I'M DREAMING OF A...

So we were driving to church this morning and this is what we saw....

...is this what you think it is??? Yes, and we were not in Utah either. I have to admit, I made us late for church because I just had to get someone to take our picture outside of the building.

What looks like snow to Arizona kids, is actually a build up of hail from a thunderstorm last night, crunchy to walk on, but white and cold nonetheless. We did not have any at our home only a few miles away so that was interesting. Someone at church told us that the last time this happened was sometime in the late 1980's, so we feel blessed to have even this little taste of home. I'M DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS!

Do Svidaniya to our Ukrainian Missionaries!

The day after transfers, we got word that VISAS were in hand at the travel office for our 5 Russian Speaking Missionaries. We were privileged to have them for a month.

We met at the office for a quick breakfast and then loaded up the trailer and piled into the van to go to the airport.

What I enjoyed the most was the conversation the whole way to the airport...we talked as if we were old pros at missionary work...about investigators and experiences and teaching and finding. Elder Kennedy was wildly writing out referrals to give to the office for people he just met that need to be taught. These 5 missionaries are prepared and trained to get right to work when they get to Ukraine! Their Mission Presidents are so lucky to get them!

All the luggage was weighed and stuff moved around to make it fit and we headed to security.

"do svidaniya"(Goodbye) to each of these fine missionaries!!! We love you so much!

Elders Kennedy, Coakwell, Sister DeMille, Elders Hopkins and Holbrook

WE WISH YOU WELL and THANK YOU for your service to the APM!

MEET ELDER BIRD, OUR NEW AP

This transfer brought about more changes than usual with the call for Elder Falconer to serve as a trainer. Elder Falconer was our last "Training Wheel" as I like to call the Assistants to the President that were there to help us learn the ropes of the mission. It was very hard to see him move on, but the Lord needed him to train. And the Lord had prepared someone to take his place with Elder Henrie. WELCOME ELDER TAYLOR BIRD!

(L to R: Elders Bird, Henrie and Falconer)

Elder Bird joined us at Transfers to learn the process of

bringing new missionaries into the mission.

It was fun to have three APs at the airport this day!

We could not resist the traditional "Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil"

pose with three of them.

The next day after Elder Falconer had gone on to his new duties, we got some photos of our new companionship. Elder Bird is from Idaho Falls, Idaho and loves missionary work. Before his mission he loved hunting, fishing, being out of doors and wrestling.

Elders Henrie and Bird are an amazing companionship filled with love and meekness. They love the Lord with all their hearts and it is evident in how they serve others including President and myself. We love getting to know the assistants a little better than the other missionaries and wish we could know all of them in this same way.

WELCOME ELDER BIRD!

TRANSFERS NOVEMBER 30, 2011

CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR OVER 100 PICTURES OF TRANSFER DAY AND ALL NEW MISSIONARIES WITH THEIR TRAINERS!

This morning, we took all our wonderful new missionaries to the transfer chapel to meet their first companion/trainer. There was a great spirit there that was hard to describe. If I had to choose one word though, it would be "LOVE." I felt the love that each trainer and trainee has for their new companion and the love that each missionary has for their Savior. Many expressions were shared about the training program and how inspired it is.From this meeting, we went into the chapel to meet all the rest of the missionaries that were involved in being transfered along with their zone leaders. New companionships were announced and more testimony shared by President and I about the hand of the Lord in all of this process.

Who would have known that new companions Sisters Winchell and Borrows would look like blood sisters...or Sisters Uriostegui and Garcia would also look like blood sisters...see the link to know what I am talking about!

After the transfer meeting, we go outside and get to socialize (Vaughan & McCook) as we load up missionaries and get them on their way. Please check out the link to see all the photos...there are just too many to put on here! But can you see the LOVE and the HAPPINESS of our missionaries? (like Elder Labrum below) The Spirit was so strong today...there is something very special about the culture of love in this mission!

Another thing I noticed in particular today was seeing missionaries that had come in just one or two transfers before...like Elder Doolhoff below...relaxed and loving their service and having lost those looks of uncertainty that new missionaries have when they first arrive.

It made me so happy to see this in all the newer missionaries that I saw today. Another thing that made me so happy was to see how quickly our missionaries serve each other and help in any task that needs to be done...as in hauling packages out for each zone. (Pollmeier and Steinfeldt)
I caught the other Photog, Braden, in back of the missionaries that I was shooting...we have both of us taking photos to try to catch as many as we can on days like this. A pleasure that we will not be able to enjoy after this semester when his school schedule will change. Just a heads-up on that one. THANKS BRADEN FOR ALL YOUR GREAT PHOTOS!! (Pearson, Cecil & Beeston)
And away they go to their new assignments! Happy and Loving. THAT IS OUR MISSION!!

INCOMING MISSIONARIES NOVEMBER 29, 2011

PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINE TO GO TO THE WEB ALBUM WITH ALL PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT!
We welcomed 11 new missionaries to take the place of the 8 that we sent home this morning. We had originally planned on 8 coming, but three of our Spanish missionaries were "fast tracked" in their language skills and joined us a transfer early! Front: Sisters Harding, Garcia, Robinson. Back: Elders Cabral, Bartleson, C. Anderson, Dunn, Hernandez, McCuch and Sisters Bruckman and Hawkins.

We will have you know that Elder Anderson passed out his first pass-along card right there in the airport as we were lining up for photos! THEY ARE SHARP!

After our visit to the Mission Office and more training and lunch, it was nap time...a dream come true for most missionaries!

When they woke up, it was back to work cooking in the kitchen...all hands on deck!

After dinner, we had our own FHE. The sisters were "cold" and snuggled up in a blanket together! This was a first for us in Phoenix!

The next morning we were UP AND RUNNING! We were up literally at the crack of dawn and loving the cool weather to walk and run in. Then it was off to Transfers to meet new companions and start the best 18-24 months of their lives to this point.

WELCOME NEW MISSIONARIES!

OUTGOING MISSIONARIES NOVEMBER 2011

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We said goodbye to our fourth group of missionaries this week and let me tell you, it is not getting any easier!

Elders Allred and Pope in front with President Taylor and I. In the middle are Sisters Ete'aki, Moody and Freeman. And in back are Elders Bouwhuis, Farmer and Snook. It was a beautiful fall night in front of the Mission Home.

There was time for a little ping pong as they waited for interviews with President and Braden is always glad for that.

After a wonderful dinner with the Mission Presidency and wives, we had testimony meeting and then FHE including the best game ever :"Don't Eat Pete." It was a perfect blend of spiritual and social as this group got ready to head home after 18 mo-24 mo of service.

Elder Allred treated us to Orange Julius Smoothies as part of our waffle breakfast in the morning...YUM!

This group had something extra special about them...they had the hardest time leaving the mission. They were contemplative of their service and just sad to leave this phase of life. It meant a lot to us to get to share the last 5 months of their faithful missions with them. It also made me realize how our mission is breezing right by as well.

WE LOVE YOU, OUR RETURNED MISSIONARIES! MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU IN YOUR NEW MISSIONS!

November Temple Trip

We did our temple trip before November Transfers the week before Thanksgiving. It was an amazingly beautiful day and fun to be at the temple with our Assistants, Elders Falconer and Henrie. Hard to believe that we have been here for 5 months now and hard to believe that it is truly November with weather like this!
We are looking forward to coming back in about three weeks for our Christmas Zone Conference and to see the temple Christmas lights!

Visit from Sister Overy's Family

We were so happy to have another family come visit us at the mission home over Thanksgiving. Sister Overy's sister Amy Oyler, Brother in law Lance and nephew Jerry, stopped to drop off a package for her and it was so fun to visit with them and to have a little one at the mission home for a while! Amy reminds me so much of Sister Overy! Same great smile. Amy served a mission before her marriage as well. We love our families that are so supportive of our missionaries! Thank you for taking the time to come meet us!

MEDICAL WONDER!

Recently our dear Sister Williams completed a HUGE project we had undertaken to update the Mission Medical Binder. We created a page to contain all the medical info on each missionary...insurance, allergies, immunizations, record of illnesses etc. all on one sheet instead of in several places in the office. It was a celebration when the book was completed and presented to Sister Taylor complete with a bow! THANK YOU SISTER WILLIAMS!

This information helps us daily as we try to meet the health needs of our missionaries.

Sedona Hike November 2011

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President and I finally made it up to the northernmost part of the mission for a zone activity! We met the Cottonwood zone up in Sedona to hike Bell Rock. You can see why it got its name when you see the shape. It was an absolutely beautiful November day!

We started at the trailhead and walked to the backside of the formation to start the hike.

Elders Martin, Pierson, Pres & Sis Taylor, Elders Malmberg, Jones, Geren, T. Johnson, Killian, Simcox, Beck, Hastings, Coakwell and Harline.

This was a "real hike" where we actually had to grab crevices and tree branches to haul ourselves up and slide down rocks to get back down!

Up on top of one of the high plateaus, Elders Martin, Johnson, President and Elder Simcox.

Sedona is infamous for spiritualism...vortexes and the such, so Elder Hastings was poking a little fun at some of these traditions.

Elders Malmberg, Hastings and Simcox up a steep rock side.

We were very high up at this point and the view was just amazing! You can see the nearby cliffs and rocks.

As we left Sedona, this is what we saw as we drove away...the most brilliant rainbow we had seen. It was a wonderful day with the Cottonwood Zone!

Fond Farewell to Elder Pope

CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR ALL PHOTOS AND A VIDEO OF POEM HONORING ELDER POPE BY HIS NEIGHBOR...SO CUTE!

We were invited to a "Community BBQ" honoring Elder Pope before he leaves the small community of Yarnell where he has served for over a year. When a community of non-lds people invite you to celebrate, you better believe you are honored to attend! They kept asking us if we were going to leave Elder Kelley there...they do not want to lose him either!

The event was hosted by Don & MaryAnn Sharp the who are landlords of the apartment complex the elders live in over in Yarnell. They throw a mean BBQ and are the NICEST people you would ever meet! Check out the link on top to see a poem recited by Celia,

one of their neighbors.

This was standard all around...we met wonderful people whose lives have been enriched by knowing the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our missionaries love and serve them, and it is evident in how they are loved in return.

In this whole group, other than missionaries, there is one recent convert and one investigator and a whole lot more potential members of Christ's Church! We had a wonderful time!

After the BBQ, we had a tour of the hosts home and loved their natural stone chairs out front...how cute are those!!

Then a tour of Elder Kelley and Popes apartment along with a trial of their cowboy hats, apron and lasso! We are grateful for the example these elders are in this area. The work will progress here because of the groundwork they have laid.

SISTERS WITH STYLE!!

PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR ALL PICTURES AND VIDEO OF "Sister Rap"

Finally...a day for us and our sisters! We have been looking forward to this for a month now...and planning and preparing for an entire day together! We spent the morning hearing from all the wives of the mission presidency, plus Sister Cherry from the Office and Sister Winchell, our temple missionary. It was a spiritual feast! Our theme was Sisters With STYLE: Spirit and Testimony, Yoked in Love and Empathy

After our morning session and testimonies from our three departing sisters, we went for a temporal feast...first of food, an amazing lunch...a fun "rap" by Sister Burton (see link) and celebration of Sister Alvarez birthday.

...and then a feast of knowledge with four mini classes. One about how to make

fresh salsa from Hermana Zayas.

How to accessorize with scarves.

How to make cute hair flowers.

and how to shop for clothes and wear amazing accessories with style! OK, so there were some OVER THE TOP things donated that we just had so much fun playing with!

You get a small idea of how much clothing there really was when you see Sister Morris here modeling a bag!

The stage was set for our own fashion show with the good, the bad and THE UGLY!

I will let you judge which side is which!

Lets just say that in reality, each sister went home with a bag of new, usable clothing and accessories...some really great things thanks to the generosity of members in the mission.

We wrapped up the day with a discussion on how to be linked in love and empathy...with some literal burdens of responsibility to bear alone...

or with a companion. And even more easily with the Lord to lift in the center!

We love being women with lives centered in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Sisters with Spirit and Testimony; Yoked in Love and Empathy!