AZ PHOENIX TEMPLE CELEBRATION AND DEDICATION PLUS VIDEO LINKS!! November 2014

 We made our second trip back to AZ since our release July of 2014.

Last month we flew down for the Phoenix Temple Open House...and this time was for the Dedication.

We are lucky to have a flight from Provo to Mesa.  Looks old school, right?

 We arrived Friday afternoon and had a lovely evening with former Phoenix Mission Presidency Members.

The Matsons from our old ward hosted it and it was just delightful!


We realized that Katie matched the flowers in the family room...

 Taylors and Morris'

 3 sets of former Phoenix Mission Presidents!
Taylors, Becks and Gills.  We have the last 9 years covered between the six of us!

 Becks with Lopez and Morris'

Lopez, Gills and Morris'

 And finally, Lopez, Becks and Morris'

Can you tell the Morris have served FOREVER?

Here were the treasured tickets we were blessed to be able to receive.


DEDICATION





CULTURAL CELEBRATION

Saturday evening we attended the Cultural Celebration held at our son's old high school in Peoria SUNRISE MOUNTAIN HIGH SCHOOL!

As we came in to find our seats, we were able to greet our dear friend Ed Janulis, who lived near the mission home and was baptized by President Taylor a year after we arrived.  What a blessing to be able to serve at the Temple Open House and Celebration!  He has a strong testimony of this service!

We also met our dear friend Diane Broderick whose family was in charge of the props for the celebration...a HUGE undertaking that they did SO WELL!  It was impressive in every way!

And...of course we met up with some of our Mission Sons and Daughters!


Sisters Brown and Jackson

Elder Enkhjargal

Elders Frost and Hall

The missionaries were stationed outside the fence of the football field to watch the performance and be ready for their part in the program.

We hustled back to our seats as President Thomas S Monson, President Uchtdorf and Elder Oaks took their places in their stand.


This is what the field looked like with over 4300 youth performing!  It was so impressive and the Spirit was so strong!

If you want to watch the whole thing, here it is!!





I loved how the whole thing started with reference to the POOLS OF LIVING WATER which is from our MISSION SCRIPTURE!  "And in the barren deserts there shall spring forth pools of living water, and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land."  D&C 133:29

Cultural Celebrations celebrate the history of the area the temple is built in.

Arizona was founded by the Hohokum Indians so this was the starting point for the celebration.






They went through the history of the developing of Arizona and the LDS culture as it was a strong influence in the settling and development of Arizona.

We learned the 5 C's of Arizona...
Copper Cotton Cattle Citrus and Climate

We had the tribute to the 40's, 50's and modern day music and dance.
The great Mexican culture was celebrated and was a beautiful and colorful dance.

Each branch of the Service was honored as they celebrated the war years.

Our own President Morris was there and joined in as the Air Force was honored.

The costuming was spectacular!  We know how many wonderful people spent months creating and serving to make both the Open House and Cultural Celebration come off so beautifully!'WE THANK THEM ALL!

The flags that they carried were held together to make a large flag...it was really cool!

The force for good of youth that choose the right was enforced by the warriors from the Book of Mormon coming down into the crowd as early day soldiers.

Cute 50's dancers.

A tribute to the educational opportunities that are available here in AZ for all youth.

And then our own missionaries came onto the track and up on the stage singing "CALLED TO SERVE."

Here is a VIDEO taken from the track and you can hear them singing and see individuals better.  Thats our kids!!!

At the beginning, President Uchtdorf told the youth that they added 5 more C's to the original 5 C's!

Creative

Caring
Cheerful
Courageous
Cool

And they truly did!


It was a wonderful tribute, and great opportunity for the youth to strengthen their own testimonies as they practiced and performed together in the presence of a prophet of God.

Everyone wanted to get as close as they possibly could as the Prophet left the stadium.

I got to hug my dear neighbor Dana, Ed's wife, and wonderful convert neighbor.  We love and miss them!

We got to see a few more missionaries after the performance.

This one was dear to my heart as he came back to the mission after we had left, so I got my goodbye and hello hug from him tonight!

I think Elder Safford was glad to see us too.

Or maybe not?

We had fun meeting new missionaries who we will only get to know as they come to reunions while the Griffins are still serving!  They are all wonderful!


I found a safe spot below Elder D Jensen where I knew I would not block anyone...he is so tall!

WE LOVE THESE GREAT YOUNG PEOPLE AND THEIR LEADERS THE GRIFFINS!  We testify again that they are all where they are supposed to be right when the Lord needs them! 

Sunday we got to attend the last session of the temple dedication.  It was a sweet experience for us!  The promises of the temple are sure.  As we are obedient to the sweet commandments of the Lord, those promised blessings play out in our lives...especially having the Spirit to guide us as we attend His house weekly for Sacrament and as often as possible to the temple!

As we were leaving, your great missionary men were coming to move all the chairs out of the temple and get it set up for sessions starting the next morning at 7 AM.

We happened to be there as the authorities exited the temple...I did not get to my camera quick enough, but Elder Bryan is tall, and took it for me and got this great shot! 

We waited til about everyone had left and then got permission to take a traditional shot we like to take at temples that are dedicated...by the CORNERSTONE.

Of course, the missionaries followed suit, so we got some shots for them.

 













As we walked to our car, we saw two more Elders we had not seen yet but were glad to see!  Elders Hamilton and Parks!






That night we had a wonderful get-together with all our former office missionaries in the area and President and Sister Morris.
They all shared their experiences and special experiences of working on the temple Open House.  It was such a sweet meeting!

The Elcocks and Rodgers show the very cool CHOCOLATE NAIL given to them by Porter Brothers for their service on the Open House.  We devoured it immediately after!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is here to bless our lives and make them sweet...busy, but sweet!
We are grateful for eternal relationships formed as we served in Arizona!  May the Lord bless you all!

OCTOBER VISITORS/RM ACTIVITIES

I am really slow at posting about the great APM visitors we have had for OCTOBER!

We were very busy with reunion and that weekend we also spent special time with a couple of our great Returned Missionaries.


We hiked along the Bonneville Shoreline Train with Joseph Barley...he was the only one brave enough to get up early to hike with us!  It was so good to have time to really talk!






We were delighted that Blake and his sweet wife Juliene took the time to meet us at the Provo Temple to do a session...here again, it was fairly early in the morning...and they had been driving all night to get here!  Yet they were the ones to get up and go!  Yay Heiners!

We offered to let them stay at our home to try to save some dollars so that was another treat.  They spent part of Saturday watching conference with us too...welcome to the family!

We had Nathan Wainwright and Josh Lower join us for a visit before the BYU football game one night...maybe they should have stayed longer, the game did not have a good outcome!
Seriously, it was so nice of them to come by!  We love seeing them in their post-mission lives, and the impact their missions have had on them forever.

The next weekend we had Sarah Neary and Amanda Vallejo come over after FHE for a bite to eat on their way back from going to the Phoenix Temple Open House!  We were delighted to see both of them and it was just so much fun to talk!!!

 Last weekend we had Jenny Greenwood as our hiking buddy!  We went up the Rock Canyon trail...we hiked about 5 1/2 miles or so.  It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!

Here again, we love the one on one, or small groups that we get to do things with! 



 I realized how much I missed FALL LEAVES while we were in Arizona.

I was pretty excited about how beautiful the hiking area was!

THANKS JENNY, it was so much fun being with you!

Later that morning, we had Hilary Parks stop by for a visit...still had our hiking clothes on!

Oh how we had missed seeing her.  You just remember all the good and hard and special times you had together on the mission and it is so great to get together again to talk about it!

 We had our first SUNDAY DINNER CALENDAR meal!!!
We had groups of RMs sign up at the Reunion.

We hosted Breyton Barber, Tyler Starr, Joseph Barley, Wes Larsen and Nathan Wainwright.

It was SO GOOD TO COOK for more than 2 people!!! And the company was just perfect!

If you did not sign up for dinner, text me!  There are a few spots still open for December.  I will add more dates if we get new RMs that did not have a chance to sign up as well!

As this group was getting ready to leave, the WINCHELLS came for a visit!  Anyone from the Mission knew them as our TEMPLE MISSIONARIES!!  They were in town visiting and stopped by for a while!  It was so good to catch up with them and we planned another visit during Christmas when they are back!
COME SEE US! 

OCTOBER MTC DEPARTING MISSIONARIES

Some things never change...selfies with my phone happen no matter who I am with!



We sent off two more districts from our MTC branch here in Provo.

 This was a stellar group of Elders, in an advanced language group...just the nicest young men we have met! 

Left to Right:
Elders Gomez, Stoker, Coombs, us, Elders Lohberg and Lindstrom.

And this district of 8 were so ready to go!
We got really close to both of these districts but it is easy to let them go because we know what they are going to do and it is GREAT!

Left to Right: Sisters  Hancock, Sarvey, Nation and Ence, us, Elders Bushman, Hansen, Messenger and Sewell.

PHOENIX TEMPLE OPEN HOUSE-PLUS CURRENTLY SERVING SISTER MISSIONARIES!

 PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR ALL PHOTOS OF OUR VISIT TO THE TEMPLE OPEN HOUSE!  WE SAW 41 of the 75 SISTERS CURRENTLY SERVING!

We had the great privilege of touring the new and FINALLY OPEN Phoenix Temple!  It was absolutely delightful to see the Griffins again and we love them even more each time we interact with them!
In all honesty, only Mission Presidents and Wives understand other Mission Presidents and Wives...so we just love interacting with all our friends who have served or are currently serving!!

Above; we are with Michael Pickerd, who was our Area Seventy when we arrived in the Mission, but who currently serves as head of the Temple Committee overseeing the Open House, Cultural Celebration and Dedication.  He is one busy, and incredibly kind man!

The Griffins encouraged us to say hello to the great Sister Missionaries of the APM who were serving at the temple the two days we attended.

 I will not attempt to name all their names, as there are about 8-10 new Sisters since we left in July.  I was delighted however, to meet new Sister Morris from Park Valley Utah, the hometown of my own father!  Not many people even know where this very small community is!  Welcome to the best mission in the world Sister!

I will show you the roles that the Sister Missionaries play in a temple Open House.
as patrons are bused to the site, they are ushered into the chapel or a classroom where Sisters like these greet them and give a short presentation.

 There are small rooms throughout the building so many groups can be oriented at once to what a temple is and why they are important to the Latter-day Saints.

 President Taylor got in on some photos with us as well.  It felt so good to hug these wonderful Sister Missionaries!  With our assignment at the MTC, we continue to work with missionaries several times a week, so this just seems normal and natural!

 The APM has 2 sets of Temple Coordinating Sisters to schedule all the companionships and make sure things go smoothly.  They are there to trouble shoot; as they are doing in this change of printing tape on the photo booth.
No problem!  They have things under control!

 After a tour of the temple hosted by local Church members, visitors then get to come to a couple locations just outside the temple grounds, one is a photo booth where they can get a photo taken and also emailed to them.  We had fun with that.

 And there is a hosting tent with several stations.


One is learning about what goes on inside the temple.

Another is learning about Family History.


The beautiful Sisters of the Arizona Phoenix Mission are doing a wonderful job introducing people to the blessings of the temple of the Lord.

Here is where we want to be.
The temple is the house of God.
We can learn more about what he wants us to do by serving within these walls.
We are empowered to be able to live in a difficult world as we keep our temple covenants.
I add my witness that the Lord is bound if we do as he asks us.  He will bless us in ways best for each of us individually!
If you have not gone to the temple, go visit a temple, go to an open house, ask for a testimony of temple work and then get yourself in a place where you can get a recommend to attend a temple!
If you already have a temple recommend, use it.  The promises are sure!
WE LOVE THIS TEMPLE AND THOSE WHO WILL SERVE AND ATTEND INSIDE THESE SACRED WALLS!  The Lord IS hastening His work!!!  Love, Sister Taylor

APM MISSION REUNION FALL 2014

 PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR OVER 100 PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT...and send me some to add if you took any good ones!

We hosted our FIRST MISSION REUNION!

And it was so much fun!
It was just like old times having the Williams with us to help set up...and trusty, helpful missionary sons and daughters!

We transformed the cultural hall into an APM paradise!

HUGE THANKS TO OUR COMMITTEE who met over dinner last month to help plan a vision for what we wanted to happen this night!
And THANK YOU HEATHER BELNAP for about singlehandedly (Not a real word?)  taking on being photographer extraordinaire and food restocker and whatever needed done!!!YOU ROCK!

We were delighted to meet up with missionaries we had not seen in a long time.   And others who we saw when we spoke in our ward just 2 1/2 months ago.

This is the "I am really short" photo!

 Other returned missionaries began coming about 6:00, as many had other places to try to get with other reunions and the BYU game.

There were stations where you could watch the transfer video of when you arrived in the mission...or a Christmas video, or bike video, whatever!!

 There was memorabilia...and sign ups for "APM DINNER CALENDAR" with the Taylors for one Sunday a month til next conference.

 We LOVED having President and Sister Beck join us this fall!  We just love these dear people and can relate in a way no one else quite can to the experience we both share.

We now have MISSION BABIES to hold like Trevor Ward's little guy all dressed up in his tee shirt with a tie on the front!

We felt like we were in the most huge ZONE CONFERENCE ever...surrounded by family!

This includes the Williams who just jumped right in and loved and supported all the missionaries like they always have!

 We played a "Finding" game, well, a few broke away from talking to humor me...THANKS NOLAN for your enthusiasm!!  He was the winner!

 Got this great shot of the Becks with missionaries that we shared...and a few that served before our time.

 Trevor shows his little guy Daddy's signature on the mission flag.

Taylors and Becks...a great legacy in the APM!
We feel SO BLESSED for the opportunity to be a part of witnessing the hand of God in the lives of so many wonderful sons and daughters!

 Ping Pong was a good outlet for some.

And, we got to witness firsthand a couple of NEW ENGAGEMENTS!


Congratulations to Maria Garcia!!! 

 And Jennica Anderson!




It was great to see how much it meant to everyone just to be together.  That was really all we needed was a place to meet.  The decorations, games, food, etc were totally secondary.  It was all about catching up with people who can relate to a very special part of our lives.

THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING!  And we know we missed a few with late flights, horrible traffic, things that came up, so we will catch you next time!
WE LOVE YOU!  President and Sister Taylor
(Missionaries ask what they should call President Taylor...and I tell them "He will ALWAYS be your mission president!"  President Beck, President Taylor, President Griffin.  It works!