Busy, Busy Busy

     
                                                       Busy, Busy, Busy

Inside the Mission Home

 It has been a very busy 2 weeks. Last week was transfer week. Let me tell you a little bit about transfers. It is organized chaos. The A.P.'s  spend many, many hours going over the missionaries and who should be with who. It is all ultimately up to the mission president, but they do all of the changes and rearranging, then he gives his imput. The reason I know how much time the a.p.'s put into this process is because they are at the office for hours and hours. After hours and before we come into the office. They are really remarkable young men, with a great grasp of the personalities and attributes of a great missionary. They know the missionaries very well and love them, and want them to work well together.
    On Wednesday of transfer week, the new missionaries coming to our mission arrive. President and Sister Vest have picked them up at the airport. From there they go to the Temple grounds, the Liberty Jail, and the Independence Visitors Center.

Main room and upper level

The entrance

    Then we in the office go to meet them at the mission home. It is a beautiful home, with lots of bedrooms, and a full basement. After having their pictures taken to send to their parents, they meet us in the conference room. We each spend a few minutes telling them about our various responsibilities in the office that will help them on their missions. It is such a great opportunity to get to meet them when they first get here. They are all so tired. They all got up around 2:00 or 2:30 to catch the shuttle to the Salt Lake Airport form the MTC.
    The next day is transfer day when the new missionaries get to meet their new trainer companions. Also it seems like since we have been here the biggest percentage of missionaries get transferred. That morning in the office we have breakfast for the missionaries. It is very chaotic, and we love it. So many missionaries in the office at one time, they are so excited, "For the most part." I know there are some who are not too thrilled with the changes, but they make the best of it.

Office breakfast

Fun dress-up day

    Then the next day, Friday, the missionaries leaving for home go to the Temple with the mission President and his wife, then to lunch, then to the airport. This last week President Vest asked Elder Crow and I to come a 5 guys burgers out by the airport to have lunch with them and missionaries, then  bring 2 sisters back to the office to meet their families who were coming to get them, and to tour the mission. That was so much fun, to see their expressions when they met their families. They both thought that their families would come later, so it was a surprise. What fun!!
   Last week was Zone Conference. We were asked to help with the lunches for both days of conference. They have to divide the Zone in half, both because of distances traveled and because of the number of missionaries.
   

Car inspection, and TiWi installation

We had man here from Salt Lake who is a regional transportation manager. Bro. Joe Paul. They installed "Black Boxes in the cars. They will be great. They actually talk to the missionaries, and tell them to buckle up, if they are speeding, or diving recklessly. Where they have had them installed, they have really cut down on accidents. They also log where the missionaries travel. So, Lyn, my brother, would not be able to travel out of his area, not to mention his mission!!
   It was a busy and exciting 2 weeks.