The New President Has Arrived!

What an incredible week we have had.  It's hard to put down what happened onto paper.  To see the mantle of a mission president pass from one president to the next is truly an amazing experience.  We had been preparing for months for this event to take place and then--in a moment--in did actually take place and to be able to witness it is an experience I will never forget.  The transfer of presiding authority and keys is a real and tangible occurrence and from the moment that President Ahlander and Sister Ahlander walked through the door to the mission office with Pres. and Sis. Black behind them, it was evident as to who now held the keys.  What a moment in the history of the Nevada Las Vegas West Mission!

Also, because this week is the week before transfers, I had to send out all the leadership letters to the missionaries and their parents a little early, because Pres. Black had made the leadership calls, and would therefore sign their leadership letters.  I was SO busy trying to get them all done before Pres. Black left, as well as having Pres. Ahlander sign all the things that the new missionaries would need!  Glen was so busy making furniture deliveries to the new homes and places where the new missionaries would be living and was gone from the office a lot.  He even had to take some of the furniture from our apartment to the new senior couple's apartment that he was opening at Trellis Park where the Sudweeks live.  That required us to do some packing ourselves so that our chest of drawers, desk, couch, two big living room chairs, lamps, and other things could be moved.  What strange feelings that caused!  Hadn't we just barely moved in?  

Let me review the events of this week that led up to President Ahlander arriving.

Jay and Valerie Chapman invited us to their home for our "final dinner" along with Elder West who was being transferred and Pres. and Sister Black.  Sister Judd and Jay and Dorothy Burt were also there, and Valerie had outdone herself in this incredible meal.  She is an excellent cook and both of them are wonderful hosts.  It was a wonderful meal and Elder West and Elder Manning always leave them with very inspirational messages.  

We had to quickly leave the dinner to attend the Worldwide Leadership Training being broadcast in from the Marriott Center at BYU.  It was a part of the New Mission Presidents' Seminar and it was held at our church building.  It was a great sight to see the Redrock Zone missionaries all there together, and especially to see the thousands of brand new missionaries and 171 new mission presidents and their wives at the Marriott Center.  Brandon and Lindsey were also there!  Pictured above is us with the Redrock Zone.  How we love them!

What a meeting it was as we heard that missionaries would in time be using the internet for proselyting purposes and that church buildings would be open for people to come inside and see what they were like.  It made us want to stay on our mission to see what exciting things were going to happen!  We loved it all and were very inspired by it.

On Monday night it was the Blacks, ours, the Danas, and Sis. Macdonald's departure dinner as missionaries.    It was held at the Monte Cristo building because the Blacks had now moved out of the mission home so that it could be made ready for the new president and they were staying in a hotel.  It was wonderful to be together and especially to see Sis. Dana again--I missed her so much from seeing her daily at the mission office!  The Sudweeks, the Danas, and we all sat at the same table.

After the dinner, we had a testimony meeting where first  Pres. Webb (2nd counselor in the mission presidency, followed by Pres. and Sis. Andersen (1st counselor in the mission presidency) and then Sis. Macdonald bore their testimonies.  They were followed by Elder Dana, then me, then Glen, then Elder Carlson and Elder Hammond (the assistants) and then Sis. Splain wanted to add her testimony.  Sis. Black and then President Black offered their testimonies last.  It was truly a spiritual feast and a wonderful evening.   

After the closing prayer, we presented the Blacks with a plaque that I had ordered that was made of black slate and had engraved on it a big initial "B" and then "From your NLVW Mission Family."  All of the senior missionaries had signed it on the back and they seemed to really appreciate it.

Our final picture with the Blacks.  They had served well and faithfully up the very hour that they went home on Thursday.  We had learned so much from them. 

 The whole group (except the Webbs who had already left):  Pres. Webb, Sis. Clark, Sis. Macdonald, Elder and Sister Dana, Sis. Houseman, Sis. Splain, Glen and I, Elder and Sister Sudweeks, and the Blacks.  We all had shared many wonderful times together.

On Tuesday we were invited to dinner by Tom and Leslie Thomas, our ward mission leader.  They are a stalwart and dedicated couple and live in a beautiful home, and we were so excited to have dinner there along with Elder West and Elder Manning.  It was a fabulous salmon dinner and it was great being with them.

 I spent most of Wednesday evening and Thursday morning preparing the luncheon and the office for the arrival of the Ahlanders.  Elder Carlson and Elder Hammond got to the office at 11:30 to await their arrival but they didn't get there until 1:00--we were all pacing the floor!  We had a sign and flowers waiting for them at the front desk.  

We were so excited when we saw them come through the front door!  We immediately felt and knew that this was the couple that had been called by inspiration to preside over this mission.  They seemed to be a natural fit and their was no awkwardness or hesitation on anyone's part.  The Blacks took them to the president's office at the back, and talked to them for about 5 minutes.  (They had already talked to them for about two hours at the mission home.)  Then the Blacks came out to the front of the office, but the Ahlanders stayed in the back.  I asked Pres. Black to sign just one more thing, and Sis. Black suddenly started to cry.  I can only imagine her feelings as they went out the door and left behind all the things that they had done and worked so hard to achieve.  They truly had given their all for the mission and they would be missed. 

In the back room, the office staff, the assistants, and the Ahlanders were gathered and we began the luncheon that I had worked so hard to prepare:  chicken salad sandwiches, fruit plate, chips, and a beautiful decorated cake that said, "Welcome President and Sister Ahlander to the NLVW Mission."  As we ate, they told us about themselves, and it was fun and lighthearted.  They were both so gracious as they thanked us all for the warm welcome and felt like the red carpet had been rolled out for them.  

Sister Ahlander had developed cellulitis at the MTC and we had been notified by the Missionary Dept. that she may not be able to come on Thursday because she was on IV antibiotics. Pres. Black had even been asked to stay a few more days if necessary.  I asked her how her foot was doing (she developed the cellulitis from a broken metatarsal in her right foot) and she told me how EVERYONE was praying for her at the MTC, including the apostles, and she had truly been healed enough to come.  She was so grateful as were we!  

President Michael B. and Rebecca M. Ahlander and Elder Carlson and Hammond.

The office staff with President and Sister Ahlander.  We met with them after the luncheon and I was amazed at his knowledge of the mission, but he also expressed that there was a lot he didn't know and he asked a lot of questions.  He seemed to rely on me for a lot of answers and it was a scary feeling!  I had him sign his first letters and certificates so I could get them sent off!

On Friday, we had a busy morning at the office and then closed the office at 12:15 to make our way to the Monte Cristo building where we were holding a "Meet the New President" missionwide meeting.  We were SO excited that we were able to be there at this historic meeting!  The Ahlanders showed a powerpoint with pictures of their ancestors, of them, and of their children.  They spoke so freely and the missionaries seemed to lap it up.  Afterward, each missionary was able to go up to the stand and shake their hands personally.

It was SO SO fun to have all the missionaries from the whole mission in the chapel and while we were all waiting our turn to go shake their hands, I was able to take pictures of these beloved missionaries.  Here are Sis. Pulsipher, Sis. Cornelsen, Sis. Cox, Sis. Ali'ifua and Sis. Dewey.

Here are Sis. Chapman, Sis. Mataele, Sis. Long, and Sis. Belliston.

Here are Elder Wong, Elder Findlay, Elder Kraft, Elder Bruce, Elder Short, and Elder Woody.

Here are  Elder Wynn, Elder Steenstra, Elder Ringer, Elder Loertscher, and Elder White.

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Here are Elder West, Elder Tinoco, Elder Murry, Elder Sellers, Elder Parker, Elder Houghton, and Elder Dowdle.  

 

Here are Elder Werner, Elder Sanders, Elder Sellers, Elder Park, and Elder Pyron.

Elder Vieira talks to Glen.

Elder Fugate, Elder John, Elder Kredt, Elder Pierre-Louis.

Sister Ridley, Sister Clutts, and Sister Badoni. 

Elder Birch, Elder Selvey, Elder Gidewall, Elder Wissinger, and Elder Cook.  Oh, it was so great to see all these missionaries and visit with them!  After it was over, we went back to the office and had a planning meeting to go through transfers with Pres. and Sis. Ahlander.  It lasted until 6:00 and I was amazed at the trust that Pres. Ahlander had in me!  

We went straight from the mission office to Wendy and Jamie's house to meet Elder Mavromatis and Elder Vieira to teach them.  I felt so bad for the elders because they are on bikes and it was 117 degrees outside!  

On Saturday was the baptism of Alan Beaty, who was introduced to the gospel by Deb Moppert, the convert who was baptized about 3 or so months ago.  He had been prepared to receive the gospel by the Lord, and it was so neat to again see an investigator progress from investigating to being baptized.  We had them over for dinner a few months before and got to know him, and it has been amazing to see his joy for the gospel take a hold of his life.  Elder Manning baptized Alan, and when he came out of the water he said, "What a blessed day!"  We were so happy for him!

I had said to Elder West and Elder Manning that I wondered if Deb and Alan were a "couple" and they told me that Deb said that they were just friends.  But while I was talking to Deb after the baptism, she told me that she and Alan ARE a couple and that she thinks they may get married in  October!  Her goal is to get married in the temple and they were both so happy!  I just can't believe the change in both of them.  After Alan's confirmation in church today, he said, "I've never had so much peace in my life."  The joys of missionary work!

That night we had Bethany and Nathan Jones over for a RAGNAR meeting.  (and fun!) We got a lot of things figured out for our RAGNAR team, and it was great being with them.  What a fast paced week we have had and a week filled with a lot of emotions.