Exploring Sac Town

After surviving transfers, we had a little time to breath this week.  We did have a great meeting with all of the missionaries who will be going home in August.  Scott talked to them about the importance of remaining strong once they get home and the challenges that will face them once they take off their name tags and integrate back into civilian life.  It is so critical that they continue to retain the habits they have formed in the mission field.  We emphasized that the most important convert they have on their mission is their own self.  He also encouraged them to seek for and ask for miracles during their last transfer.  They have been diligent and obedient and they are worthy to ask for and receive miracles and expect that God will bless them in this last transfer.  He told them to pray for the thing they most desired in their last transfer.  D&C 123:17  "Wherefore, dearly beloved brethren (and sisters) let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." We then all knelt in prayer and Scott called down the blessings of heaven on these faithful, last transfer missionaries. 

A funny, or not so funny, side note to this meeting.  The day after the meeting, one of the elders going home got two dog bites that required stitches, (I am sparing you pictures of that one) and one of the elders going home had a tree fall on his parked car.  We jokingly asked them if the thing they desired most was a good story to tell when they got home.  Because now they both do.  

 Elder Hoskin surveying the damage to his car

We also had a new leader training meeting for all those who were called this transfer to serve as new zone leaders, district leaders and sister training leaders.  As we see missionaries leave, and as we were with those who will be leaving in August, we wonder how we can replace those seasoned missionaries.  I can testify that the Lord prepares others to step right in without missing a beat. As we were training the new leaders, we felt confident that they will step up and fill those big shoes without any trouble. We are amazed at the depth and goodness of the missionaries here.  

On Friday, after 3 weeks, we finally had a chance to take a half p-day and explore a little of Sacramento.  We found a fun tour, we downloaded an app and took a scavenger hunt through the city, right from our phone. We had to find different landmarks, and figure out different clues.  It was really fun and got us out walking the city.  We only had time to get through half of it, but we are anxious to go back and finish the rest someday.  

First order of business was lunch, we found a delicious place called Broderick, this is a picture of my ham and cheese sandwich that had mac and cheese on it.  Completely unhealthy and fattening, and delicious.  

            The grounds around the State Capitol

                                               State Capitol Building, outside, and inside

                    The new Golden 1 Center 

We found they celebrate Pioneer Day outside of Utah.  Our Stake, The Folsom Stake, had a huge Pioneer Day Picnic and celebration.  There was food, entertainment, water games for kids, and it was a great party.  It was also a great event for the missionaries to invite investigators and potential investigators to attend.  Who doesn't love a good summer party? 

 Elders Miller and Young Yen with Preston

We were able to gain a little culture as we went with the Senior office couples to a production of "A Comedy of Errors" at the Sacramento Shakespeare in the Park event.  

We love being around the missionaries and so we invited the sisters in our area to come to dinner on Sunday.  I had a near miss, and I didn't realize I had bought cottage cheese with pineapple and almost used it for my lasagne.  That would have been interesting and disgusting and they most likely wouldn't have been anxious to rush back to our house for dinner any time soon.  Luckily I had bought an extra to eat with pretzels and we hadn't dug into it yet, so it all ended well.  

Sisters, Ekins, McDonald, me, Wong, and Davis

On a final note, I never get tired of these beautiful trees that line the road to our neighborhood.  

It looks to be another great week, we have interviews this week, Scott will be able to interview each missionary and I get to chat with each of them as their companions are in with Scott. We can't wait to get to know them better and to spend time with them.  

July 2017 Transfers Part 2

Whew, we survived our first transfer.  It was interesting, and spiritual, and exciting, and tiring, and a little bit stressful, but we made it, and we got 11 really great missionaries out of the process.  

A few thoughts about the spirit and it's role in transfers.  We can testify that the Lord is in charge of this work and is very involved in the lives of these missionaries, especially caring for his newest ones.  

1. As we were looking for trainers for these 11 new missionaries, one night Scott was staring at the transfer board.  He came out of his office and, with tears in his eyes told me that he had just had his first real mission revelation, when he knew immediately one of the trainers for one of the incoming missionaries.  On paper it didn't make sense, and we probably would never have thought of it, but it was definitely the right thing.  

2. About a week or so before the new missionaries came, I sent an email to their parents, asking them to tell us a few things about their missionary that might help us get to know them better, and that would help us help them be successful missionaries.  By the time I got most of the replies back, we had tentatively slotted each one with a trainer.  One of the letters talked about the missionaries fear of talking to people, and the parent said "I wouldn't presume to tell you what to do, but perhaps it would be good for the trainer to be someone who will work them hard, and also, someone who may have had the same fear of talking to people, who will understand and help them through this fear.  We had felt very strongly about one missionary to train that we didn't know well at all.  We had a new trainer meeting the Friday before the new missionaries came in, and Scott asked them how they had changed, and how they were different from the people they were when they first came to the mission.  This particular trainer, who we had slotted with the missionary that was afraid to talk to people, said "Now I can talk to people. When I first came, I was really afraid to talk to people, and now I'm not."  Scott and I just looked at each other in amazement.  When he put them together, we didn't know about either one of them, but the Lord did. And the Lord listens to and answers the prayers of parents.  

3.  The spirit also confirms the will of God to others.  As we brought the new missionaries back to the church, one of the trainers was there and saw them all.  I was talking to him, knowing who his new companion was going to be, and I asked him who he thought he would be training.  He told me he had looked at their pictures and he had a strong impression of who he would be training, and he was spot on.  Another sister told me as we walked the new missionaries into the Relief Society room, where the trainers were waiting, that she looked at all of the sisters and had a feeling for who her companion was going to be, and she was right as well.  It is really wonderful to be part of so many miracles, I have gained a greater appreciation for the workings of the spirit.  

Our first transfer, however, did not go off without a hitch, but all's well that ends well.  It started on Monday morning when Scott, Ethan, Preston and I headed to the airport for the first pick up.  We met the Assistants there, and were waiting for 9 missionaries coming from the Provo MTC.  Fun side note, our dear friend, neighbor and new bishop of our home ward, Alex Dushku was coming into town for business and happened to be on the same flight as our missionaries.  He had texted Scott that he was on that flight and it was so fun to be at the bottom of the escalator to greet him and welcome him to Sacramento.  

As we were waiting for our missionaries, it felt a little like the excitement of waiting for our children as they were coming home from their missions.  There is just an electric excitement waiting for a missionary, whether it is on the coming to the mission, or the coming home end.  We were so excited to see them all heading down the escalator, they looked so sharp, and happy and we already love them so much and had so much fun welcoming them to the mission. 

The luggage in this picture is a piece of art at the airport, one of them asked it that was their luggage and if they had to grab it from the top of that pile.  

We got acquainted, picked up their luggage and got this group to the mission office for some lunch, and interviews with Scott and a few other items of business that had to be taken care of.  We had one missionary whose parents had driven him to the mission and he was there waiting for us. We had another missionary coming from the Mexico MTC, who was getting in at 12:30. Scott was busy interviewing, and so Ethan, Preston and I made a quick turn around and headed back to pick him up.  We got to the airport in plenty of time, and waited for the flight from LAX to arrive.  We saw it had landed and took our spots, standing at the bottom of the escalator. We waited, and waited and waited.  30 minutes after the flight had landed, we were still standing and waiting for him.  We started worrying that perhaps we had the wrong flight and that he might have come into the other terminal. We didn't have a flight number, just where he was coming from and the time.  So, Preston and I stayed where we were and Ethan ran over to the other terminal.  No wandering missionary over there either.  We were asking people where they had just come from, and we couldn't find anyone from that flight.  At 1:15 they took the flight off the arrival board and we started really worrying.  We had him paged, no luck.  I couldn't get a hold of Scott, and everyone in the office was helping with transfers that were taking place outside at that same time.  I kept thinking "how am I going to call his parents and tell them that we lost their son?   He is somewhere between Mexico City and here, but we don't know where."  It was my first solo pick up and things had not gone as planned.  I was so grateful that Ethan and Preston were there with me. I finally got someone to answer in the office, and our sweet Sister Stohl got on the phone immediately with Salt Lake. They didn't know where he was.  They don't travel with phones, but if they miss their flight they are supposed to call the mission president.  Scott hadn't heard anything.  But, we are new and his church phone was in the car because he had used it for the GPS and didn't bring it in with him.  Elder Chase had borrowed a phone and sent him a text, he just didn't have his phone with him.  After about 10 minutes of panic, Preston walked to the baggage claim desk and told the women we were waiting for someone who didn't get off the plane he was supposed to be on, and did she have any information on him.  The miracle of the day was that she was a member of the church and said "I'm not supposed to give you any information, but I can tell you are LDS and are waiting for a missionary, and I am LDS too, so I will tell you.  He missed his flight in LA and will be on the next flight and will arrive here at 5:00."  I was so grateful to have my level headed, never flustered son with me and he got information that no one, even in Salt Lake could seem to find out.  We left the airport, headed back to the office, and continued with the activities.  Unfortunately, without Elder Chase.  

It was so much fun, however, matching up the new missionaries with their trainers.  We walked them down the hall and into the Relief Society Room, where all of their trainers, the members of the zone the church building is in, and the Sr Couples were all standing and singing "Called to Serve" as we walked in.  They had 10 chairs set up in front of the room, facing the room, and the trainers were all sitting on the chairs with an empty chair next to them.  Scott and I stood up front and called one missionary up at a time, and announced where they would be serving and with whom.  It was so fun to watch the trainers faces as they anxiously waited to see which of the missionaries was going to be theirs.  As we announced their area, they all got the biggest smiles on their faces and stood up and hugged their new trainee, and everyone in the room cheered and clapped.  It was so much fun.  We talked to them for a bit about our mission culture and welcomed them to the mission, and then they were off to start working.  We generally would leave there and go to the temple to take pictures, but we wanted to wait for Elder Chase and so we postponed that until this morning.  

Once they had all left, we headed back to the airport, for my third time that day, to pick up Elder Chase.  We took his companion, Elder Hoskin with us.  When his plane landed this time, it didn't take long for us to see him coming down the escalator.  I had been so worried about him, he probably didn't know if anyone would be there to pick him up or not.  We were very grateful to see him, and he was very grateful to see us.  

We finally got them dropped off and on their way by 7, and hurried back to El Dorado Hills to meet up with Bishop Dushku, Ethan and Preston for dinner.  It was so fun to spend a few hours with our dear friend.  He came up to our home for a little bit after dinner and was able to listen in to some of our miracle calls that night.  

Yesterday was P-day and that was nice for all of the new missionaries to get settled and get some rest.  It was a big day for them, and they had woken up at 3 a.m. to get here.  This morning we met them at the temple, took pictures and then headed to the mission office for a full day of training.  It was wonderful to be with them, and everyone involved did such a great job. The office couples provided a wonderful lunch for all of us, and it was fun to see the excitement of the new missionaries and their trainers.  

Sister's selfie at the Temple

             

Row 1: Trainer Hermana Clark with Hermana Smith, Trainer Hermana June with Hermana Peterson
Row2: Trainers Sister Turner and Sister Morris with Sister Pyatt, Trainer Sister Brown, Sister Coombs, and trainer Sister Cha
Row 3: Trainer Elder Duncan with Elder Ludlow, Trainer Elder Edgington with Elder Christensen
Row 4: Trainer Elder Hoskin with Elder Chase, Trainer Elder Haywood with Elder Nelson
Row 5: Trainer Sister Baird with Sister Rowley, Trainer Sister Brown with Sister Ellsworth
Row 6: Trainer Elder Miller with Elder Ricedorff

Our first new batch.  July 2017 transfer

We are grateful every day to see the hand of the Lord in this work. As I told the missionaries, quoting 2 Nephi 27:21 "I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work".  v. 23 "I am God; and am a God of Miracles".  And in D&C 35 it talks about how God will show miracles, signs and wonders to those who believe on His name. And that He will call upon the weak things of the world to do His work.  How grateful we are to be able to see God do his own work, working through these wonderful young missionaries who believe on His name and are seeing miracles, signs and wonders. 

July 2017 Transfers Part 1

This week has been a busy one.  I was going to wait and post about the entire transfer process, but the post would be way too long, and so I am splitting it in half.  We are learning as we go, and are hoping that once we have done everything once, we may have the learning curve down a little bit more than we do now.  The mission moves at a very fast pace, we just get one thing over with and the next four things are right around the corner waiting for us.  

A few things before I get to transfers to give you an idea of the caliber of the missionaries we are working with.  We have a set of sisters who had made contact with a woman who had lived a very hard life, a lot of drugs and probably mental illness.  One day this week she called the sisters and told them she was going to commit suicide and she needed them to come and stop her.  They were understandably shaken up, things worked out ok, and the authorities took over, but it was a very unfortunate and upsetting incident.  They wanted a blessing from Scott and so we ran up there to see them and for him to give them blessings.  As he counseled them he was very clear that they did the right thing by getting the authorities involved, and that they need to step back from her.  They were not equipped to help someone in her mental state, nor is that their purpose and that for their safety they need to stay away from her and block her number.  I could tell one of the sisters felt better, but one of them was very quiet and still seemed unsettled.  I asked her how she was feeling, and if she needed to talk some more.  She simply said "can we kneel and say a prayer for that woman?"  Wow.  Where Scott was more concerned about the sisters and their well being, this sweet sister was more concerned about a troubled soul.  We knelt and she said the most heartfelt and tender prayer and was such an example to us of Christ like love.  We are learning much from these wonderful missionaries. 

I have been able to spend some time with different sisters this week and I continue to be inspired by their stories and their lives.  One sister comes from a small Island and is the only member of the church in her family.  It took her 2 years to convince her parents to sign her missionary papers allowing her to serve.  Which was a miracle given the fact that they are deeply rooted in the Catholic church.  They were not happy with her decision to serve and she has not had one bit of communication from them in the 18 months she has been serving. Not a letter, not a package, not even an email.  She didn't know who would be there to greet her when she got off the plane, but her whole attitude was one of gratitude for the blessing of serving, and testimony.  One sister joined the church as a teenager, and had been a member for about a year and a half when she decided to serve a mission. She had family support, but is the only member of the church in her family.  Another one comes from a semi active, but supportive family, but is the first missionary to ever serve from her family, and another one had a turning point in her life, when at 16 her father suddenly passed away and she had to decide for herself which path she wanted to take in life.  She chose the path that led to Jesus Christ and a mission. She told me her family was at a cross roads at that time, and they felt the Atonement of Jesus Christ help them through their grief and solidify them in the gospel.  In her words, she said they feel like her dad 'took one for the team' to ensure their family stayed on the right path.  They all have conversion stories of one kind or another and they are all remarkable.  I am inspired by them daily.  

On Friday we started at 9:30 with a meeting to train the new trainers of the missionaries that will be coming into the mission on Monday.  We had the two counselors in the mission presidency and their wives for dinner on Thursday night (which was so much fun, they are wonderful) and Scott had to slip out to call 11 missionaries to tell them they would be training and to meet at the office at 10 the next morning.  It was such a great meeting, they were all so excited. We have one companionship of sisters, who will be training in a threesome.  They are so darling.  One of them got the call, hung up and said to her companion "honey, we are having a baby and it's a girl".  They were all so full of faith and ready to take on the responsibility of setting the course of a new missionary's entire mission. I would be thrilled to have any one of them train one of my children and they definitely understand the magnitude of their responsibility.  We went from that excitement to the excitement/sadness of the process of sending 17 stellar missionaries home.  It was fun for me to be on this end of the process, all I knew was what their parents were feeling the day before a missionary comes home.  I have been on that end, but I had no idea what happened on this end.  

They all came to the office with their luggage, for it to be weighed and loaded into a trailer.  There was so much activity in the office with elders and sisters coming and going, lots of goodbyes to companions, who were matching up with other companions for the next few days.  There were a lot of tears, mixed with excitement.  We met in Scott's office with them and talked for a bit, then we all went to a session in the temple.  It was such a large group that the majority of the men in the session were our missionaries.  It was a sacred time spent with them.  

Elder Carroll is from Hawaii and is the most loving, generous young man.  He has let us into his heart and, after only two weeks, calls us his mission parents.  He even face timed us with his family to let us know he made it home to Hawaii.  He had these leis made for us to wear for this farewell dinner and at the airport.  

After the temple, we all came back to our home for dinner and a testimony meeting.  I had to have everything ready for dinner for 23 before I left at 9 that morning.  Luckily I have a wonderful woman named Gail who helped, along with Sister Stohl from the mission office.  I could not have done it without them here to help put things in the oven, to help serve and they did all of the clean up.  I was so grateful for them.  

Since it was their last night, Scott let them take their coats off, and play some ping pong while we were finishing dinner preparations.  I think they had a good time.  We had a nice dinner and then went upstairs for a testimony meeting.  It was a meeting I wish every parent could participate in at some point in their lives.  Every one of the 17 were strong and valiant missionaries and bore such strong testimony.  The spirit was very strong.  It was so crazy, I have only known these elders and sisters for two weeks, and some of them I've only met a few times, but I felt such love for them.  I shed tears that night and the next morning at the airport as we said goodbye to these remarkable servants of our Heavenly Father.  I think we have been blessed to feel the love that the Savior has for each of them, and it was hard to let them go.  We feel blessed to have been able to be a very small part of their lives, but even though we didn't get to serve with them for very long, they still have a very special place in our hearts and we love them.  

We met them at the mission office bright and early on Saturday morning, loaded up the vans and headed to the airport with 17 very excited and very nervous missionaries.  Saying goodbye was hard, but my heart was happy knowing of the excited families preparing to head to airports and thinking of the joyful reunions that would soon be taking place.  

 For my own records these are the missionaries we sent home on July 15, 2017.  From left to right: Elder Harper, Elder Page, Elder Palmer, Elder Foley, Elder Escoton, Elder Maloy, Elder Easthope, Elder McKee, Elder Hafen, Elder Kahle, Elder Hansen, Elder Schenk, Sister Hanekamp, Elder Carroll, Sister Boraia, Sister Anderson, Sister Paredes.  

They all left around the same time, with the exception of Sister Boraia who didn't leave until later in the day.  She was able to attend a baptism for a man she had taught, so we took her to the baptism after the airport.  She was able to spend the rest of the day with Sister Beck and Sister Cha.  I met them at the church to take Sister Boraia to the airport and they wanted to come with me, she needed a good send off.  We called and got permission from president and had the funnest time going to the airport and back. They were so helpful and loving and Sister Boraia and I were both happy to have them with us.  They told me that since President has assistants, they think the President's wife should have assistants too and they would be happy to volunteer.  I thought that was a great idea and told them I would run that past President.  He just laughed, so I think it's a no, but you can't fault a girl for asking.  

I got home, the assistants came over and we did transfer calls. Scott called all those who were going to be new leaders, then it was time to head to the airport to pick up Ethan and Preston.  They had gone home on Thursday for my niece Sarah's wedding.  Three times to the airport in one day ensures that I can find my way there on Monday morning when we get to pick up our brand new missionaries.  We have 11 of them coming and we can't wait to meet them all.  We love them already.