It was too cold to take pictures outside the Portland Temple with our December departing missionaries. This was taken in the atrium just inside the temple.
Our Dec. 2, 2008 arrivals. We hardly knew what to do with such a small group. Small in number, but large in personality and spirit.We have had a very unseasonably dry winter thus far – just typing that statement increases the likelihood that all of that will change now.
This week was another of our “Best of times and the Worst of times.” For the best of times we welcomed in eight new missionaries – six Elders and 2 Sisters. (The worst of times is sending home missionaries we have come to love.) They arrived on Tuesday. All went well in their arrivals and this was the first “normal size” group we have had (our first transfer week we didn’t receive any incoming missionaries and the last two incoming groups were very large groups of 22 and 19.) Dealing with 8 missionaries was very calm. Elder Turner from Riverside (who had gone on exchanges with Clint) arrived safely and was all he was built up to be and he seemed excited to be here. He said my personality was very similar to Clint’s. That is great news for me, but likely not so great for Clint. :>)
Wednesday we enjoyed going to the Portland temple with the group going home the next day. One of our returning missionaries has a cousin serving in the Portland mission and he was able to come to the temple that same time and visit a bit with his cousin. It was quite nice. The going home testimony and “last supper” was held that evening with the group, and it was very enjoyable. They all went home safely on Thursday, but there was a mix up with one of the sisters who was traveling to Palm Springs and when we went to the airport they didn’t have a ticket for her. That took a few calls and about 45 minutes of waiting time at the airport to work out with the travel group in SLC. I was glad we had arrived early enough to resolve the problem that same day.
Friday we had Zone Leaders Council (ZLC) here at the mission home instead of starting here and traveling to the chapel. It was a bit tight, but I think everyone liked the homey atmosphere.
At the end of the ZLC – one of the zone leaders who jokes with me from time-to-time came up to me and put his arm around me and asked “How is the best mission president in the church?” He had been joking around with me about him and me going to a Portland Trailblazers basketball game. So I told him no he couldn’t go to the game. He then got a bit more serious and told me he had received a speeding ticket on his way to the ZLC. I asked him how fast he was going and he told me 96 mph in a 65. I was sure he was kidding me, but the long story short is he wasn’t kidding. The fine will cost him about $500, which I determined is punishment enough.
We went to a couple of baptisms this week – one for a man our assistants had tracked out and taught. He is a solid man who is excited about what the gospel can do for his family. He is the first in his family to be baptized but he has support from everyone. He and his wife are divorced, but they are seeing each other again. She came to his baptism along with her older son from a prior marriage. Their six year old son wants to wear a badge like the missionaries. Today he was confirmed (I was able to stand in the circle) and ordained a priest. He bore his testimony and said he had lived in SLC for 17 years, and said he was determined if an LDS person ever asked him to learn more he would. I am sorry he had to move to Eugene to be tracked out by missionaries to have that opportunity, but glad that he found it eventually. Also when we was baptized one foot came up and he had to be baptized a second time. His 6 year old son was confused he was "only" baptized two time, because he thought he had to be baptized three times - once for the Father, once for the Son and once for the Holy Ghost.
Mom is wrapping a small present for each of the missionaries and cooking a little treat for us to bring to them while we are doing interviews the next few weeks. Once again I think she is overdoing it, but she does so great!
Although this calling is still the hardest thing we have ever done, we are loving it more and more each week.
This week was another of our “Best of times and the Worst of times.” For the best of times we welcomed in eight new missionaries – six Elders and 2 Sisters. (The worst of times is sending home missionaries we have come to love.) They arrived on Tuesday. All went well in their arrivals and this was the first “normal size” group we have had (our first transfer week we didn’t receive any incoming missionaries and the last two incoming groups were very large groups of 22 and 19.) Dealing with 8 missionaries was very calm. Elder Turner from Riverside (who had gone on exchanges with Clint) arrived safely and was all he was built up to be and he seemed excited to be here. He said my personality was very similar to Clint’s. That is great news for me, but likely not so great for Clint. :>)
Wednesday we enjoyed going to the Portland temple with the group going home the next day. One of our returning missionaries has a cousin serving in the Portland mission and he was able to come to the temple that same time and visit a bit with his cousin. It was quite nice. The going home testimony and “last supper” was held that evening with the group, and it was very enjoyable. They all went home safely on Thursday, but there was a mix up with one of the sisters who was traveling to Palm Springs and when we went to the airport they didn’t have a ticket for her. That took a few calls and about 45 minutes of waiting time at the airport to work out with the travel group in SLC. I was glad we had arrived early enough to resolve the problem that same day.
Friday we had Zone Leaders Council (ZLC) here at the mission home instead of starting here and traveling to the chapel. It was a bit tight, but I think everyone liked the homey atmosphere.
At the end of the ZLC – one of the zone leaders who jokes with me from time-to-time came up to me and put his arm around me and asked “How is the best mission president in the church?” He had been joking around with me about him and me going to a Portland Trailblazers basketball game. So I told him no he couldn’t go to the game. He then got a bit more serious and told me he had received a speeding ticket on his way to the ZLC. I asked him how fast he was going and he told me 96 mph in a 65. I was sure he was kidding me, but the long story short is he wasn’t kidding. The fine will cost him about $500, which I determined is punishment enough.
We went to a couple of baptisms this week – one for a man our assistants had tracked out and taught. He is a solid man who is excited about what the gospel can do for his family. He is the first in his family to be baptized but he has support from everyone. He and his wife are divorced, but they are seeing each other again. She came to his baptism along with her older son from a prior marriage. Their six year old son wants to wear a badge like the missionaries. Today he was confirmed (I was able to stand in the circle) and ordained a priest. He bore his testimony and said he had lived in SLC for 17 years, and said he was determined if an LDS person ever asked him to learn more he would. I am sorry he had to move to Eugene to be tracked out by missionaries to have that opportunity, but glad that he found it eventually. Also when we was baptized one foot came up and he had to be baptized a second time. His 6 year old son was confused he was "only" baptized two time, because he thought he had to be baptized three times - once for the Father, once for the Son and once for the Holy Ghost.
Mom is wrapping a small present for each of the missionaries and cooking a little treat for us to bring to them while we are doing interviews the next few weeks. Once again I think she is overdoing it, but she does so great!
Although this calling is still the hardest thing we have ever done, we are loving it more and more each week.
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