WASHINGTON D.C. SOUTH MISSION

Saturday, June 26, 2010

TEMPLE TRIP WITH OUR DEPARTING MISSIONARIES!

Our trips to the temple with the departing missionaries are always a treat. Before our session we meet in a room with a member of the temple presidency and have a private lecture. This is really special for us. After the session, the linger in the Celestial Room contemplating how long it may be before they return to this temple. After we leave, we take pictures outside for a memory of their time served here in Washington DC South.

Departing group: Pres & Sis Albright, Elder Hunt, Sill, Nielson, Baldwin, Metcalf, and Bales, and Sisters Johnson, Bay and Lofgran

Families included

Sis. Lofgran

Sis Bay

Sis Johnson

Elder Nielson and his mother

Elder Hunt

Elder Hunt with his mother and brother

Elder Sill with his parents

The Sills with us

Elder Sill

Elder Baldwin

Elder Metcalf

Elder Bales

Elder Nielson

TRANSFER DAY IS BBBBBUSY!!!

The day of transfers is very busy. We get up early to feed the incoming missionaries who have slept at the mission home. We have some more orientation and then head for the Ox Road chapel. The transfer meeting includes talks, songs, testimonies and companion exchanges for those with new assignments , including the Greenies and their new trainers. After this meeting the departing missionaries gather to head to the temple. This is a picture outside of the building just before we head to the temple. We feed them a gourmet lunch of water, granola bars, and fun fruits or fresh fruit.

Group includes:Sis Hunt, Bay, Johnson, and Lofgran -Back row: Elders Sill, Williams, Balkwin,Metcalf, Bales, Nielson, Bell, Elder Hunts brother and Elder Hunt, Sis & Pres. A.

After the temple we return to the mission home for dinner. This includes all departing missionaries and their families who have come to pick them up, office staff, assistants, recorders, and us. Pictured: Sis. Holmgren and her mother, Elder Holmgren, Kevin and Julie Chirstensen, Pres A, Elder and Sis Davis (from the office) and Elder Nielson and his mother and aunt.

Elders Sill, Baldwin and Metcalf

Sisters Bay, Lofgran and Johnson (we are losing our TINY sisters)

Elder Baldwin, Metcalf, Sis Bay, Lofgran, Johnson, Sis. Hunt, Elder Hunt, Brother Hunt, Elder Bales, Sis. Sill and Bro Sill and Elder Sill

Our wonderful, devoted kitchen help-- Elder and Sis Davis and not pictures Elder Holmgren and the Bryson. Those amazing office Sr. couples.

Elder Holmgren and Pres.

Sis. Lofgran and Sis. Holmgren

My friend Julie Christensen and Sis Johnson

Elder Hunt and His brother

Sis Holmgren's mother and sis Hunt

Breakfast before transfer meeting. Hanna, Bramwell, Church Hiatt, Kohler, Bodily and Dastrup

KEVIN & JULIE COME TO VISIT! YEAH!!

Our very dear friends, Kevin and Julie Christensen came for a visit on June 8-10. It was so fun to see them and Julie helped me with the busy transfer activities. But mostly it was just wonderful to have our friends visit us here in DC. We made a fun connection: Sis Elison in my ward here was Julies' roommate at BYU. So we all went to lunch together and they got to catch up on old times.

THE NEW MISSIONARIES ARRIVE

The new group of missionaries arrived on June 9th, 2010. We welcomed 1 sister and 8 elders. They arrived around 3:30 and the assistants and Pres. took them directly to the college campus to do a little street contacting. Break them in early. They arrived at the mission home around 5:00. We had a wonderful dinner of Mexican tortilla cassarole and all the extras to go with it

After dinner we have orientation meetings and show them a slide show of the mission and all the zones and interesting things about their new home. We have talks by Pres. Burton and Ward and their wifes which are always perfect. Then we have a testimony meeting with the new missionaries bearing their testimonies. We put them to bed around 10:00 since they have been up since about 3:00 Utah time.

The new group: front row: Pres. & Sis Albright,Elders Bodily, Peterson, Church, Dastrup and Sister Kohler, Back Row: Mower, Bramwell, Hanna, and Hiatt

Sis. Kohler

Elder Dastrup

ElderPeterson

Elder Church

Elder Hiatt

Elder Mower

Elder Bramwell

Elder Bodily

Elder Hanna

Elder Hanna, Transfer Board picture

Elder Bramwell, Transfer board

Elder Peterson

Elder Church

Elder Mower

Sis Kohler

Elder Dastrup

Elder Bodily

Elder Hanna

Breakfast on the 10th before we head to transfer meeting

Orientation

Welcome Dinner: Sis Kohler,Church, Ford, Wasden, Bodily, Bramwell, and Peterson.

Pres. Albright, Elder William, Elder Bryson, Julie and Kevin Christensen, Sis. Bryson, Elder Mower, Bell, and Hanna

Elders Hanna, Hiatt and Mower

Sis. Kohler, Elders Peterson, Church and Bodily

Elders Hanna, Hiatt, and Mower at the mission home

Bro and Sis. Bryson visiting with the new missionaries.

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.