Monthly Archives: April 2013

Monday Gets Much Better…

After a rocky start, Monday turned out to be great. First I was able to get my iPad to find wi-fi sources. Then I went to the office and got to help out with some problems before heading to the Sprint store and get my phone up and running…never thought of taking out the battery to reset the phone, so I learned something for future use.

Then we prepared lunch for some very special guests.1 15Apr13 - Account Plow Stew 2 15Apr13 - lunch Ship Plow

While I was at the office in the morning the APs came in to make their accountability calls. Basically these are stewardship calls to the zone leaders to find out why some people did not get baptized, what they are planning to teach each district leader and share with the districts, and any exchanges they plan to go on for the week. If they feel it is necessary they do some suggesting and training. it is often a spiritual experience listening to these young leaders counsel with other young leaders.

After getting my phone working I came home and helped Mary get lunch ready for our special guests – the APs. Usually we have lunch with them 10 days before transfers but since we will not be here for the next transfer, we decided to have lunch so elder Plowman could share one with us. It has been many months since he came to a last lunch when he transferred out of the Fort Lauderdale zone.

3 15Apr13 - lunch foods on 4 15Apr13 - 4 for lunch

 

They got lasagna, salad, and garlic bread for lunch which was followed by pumpkin pie and ice cream. At least they look happy.

 

5 15Apr13 - Gust breaking up 6 15Apr13 - Stew Plow 7 15Apr13 - 3 of 4 Mary 8 15Apr13 - Plow for ride Gust, Ship Stew

 

After lunch they started sharing some stories and one of them completely broke up elder Gust. I can not remember what it was about but all of the elders joined in. I guess the last picture means the other three have to carry elder Plowman until he learns what to do.

9 15Apr13 - 4 with bikes 10 15Apr13 - 4 and us bikes

We then went to the office and who should show up in their p-day clothes and with their bikes but the fab four…we had to take some pictures and perhaps the last one with these four wonderful friends who are missionaries.

11 15Apr13- Gust Shirt 12 15Apr13 - no idea where to go

 

I noticed that elder Gust was wearing a T-shirt that I had not seen before. He inherited it and it seems to be one that the Fort Lauderdale Zone had printed at some time. If anyone knows when I would love to know they were the Kings of Zion. I took the last picture to show a car that was in the right turn lane and when the turn signal turned green she moved over into the middle of the intersection. I thought she was going to just turn right instead of left – I have seen this happen before at this intersection – but instead when the light turned green she went straight across. It is truly interesting driving in Florida.



Monday Morning….interesting!

I guess it is important that I have a memorable last Monday morning because it has been very interesting.

First when I got up to go to the gym I found that my new phone would not respond to any efforts on my part to wake it up. Annoying but nothing really terrible because I will take it in to Sprint and have them tell me what I did to make it not like me. Oh, yes it is charged!

Second I get to the gym and find that my iPad will not connect to the management office wifi. When that happened I realized that it would not work yesterday at the chapel either but that is not unusual since it is often down. Again no big thing because I have 3G and nothing was going to stop me from getting in my exercising. But when I got home it would not work on our system either.   Tried a number of things to get it to connect but without success. If I can not figure out what is wrong it means a long trip to the Apple store which I do not look forward to. Again no big thing but annoying.

But then when I was getting a little annoyed at the way the day was going I got on the Tembe Elephant park’s webcam and was greeted by this sight…

Screen Shot 2013-04-15 at 7.36.29 AM

 

If you have ever been to South Africa you will know what animal this is. Also you will laugh – I certainly did – because  it is amazing how often this is the view you get of many animals. When I saw the picture, everything kind of fell into place – do not sweat the little things, enjoy what you can.

I trust that all of you are having or had a wonderful Monday morning in this beautiful world that the Lord has provided for us! If not, read the experiences in the post below and you will certainly feel better.



Experiences from President Anderson’s Letter…

This week’s experiences focus on two principles that President Anderson taught in conferences and specialized training meetings over the last months. I am glad so many of you find them as uplifting as I do…

Using our members as part of the journey will get our investigators to their destination of baptism:

“We were thinking and praying this past week about how we could get one of our investigators to church and we decided that we needed to take over a certain older couple from our ward. As we took them over, they automatically hit it off because they are going through a lot of the same things. The brother that we took over has stage four cancer and is slowly dying and there is nothing that they can do about it. Although he has this challenge, he and his wife are both really happy people. Our investigator saw how happy he was even when he was so sick and she wants that exact same thing. The couple that we took over went and picked her up on Sunday morning, took her on a chapel tour, and took her home to eat between sessions. It was awesome to see that as we followed inspiration on who to take over we received the blessing and accomplished what we set out to do.”

As we magnify the great titles of missionaries, “Healers of Souls” for example, we will be able to change hearts and lives:

“We had an amazing experience yesterday acting as ‘Healers of Souls’. We knocked on a door and DJ opened it and before we could say anything told us, ‘Come on in, I have some time for you’. He told us his story about his girlfriend cheating on him and using him and he explained he had let his anger go and told us that he had an inescapable darkness and weight upon his heart. We promised him peace and a release from this during the blessing. We told him to focus on this peace. After the blessing he had tears and accepted the date without hesitation. He told us, ‘If you go the rest of the day and everyone slams the door in your face and you feel like you haven’t made a difference, know you have changed my life this day. I was going to go pour sugar in her engine later tonight, but now instead, I am going to go return the funnel and get my money back. I don’t have any anger in my soul’

The journey of progressing them to baptism will always result in miracles as we allow God to take us there with testimony and the Spirit:

“On Monday this past week my companion and I went to visit the family of 6 that we were lead to the previous week. We called a member that had introduced himself at church on Sunday and asked if he would come with us. He told us that it was his day off the next day and he actually wanted to get to know the family better. We showed up and the wife answered the door. She told us that her husband was asleep and that we would have to reschedule. We then introduced our friends that we brought along and told her that they wanted to get to know them better after meeting her on Sunday. We expressed our testimonies to her and she let us in to meet with her without her husband. The members were key in getting into the door. One of the amazing tools that we have learned to use as missionaries is identifying the spirit. We talked with her about church and she remembered the wonderful feeling that she had. We testified that that was from God and that he wanted her in his church. We reviewed the doctrine of Revelation with her and what the spirit’s role is in that process. By the end of the lesson she was committed to be baptized this Sunday. When she was committed we taught her another commandment that would help her receive more revelation, the word of wisdom. As we recounted Joseph Smith’s first vision she felt the spirit she accepted it right away and promised to stop drinking Coffee and Tea. It was great to see her feel of the spirit and make commitments. Then we set up an appointment for Wednesday. Wednesday rolled around and we went by again with our member and we had a great lesson planned to teach the whole family. We ended up teaching the doctrine of the Gospel with a wonderful parable that related perfectly to them. The spirit was so strong as they understood the Doctrine of Christ. That is one thing that I have learned. As people understand eternal truths they are so much more desirous to act. After teaching that we taught them all the commandments that they needed to know and they committed to them all. It was such a wonderful experience. Friday we brought the whole family to another members home to have a family home evening. Their friendship was essential. They bonded quickly and their children had a blast together. After a spiritual powerful lesson and teaching the rest of the things that they needed to hear, they were so excited, and the whole family got baptized on Sunday. The Bishop and members were in tears during the service.”

I love the power we have as missionaries as we link ourselves to the vision of who these great souls can become. God will give us power and answers to all things as we become obedient:

 



Last Sunday…Very Quiet!

I passed my phone on to Elder Singleton so there were no calls from missionaries asking for rides. We have gone directly to the Fort Lauderdale chapel so seldom that when I turned right where we usually go straight Mary tried to correct me until she realized that I was going the direct way. I confessed to her that it also took me a moment to remember to turn.

I took only two pictures today.

14 April 13 - Mike Warren and Us 14 April 13 - two hibiscus

We picked up Mike Warren a number of times to bring him to church while he was investigating and even afterwards if he needed a ride. He is very special and will be a great addition to the ward once we can get him in a white shirt. We also will keep in touch with him to encourage him to stay active. When we got home from church Mary noticed that the hibiscus plant under our front window had two beautiful blossoms and I had to take a picture as a memory of our last Sunday.

fort-lauderdale-mormon-temple33

 

I did not take this beautiful picture. It was taken by a sister Caroline McCulloch and can be seen on the Fort Lauderdale construction website http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/fortlauderdale/construction/

I told Mary I want to go out to the construction site some evening this coming week and see what picture I can get from on top of a hill to the East of the temple at sunset…then hopefully we can come back for the dedication.



15th Street Fisheries with the Singletons….and Pelicans!

Elder and Sister Singleton asked us to lunch and we suggested that we go to one of our favorite places – the 15th Street Fisheries. This would give them a chance to get to know how to get there as well as see part of the inter-coastal waterway. Of course it was raining quite hard when we left the office but it cleared up enough that they got to take a walk on the dock after lunch.

1 13Apr13 - 15th St - Single 2 13Apr13 - 15th St - Koi

Our hosts and the beautiful Koi pond.

3 13Apr13 - 15th St - Us 4 13Apr13 - 15th St - River Quee

P-day clothes and the Jungle Queen goes by. We suggested that the take a ride on one of their p-days

5 13Apr13 - 15th St - Single Dock 6 13Apr13 - 15th St - Fish

A small boat pulled in with two young men aboard and they soon laid out their catch for a picture. I got both the fish and E/S Singleton admiring them.

9 13Apr13 - 15th St - Yacht 7 13Apr13 - 15th St - Pelicans

One of the small yachts docked along the river bank. We had never noticed this sign before because we had not sat inside the restaurant. We had also not seen pelicans around.

11 13Apr13 - 15th St - 3 Pelicans 12 13Apr13 - 15th St - Pelicans

 

When we were on the docks, Mary pointed out these birds on the roof of the restaurant. At first I thought they were statues as each was in a different pose, but there is no doubt that this big guy is real.

10 13Apr13 - 15th St - Sign13 13Apr13 - 15th St - Sing Walking

 

I also had not noticed this rather large sign before. The Singletons took a walk along the dock to look at some more boats docked in an inlet. I got them strolling back to the restaurant before we headed home. It was a great lunch – I had a delicious lobster roll – with some very good people. I am just sorry we will not have more time to get to know them.

BTW – As I was driving back to the office it started pouring rain. However just before we got there, it stopped so we were blessed both at the waterfront and at the office.

 



We Will Report Our Mission on May 19!

Bishop Tanner has written to say that we will be giving our mission report on the 19th of May. We would love to see any of the wonderful missionaries that we have served with and/or their parents. It will be held at Edgemont 11th Ward 3050 Mojave Lane in Provo starting at 11:00. Following Sacrament Meeting we will have an open house at our home.

Since I do not like to post our address in a public forum, we will have the address and how to get there at the meeting. If you can not make the sacrament meeting you are still welcome to drop by our house. Just send leave us a request on our blog and I will send you the address.



Thursday…A Regular Day after Transfers…Starting to Pack

So Thursday started out with me beginning to pack my clothes that I am not going to need for the rest of the mission or when traveling. I noticed that the last thing that went into the bag was my extra suit with my name tag and it seemed like a perfect picture to show packing. Later after going into the office for the morning to work with elder and sister Singleton, I stayed home and begin the packing of the kitchen while Mary went back do some more training with sister Singleton.

02 11 April 13 - Packing 2 12 April 13 - more packing

12 11 April 13 - Collins Johnson Forbush 11 April 13 - Sisters Snacks 2

The pictures are in reverse order but I way too lazy to change them. Sisters Johnson and Forbush came in to talk to elder Bare and stopped to talk to sister Collins. From the look on her face, I think Sister Forbush is adjusting well to the mission. Two other sister companionships came in and it is obvious that sister Gordon is getting great training on going for the snacks from her trainer sister Dougal. Sisters Merrill and Stegelmeier are long past that training. We are going to miss all of these sisters…

10 11 April 13 - Us Sisters 2 08 11 April 13 - APs Silva singing

As I mentioned the pictures are reversed so the first one you should have seen was the one with us all being proper missionaries. Speaking of proper missionaries, The APs assisted by elder Silva who had to wait at the office for an afternoon flight home to Peru, sang a song in Spanish for me. I thought that I had shot a video of it but missed it and only got a picture…It would have gone viral on UTube for sure.

07 11 April 13 - APs 06 11 April 13 - Stewart Mary PLowman

Thursday morning is stressful for the APs as they have to call each Zone and ask for who is probably going to get baptized on Sunday. They only want the name and ages of those who the missionaries really think will be baptized. They are graded on a scale of from 1-5 with 5 being almost certain. The APs then report the 4-5 possible baptisms to President Anderson.

05 11 April 13 - Plowman gets to work 04 11 April 13 - APs and Silva 2

 

This is the first time elder Plowman got to be on the asking side of the conversation. In the past he has been one of the ZLs that needed to report. 5 great missionaries together for about the last time. A few hours after I took this picture elder Silva was winging his way to New York on the way home to Peru…that is right he had to fly 1200 miles North and then fly the same 1200 miles back South some hours later to get him to Peru at a reasonable time. I am glad I do not work in mission travel – they do amazing things.



Wednesday Night – A Departing Dinner!

 

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On Thursday night the missionaries who will depart for home tomorrow come to the mission home as soon as they get back from the temple. Since we will leave before the next group will depart we were invited to this one.

We arrived early and were able to help prepare dinner…that is another last as we have had the chance to do this a number of times for different events. It is always fun to work with sister Anderson as she gets ready to serve another meal to 10 to 80 people.

Unfortunately I left my camera plugged into the computer at home because I downloaded all the pictures from earlier in the day. I would have run home and got it but we were needed. But when the missionaries arrived E/S McCormick were kind enough to let me use their phone to take at least a few pictures. So the event did not go completely unrecorded! I think I will ask some of the missionaries who went home to share some of their pictures with me.

1 13 April 13 - Depart - jpg 2 13 April 13 - Depart

As soon as the departing missionaries arrive at the mission home, there is a blessing on the food and they dig in. Elder Edwards’ mother will be happy to see he is getting salad before he hits the meat and starches. Elders Silva, Chamberlain, Maki, Edwards, and a wide smiling Kata are ready to get started filling their plates.

3 13 April 13 - Depart 4 13 April 13 - Depart

The two B’s that are finishing their mission, Elder Beer and Sister Beck pose for their picture. Elder Dowdle carries his heaping plate of food while elder Chinchilla can be seen in the back ground.

5 13 April 13 - Depart 6 13 April 13 - Depart

The letter reading group grew to three when sister Andrus joined them. We have had the great experience of serving near both sisters for much of our mission. President Anderson watches over the food while sister Collins helps out. The Collins have been busy almost everyday for weeks as they try to find housing for all the new companionships. Then they have to fill them with furniture, and everything else the missionaries will need. They are an amazing couple who have served for at least 3 years and are planning to continue serving as the housing couple. We will miss them very much.

7-2 13 April 13 - Depart 7 13 April 13 - Depart

Elder Silva and Sister Lake get their food…I can testify that those rolls in front of sister Lake are wonderful. Even though I am trying to keep my weight down, I can not pass up the rolls. Elder Beer continued to attract the sisters…now the party includes sister Lake.

8 13 April 13 - Depart

 

I am not sure if Mary was guarding the salad bowl or making sure each missionary had something green on their plate besides delicious green beans.

After dinner we gathered in the living room and President Anderson asked each missionary to share a special spiritual experience that they had on their mission. It was very interesting and spiritually uplifting to hear how they were led by the spirit to special people who the Lord had prepared to hear the gospel from them.

Then it was time for a departing group picture before we had final hugs and goodbyes. Hopefully we will be able to see some of these great missionaries again after we get home. But no matter where we are the memory of their great spirits and friendships will be in our hearts.



Wednesday – Our Last Transfer…at least in Fort Lauderdale

NOTICE…11 Pictures added on Friday Night. Somehow I managed to leave out some pictures when I transferred them to the blog…They are about 2/3rd of the way down the post. So if you looked and did not see your missionary, you might want to look again…

Transfer day is a wonderfully crazy day for President and Sister Anderson, the assistants and most of the senior missionary couples.

The first thing that happens is all the departing missionaries come in to the Plantation chapel by 5:30 and drop off their luggage and bikes before getting into vans and going up to the Orlando temple. This transfer there were 13 missionaries being released so it took two vans and two couples. Elder and sister Collins are old hands at this while this was elder and sister McCormicks first chance to accompany the missionaries. I do not have any pictures of this because at 5:30 I was just rolling out of bed. However we twice had the experience of going with the missionaries and we loved it…well maybe not the 7 hours of driving but the spirit of the temple more than made up for that.

Just as I have gotten pretty good at taking lots of pictures at the transfer, we attended our last one here in the Florida Fort Lauderdale mission. For the last time we had the chance to see and hear the sights and sounds of a transfer meeting. What a joy it is to hear 50 -100 dedicated missionaries sing, recite their purpose, gasp and smile as the assistants reveal the new callings and companionships, and then the joyful musical chair like movement when they say ‘you can now make the change.’ There are big hugs for the companion that they have learned to know and love in a way that they have never known anyone else. 24/7 they have shared each experience, joy, heartache, and even problem. They then go and find their new companion and give another big hug. It is too bad that every parent can not share in this wonderful experience. It is one of the great blessings we have had the opportunity to share on our last two missions.

Then President Anderson gives some counsel. Once again he urged the missionaries to not make transfer meeting an excuse for a non-productive day or week. He shared a number of letters from missionaries who heeded his counsel and promise at the last transfer and went to work as soon as they were back in their area and dropped off luggage. The stories told how the missionaries were blessed with amazing success when they had faith and were obedient to their president’s wishes.

The toughest part of the meeting for me was the singing of the traditional closing song…”We’ll Bring the World His Truth.” I could only sing about 1/2 of any verse as I felt the spirit and perhaps a little sadness of all those faithful missionaries singing with such spirit and zeal. They are truly doing what the title suggests and we have been greatly blessed by in a small way helping them.

I hope some of you parents who read this blog in hopes of seeing a picture of your missionary find one or two here. I have tried to take as many companionship pictures as possible. Enjoy!

01 10April2013 - Trans - Studying 02 10April2013 - Trans - Bay

Being very obedient missionaries, most of them were in the chapel soon after 8:00 and studying their scriptures. The front two rows were filled with the 21 new missionaries who probably are still trying to recover from jet lag and waking up yesterday – if they ever went to sleep that is – in time to catch the bus to the SL airport at 4:30. Elder Bay and Tesch who are down in Homestead Zone were one of the companionships that stayed the same but they still came up to bring other missionaries. They sat on the back row and had a great view of the meeting.

03 10April2013 - Trans - Jones Hunt 04 10April2013 - Trans - More studying

All the missionaries involved in the transfer was asked to be at the chapel by 8:00 so they could spend some time studying and pondering the scriptures. I did catch a picture of elders Jones and Hunt in the hall. They had been serving as ZLs up in Coral Springs but both left the meeting with new companions and positions. Elder Richardson is on the end of the group of missionaries intent on studying.

05 10April2013 - Trans - Loucks 06 10April2013 - Trans - Ellis Mail

Elders Elliott and Loucks have been companions but they also got new companions. One of the things that missionaries look forward to is getting mail. Since a good portion of the missionaries move each transfer we hold letters and packages or about a week before transfer meeting so it does not get sent to the wrong address. E/S Ellis carefully lays out the mail on hand so the missionaries can stop in and get their’s after the meeting.

10 10April2013 - Trans - changing places 2 11 10April2013 - Trans - Mendenhall ONeil

I mentioned above the changing of companionships that occurs zone by zone. Once the assignments are read they tend to jump up, give their old companion a big loving hug and immediately find their new companion and greet them the same way. They then sit down in the zone that they are assigned. My short term friend and companion for about 20 minutes, elder Mendenhall will be trained by elder O’Neill in the Miami Beach Zone. I am sorry that I will not get to know elder Mendenhall better but I know he will be well trained by elder O’Neill.

12 10April2013 - Trans - LangfordPassey 13 10April2013 - Trans - Burt Marcussen

Elder Langford – who I really look up to at 6′ something – will train elder Passey while they serve in the way down in the Keys. They will have the privilege of having Elder and Sister McCormick in their area. They will never worry where their next meal will be coming from. Ever smiling elder Burt has a new companion in elder Marcusen. I always mix elder Marcusen up with elder Martineau – not them personally but their talents. Elder Marcusen is a marvelous piano player…I am not sure how elder Marcusen plays.

14 10April2013 - Trans - Rugg Chartrand 15 10April2013 - Trans - LeBaron Judkins

Elder Chartrand is going to be trained as he serves with our friend elder Rugg as they serve in the Fort Lauderdale Zone. Sister LeBaron will be trained by sister Judkins in the highly Spanish speaking Hialeah Zone.

16 10April2013 - Trans - Andelin Brakey 17 10April2013 - Trans - Tesch Bay

Elder Andelin – elder Burt’s recent companion – will serve with elder Brakey in one zone further North – the Coral Springs Zone. Elders Tesch and Bay stood still long enough for me to take a companionship picture

18 10April2013 - Trans - Tesch Bay  Fisher Allen19 10April2013 - Trans - Hoole Elliott

They then were joined by elders Fisher and Allen for a group shot. Elders Fisher and Allen will serve together in the Miami Zone. Elder Hoole is now serving with elder Elliott – see above – up in the Palm Beach Zone.

20 10April2013 - Trans - Ellis LeBaron Judkins 21 10April2013 - Trans - Wardell Hutchinson

Sister LeBaron got to meet elder Ellis as sister Judkins looks on. We are going to miss elder Wardell very much – he is training elder Hutchinson while serving as one of the district leaders in the Hialeah Zone.

22 10April2013 - Trans - Eldridge Brown 23 10April2013 - Trans - Pearce Brown

Sister Eldridge will be trained by sister Montgomery-Brown in the Miami Beach Zone. Elder Pierce – who always has a smile on his face will be with elder W. Brown and they will serve in the Coral Springs Zone. I did not notice that I took pictures of an sister and elder Brown one after another. I just grab as many companionships as I can and snap a quick picture.

24 10April2013 - Trans - Torres Pond 25 10April2013 - Trans - Thompson Hunt

A big smile from elder Torres who is now a companion of ever smiling elder Pond. They will serve as ZLs up in Stuart Zone. They will put many, many miles on their truck as they cover the largest zone in the mission. Elder Thompson is going to be trained by one of the best – elder Hunt – while elder Hunt serves as one of the zone leaders in Homestead zone. Elder Hunt is another missionary that we have had a chance to serve closely with.

26 10April2013 - Trans - Williams Marsh 27 10April2013 - Trans - Claude Rockwood

I have to say that I smiled when I read that elder Williams was to be our old friend elder Marsh’s companion and that they would serve as Zone Leaders in the Miami Beach zone. A basketball injury is not going to slow down elder Claude who is going to serve with elder Rockwood up in Stuart Zone.

28 10April2013 - Trans - Wilson Rondo 29 10April2013 - Trans - Herrera Jackson

Elder Wilson is back in the area as he will serve as one of the DLs here in the Fort Lauderdale Zone. He will serve with elder Rondo who lost his companion elder Pond to the Stuart Zone. Sisters Jackson and Herrera share a big hug as they will now serve as companions in Stuart Zone.

30 10April2013 - Trans - Forbush Johnson31 10April2013 - Trans - Smoot Bloom

Sister Forbush will be trained by our long time friend sister Brooke as they serve in the Fort Lauderdale Zone. Speaking of the FLZ, elder Smoot now has elder Bloom as his companion as they serve as ZLs in that zone. Elder Bloom was recently a district leader here before spending some time up in the Coral Springs Zone. We glad to have him back and with elder Smoot…however we will miss elder Edwards who has departed for home.

32 10April2013 - Trans - King Ward 33 10April2013 - Trans - Toeava Olson

Elder King has a new son to train – elder Ward. They will serve together in the Hialeah Zone. Our very good friend elder Toeava is now companions with elder Osborn as they serve in Miami Zone. Although we have never served in a district or even zone with elder Toeava I feel very close to him. Maybe it is because of his great hugs but I think it has much to do with his great spirit.

34 10April2013 - Trans - Huntchinson Wardell 35 10April2013 - Trans - Houghton Smaellie

Another picture of elder Hutchison and elder Wardell…more to come further down. Sister Houghton will train sister Smaellie while they serve in the Palm Beach zone. I am hoping that sister Smaellie’s parents will post her weekly letters on her blog so I can keep up with how her mission is going.

36 10April2013 - Trans - Winslow Lee 37 10April2013 - Trans - 4 Amigos

Elder Winslow and elder Lee who are not now companions and I do not think they were ever companions but I managed to get a picture of them together. This is the first picture taken of the new Super Nova YSA area…also known as the Assistants to the President. Elder Plowman will be a great addition to elders Shipley, Stewart and Gust…

38 10April2013 - Trans - 4 Amigos and Pres 39 10April2013 - Trans - Rodriquez  Lee

Then I snagged President Anderson going by and got a shot of him with the APs. I finally got a picture of elder Rodriquez with his trainer elder Lee. They are going to be serving in the Hialeah Zone.

40 10April2013 - Trans - Kafton Page 41 10April2013 - Trans - Ovard White

Elders Kafton and Page will now serve together in the Homestead Zone. Elder Ovard will train elder White as they serve together in the Miami Zone.

43 10April2013 - Trans - Ovard White Petersen Blackham44 10April2013 - Trans - Doria Barbossa

Elder Petersen will train elder Blackham as they serve in Belle Glade. Ever smiling elder Doria is training elder Barbossa in the Palm Beach zone.

45 10April2013 - Trans - Schneider Ellett 46 10April2013 - Trans - McKay Tuai

Sisters Schneider and Ellett will be serving together in the Palm Beach Zone. I hope sister Schneider likes this picture…she told me yesterday (Thursday) that she has not been pleased with prior ones. Sister McKay will be trained by sister Tuai in Hialeah Zone.

47 10April2013 - Trans - Aul Lamb 48 10April2013 - Trans - Clayton Moody

Elder Aul and elder Lamb will spend this transfer down in Homestead zone. Sister Clayton is the trainer for sister Moody in a new area in the Royal Palm Beach ward.

49 10April2013 - Trans - Nimer Sablan 50 10April2013 - Trans - Parking Lot with Missionaries

Sister Nimer has a great trainer in sister Sablan who has only been out 12 weeks but is already a seasoned missionary. This is just a small portion of the parking lot and the excitement that occurs when the meeting is over. Missionaries, luggage, and bikes are moved around. Then there are final hugs before getting into their cars so they can head off to their new areas and start working so they have their standard of 8 blessings before the day is over.

51 10April2013 - Trans - Baumann Aloi 52 10April2013 - Trans - Bauman and laughing Aloi

 

Sister Baumann and her trainer sister Aloi will serve in the Palm Beach Zone. They get two pictures because I love the one with sister Aloi laughing at something I said just before taking the shot.

53 10April2013 - Trans - Plowman Shipley Clayton Moody 54 10April2013 - Trans - Claude Jones

Elder Plowman clowns around while elder Shipley explains to sisters Clayton and Moody how to use a fishing pole to become fishers of men…anyway that is how I interpret this picture. Elder Claude and elder Jones just happened to be close to each other so I took their picture.

55 10April2013 - Trans - Curtis Shaffer

 

Elder Curtis will serve with elder Shaffer up in Jupiter. Elder Shaffer has the honor of being the last missionary called to the Orlando mission before the Stuart Zone was transferred to the Fort Lauderdale mission.

56 10April2013 - Trans - Board Tesch Bay 57 10April2013 - Trans - Board Richardson Tesch

 

After they leave the chapel many of the missionaries stop in at the office to pick up supplies. They almost all stop in the hall to see where they and their friends are on the big board. Elder Bay seems to have more interest in my taking his picture than elder Tesch and others. In the right hand picture I caught elder Richardson, Tesch and others looking at the board.

60 10April2013 - Trans - everyone getting goodies 61 10April2013 - Trans - Burgon Jones

One of the reasons that the missionaries love to come into the office is that sister Bare feeds them bananas, pastries, cheese with crackers and lots of snacks. Elders Burgon and Jones , the two zone leaders in the Coral Spring zone got in a picture.

62 10April2013 - Trans - Burgon, Jones board 62 10April2013 - Trans - Gutierrez Martineau

Then they stopped by the board to make sure they are still on it. Elder Jones got to carry the supplies they picked up. Elders Guitierrez and Martineau not only serve together in the Hialeah zone. I think they also have the longest combination of last names among the elders. Among the sisters it is Montgomery-Brown and Eldridge. A bit a trivia that everyone needs to know.

63 10April2013 - Trans - Brown Mackley 64 10April2013 - Trans - Webb Pingree

Elder Brown did not quite get to a smile but his companion elder Mackley did. They will be serving together in the Coral Springs zone. I am not sure if elder Webb is whistling or what but his companion elder Pingree is certainly smiling about getting to serve in the Miami Zone.

66 10 April2013 - Trans - Bloom eating 69 10April2013 - Trans - Price Orton

I can not believe that elder Bloom actually is the only missionary in this picture. Sister Bare is in the background busily refiling all the goodies. Sister Price will train sister Orton in one of the Hollywood areas.

70 10April2013 - Trans - Judkins LeBaron 71 10April2013 - Trans - Baumann Aloi Nimer Clayton Sablan Nimer

Sister Judkins is showing off something on their phone to sister Le Baron. I managed to catch 3 companionships of above average sisters together. Sisters McKay, Tuai, Clayton, Moody, Sablan and Nimer.

72 10April2013 - Trans - Baumann Aloi Nimer Clayton Sablan Nimer  thumbs up 73 10 April2013 - Wilson Rondo...

 

The same sisters giving the mission’s famous thumbs up sign. Later in the afternoon when everyone else was gone, elder Wilson and elder Rondo stopped by for a visit. Since they are only about 2 miles away we will get to see them regularly.

Well that is it for transfer pictures…I hope that you found your missionary somewhere among this group. Other than elders Fuluvaka and Underwood with their companion I think I managed to get all the new missionaries and their trainers. But I did get them in the arrival pictures!



Tuesday – Part 3 – New Missionaries Arrive

21 new above average missionaries arrived at the Fort Lauderdale airport on Tuesday afternoon and we had the privilege of being asked to help greet and pick them up. From the airport most of them were taken to the hotel near the mission home where they would spend their first night in their mission field.

But before they got to drop onto their beds, they were brought to the mission home where they were fed a delicious home cooked meal, interviewed by President Anderson, had their picture taken a couple of times, instructed by the Assistants about the mission, and then some of them went out to have the opportunity to place Books of Mormon.

1 9 April 13 - LL - Arrive - Elder Blackburn leading the way 2 9 April 13 - Arrive - Greeting Pres

We all arrived just minutes after the plane from Dallas made it to the gate. A single man came through the gate and I asked if he had been on the Dallas flight. He told me he was and that there was a large group of ‘your folks’ gathering behind him. A couple of minutes later elder Blackham led the first group through the gate. Elder Mendenhall was close behind. President and sister Anderson greeted each with handshake and hug…the sisters just got the handshake from the president.

3 9 April 13 - Arrive - 5 Mendehhall 4 9 April 13 - Arrive - Fulavaka, Eldridge

Although we had known their names for months we could not put a face with the name until we saw their name tags. I got to know some of them quite well in just a couple of days. Elder Mendenhall was followed by elder White. I think in the second picture elder Chartrand is getting a hug with sister Eldridge waiting to be greeted. In the back is sister Anderson greeting the sisters.

5 9 April 13 - Arrive - Sisters Pres 6 9 April 13 - Arrive - Sisters

Sisters LeBaron, Forbush, Nimer and Eldridge are around president Anderson. That is elder Rodriquez coming through the gate with the last of the sisters.

7 9 April 13 - Arrive - Pres - Mendhall 8 9 April 13 - Arrive - Luggage 1 8 9 April 13 - Arrive - Luggage 3 10 9 April 13 - Arrive - Luggage Loading

After the greetings the next stop was the luggage area where we quickly got all the luggage. There only seemed to be a half dozen other passengers picking up luggage. It would have been a very empty plane if our missionaries had not been on it. Everyone and their luggage went to the parking garage where we filled a pick-up and our van with luggage and a couple of other vans with missionaries.

11 9 April 13 - Arrive - Luggage Loading 2 12 9 April 13 - Arrive - Luggage Loading 3

The assistants are in charge of making sure everyone’s luggage is stored and all the missionaries are accounted for. However as we drove out of the airport Mary asked if anyone had counted the missionaries in the vehicles and I told her I sure hoped so.

13 9 April 13 - Arrive - Hotel - E Thompson 14 9 April 13 - Arrive - Hotel - S Smaellie

The next stop is the hotel where room assignments are decided and the missionaries take just enough time to drop their luggage and come back down. While we were waiting for the rooms to be sorted out I had a chance to take some single photos. Elder Thompson and sister Smaellie were the first.

15 9 April 13 - Arrive - Hotel - S Forbush 16 9 April 13 - Arrive - Hotel - E Hutchison

The there was the delightful sister Forbush and elder Hutchison with the thumbs up sign.

17 9 April 13 - Arrive - Hotel - S Nimer 18 9 April 13 - Arrive - Hotel - S McKay

Sisters Nimer and McKay seem chipper for people who have been up since 3:00 and traveled some 2500 miles on planes.

19 9 April 13 - Arrive - Hotel - E Underwood 20 9 April 13 - Arrive - Hotel - E Blackham

 

Elder Underwood got in the spirit of the occasion as did elder Blackham.

21 9 April 13 - Arrive - Hotel - E Chartrand 22 9 April 13 - Arrive - Hotel - E Mendenhall

Elders Chartrand and Mendenhall got their pictures taken. Elder Blackham seems to have been able to get into many of my pictures. Probably because he is a big young man and is hard to miss.

23 9 April 13 - Arrive - Hotel - E White 24 9 April 13 - Arrive - Hotel - Rodriguez Garcia

Elders White and Rodriquez seem to have color coordinated their ties for the day. If I remember correctly their MTC district did it on purpose.

28 9 April 13 - Arrive - Hotel - Fulavaka 29 9 April 13 - Arrive - MH 1

Elder Fuluvaka already has a number of friends here in the mission because his brother served here and only went home a few months ago. Instead of a thumbs up he is giving a Hawaiian greeting. After everyone is loaded into vehicles we all went to the mission home where the first thing to be done is to have pictures taken. First they have individual pictures taken to be put on all the board cards. It is a picture that will haunt them the rest of their mission. 16 – 22 months from now the same picture will be in their departure packets so they really need to have a nice smile.

30 9 April 13 - Arrive - MH 2 Hutchinson 31 9 April 13 - Arrive - MH 2

 

Elder Hutchinson was the first elder…I completely missed the sisters. Elder Shipley is taking pictures of elder Gust taking pictures while a line of elders wait their turn.

34 9 April 13 - Arrive - MH 3 Hutchinson 35 9 April 13 - Arrive - MH 7 Rodriguez Garcia

A second shot of elder Hutchison and then elder Rodriquez.

35 9 April 13 - Arrive - MH 8 Ward 36 9 April 13 - Arrive - MH - Dinner 1

Elder Ward gets his turn. The sisters get to always be first in line for food.

37 9 April 13 - Arrive - MH - Sister Anderson 38 9 April 13 - Arrive - MH - waiting for picture

This week sister Anderson was the hostess for four dinners and a lunch. It is a good thing she loves to cook. President Anderson is the go to man for cooking meat. He cooked perfect rib-eye steaks for us on Friday night. While the sisters were getting their food the elders lined up for their second picture which is with President and sister Anderson. These will be sent to their parents with a letter saying that they arrived safely.

40 9 April 13 - Arrive - MH - a quick bite 41 9 April 13 - Arrive - MH - Stewart Ship

Some of the elders had already filled their plates when it was time for their second picture so elder Hutchison and Ward are seen snacking on some delicious rolls while they waited. I was taking a picture of elder Shipley putting away the back drop for the pictures when elder Stewart stepped into the shot. I have noticed he does that often.

42 9 April 13 - Arrive - MH - Elders Eating 43 9 April 13 - Arrive - MH - missionaries eating sister Lebaron

Notice the food heaped on these elder’s plates. They usually remark how wonderful it is to eat a real meal after weeks of MTC food. Seconds are highly suggested and happily taken by many.

44 9 April 13 - Arrive - MH - Bare Andersons 44 9 April 13 - Arrive - MH - Sister A

Elder and sister Bare helped out with the preparation, serving and clean up of the meal. The president usually eats meal – if he has time for one – while standing and talking. Sister Anderson was just getting out the dessert when I took a last picture and left to go back to the office. It was a nice experience to take part in this for the second transfer in a row. From the reply above I am glad to see at least one parent found their missionary among my photos.