WASHINGTON D.C. SOUTH MISSION: Return and Report Thur. January 21, 2010

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Return and Report Thur. January 21, 2010

We held Return and Report on January 21,2010. This is an opportunity for the recently arrived missionaries to come back to the mission home and report to us how they are doing after their first 3-4 weeks in the mission field. This group had really great reports. They had wonderful experiences to share and testimonies had already grown even stronger. We hold a meeting downstairs at the mission home. The office staff gives more detailed instructions on a variety of subjects: finances, rent, cars, health, mail, etc. Then Elders Ross and Bell gave very inspiring talks about setting mission goals and the importance of study time. Each new missionary then had the opportunity to share their feelings and experiences of the last month. Pres. and I conclude with some video clips from "facing Giants" and "The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" with comparison to missionary work and working their very hardest and being diligent in the work. We then had Hawaiian haystacks for lunch. It was fun to visit and get to know them a little better.

The newest group: Kneeling: Elders Kelley, Walls, Coleman, Tamir, Taufoou, and Bell

Back: Johnson, Ross, Stoker, Peterson, Espinoza, Ford, Allen, Barrett, Keefer,Scoble, Bolos, Malmberg, Franzwa, Gray, Shupe, Knowles, Stewart, Hansen, Sister and Pres. Albright

Elder Espinoza

Elders Taufoou and office Elder Johnson

Elders Coleman, Stewart, and Hansen

Elders Ross, Barrett, Gray, Stoker, Peterson, Allen, Ford, Franzwa and Kelley

Elders Bell, Espinoza, Bolos, Morill, Shupe, Keefer, Wall, Tamir, Scoble, and Knowles

Elders Ford, Keefer, and Franzwa

Pres Albright and Elder Knowles

Elders Ta'ufo'ou and Espinoza

Elder Scoble and Sister Malmberg

Downstairs getting ready to start the meeting

1 comment:

ArleneFebruary 5, 2010 at 10:20 PM
Thank you for taking the time to make this blog, and posting all the pictures! Elder Franzwa is a friend of ours, and he told us about it. We're looking forward to reading about the latest happenings of the missionaries.
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Stephanie Smith Fireside

Last Sunday evening we were privileged to attend a fireside in the mission. It was held at a beautiful old chapel in McLean. One of the pictures shows the inside of the chapel and the wood beams on the very steep-pitched ceiling of the room. The gym is under the chapel in the basement. I have never seen a floorplan like this one. Very unique. This fireside hosted Sister Stephanie Smith. Her story was in the Ensign sometime in the last year. She has a remarkable conversion story. She has held very high government positions and at one time was 5th in command at the CIA. She said something at the first of her talk that I wrote down: she said, "I've been on some remarkable adventures. But no adventure in my lifetime has been as extraordinary and life-changing as my path to conversion and baptism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. She then told about her introduction to the church. She was at a time in her life with tremendous worldly success achieved after clawing her way to the top without any regard for others, and she felt her life was shattering into a million pieces. At this time she turned to a colleague she admired who was a member of the church. He told her two things. That her Heavenly Father knew her by name and loved her and that Heavenly Father had a plan for her success. The next day he sent her a map to the temple visitor center. She told how when the missionary sisters came to her door, she didn't think she could relate to these young women. The first thing they did was ask if they could sing to her. They sang,"I am a Child of God." That was the beginning of her conversion, a long a beautiful story. You can read it on the web at Meridian Magazine. Her testimony was a real inspiration to me. There were over 350 people there and she does a great missionary work speaking to investigators. What a blessing to have heard her and felt her spirit.

Chelsea Our recent Convert

We have met the sweetest young sister. Chelsea is amazing. She joined the church during the last year and has an incredible testimony also. She never misses any missionary function and we were able to take her with us to the Stephanie Smith Fireside. She also came to the mission home a few weeks ago and we had family night. She gave the lesson and is was unbelievable. She is hoping to go on a mission next year. What a great young woman. This is a picture of her with Elders Ganaway and Gifford.