From Hawaii

more Haines City

The Drapers, a new senior couple from Canada and the Kings the members who are renting their cottage to the Drapers in front of one of the myriad of Citrus trees. They grow 70 varieties. We came home with bags of different kinds.

Haines City

The Mexican restaurant we ended up eating at after much searching
Top Left where we did not eat because it was a barbeque place next inbetween the livestock place and an exterminator. Didn't want to eat exterminated livestock

once more our YSA Elders

Elder Salmon and Elder Alber They are the missionaries for USF

More misc. missionary pictures

Elder Salmon and Elder Alber USF YSA Elders Elder Meiners President Elder Nielson singing at Barbara's baptism. Anne's baptism
Sister Thomas Diane (baptismal day) Sister Lane

Companion study at the mission home after breakfast and stretching class. Notice my quart jar but I am missing taking the picture

Going home missionaries

Sister Lane in the purple is going home :( Sister Thomas is her last companion. In the mission they say the last companion kills the home going mission off. So thus the knife. Sister Thomas will now train Sister Salinas. These girls have been so much fun. Hard working and low maintenance :)

more arrival and departure pictures posted after our thanksgiving pictures oh well

Elder Palmer
Elder Berry Spanish
Elder Parkinson and our AP Elder DeHoyas


























Sister Salinas Engish speaking and Sister Phelps Spanish speaking
Those are our 5 incoming Missionaries.

more thanksgiving

Some pictures of our Thanksgiving dinner with our Office couples and our new couple who will be serving in Haines City.Me and President Elder Mott, Elder Draper. Top row Sister Mott, Sister Draper, Sister Chambers and Elder Chambers. I did the 10 second thing with the camera so I was pretty proud of myself

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving surprise from our Hawaii family. It brought back such fun memories of doing that same thing for our missionaries. What a fun surprise

Transfers

At the Mission Presidents seminar the Presidents were given a gift of a limited edition replica of the original 1830 version of the Book of Mormon. It is beautiful leather and written in the style in which it was originally written.... without verse, etc. President had a magnificent experience when he he first held it in his hands and envisioned the Prophet Joseph Smith as he handled the book when it was completed and his joy! He said his eyes were opened and it was if he saw it as it happened and he felt the same joy.

The book actually has features that replicate how the first edition of the Book of Mormon was crafted:

Genuine vegetable tanned sheepskin

High quality jute paper

Smythe sewn signatures

Original style and placement of text

Text block edges sprinkled with blue dye

Includes rare list of references

It is remarkably beautiful!

Monday night we welcomed our new missionaries and began our training of the incoming missionaries. This transfer had just 5- 3 Elders and 2 Sisters (three Spanish speaking and two English).

. This is Carol and Bill. Carol has worked at the Mission Home for several Mission Presidents. She helps with all the meals at transfers. Bill just joined the church last month.For transfers this month, they offered to
plan the whole menu and to purchase and prepare the food. It was such a blessing for us as we were so tired from Orlando and so time pressed He and Carol got engaged just last week. They were actually high school sweethearts and were even engaged, but it hadn't worked out. Now, years later, they met and seem so happy together. Bill now helps with all the meals too. They are really nice people.

One of Elder Mott's responsibilities is to take pictures of the new missionaries. He takes their individual picture for our mission board in the President's office and our home. He also takes a picture to send to their parents. This is Elder Parkinson who won the Utah State Amatuer Golf tournament in August and deferred a golf scholarship to BYU in order to serve his mission. The Lord works in mysterious ways....sending him our way. Tuesday we started early with training at the Carrollwood Chapel at 7:30 am with our new missionaries and Tuesday night we had the "Farewell Dinner" at the Mission Home for those returning home.It was really hard to say goodbye. Elder Bagley is the missionary who trained us and we feel he is the closest thing to perfect that there is and We love him for all he taught us. After a wonderful meal we enjoyed a testimony meeting and then had a song. The Spanish missionaries sang "As I Have Loved You" then the English Missionaries sang it, then it was sung in both languages simultaneously. It was wonderful. After kneeling in prayer there were lots of tears and goodbyes shared. These are the moments that we truly cherish.

President and Elder Bagley

Our Spanish Missionaries

Temple Trip. Our departing missionaries. Most of them will go home the day before Thanksgiving, 2 on Dec. 15 and 1 on the 28th of December. President and Elder Bagley our beloved assistant who trained us with patience and love. Us with Sister Rowley.

Today may have been our last trip to the temple. Elder Mott drove the van. There were 12 missionaries, the Motts ( our dear couple missionaries whom we have come to love so much), and very tired us. Actually 5 of our missionaries came from the south and got a ride and just met us at the temple. We were so exhausted after a solid week of Zone Conferences, we slept most of the trip there. We didn't even know they took that picture. That is Elder Brimley, Blackman and Firth in the background

When the temple appears in view, the missionaries shout and scream like kids going to Disneyland!

Elder Fangupo hunting snakes

Elder Fangupo hunting snake and President (I will quote Nathan when he was very young,) "This is what you're supposed to not do"

Sisters making good use of their time

These sisters are planning out on the sidewalk while they wait for their turn to interview with President. ANd President serving at a ward fiesta (doing what he loves to do). THey are Sister Lopez, Higley and MacArthur

These pictures are from the dedication or our Haitian/Sanish branch.. Everyone was so excited! Yesterday they had an Open House for everyone in the community to come and view this new addition to this small town. Well, this morning, this branch was filled with Haitian and Spanish members who have worked hard and long to see this day come. Twelve years ago the area was opened up and dedicated for missionary work. At that time there was only 1 less active "gringa" (caucasion sister). Today the chapel was filled. In the past they had to drive to Lehigh Acres to perform baptisms and for twelve years, they have held their Sunday meetings in the Immokalee Community Center. When a hurricane blew a hole in the roof, the branch President said, its ok, when it rains we use buckets and when it is hot we use fans. Now, they have their own font, relief society room, kitchen, and lots of classrooms. The classrooms are really small, smaller than our office in our home. it was so sweet to hear the primary sing the songs in thier language. I could recognize the tunes. We all sang the hymns in our own language-Creole, French, Spanish English. it sounded great. We all understand the language of the spirit. Their building is small but has everything they need. They have a "multi-purpose" room which doubles as their chapel and cultural hall. At the front is a built in podium and a small step up stand with 12 padded choir chairs. For Sacrament Meeting the congregation sat on about 100 padded stackable chairs. The chairs are moved and then they use the room as we would our cultural hall for their activities. It was very interesting. The meeting was mostly conducted in English, however, announcements were made in English, Spanish and Haitian. Scriptures were read in French and Spanish. Some members had earphones on their heads and were listening to the translations through those. Others, mostly Haitian members, were sitting next to full time missionaries who just translated out loud for them. On the stand was the Fort Myers Stake Presidency, the Branch Presidency and President and President Thompson, our counselor. There was a special musical number and when the young sister was finished, half the congregation clapped. President Momblack, the Branch President, stood up afterward and gently said, "now that we have a chapel, we shouldn't clap." It was priceless. The spirit was so strong and sweet in this humble little branch. We were so glad we made the trip down. President and I taught the Priests quorum. Only 2 have other family members, the rest are the only member. We were trying to encourage them to serve missions. 9 of them are on the high school football team and many are good runners. Their parents came to America for a better life so they don't want their young sons to serve missions but to go to college.