History Making Changes!

Can you believe the impact that the announcement by Pres. Monson changing the age of service for missionaries has made?  We learned from several sources that in a typical week there are 600-700 missionary applications, and that in the two weeks after the historic announcement there were 4,000 applications each week!  Bishops and branch presidents have been burning the midnight oil trying to interview all these new prospective missionaries--especially sisters.  It seems as though missionary work will be hastened to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Savior!  And those missionaries will have to be better prepared at home before they enter the MTC.  The MTC will have to accommodate all of these new missionaries and teach them in a shorter time, and the missions of the world will have to prepare to take them in.  And the impact on this mission?  President Black received word that this mission will add 100 new missionaries to the 150 that we already have!  Think of that. . . more housing, more trainers, more of everything.  It's exciting and at the same time a little scary to prepare for them all!  We know how much work that is now!

On Monday night we had senior missionary FHE at the mission home.  We talked about the sacrifices of early missionaries in leaving their families to serve missions, specifically Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young when they left for England being sick with malaria and their families were also sick.  This picture shows them rising from their wagon beds and giving Elder Kimball's family a cheer--"Hurrah for Israel."  And then how this story affected Feki 130 or so years later with Elder John Groberg on the island of Tonga, that was shown in "The Other Side of Heaven."  These stories mean so much to me!

A new senior sister arrived in this mission, pictured in the center.  (Except it looks as though we weren't quite ready to have our picture taken.)  Her name is Sis. Splain, and she will serve in the employment center.  What a great addition she will be.  I just love the sisters who serve there!

On Tuesday we had a real treat--we were able to go to dinner with our wonderful friends, Scott and Diane Jacobson!  It was so good to see them!  Diane flew in on Tuesday to meet Scott, who had already arrived Sun. night--only to find that his luggage had been stolen at the Las Vegas airport!  We learned later that the Las Vegas airport has one of the highest rates of luggage theft in the country and guess who is doing the stealing?  The airport employees!  Travelers beware--don't bring your nice luggage to Las Vegas!  We were so sad at their loss, because important things were in their suitcase.  After dinner, we showed them our "missionary apartment".  What a fun night we had with them.  We weren't quite ready for this picture to be taken, but it was the best one we have!

On Wednesday night it was the ward trunk or treat party at the church.  It was fun to mingle with the ward members and meet more of them.  Here we are with Elder Vieira and Elder Alford, who we just love!  We also had them over for dinner on Sunday and it was so fun to be with them.  They were going to bring a part member couple with them, but one of them had surgery just two days earlier and they couldn't come!  

On Friday, we didn't have to go in  to the mission office because it was "Nevada Day"--a state holiday celebrating Nevada getting statehood.  We were able to go to the temple with Scott and Diane and then eat at the temple afterward--a yummy meal!  It was so great to be with them--it really renewed us.  Thanks Scott and Diane for the visit!

On Saturday, we did go to the office because we still had so much work to do to prepare for transfers, which are TOMORROW!!  I had to go get the supplies they will need for their new living quarters and get the lunch items that will be served, because I am in charge of that lunch for the new missionaries coming in at their orientation meeting held all day.  We're excited to meet these new missionaries!  Please pray for us that their arrival and orientation will go smoothly!  

Fun and Busy Times in the Office

We knew that this would be a very busy week at the office, with only two weeks left before transfers, with Glen's upcoming audit with church headquarters, and with parts of our office getting new carpet.  But we felt more renewed with our weekend and our computers now working better.  Oh, the power of renewal!

On Monday, I had a singular experience.  Sis. Young, a senior missionary from the employment center next door, brought a woman over to the office and explained that she (Tasha) had been to DI (can you believe all these experiences I have with DI?) and felt like she should buy this black book that she was looking at.  It was a Triple Combination. She was intrigued with it and read the first 17 chapters of 1 Nephi and felt something inside.  She went back to DI and asked if they knew anything about the book or the church who published it, because she loved what she was reading.  They referred her to the mission office and she ended up at the employment center, which is closer to DI.  She talked to Sis. Young for a while, and then she brought Tasha over to the mission office.  Sis. Young and I had the opportunity to talk to her for awhile and it was AMAZING!!  She said she wanted to learn about this church that had such beautiful teachings and she said she felt like the book spoke to her more than the Bible did.  She asked that sister missionaries (go sister missionaries!) teach her because she was a single mom.  Sisters Dillistone and Rasmussen, (yes, the same sister missionaries that I went teaching with!) went to teach her the NEXT day and said that they likewise had an amazing experience with her.  It was such a neat experience for me!  I'll keep you posted as to what happens with her.  It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord has prepared so many people here to receive the gospel.  I also got a phone call asking if Glen and I would teach an older lady who doesn't want "young missionaries" to teach her.  Are you kidding--of course we would!  We'll see what happens with that.  I continue to get quite the interesting array of phone calls and visitors.  A beautiful and gentle Navajo woman also stopped in to see if she could get some help.  She was looking for the transient services of the bishop who serves around the corner from us, and we were able to have a neat conversation.  She came back in the next day to talk to me.  People just fall into hard times and need the gospel so badly!

On Tuesday, I was so surprised to see that we didn't get any new notification of new missionary arrivals for our mission.  ( I usually receive them on Tuesdays).  I wondered it it was because of all the new missionary applications that the Brethren must be receiving.  We have heard from just about everyone how bishops in every stake here and everywhere else have spent countless hours talking to new prospective missionaries about serving.  This change in missionary age will probably go down as one of the very pivotal points in the history of missionary work, for all the ramifications that will come as a result of it.  It's such an exciting time to be in the mission field and see what's happening!  As the zone leaders came in on Tuesday, I would ask each of them how the ward members in their areas responded to the announcement.  They said that they were enthusiastic for the most part, but that some were  genuinely skeptical. It's amazing to me to see how some members of the church wonder about following the prophet when an announcement is made.  It has always been that way and I suppose it will in the future.  Could they sing "Follow the Prophet" in their meetings?

On Wednesday, it was Elder Conder's birthday and we celebrated it all day.  Fun times!  It's been exciting to see how well Elder and Sister Conder have responded to ordering supplies and managing the cell phones. It seems to have given them renewed enthusiasm to serve their missions and they are doing an excellent job in ordering and organizing all the supplies.  I think it would surprise people to know how much money it takes to keep each missionary in the field.  The $400 that missionaries or their families are asked to pay is a small amount compared to what the cost actually is when you consider that an apartment with furnishings and utilities, a car with insurance, health insurance, all their supplies, etc. is being paid for.

On Thursday, a church auditor from SLC came to spend the whole day with Glen and audit the mission finances.  Glen was quite worried about this visit, because he has had no experience with ever being a ward clerk or anything of the kind.  But this man, Bro. Vallen, was so kind and helpful that it was  a very positive experience. He told Glen and President Black that Glen is doing a fine job.  He said, "The missions that I go to have a separate person over finance and housing, and it's unusual for you to do both, but you are doing a good job compared to what I see in other missions."  Way to go Glen!   

The second that Bro. Vallen left, Glen had to start tearing down his office, and the Conders and Elder Dana had to tear down their offices because their carpet was being replaced that very evening!  Luckily the carpet in my office wasn't being replaced, because if I have to go without my computer for even an hour, it would be very difficult.  Glen can't go without his either, but now he would have to!  But the silver lining--we left the office at 5:00!!!!!  We had to be out of there for the carpet layers to work--what an event to actually leave at 5:00!!!

The next morning we all admired the fine work that the carpet layers did, who stayed until 1:00 a.m. to get it finished.  But it took all morning to get the offices back in working order and set up the computers, printers, supplies, etc.  What a job!  Everyone was ready for a nap when we finished.  But of course there was no break because we had to make up for the lost time with all the things that needed to be done.  And my work for the day?  I had to check on the expiring drivers' licenses, visas, and passports of the missionaries.  Please, parents, make sure that your missionary's driver's license or passport will NOT expire for the duration of his/her mission!  It's quite a hassle if it does.  I also requested the travel home for our missionaries who are leaving in January.  That's so scary for me, because they are being to sent to many different airports--what if I submit the wrong one?!

We receive our eight new missionaries a week from tomorrow!!!  We are opening up only three new areas this time--that's a lot, but much more manageable than the nine we opened last transfer.  Please pray for us as we get everything ready this week that needs to get done!  The work continues, Zion prospers, and the Church is true!

Wrecks and Repairs

When we arrived at the mission office on Monday morning, we saw the car that we found out on Sunday had been hit by a drunk driver going 70 mph with two of our sister missionaries inside!  The car was totaled, the airbags deployed, and the sister missionaries walked away without a scratch or any aches and pains.  Can you believe the protection from the Lord that they received?  We were so relieved!  The Lord really loves and protects His sister missionaries.

On Tuesday, it was a downpour of rain in Las Vegas--we just couldn't believe the sheets of rain coming down.  We even heard from some missionaries who were out that it HAILED enough to grab handfuls of huge hailstones  and form them into iceballs!  Of course there was flooding here and damage.  The last big rainstorm we had 6 or so weeks ago caused a flash flood with over 15 feet of water in a gully right in Las Vegas that swept a tractor with a man downstream and killed the man.  So sad and devastating!  Las Vegas has gone to great effort and expense to control flash floods, but the rain was just torrential in both cases.

On Wednesday, it was President Black's birthday.  Here we are celebrating in the back room of the office.  I was pretty excited about the card I found for him.  Earlier in the day, I received a call from a lady who wanted the "volunteers" to come and help her move.  She said that a friend told her that the "volunteers" at this phone number would help her.  I took down all of her information and then asked the elders how they felt about a call like that.  They said, "Of course we would help with that.  We would want to. You never know what can happen."  I was impressed with their attitude, especially after Elder Russell M. Nelson's talk at conference!

On Friday afternoon, Brandon and Lindsey arrived at the mission office to visit us!  There were missionaries here, (Elder Wilkerson, next to me, had brought me m&m's with peanuts because he knew that I loved them) and President and Sister Black were also here so it was fun talking to all of them.  Brandon helped me for over 2 1/2 hours with my computer, restoring programs that had been lost,and helping me with documents that needed to be changed, but I didn't know how to change them.  You can't imagine how much it helped me--I had asked a few others to do this, and they just couldn't do it.  I was looking SO forward to Brandon's help, and he was able to do ALL of it!  I had a list of several items that needed his repairs!  (Thus the title of the blog's entry for this week.) 

That night we celebrated by going to In & Out, Lindsey's choice for dinner.  It was so much fun!

They had gathered all kinds of things at our house to bring with them that we had asked for.  It must have taken them a long time to gather everything from our long list!  They also brought some surprises for us!  It was so awesome!

On Saturday Lindsey and I went to one of the baptisms in the Las Vegas Zone.  Pictured here from left, is Elder Edwards, Elder Oakey, Elder Ririe, the young man who was baptized and is very solid, Elder Bruce, and Lindsey and I.  I love going to baptisms and seeing the elders at work!  While we were at the baptism, Brandon spent a lot of time with Glen helping him with his computer problems too.  Glen was ecstatic over what they were able to accomplish!  Lindsey and I were able to go shopping while they were still working on computers, and it was so fun to go shopping!  

Saturday night we went to P.F. Chang's to eat, and we ordered completely off the gluten free menu.  It was so delicious and so fun for us.  Then we came home and played Aggravation until we were completely tuckered out.  What an awesome day it was!

Brandon helped Glen with his computer at home too, and Glen was thrilled.  It should help relieve some of his stress.  Thank you Brandon and Lindsey for coming and helping us to "repair" so many things!  What would we do without our family?  To see our family two weeks in a row was too good to be true.

Fun times with missionaries and with Danny and Heidi!

Oh, such busy days that we are still working 10-12 hours a day!  It has been so so much better this week, though, since Elder and Sister Conder have been taking over the ordering of supplies.  It just seems that we have been working more as a unified team.  They have taken their new assignment very seriously and have done a fabulous job--and have also been in awe as to how fast supplies fly out of the mission office and they just have to keep ordering!  It's never ending--but that's what the supplies are there for--to help teach the gospel!  And the gospel is being taught here and it's amazing to see how many people are accepting it and being baptized.

I think I already mentioned that on Tuesday afternoons, the zone leaders come in and it's always so fun to see them.  We have some incredible zone leaders--the kind that you would want to teach your friends--and I have loved getting to know them.  From the left is Elder Edwards (a really amazing elder), Elder Oakey, Elder Larsen, Elder Ringer, and Elder Cook.  Sis. Black was also here this day.

Also, Elder Garcia (from Mexico), Elder Benioni (from Hawaii) Elder Duwona-Hammond (from Africa) and Elder Findlay (from Canada).  Wonderful elders and SO much fun!

On this same day, I was invited by Sister Dillistone and Sister Rasmussen to go teach a man with them in the evening.  CAN YOU BELIEVE IT--I actually got to go teach with the sister missionaries!!  It was so awesome and a great experience.  They did such a fabulous job and I hope I get to go more with them!

On Friday, Elder Humphrey, the assistant who is now Eston Humphrey because he was just released, came 

back to visit.  It was so fun to see him as a regular person.  Here we are with the Conders, Elder Dana, Eston, and us.  And remember how he played those tricks on Elder Dana and all the rest of us?  I thought and thought about how I could repay the favor, and it came to me the night before he visited---

I told him that we were so excited to see him again that I made him a welcome back cake.  He was delighted, and we went into the back room for him to "cut" it.  He commented that it was such a beautiful cake, and when he went to cut it, the knife wouldn't go through.  There was a two second awkward silence until we all started laughing, and Eston caught on--it was really just a BOX that was frosted!!  He said, "Sister McMillan, I didn't want to make you feel bad that the cake was so hard and I couldn't cut it!"  We laughed our heads off, and the rest of the office missionaries were there along with four other elders who joined us in the fun.  Then I brought out the real cake that I had made, and he loved it.  Everyone agreed that it was a great joke, and oh, how satisfying it was to turn the tables and play a joke on him!

On Friday afternoon, Heidi, Scott, Tyler, Kira, Blake, and Walt came to the mission office!  They left California at 3:00 a.m. and drove straight to Las Vegas, with Walt (Heidi's dad) driving the whole way.  We gave them a tour of the mission office and then met Elder Larson (a zone leader) and Elder Fairbanks (an assistant) at our apartment to teach a lesson to the kids.  They did SUCH an excellent job, and we had a wonderful time with them.  I just love to see the missionaries in action and see what they do.  Walt flew back to California, and Danny flew in the next day.

We had such a great time with them and it was so fun to see them.  This is the pool at our condo and we swam in between the Saturday sessions of general conference.  The Saturday morning session's announcement by Pres. Monson that 18 year old men and 19 year old women could serve missions was absolutely electrifying to us!  What an incredible and inspirational thing to happen!  What an impact it would make on missions around the world!  It seemed that one of the themes of general conference was definitely missionary work, and it felt like WE were being talked to directly.  It's amazing how our

 perspective can change with the circumstances we are in.  I especially loved Elder Holland's talk on this subject.  Also, I loved Elder Echo Hawk's talk, because I had such an interest in him--he is the member of the First Quorum of the Seventy who is coming to our mission in November to teach  the missionaries!  I'm so excited!  General Conference was so so edifying.

We also went to the mini Gran Prix in Las Vegas where the kids drove cars and went on rides.  We had a great, great time with them.

We also went to Redrock Canyon, just west of where we live, and walked around--oh how refreshing and renewing to be out in the beautiful world we live in.  And we felt renewed to be with Danny and Heidi and the kids.  We spent a lot of time just talking.  It was a wonderful visit for us.