Random Things This Week

Just some random thoughts about this week.

First of all, I made something new.

Last weekend we came home to a food shipment consisting of some Poblano peppers.  I looked up online how they are best used and was delighted to hear you could make CHILE RELLENOS from them.  This is one of President Taylors favorite restaurant choices!

I learned how to fire roast them in the oven, peel them, clean them out and stuff them with cheese and spinach (which we also got in the food drop)  THEY WERE DELICIOUS...time consuming but delicious!  I felt like a "real wife/mom" that day!

 Wednesday night I got to go out with Sisters Uriostegui and Graves.
We had SO MUCH FUN!  We taught a grandma and her grandson that were just delightful!

We set the camera on the car with a timer to get this shot...

...then tried the old "hold the camera out in front of your own face" shot and got this treasure!

We laughed until we cried!

I obviously have no aim and way too short of arms!

And, we got yet another great food drop this Friday to fill our garage with the smell of rotting vegetables...OK, well, a few rotting tomatoes...but the smell does carry!

We will bless the lives of neighbors and missionaries with potatoes, broccoli, celery, potatoes and onions this week along with the bread that inevitably will come on Monday!

THANK YOU ASSISTANTS AND ELDERS FOSTER AND HESS FOR HELPING OUT!!!

We rushed off to interviews and came home to a clean garage after the Assistants left!  They are WONDERFUL!

ANOTHER GREAT WEEK IN THE APM!!

PEORIA Zone Interviews 4/12

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We finished the week with our neighborhood zone, the Peoria/Peoria North Zone!

Fun times were had by all in the now famous CLEANING RELAY!

 The "helpers" in the relay were just as important as the main participant...a point we could elaborate on.

 President once more waxed eloquent in his behind the back toilet paper toss!

 And boy do I look happy to be playing this game?
I am sure they were all just happy when we were DONE!

The zone flourishes under the direction of Zone Leaders Elder Brown and Freeman.
They had a wonderful afternoon of instruction and learning together.

I had to bail out to take Braden to a Church activity in our home ward so I missed most of their discussion, but I heard how great it was!

Good job Peoria/Peoria North Zone!!

SURPRISE Zone Interviews 4/12

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We joined the great SURPRISE/ SURPRISE N. Zone for their interview day and zone meeting.

We got smart and took a break from interviews so all could be in on it from the start!

 Everyone did a great job at each station of the CLEANING RELAY RACE!!!


Now, will they put into practice all of these skills?

 Elder Jones hopes so!

The rest of the afternoon was spent in skills training and discussion.

Zone Leaders Griessman and Wood did a great job with leading the training session!

Their zone had wonderful input and comments!  They really get involved in discussion which is so good!

We loved our day with this great zone!!

Glendale Zone Interviews 4/12

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Today was interview day with the great GLENDALE ZONE!

We got all missionaries but two in this group shot.  See Elder Kamissoko and Sister Jeanfreau below in single shots!

 We got lots of pictures of the CLEANING RELAY RACE.
Here Elder Stott takes out Mr. Clean!










And here you see Elder Zeledon and Sister Jeanfreau in action!

 Above are Elders Kamissoko and Ware doing it right!


And yes, even President and I got in on it...I think I caught up while he was getting fancy in shooting the water bottle...

 More practice teaching in skills training.

 And some shots of our bike missionaries in the parking lot afterward.

With "Best Tricks on Bike" going to Elder Turner!


Great day with the Glendale Zone with Zone Leaders A. Johnson and M. Young!

Phoenix North Interviews 4/12

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We had a full week of interview days beginning with the Phoenix North Zone.

It is a 4 hour block of time set aside for training and discussion and teaching while President is pulling each missionary for a 8-10 minute personal interview.

 Zone Leaders Alvis and McBride led all the teaching sessions of the day and did a fantastic job.  They are humble examples to their zone...and full of happiness and love for what they do.

 I think we got all but Elder Wheelwright and McConnell in this group picture...see them below.

We had our cleaning relay game which was a blast!

This zone exhibited REAL STYLE in how they did the course!

And, there were the usual spills of pass-along cards when they bent over to do any of the stations!!! So entertaining!
Golfing the scrubbie sponges is definitely the hardest station of the relay...it can make or break the whole game!

 Yes, President and I even got in on the action...I think today I beat him, but he was a good sport and finished with STYLE as well!

Here are Elders Wheelwright and McConnell who did not make it into the group shot above. They are practice teaching with Elders C. Johnson and Simcox.

Then it was back for another couple hours of training.  What a wonderful group of missionaries in this zone!  WE LOVE THEM SO MUCH!

Kigueta/Borrows Visit

We had been anticipating Hermana Kigueta/Borrows bringing her Mom to visit us all month!  They were completing a wonderful "Mother-Daughter" trip to Mexico that sounded just SO FUN!  It was great to have them in our home for an evening and just to sit and talk!  We love getting to know the families of our missionaries.  We gain greater insight into what makes them tick.  Family is SO IMPORTANT.
Lindsay has great plans for her future and will succeed in whatever she puts her heart into.  That we know for sure!  WE LOVE YOU LINDSAY!

This picture demands a little explaining...and an apology.
The Mission Home has been home to the big fork and spoon you see being held here.  They are dear to the heart of the missionaries, who love to take them off the wall and pose in funny pictures with them.  Braden called the spoon the "spanking spoon." I can see how it would be effective.
Well, tonight when President Taylor went to put his arm around me for a different picture, the spoon crashed to the hard tile floor and, it was history :(
To make the room look more balanced, I moved the fork over to the larger wall area to take the place of where the spoon had been.  It looked good.
The next day I opened the door of the fridge too far and it bumped the fork and...well, it fell and shattered.
I should have cried, but I laughed and laughed to think that the fork could not live without the spoon...they were perfect companions in life and death!!  I am sorry Sister Beck for the untimely death of Mr and Mrs Utensil!

Mission President Seminar Las Vegas Style

Last weekend we spent in Las Vegas...

Strange but true.  Twice a year, all the Mission Presidents and wives are brought together for training in their respective areas of the world for these training sessions.

We serve with about 16 other couples in the AMERICA SOUTHWEST AREA.
It is a delight to get together with them along with our leadership, to learn, share and grow.

We come home with ideas on what to train our missionaries on and with renewed enthusiasm for what we do!

President Durrant and Taylor model a practice teaching together here.  Yes, President Durrant used to be a NBA basketball star:)

We love our friends serving in the mission field!
We love and appreciate our leaders as well!