and Martin

PROVO-AMES FRIENDS

After Ostrich Festival on Saturday we arranged to meet up with our old ward friends, Jacob and Laura Rawlins who used to live in our Provo ward and then moved to my old Ames, Iowa ward!!!  How cool is that?  Then to make it even more fun, Laura taught Seminary to one of our current missionaries from Ames, Elder Stott!

He will be really glad that I met up with the Rawlins because I picked up two packages to take to him from home!

I reminded the Rawlins that Braden and I were in P-day attire from hiking and going to the festival...they got to see me in "Mom" mode and not "Mission Mom" mode.

THANKS FOR MEETING UP WITH US RAWLINS!  It was great to see a wonderful Provo/Ames family!

LEADERSHIP/Missionary Dept. Visitors- March 2012

PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR ALL 110 PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT!

President Taylor and I had the privilege of having visitors from the Missionary Department to come check on our mission to see how we were doing and to help with a couple training meetings this week. It was so much fun!

Tracy Watson is director of proselyting for the Church's Missionary Department. He is really dynamic and, as you can see, made all our missionaries smile.

We were able to invite not only the zone and district leaders, but many of our trainers/potential trainers, including Sister Missionaries.





We really focused on learning the Doctrine of Christ...we want to know it so well that it is natural and instinctive to speak of it. We want it to be WOVEN into everything we say and do.

We also had our good friend Lane Steinagel, who also works in the Missionary Department and is a manager of training at the Provo MTC. He is a former Missionary President whom we visited while on his mission in Ukraine the August before our calling to serve. It was great to be with him and have the tables turned - him visiting us on our mission. He is a great teacher!

Our Temple Missionaries. The Winchells, joined us for lunch and then took all our missionaries on a brief tour of the trailer near the temple site that can be used to bring investigators to visit! We love them so much!

Our wonderful office sisters all came to serve up the luncheon for me. It is one thing to cook and buy all that food...it is entirely another one to try to serve over 80 people! They are help sent from above!

We had a wonderful time over at the temple site and could not have asked for a more beautiful day!

The temple is starting to come up. The basement is about done and it will start to have walls showing that are above ground very soon!

We spent the rest of the afternoon being taught and practice teaching the principles of the Gospel and how to invite others to come unto Christ.

We talked about the great power we have to bless lives through prayer and how the Christian world really embraces the idea of prayer in general. This is not only a part of our lives, but natural for many!

We had our guests sign our Mission Flag. It was wonderful to have them here to guide and direct us and our missionaries! We are still learning so much and need all the help we can get. We feel inspired and ready to continue in this great work! We have THE BEST missionaries that are out there! Their time is NOW!

We loved that Braden had an early out day and came to join us over at the building near the temple site. He took time to greet and meet many of his missionary friends! We are so blessed to have him here with us!

IT WAS A GREAT WEEK! The Doctrine of Christ is the only way back to our Father's presence. May we exercise FAITH enough in the ATONEMENT to REPENT, continue to commit ourselves to follow Jesus Christ through BAPTISM and subsequent ORDINANCES, utilize the healing, cleansing and protecting power of the HOLY GHOST as we cheerfully ENDURE TO THE END!

ZONE LEADER COUNCIL March 2012

CLICK HERE FOR ALL PICTURES OF THIS EVENT!

 We had a very special Zone Leader Council today.  As you can see, we had quite a crowd!

We had our 22 Zone Leaders, 2 Assistants, 4 Up and Coming Mission President/Wives coming to "shadow" us, President and I along with Brother Lane Steinagle and Tracy Watson from the Missionary Department.  

They were here to check on our mission and to help us with anything we had questions on or wanted help in teaching.  It was wonderful!
 We were all spiritually fed today on the meat... the GOSPEL OF CHRIST!

We celebrated March birthdays: Our own Sister Williams who helps with these luncheons, President Hall going to California to serve starting July 1, Elders Jeffs, Davenport and Alvis.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

 Lunch time is always just so much fun to share together.  This one was no exception and we all ate up!

 3 New Zone Leaders!
Elder M. Young, Jeffs and Pollmier

The elders did a cool huddle after pictures...
BAPTISMS!!!

President Morris, Brother Watson, Sister Taylor, President Taylor, Brother Steinagle.

ARROWHEAD RANCH Community Picnic! 3/12

 Elders Carter and Newton invited us to a community event sponsored by the ward there.  It was GREAT!  Lots of non-member neighbors came over to check it out.  They had sports, carnival games, a family history booth, hamburgers and hotdogs and a cupcake decorating contest.  As you can see, the elders are happy to be surrounded by so many cupcakes!

 Our great Mission Doctor and his wife are in this ward and it was great to see them there!  The Hawks invited Braden to play some volleyball and got a group together.

They even got President Taylor to play and they all had a great time!

 There were some pretty slick moves out there in the volleyball pit!

Kathy Hawks is so much fun!  We had the best time just commiserating with the Hawks about medical issues and setting plans to change the world of Mission Medical!

 Dr. Hawks is "The Great One"and I am not kidding!  He literally saves lives of our missionaries and keeps the Taylors almost sane!!

Thanks Elders Carter and Newton for inviting us to a great activity!  Wish more wards could involve their neighborhoods like this one did today!

Out with Sisters Jeanfreau and Pousima

One of my favorite things to do is go out with the Sister Missionaries to see how they are teaching.  It is hard to fit in, but SO WORTH IT!





We had a busy evening in the Phoenix Zone and I met the most wonderful people with these sisters.

 This little family was one we had wanted to teach, but the Mom was not home.  This did not stop the kids from begging to be taught and they were thrilled when we came back and asked them to take a picture with us.


As you can see, my camera was confiscated for a minute and one got a little camera happy!
Isn't she cute?

We had to take one together just for fun! And then little brother- below.



It is always fun to teach in "Spanglish"...English for the kids and Spanish for the adults and a lot of in-between!!!  Sometimes I get it and sometimes I just don't.  But I always feel the spirit!

Anyways, it was a great afternoon/evening.  We taught a less active family that is coming back to Church and have two great sons that are learning the Gospel and will be baptized the end of March.

We taught the young women in a family and this time their Mom was home and we taught her the basics of the restoration.  So much better to have Mom on board with the kids!
The Gospel changes and blesses lives!!

Sister Weston

WE LOVE VISITORS!!!

This week was a "prep week" for us and we mixed in some visits from mission friends and ward friends!

Sister Weston had arranged to come see us when she was in town photographing a wedding.  Their son Scott serves here in our mission and is fantastic!

We had her for an entire evening and it was pure THERAPY for me!

We took her to the Phoenix Temple site which is really close to our home here and it was closed, so we just took photos from the outside.

 This did not stop Sister Weston from getting up on a large rock to get a better view.  She is a true photog!

 We brought her back to the house and she helped me make chocolate chip cookies for Zone Leader Council...and to send to her son Scott and his companion.

Sister Weston is a friend.  Wish she lived next door!

(When I can get a link to her blog, you can see the pics she took!)