SEPTEMBER 2011 INTERVIEWS

THERE ARE OVER 200 PHOTOS IF YOU CLICK ON THIS LINE!

We just finished interviews again...for the second time since our arrival in the Arizona Phoenix Mission. Interviews are held quarterly and are a wonderful chance to check in with each of our over 190 missionaries serving here!

Elders Martin and Geren as zone leaders in Cottonwood.

While President was interviewing, we did car inspections, and collected updated health records and played SOCKBALL! Now, there was purpose in this activity! It was a MANNERS GAME and they all learned a lot of manners as we played. This is in preparation for limited exception to the mission's dinner policy, allowing missionaries to meet with and eat with members in their homes as they train them about MORMON.ORG for the big media campaign we start here next week!

Our son Braden helped create this game...and when he would come join us at some of the afternoon sessions, he would also be creative in how we played. He was just asking to be smacked! (It was a tennis ball inside of a dress sock...hence the name)

The Phoenix zone.

The Phoenix South zone.

Matching ties in Surprise/Surprise North zone: Fluckiger, Trussell, Carter and Robinson.

Their zone getting ready to play sockball.

Some of the casualties of the Phoenix North game...

Phoenix North Zone.

Deer Valley/Glendale North Zone sisters.

And the whole crazy zone. Now, if you have not figured out why some of them have their ties tucked...it was to tell who was on what team.

West Maricopa Zone getting the right answers.

And relaxing a bit after interviews.

Buckeye/Goodyear Zone trying to play in a Primary room...this was interesting and terrifying!!

Taking the photo op very seriously!

Parents, we love your children! It is a privilege to serve with them in the Arizona Phoenix Mission!

Zone Leader Council- Sept.27, 2011

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We love Zone Leader Councils!

Every month, we host the council at the Mission Home where we plan for the coming month and share the vision of the Arizona Phoenix Mission.

These zone leaders are dedicated and hard working...

...and they know how to have fun and love to eat!

We enjoy having President Morris and Elder Williams join us for these meetings. And Sister Williams coming to help with lunch! We love them so much!

Elder D. Johnston favored us with an acoustic hymn after lunch. You can go to Picasa at the above link for a short video.

Here is the fearless crew after a day of learning and sharing.

Front: President Taylor, Elders Henrie, Halligan, Falconer, Perkins, Freeman, Buttars, Turner, & Bird. Middle: Elders Juchau, Johnson, Grady, Geren, Mendenhall, Mouritsen, Allred, T. Anderson & Barrett Back: Pres. Morris, Elders Wilson, Cheadle, D. Johnston, Chipman, Sheets, Martin & Sieverts.

W. MARICOPA SOFTBALL Zone Activity

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There are photos of each missionary at bat!
Today's zone activity for Braden was joining the W. Maricopa zone along with our tag-alongs for the day, Elders Rivas and Weston. As a reminder, we only have photos of the activities that we take Braden to each week...we hope that more zones will have afternoon activities that he can go to so we can show more of our missionaries in action!

President had been feeling pretty under the weather himself today, but pulled it together to play and had a great time! He took a hard catch to the chest as pitcher that about knocked him over too! Wish I had that one on video, it was so impressive!

We got some good action shots like this one of Elder Choules power hit!

S. Anderson and Sieverts...

Choules and Colovich...

Sieverts and Hampton...

And the rest of the fearless crew! (See everyone using the link on top.)
Sister Turville was there with drinks and then birthday cake for Elder Anderson too! Oh, they are spoiled by this darling woman!!! I tell her I wish we could clone her...one for each zone! My work would be so much easier :)

ELDER WESTON SURGERY DAY

BRAVE ELDER WESTON

Our dear Elder Weston was subjected to a colonoscopy today...not his first or last in life.

But probably the only one with Elder Rivas as a companion to keep things on the light side...there was never a dull moment and I am afraid not much was missed on video that Elder Rivas will no doubt blackmail Elder Weston with in the future!

We really enjoyed seeing Elder Weston try to tie his tie after anesthesia...it was a little long, but I was duly impressed! Looking sharp even under the influence!

The eyes shut in this one is pretty much how he felt as he left the surgery center. But he woke right up after some lunch and was off with us in no time for a game of softball with the W. Maricopa zone...
Then back to the mission home for some basketball with our son Braden...
and some laundry time.
But the most important thing was the IN & OUT burger stop on the way back from softball...this was what Elder Weston had been talking about since before the surgery!

The rewards were great!

SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS

We took advantage of being together for training to celebrate all September birthdays!

Even those that missed pictures from being in the restroom!

HAPPY SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS!!!

MORMON.ORG

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We are missionaries of the Arizona Phoenix Mission of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
We are from all over the world.
We love and live the Book of Mormon.
We are a Preach My Gospel Mission.
We obediently love and serve.
WE ARE MORMONS!
So, How many of you have been to Mormon.org?
How many of you have created your own profile?

These are the "I'm a Mormon"-themed centerpieces that Sister Taylor created to both underscore the topic of the training and to help introduce the 14 new missionaries that had arrived the week before.

We were delighted to find out that Phoenix was targeted as one of nine areas of the country for the Mormon.org media initiative. It will begin October 3 and run through March 2012. The campaign will include TV commercials, billboards and bus stop signage.
In preparation for this campaign, we were privileged to have Brother Tracy Watson, director of proselyting for the Missionary Department, come to train all of our missionaries in both how to be prepared for the attention this will bring to them, and to help them train members in how to answer the questions of their friends. We held three sessions of training over Sept. 13-14 to accommodate our missionaries in the mission's 11 zones..

Sister Taylor began the sessions with a presentation based on Elder L. Tom Perry's talk from BYU Women's Conference in 2009 entitled "The Image of The Church." It introduced the misconceptions that are out there about the Church and emphasized what we can do as members to help dispel myths that are out there. Go to: THIS LINK to view his talk.

This of course, was the perfect time to remind all missionaries that they are THE FACE OF THE CHURCH! Our deportment and demeanor may be the only thing that some people will associate with the Church of Jesus Christ. This face should be neat, clean and happy! I came dressed all in black from head to toe...one of the misconceptions of non-LDS. I then flipped to the new dress and grooming standards for sister missionaries from LDS.org and proceeded to try to quickly make myself look more approachable to non-members.

The sisters were especially excited to see the new dress standards...
a Special Training will be in order just for them very soon!

Brother Watson did a WONDERFUL job of training all our missionaries on why we are doing this campaign and what people want to know about the Church.

He helped us understand that when someone asks us "Why is your church doing this?" We can carry on a conversation to let them know:
1. We know there are myths out there about The Church that we need to dispel.
2. We follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.
3. We want give everyone an opportunity to learn more about our church.

We had plenty of chances to practice what was being preached...using real investigator situations

and everyone practicing role-playing what they could say to their friend
who asks about the media campaign.

We were so serious about getting this training done that we kept on going even without power — only limited emergency lights and NO AIR CONDITIONING — in the chapel for the second half of training on the last day...being in the dark is not something that stops the missionaries of the Arizona Phoenix Mission!! (Don't take that un-literally!)
We encourage all of you to learn about Mormon.org
Get some pass-along cards and use this great tool to tell friends and family who we are, what we believe in and how to find out more!

Braden Shoots it up with Elder Rasband!

Elder Ronald A. Rasband, of the Church's Presidency of the Seventy, invited Braden to join our group for the Friday night dinner/entertainment of the Southwest Area mission presidents seminar. He was delivered to the hotel by Elders Falconer and Martin as the day's sessions were concluding, and he accompanied us to the Rocking R Ranch in Mesa for a cowboy dinner and show.

Elder Rasband invited Braden to shoot authentic Colt .45 pistols.

Here they watch as the wax-filled bullets are loaded into the pistol.

Elder Rasband is first to shoot and takes steady aim . . .

Braden takes his five-shot turn . . .

Cocking the pistol for another shot . . .

The pistol-packin' pair of Braden and Elder Rasband proudly display their hole-riddled targets.

The gunslingers try to cool off their red-hot pistols.