Fun Stuff

 Mission President's Seminar and Training. These are other couples who came out with us and will return with us although they are all returning on the 29th of June

 We went to the airport to pick up a new missionary and he didn't show because he is supposed to come on Wednesday LOL! We drowned our sorrow in hamburgers. yes Elder Russell could fit that in his mouth.

President, Elder Russell, Elder Jackson, Elder Junk and Elder Creer

Bradenton North District Meetings

 Elder Luke and Elder Chaston doing a real play with Elder Fisher and Elder Jaime

 Elder Buck and Elder Nitta grabbing some lunch after the meeting.

 Counter clockwise from top: Elder Watkins, Elder Nitta,Elder Buck, Elder Jaime, Elder Casey and Elder Davies

 Elder Buck reliving an experience. A man told him if Jesus was right here he would tell you and you pointing at his companion to go to h e double toothpicks" Elder Buck got so hurt and said, emphatically announced that 'no, He wouldn't" Jesus loves everyone and would not say anything mean about anybody'.  Elder Buck is very tender

Hermanas Hatton, Daines and Hafen

Fun day for us to go to Bradenton and work with these wonderful missionaries.

Time with the Hermanas

I spent the evening with Hermana R and Hermana J- two hardworking Spanish sisters. Aren't they darling?  They had a 6 oclock a 7 o'clock and an 8 o'clock. The 6 appointment was sick so they went knocking and found some people to teach. the 7 was good. We knocked and knocked on the 8 but they did not answer and they turned their lights out. :( This didn't stop these Hermanas so we went knocking some more and were able to get in to a home and the sisters were brilliant. It was 8:45 and they needed to be in by 9 but they wanted to try to find for 5 more minutes and we did and we found. I love working on the ground with our missionaries.

Departures, DLC, District Meetings etc

 The laundry must be done Tuesday morning for the departing missionaries will be coming in and then on Wednesday morning we do it all over again after they leave. Table cloths,towels and sheets etc for 27.

District Leaders during our District Leader Council.

Sisters and Elders on their bikes.

Don't they look like real missionaries?

One of the Tampa South Zones Districts.

April 2013 Departing Missionaries

Tonight we had our departing dinner and departing testimonies from missionaries that we have come to love and cherish. Part of our hearts are being torn as we send them back to the world. Sad for us but happy for their Mothers.

 Elder Weddell and Elder McDougal singing in Spanish. When they were companions they would sing to investigators all of the time. They brought the Spirit into our meeting.

 Hermanas Duarte and Jensen-Elders Tavaras, Weddell and Mcdougal singing to us again in Spanish.

 Sister Furse playing for everyone. She could hardly make it through the last hymn for the tears.

 Our English Elders were having the hardest time leaving. Elders Smith, Larrabee and Mitchell singing I Know that My Redeemer Lives. They sang with passion and the Spirit. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that they have truly come to know that truth.

 Elder Titmus is a returning Haitian Creole Elder - Elder McDougal sang with him in French so he wouldn't have to do it alone.

Elders Larrabee, Smith and Mitchell are expressing what we all felt while singing "God Be With You Til We Meet Again"> Actually everyone in the room was doing the same thing. Not a dry eye in the room. The hymn expressed our feelings exactly, our prayer is that God will be with them forever. Now I just wish I could witness their beautiful reunions with their families!

April Arrivals

We planned on welcoming 27 new missionaries to day. 

 Dinner in the crock pots 7:00 AM

 Sisters at the airport ready for work.

 Elders at the airport

Gathering luggage for 27 new Missionaries. This was the time we learned about the bombs in Boston and did not yet know how Will, Karen, Bryan and Shauna were. Very difficult time

 Feeding the 27. We now have learned that our children are all right, but we are all very distraught over those who are not. It was too close to home.

 After dinner and interviews we put them to bed to get ready for the big day tomorrow.
We got them up early. Fed them breakfast. Put dinner for those going home in the crock pot and gathered up lots of towels, sheets and laundry to get done magically while we are at the church training the trainers and trainees so the home can be ready for the returning missionaries tonight.

 The 27 at the church ready to meet their trainers.

The trainers ready to meet their trainees

They are on their way!

Boston

So Grateful that our sons and their wives are safe. William was finished and his fan club had left shortly before the bombing. We were in the airport picking up our new missionaries when we heard the news. It took forever for us to get a text that all was well. Our relief was clouded by the fact that other mothers were not so fortunate. There is so much work to prepare for a marathon and so much emotion...it seems impossible to comprehend the range of emotions.

Grateful

Preparing for our New Missionaries

Setting the tables for 27 New missionaries, 6 Senior Couples, 2 AP's, and 3 Office Elders

72 Sack Lunches. Putting all the non perishables in the sacks tonight. We will make the sandwiches and add them on Tuesday when we send them on the way. We had some Elders over this afternoon for their exit interviews so I put them to work opening brown bags and putting in the chips etc.

We are excited to receive our new missionaries.

St. Pete Missionaries at St. Pete Stake Conference

Elders Hargan, Simonsen, Chamberlain (our first 18 yr old), Sholler, Langi and Farnsworth

Hermanas Rasmussen, Rodriguez, Turley and Gillett

Transfer Calls

Saturday morning before transfers the Assistants and President make the transfer calls.
President calls the new Zone Leaders and Trainers and the Assistants call the rest.

Elder Cornia and Elder Jackson. Elder Cornia is being released as an Assistant and will go to Immokolee to teach in Haitian Creole. Our Haitian speaking missionaries are losing more than missionaries than we are receiving so Elder Cornia will go down to take Elder Titmus' place. We have requested more Haitianaries as more will be going home in July.

Our Office Elders above Elder Woodard and below Elder Hendley make sure everything is in order for us to receive our 27 new missionaries on Monday

And a repeat of a photo from a couple of days ago. Elder Junk and Elder Cornia. Elder Cornia trained Elder Junk and now Elder Junk will come into the office to replace Elder Cornia as President's new Assistant.

Elder Taveras and the Plant City Burger

Yes that is a Krispy Kreme donut. They have these at the Strawberry Festival every year and if a missionary is lucky? enough to serve there they can have one. We go there for fresh strawberry shakes or strawberry short cake. The shakes were granted the #1 strawberry shake in America. The strawberries are waning now but it was sure good for a few months to have all the fresh Florida grown strawberries we desired. We are still blessed with fresh squeezed OJ every morning.