We love the people here!

This has been such a busy week getting ready for the 24 missionaries who are coming tomorrow!  Glen was able to finalize the 9 apartments and get the gas and electricity ordered for all the apartments and get them mostly furnished. He was super busy all week and we often worked until 6:00 or 7:00. We weren't able to get as many couches as we had hoped, but at least they all have beds, tables, chest of drawers, supplies, and most of them have desks.  Maybe the missionaries will use their creativity to get couches or other furnishings that they need. 

Glen had an experience while he was delivering desks to an apartment.  While he was there for just that short amount of time to move the desks in, a man came to the apartment to replace the dishwasher.  Glen felt like it was a great blessing that he came at the exact time that Glen was there so that it could be replaced.  Pretty cool!

 I'm always amazed at the stories that the missionaries tell about how they went to some fast food place and a total stranger paid for their lunch because they were missionaries.  They talk about going to Wal-Mart and someone in the line pays for their things.  One set of missionaries even got new suits from a member in their ward who owns a shop!  The missionaries know they are very blessed and they're grateful for the members who give them so much.  Can you believe how nice people are?  We really do love the people here.

Sis. Black's father came to Las Vegas for a visit so she asked me if he could come to the office for a few hours to help me with anything I needed help with.  He's 87 years old and she needed to leave for a few hours, so she dropped him off at the office.  I decided to see if he could help me assemble the new missionary guidebooks for the 30 missionaries coming in February, and he said he would.  So I ran off all the copies (about 40 pages worth) the day before, which took me a few hours, and had them ready when he came.  And we were able to put them all together while we visited!  I was grateful for the help and Debbie was grateful for the opportunity for him to feel "useful".  It was a win win situation for all of us.

On Sunday we dinner with the Chapmans again.  We love them!  Seated at the table from left to right are Sis. King, Sis. Judd, Valerie Chapman, Elder Findlay, Elder Alford, Jay Chapman, Glen, and Zena.  What a lovely dinner it was, and the missionaries left a wonderful message about what Jesus Christ has done for us.  It was so good, and we hope that Valerie was touched by it!  We sure were.

On Monday night it was senior missionary FHE at the Blacks and Elder Dana and his wife were in charge.  He really wanted us to sing an old song he learned in his youth called, "Mormon Sunday School."  Glen borrowed a guitar from Nathan Jones and we practiced the song at home and at the office and Elder Dana was delighted that we would sing it.  It was so fun!  Sister Dana gave an excellent lesson about the new youth Sunday School program and it was so well done.  Plus we had a yummy dinner!

Our friends, the Trumans, were called as service missionaries to work at the Home Storage Center which is at the DI complex on Thursdays.  Can you even believe it?  We are both in Las Vegas serving missions!  So we are going to eat lunch together every Thursday, probably at the mission office, because it is so hard for us to get away.  It was the first time that Margaret had seen the mission office.  The missionaries in their ward just love them and they talk about them every time they come into the office.  Pretty cool, huh?

On Saturday night we had a RAGNAR get together at our apartment with our good friends from the ward. At Dianne Christensen's suggestion, we had a Cafe Rio potluck dinner and it turned out so yummy! We also watched the BYU basketball game.  It's so fun to have these friends who also love BYU sports! And---we're going to run the Las Vegas RAGNAR in November with them!  We just love them, so it will be so fun to be with them and continue our friendship after the mission.  They are SO excited to do it and had a lot of good ideas to make it fun.  They're pretty motivated, and this will be a good way for Glen and I to keep running and stay in shape, although our time to exercise  is so limited here.

Our bishop's wife emailed me and said the sweetest thing--she wrote, "I think you are an amazing Lady, and an inspiration and example for me of what I want to be like when we serve a mission. . . Thanks for all you do for our ward and especially for attending choir!  We need some fun singers and you fit the bill!!. . .You are the best Sister Missionary ever!"  Can you believe how sweet that is?  SHE is an amazing lady and we just love her.  We love the people here!  

Today we had an extra stake conference because we had Elder Ronald Rasband come who is the president of the Seven Presidents of the Seventy.  He gave such an amazing and inspiring talk about his experiences in Bosnia and Croatia where he was able to meet with the presidents of each country and explain to them our beliefs.  He talked to them about the importance of the family and the Bosnian president wept when Elder Rasband explained that we believe that families can be together forever.  He said, "My family members were killed in the recent war and that is the first glimmer of hope I have felt since then."  He also wept when Elder Rasband explained that couples can be sealed in temples for time and all eternity.  It was so touching, and his talk was mainly about families and how we need to focus our efforts on teaching and loving our families.  We were so grateful that we could be there--and what was awesome too was that when we got there, the Lemmons had saved us a place on a bench that was right between benches that had our missionaries on them, and the one in front of us, Elder Benioni and Elder Hoskins, had brought an investigator family.  They were a beautiful family from Mexico with four children, and it was their first time in church.  ALL of the children (ranging in age from 10 to a few months old) were so reverent throughout the entire two hour meeting that we were all amazed.  We met afterward and they were all so so sweet!  If they are baptized I told Elder Benioni that we wanted to be at their baptism!  He was so sweet to the family and it was evident that they loved him.  We love the missionaries here!

The Hand of the Lord

Transfers are one week from tomorrow, our second largest transfer in the history of the mission.  We were hoping that Glen wouldn't have to rent as many apartments as he did the last time we got this many missionaries (we were hoping that they could live with members here)  but that didn't work out, so Glen has been frantically searching for places for the missionaries to live.  What a search it is!  As of yesterday, (our p-day, but we worked about 10 hours trying to get apartments secured, furnished, and supplied) he only has one more apartment to secure!  The Lord has really blessed him to have apartments work out, and it has definitely been a labor for him.  

We talked about it early in the week and in our small way, we tried to compare ourselves to Nephi who was asked to build a ship.  We prayed that we would be given faith like Nephi had because we weren't building a ship, but we were helping to build a mission and we needed help!  Besides securing the apartments, we would have to furnish them, and since Christmas, very few usable furnishings were coming in to DI.  We were praying constantly that the Lord would guide us to a person or a place that could furnish us with chests, desks, tables, and couches. Glen had already worked out a deal with RC Willey for mattresses and bed frames that was a huge blessing.  Yesterday I felt that I should check on a hotel furniture liquidator and see if I could get anything.  What a blessing!  It looks as though we will be able to get the 50 or so chests from them at a very reasonable price, so we left there feeling grateful to see the hand of the Lord opening up ways for us to accomplish what we needed to.  Pray for us as we search for couches, tables, and desks!

While Glen was doing apartment securing yesterday, I went to Wal-Mart with a huge list of the supplies that we would need--vacuums (12), all kinds of cleaners, shower curtains and rods, toilet plungers, bowl brushes,  mops,  etc. etc.  My cart was completely overflowing and I hadn't gotten the vacuums yet.  I asked an employee if he had a big flatbed cart so I could get the vacuums, and he and another employee not only got the cart for me, but they put the vacuums on it and pushed it to the checkout counter and helped me put all the things on the counter, bag it, and push the carts out to the car.  Okay, just imagine--my one cart brimming over with bags and big squeegie-type mops sticking out all over, and a flat bed cart with 12 vacuum (in boxes)--how would it all fit in my car?  I said to the employees, "I'll just make two trips!"  And they cheerily said, "Oh, watch us--we'll get it all in there!"  And I watched in astonishment as they did--all of it!  The driver's seat had to be pushed way up as well as the passenger seat (which also was stuffed to the brim), but they made it! I can't believe I didn't get a picture of it, it was so amazing.  (I didn't get one because I was freezing to death, it was so cold!)  It was such a tender mercy, and I really felt the hand of the Lord helping me.  Glen couldn't believe all the things that were packed into the car when I got back to the mission office!

Another example of the hand of the Lord:  On Tuesday during our office devotional, a man rushed into the office with a long tan coat in his arms.  He handed it to me and said, "I just felt inspired that I should bring this over here this morning."  I thanked him sincerely, and he was gone before I could even ask his name. I knew that the missionaries wouldn't be able to use it because they have to wear dark coats, so I wondered what we were going to do with it.  On Thursday afternoon at about 4:00, a man came in who was looking for help from the transient bishop, and from his appearance, he really needed help.  He was shaking from the cold and told me that he had been to DI and found a coat and was wondering if the transient bishop could help him buy it.  I was devastated to tell him that the transient bishop's office had closed at 3:00--but then I remembered the tan coat in the back.  I went in the back to get it and brought it out to him and his face lit up like a little child seeing Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.  He put it on and it was a perfect fit, (it was fur lined and very warm) and he said, "This is the best thing that's happened to me.  God bless you, Sister!"  He left, rejoicing, and all of us in the office were rejoicing too, and marveling and what we had just been a part of.

On Wednesday, a package came in the mail at the office addressed to ME!  I couldn't believe it!  I opened it and it was this package of M&M's with peanuts--my favorite thing--with this sweet message on the front from Elder Parker and Elder Herlin!  Is that the nicest thing ever?  It made my day.

Then the next day a package came addressed to Glen and I and it was from Lindsey and Brandon!!  Oh, did that make our day!  It was chuck full of fun things that were so thoughtful.  It's amazing how a package can cheer a missionary up so much.  Thank you Lindsey and Brandon!

It came with this note from Lindsey describing the things that were in the package.  How we loved it!  That evening I was able to go with Sis. Carr and Sister Dewey to teach two families.  I just love going with them.  The first family that we went to have two sons, ages 11 and 12.  They reported to us that they had only missed one day of reading the scriptures during the past week and they loved it.  The next family Sister Carr challenged the 12 year old son to be baptized in February and he said he would try to be ready.  The messages these sisters shared with these families was awesome and the Spirit was so strong.  Missionaries are just so awesome!

We went to dinner with Jay and Valerie Chapman for Jay's birthday at an Italian restaurant.  So fun and so yummy!  What wonderful people they are.

It was our 39th wedding anniversary on Jan. 11th and Glen got me these beautiful roses!  We went to dinner and then saw the movie "Lincoln."  It was amazing!  What a fun anniversary.  It's so hard to believe that we've been married for 39 years and here we are on a mission!  It's so great to be his companion.  We really love that part of our mission.  What a great way to end our busy busy busy week.  

Happy New Year 2013!

I can hardly believe that it is already a new year!  "Time flies on wings of lightening; we cannot call it back" is so true!  As a family, we would always gather around the table and set new year's goals and resolutions every fast Sunday in January of the new year.  Some of our children would post their lists in a conspicuous place in their bedrooms to remind them of their goals and resolutions all through the year, and I loved reading them when I was in their rooms because it always inspired me to see what they were seeking to do and become.  I wanted to add some of the things on their lists to my own list!

This week as some of the missionaries have come to the office I have asked them if they had made resolutions, and most of them said that they had.  Some of them even shared a few of their resolutions and I was touched by them.  One said, "To be the best missionary I can be by using my time here wisely", and another said, "To be more like the Savior," and another said, "To love my family back home more."  

I read again the wonderful Oct. 2012 conference address by Dieter F. Uchtdorf and loved what he said: : 

“One day we will take that unavoidable step and cross from this mortal sphere into the next estate. One day we will  look back at our lives and wonder if we could have been better, made better decisions, or used our time more wisely. To avoid some of the deepest regrets of life, it would be wise to make some resolutions today. Therefore, let us:

• Resolve to spend more time with those we love.

• Resolve to strive more earnestly to become the person God wants us to be.

• Resolve to find happiness, regardless of our circumstances."

 I thought that what the missionaries shared with me was really in line with what President Uchtdorf had said.

I also loved what Joe J. Christensen said in the Ensign of Dec. 1994:   “We must not overlook the power that making good resolutions can have in helping make our lives happier and more successful—regardless of our past performance."  I was encouraged by that to make resolutions and goals this year while I am a missionary in spite of my sometimes disappointing efforts to keep resolutions in the past.  There are so many ways to improve!

We have been working hard to prepare for our next transfer in 2 weeks.  This week I was able to get 8 of the 9 zones on the transfer board finished as well as the transfer cards for the 24 new missionaries that are coming.  I also finished the four file folders for each missionary (a huge task) and nearly finished getting their  guidebooks ready.  There are three 18 year old elders that are coming in this transfer.  Then we learned on Friday that we will be receiving 30 more missionaries for our February transfer!!! We nearly died!  There will be only five weeks to prepare for this transfer since the MTC time will be shortened to two weeks (actually 12 days) starting in February.  After the February transfer the usual time between transfers will be six weeks again, thankfully.  This will certainly be our hardest transfer to date, and as I have talked to secretaries in other missions, it is the same for them.  We will surely need the Lord's help in preparing for these transfers because there will be so much to do.  As we were told in October after the announcement to "prepare for the tsunami", it is coming!  It's actually pretty exciting to be on the shores of the tsunami and watch it all unfold!  The missionfield is a pretty exciting place to be right now!

  

We were invited to a New Year's Eve party by our friends, Travis and Teresa Wilhelmson.  Our friends, Blair and Diane Christensen and Dave and Joni Robison were also there.  We had SO much fun talking and playing games with them!  We usually go to bed on New Year's Eve before midnight, but we were just having too much fun.  We also did a white elephant gift exchange and we really scored by getting a gift card to the Cheesecake Factory! 

Teresa had all these flavors to make Italian sodas--so yummy and fun!  We had a lot of fun treats.  My New Year's resolution to lose weight would have to start tomorrow.

On New Year's Day we had signed up for the elders serving in our ward, Elder Findlay and Elder Alford, to have dinner with us.  They are such awesome elders.  We made toasts to the new year, and after talking to them for awhile, they told us that it was a non-proselyting day for them, so we played "Mormon Mouthful" (the Mormon version of Madgab) with them.  It was so fun!

It has been a very busy week, and sadly I fell victim to the sickness that is going around and got a cold.  I prayed so hard that I would be able to continue to work, and the Lord really blessed me, as I was able to work every day.  I would come home exhausted and have to rest, but hopefully the worst is over and I will feel better this week.  The work goes on!  Hurrah for Israel!

A Very Merry Christmas

On Saturday, December 22, David, Juliann, Clarissa, Jared, Michelle, Siena, Turin, and Brockton came to Las Vegas to celebrate Christmas with us!!!  We were SO excited to see them and grateful that the weather had been favorable so they could travel safely.  Being here in Las Vegas for Christmas reminded me of the Christmas that we were in San Francisco  and I was 8 3/4 months pregnant with David and the OB told us not to travel to Utah for Christmas.  We were SO disappointed!  But it turned out to be quite a memorable Christmas, and I was sure this one would be too, even though we wouldn't be celebrating with over half of our family.  But oh, how wonderful it was to have them come and share a part of Las Vegas with them at this time of joy and gladness.  They brought the best presents of all with them--their presence!

Before they came, we got this darling picture from Jade--how we love getting these!

                           This one is from Siena--so so cute!  We love the details on these pictures!

And this one from Lindsey with her favorite Christmas traditions on it!  This one made me a little homesick.

On Sunday we went to our ward--the Buffalo ward--and it was so great to see the ward members come up and greet them and be so kind to them. We really do love this ward. Bishop Larkin and his wife Melanie brought over a case of oranges for us--so so sweet since they know we are only temporary and our records are still in our ward in Layton.  It meant a lot.

On Sunday evening, we got together with our dear friends, the Trumans, at their daughter and her husband's home, Carolee and Jared Frost, for dinner.  It was awesome to be together and see their other children who had come to Las Vegas also, Kim and Stephanie and her husband Brock. Our families have had such good memories together over the years. We had a great time.

On Monday morning we went over to Jared and Michelle's hotel and swam in their indoor pool, which was WARM!!  It was fun to see how much Siena and Turin had improved in their swimming skills since we saw them last at the Tanglewood pool.  It was so fun to play games with them in the pool.

Later we went to the Bellagio hotel to see their Christmas display, which was amazing.  It was SO crowded--we learned that there are a LOT of people who fly to Las Vegas from around the world to celebrate Christmas here.  We also went outside to see the Bellagio fountains and then walked over to the Paris hotel and ate at a crepe restaurant and had French pastries--yum yum!  Fun fun!  The kids were such good sports!  Then David, Juliann, Clarissa, Glen and I, went to the south end of Las Vegas to see Wendy, Jeanette's oldest daughter who had recently moved here.  Jeanette had sent with Wendy some Christmas gifts for Clarissa that were incredible and so thoughtful.  It was fun to see her.

We then had our favorite Christmas tradition--the acting out of the Nativity.  We have been doing this for about 32 years, using about the same script and adding a few props or costumes each year.  We rotate the parts, and this year Michelle and Jared were Mary and Joseph and Brockton was baby Jesus.  The story of the Nativity never loses its impact for me, but rather increases each year. It is marvelous to me that the Son of God would be born in such humble circumstances.  We ended the Nativity singing one of our favorite Christmas songs:  "Heavenly choirs must have had children singing along as they came to the earth.  Jesus I know loved little children, so I imagine they sang at His birth: Hallelujah, hallelujah, praise to the Lord, praise to His Son, praise to the Lord, praise to His Son." 

  Siena and Turin then left healthy treats out for Santa. 

Our three little lambs--Siena, Clarissa, and Brockton.  Having grandchildren there for the Nativity and for Christmas day made it so special! 

 Siena and Turin were so excited to open their gifts on Christmas morning  and it was so fun to see them.  When Turin opened his ripstick, he said, "I told Santa I wanted a giant candy cane and all he got me was a ripstick!"  We laughed so hard!" 

Glen really spoiled me this Christmas and one of the things he gave me was a new CAMERA!!  I was so excited!  My camera  was officially broken  and I had really missed it.  Glen got some things he really needed too.  

Juliann made me this darling pillow and crocheted the stockings  for the newest members of our family during the past year.  Can you believe she has crocheted one for all 25 members of our family?  What a labor of love!

After all of our Christmas festivities and lunch,  it was time for them to go back to Utah, and we were so sad!      

We didn't want Christmas to end! Here we are in front of the building where we live.  Can you believe some of the trees are still green?

We stopped at the mission office since it's right on the way for them to go home and gave them a tour.  Thank you so much, David and Juliann and Jared and Michelle, for coming!  You totally helped us to have a very merry Christmas.  We love you so much!

CHRISTMAS DAY was so special though we were miles from home. Whisperings of the Spirit tell us we were  not alone. The gifts we enjoyed from those we hold dear Has kept our thoughts close and helped us feel near!

The next day we had to be at the office at 8:00 and we got another Christmas surprise--Rand and Marilyn Matthews stopped in at the office!  We have loved them for over 20 years and it was so fun to see them!  We really appreciated their visit.  

And now it was officially time for us to get back to work, and there was a LOT piled up for us to do!  It took me 2 1/2 hours to do all the mail and packages!  But I'm so excited, because the transfer board is nearly half done and now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel that it will actually get done.  I also had another tender mercy--I couldn't get a certain document on the computer to work--a document I have had trouble with ever since we got here.  I have asked others to help me with it without success, but on Thursday Elder Weekes was able to fix it and show me what to do to fix it when it won't work--HURRAY!!  Maybe now I can get things done to get ready for our big transfer in just THREE weeks.  Missionary work moves forward--Hurrah for Israel!

Such a Wonderful Time of the Year

As usual, we have had such a busy week at the office!  There has been so much mail and so many packages that it takes me forever to get the mail done--which I am so happy to do, but it does take a long time.  I started working on the transfer board which has to be redone, and we were trying to figure out different ways that it could be done.  Glen and I tried some things on IMOS over the weekend for a few hours, President Black also tried some things on IMOS, and Elder Conder worked for hours trying to reduce the whole transfer card so we could keep the information that was already on the card. It just wasn't working the way we were hoping, and I was getting so discouraged about it. I just didn't like the looks of the things we had tried and yet we had put so much time into it so far!  I had even asked Brandon if he could make a new template for the transfer cards for me and had emailed him the old template a few days earlier.  So on Wednesday when I was feeling so discouraged and overwhelmed about how the transfer board could be redone, I got an email from Brandon with the new template that he had created, and it was perfect!  It was such an answer to my prayers!  After seeing it I knew it would be easier to just input all the information again onto the template and cut the picture down to fit the new template than to do all the other things we had tried.  So I finished redoing one zone (I thought I would redo one zone at a time) and it looks great!  It will take weeks to finish it but at least I have hope now--because I also need to get things ready (files, new mission notebooks, etc.) for the 26 new missionaries coming. We also got two new visa waiters this week that we had to process and orient. One of them is from Kaysville!

We were pretty excited to also be getting ready for David, Juliann and Clarissa, and Jared, Michelle, Siena, Turin, and Brockton to come for Christmas!  It just couldn't come fast enough!

But our fun Christmas events really helped the time go faster.  On Monday night, we had our senior missionary FHE at the mission home with President and Sister Black.  The counselors to the president were also there with their wives as well as the assistants, Elder Fairbanks and Elder Weekes, and the rest of the senior missionaries.  We had a wonderful dinner and program and then did a white elephant gift exchange--it was awesome! The picture above shows Elder Weekes exchanging a white elephant gift with us and President Webb is sitting next to us on the couch.  What a fun evening it was!

We were thinking we wouldn't have a Christmas tree this year because we just didn't have any time to go buy one or find decorations and lights for it.  But I kind of wanted one since the grandkids were coming--but what could we do?

On Tuesday night, I was in the bedroom putting things away and when I came out, Glen had put up a Christmas tree!  It just seemed so magical!  I couldn't imagine where he had gotten it--and then he told me that while he was in the garage getting some things, he found it--all decorated with lights and everything!  I guess it had been left by other senior missionaries who had lived here!  I was so so excited.  I don't know why it just feels so much more like Christmas when you have a tree!  Even though it was small we felt like it was just right.

On Wednesday night I went with the sister missionaries to go teaching!  Oh how I love to do that.  We went to a woman's house who was getting baptized on Saturday, and it was so amazing to talk to her.  She was probably around 50 and had been very active in another faith for 32 years when the sister missionaries came to her home.  She was very educated and beautiful and was really prepared to be taught.  She had read the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, (which she just loved) and was now reading Preach My Gospel.  We also taught her 11 year old granddaughter and she was adorable and very receptive to what was taught.

On Thursday night we were able to watch the second half of the BYU- San Diego State bowl game.  It sounded like the first half wasn't worth seeing anyway, so it was awesome to watch BYU pull out a come from behind victory--by Kyle Van Noys!

On Friday we were able to go the mission Christmas party.  It started with an incredible luncheon put on by the Las Vegas stake consisting of a full Thanksgiving type meal with turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, potatoes and gravy, rolls, pie, etc.  Even though this picture is blurry it was all I had, so I put it on the blog anyway.  Seated with us is Elders Ringer, Findlay, Alford, and Driggs.

After the meal the missionaries all sang "Army of Helaman" with the last line being changed to say, "And thank you for the food" to the Relief Society sisters who do such an amazing job of cooking and serving the meal.  Notice that the missionaries are all in blue shirts--a member who wanted to remain anonymous had all these shirts made with the mission logo for every missionary in the mission--and we got one too!  Members are just amazing here.

In fact, the Las Vegas stake Relief Society had made these bags (almost grocery bag size) and filled them with gifts for each missionary!  Can you even believe it?  The snowman faces were made of painted salt dough glued onto the bags--so much work and truly a labor of love!  The boxes were filled with cold cereal, socks, candy, toothbrushes and toothpaste, mouthwash, an ornament, a little missionary cookbook, some Christmas stories,  a plan of salvation visual, and other things.  The time it must have taken these sisters to make these is mind boggling--but just shows how much the members here support the missionaries.  They were so excited to get them!

On Friday night we went with President and Sister Black to see the Christmas display at the Bellagio Hotel.  It was unbelievable!  There was a huge polar bear family made from thousands and thousands of live white carnations and a huge 45 foot Christmas tree that was oh so beautiful.  Pictures just don't do this display justice.  

Afterward we walked outside to see the fountain display in front of the Bellagio, and it was just magical to see the beautiful fountains go off in sync to Josh Groban singing.  In the background is the Eiffel Tower of the Paris Hotel all lit up.  It was just beautiful.  Then we ate a light dinner at the  French restaurant inside the Paris Hotel.  What a fun evening!

On Saturday was the baptism of Debbie, and it was so beautiful.  Pictured are the brother who baptized her, Sister Dewey, Debbie, and Sister Carr.  Debbie kept saying, "I finally found the whole truth and the loving people who teach it.  My former church was a church of doom and gloom and this church is a church of hope and love.  And it's all because of YOU!"  as she embraced Sister Carr and Sister Dewey.  She felt it was the best Christmas gift ever.  And here we are on a mission at Christmas time and it's such a wonderful place to be!  We too are giving our gifts to the Savior, gifts of service and love for Him, whom we love so much. I kept thinking about all of the missionaries here who are away from their families this Christmas and who are willingly giving this service because they love the Lord.  None of them who I talked to said they were homesick, but that they were grateful to be serving.  Aren't missionaries the greatest?  We're so grateful to be here too.

Transfer Week and Christmas Parties

I can hardly believe that it's only 9 days before Christmas.  This month has flown by because we have been so busy!  Also, since there weren't colorful leaves or barely even leaves falling from the trees, or snow, it seems like the months stay basically the same, although it is much colder here now.  We were busy all of last week getting ready for transfers and the week of transfers is just as busy, but luckily we only received seven new missionaries which made it a LOT easier.  So happily we were able to enjoy some Christmas parties with some of the wonderful people we have met here and they really helped to bring in the Christmas spirit.

On Sunday we had the most incredible Christmas dinner at Jay and Valerie Chapman's home.  We just couldn't believe all the amazing dishes that Valerie prepared--roast duck, lamb, rolls, several  Ukrainian dishes (she is from Ukraine), rolls, pie, etc.  It reminded us of the amazing dinners that Jared prepares for us each year on Christmas Eve that we have come to love and look so forward to.  Seated are Glen, Elder Alford, Sis. King,  Zena (also from Ukraine), the Chapmans, Sis. Judd, Elder Vieira, (this was his last dinner with us because he was transferred to the Lone Mountain Zone--we were so sad!) and Jay and Dorothy Burt--the funniest couple we have ever met!  The time spent together at this dinner was simply wonderful.  Valerie even gave all of us Christmas gifts.

Monday was transfers.  We held the orientation for the new missionaries at the Employment Center next door, which made things so much easier.  We were able to do it because with only seven to orient, we didn't need a large room.  I am responsible for the luncheon for these new missionaries as well, and that was easier also because it was just next door.  The luncheon went smoothly, and Glen and I and Sis. Conder did our orientation to this group who seemed excited and ready to do missionary work.  I just love seeing the new missionaries from the MTC!

After their day long orientation, we all went to the church building nearby to do the actual transfers.  I LOVE seeing the enthusiasm of the missionaries to see each other and give bear hugs to each other as they wait to see who the new missionaries are as they are matched to their trainers.  

These pictures don't do justice to the feeling that is there.  I also had to bring all the zillions of packages  and mail to the church to deliver to the missionaries--and as usual, they were SO excited to get their packages and mail from family and friends!  Please remember to send your missionaries packages and cards for Christmas, because does it ever make their day.  Many times when missionaries ask if there is anything for them and I say, "Not this time--so sorry!" And they say, "Where's the love?"

On Monday night we were invited to go to Empty Nester's Christmas FHE at the church by the Burts who were in charge.  We had such a great time there as we exchanged Christmas ornaments and had a little Christmas program and yummy treats.

On Tuesday night it was the Relief Society Christmas party.  We went to three different homes for appetizers, main course and then dessert.  At each home there was a Christmas program and it was just amazing.  At the first home, there was a huge variety of amazing appetizers followed by songs and stories.  Pictured here are my friends, Karlee Phelps, Jill Judd, Diane Christensen and Tamra Lott.  

At the second home was soups and breads, and an amazing talk by Bethany Jones (pictured in front and center) that had us in tears.  There was a knock at the door and a double quartet of men in the stake sang Christmas carols so beautifully that brought such a Christmas spirit!  The third home was equally as wonderful.  It was just a magical night.  I just love these sisters in the Relief Society!

I got all my transfer letters done, the final processing done for the new missionaries, and ALL the release dates changed on IMOS for every missionary (it took me hours)  plus processing all the Christmas mail and packages this week, and we had been working SO SO hard in the office.  Imagine our surprise and happiness when we opened a package addressed to the "office staff" and found Danish treats and cookies and a 4-5 inch solid chocolate of our initials for each of us!!!  It was sent by the mother of one of our missionaries, Elder Hoskins, to thank us for all of our work.  She especially loves the blog that Sister Black does for the mission and the letters she gets from the mission and she just wanted to show her appreciation.  Can you believe how thoughtful people are?  

After this, President Black told me that we will be updating the transfer board (the HUGE board that shows the pictures of all the missionaries (plus when they arrived, when they will depart, their birthdays, and where they are from) because with all the new missionaries that we will be receiving, the transfer board won't hold all of them.  So I will have to make  about 180 new transfer cards and find a way to design them!  AHHHHH!  The transfer board protectors will have to be cut in half (a huge job in itself because they are very thick with a large magnet across the back) and then the new cards put inside.  That, along with processing the 26 new missionaries that we will be getting on Jan. 21.  That also means making 26 new guidebooks--a huge job!  My work is cut out for me for the next several weeks.

On Saturday we attended the Buffalo ward Christmas breakfast.  It was a lot like the Christmas breakfasts that we love in the Canyonwoods ward!  The Young Men and Young Women had decorated and it was so beautiful, and then they put on a nativity with all the costumes and songs and it was so pure and sweet.  We were able to sit by our friends John and Nadia Davies who are not members and have a wonderful time with them.  Oh, isn't the Christmas season just so great?  We have heard nearly nothing about Santa Claus this season and have really seen a focus on the birth of Christ and peace on earth and good will toward men--the benefit of being missionaries, I'm sure.  We have heard beautiful Christmas stories and thoughts in our daily devotionals at the office.  It really is the most wonderful time of the year.

The Five Month Mark

Can you even believe we've been on our mission for five months?  In some ways it seems like it has flown by and in other ways it seems like we've been here for a long long time.  But we feel like we're catching on and we're having a wonderful time.  Oh how we love the missionaries and are so inspired by them!  We have had so many unique experiences here.

One of my responsibilities is to take calls concerning blessing requests.  We probably get two or three a week where someone calls and asks if the elders can go to the hospital and give their loved one a blessing.  I then call the zone leader in the particular area where the hospital is located (there are SO many hospitals here) and they then call the elders in their zone to perform the blessing.  This week I had a call from the hospital saying that the mother of a middle aged patient wanted the elders as quickly as possible to come because the patient was in critical condition, so I immediately called the zone leaders.  About 45 minutes went by and the hospital called back saying that the patient had just died!  I called the zone leaders again to tell them and they said that they had just arrived at the hospital and would still go to see the mother of the now deceased patient. They went to CCU and met with the distraught mother, who wasn't a member of the church, but the patient was, and gave her (the mother) a blessing.  They talked for awhile and then the mother requested to meet with them to be taught.  It was quite the experience for the elders and for me to see the wonderful attitude that these elders had about the difficult situation.  I also get a few calls each week for the elders to perform some sort of service for someone, and when I call the elders, they always respond so eagerly, no matter what the service is.  I'm so impressed by them.

Tomorrow is our 4th transfer--we can hardly believe it!  We are only getting seven new missionaries (whew!) so it won't be too bad.  I have already started my many letters to missionaries and to parents that have to be done at transfers.  I also completely finished redoing the entire 2013 calendar (it took hours and hours) that had to be changed because our transfer dates were being changed.  That also meant that I had to change every missionary's departure date, and I'm 3/4 finished with that huge project.  There is never a dull moment here!

We had a really fun week in spite of all the work that had to be done.  Let me share some of the highlights:

On Sunday we were invited to have dinner with JB and RaNae Watsabaugh, a wonderful convert couple who have also served a mission.  We loved hearing their conversion story and were inspired by their examples of faithfulness and dedication.

On Monday morning a 17 yr. old boy walked into the office and told me he wanted to become a member of the church and wanted to know how to do it because he had stopped at the Bishop's Storehouse to get food and they told him he had to be a member to receive food.  I asked him if he knew anything about the church and he didn't even know we were Mormons. It sounded like he thought this may be a club of some sort.  I talked to him for about 20 minutes and he told me he hated his dad and that he was mean to his dad, and all other sorts of awful things.  I gave his name to the missionaries who made an appointment with him, but he stood them up.  It seems that he only was interested in the food and it was such a sad, sad situation.  But you never know!

Monday night we went to a Christmas concert at Artemus Hall on the UNLV campus.  We were pretty excited to see where the UNLV campus was, and the concert was really good.  NOTHING like the Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert, but really good nonetheless.

On Tuesday morning, I got to do the FUNNEST thing ever!  Elder Weaver of the Highland Hills Zone asked if I would participate in the zone training meeting by being an "investigator" who would ask "questions of the soul" to each companionship in the zone to give them practice in responding to those questions.  Sis. Conder agreed to cover the office for me and I went to the nearby church where the meeting was held and got to see firsthand how a zone training meeting went.  I just loved it!  Elder Weaver was so encouraging to his zone members and showed so much love for them.  I loved how the missionaries responded to "my" questions and it was a great experience for me. 

The Highland Hills Zone.  I love these missionaries!

Elder Weaver.  He is going home on this transfer and I will really miss him! He was dressed this way for something he was teaching before I got to the meeting--this is not missionary attire!

On Tuesday night we went to the temple and it was wonderful as usual.  We always go straight from the office and then eat dinner at the temple, and the temple cafeteria gives us missionaries a full dinner for $3 each--can you believe that?  The dry cleaners not far from us also give us our dry cleaning and do Glen's shirts for free.  Such wonderful blessings!

On Thursday night we had an awesome experience.  Our stake, the Redrock stake, puts on an annual live Christmas nativity, held at a beautiful venue called Opportunity Village--held outside.  You just couldn't believe this nativity--the set was magnificent, it had live animals (horses, goats, sheep), a live baby Jesus, and the most incredible costumes I've ever seen.  It had narration and beautiful music and the actors were well rehearsed.  It lasted about 35 minutes and was so touching it just brought tears to our eyes.  The picture above shows the angels appearing to the shepherds and singing hosannahs--they are on top of the building!

The shepherds respond with awe.  Can you see the sheep?

The shepherds come to Bethlehem.

The wise men came in on magnificent horses, but we couldn't get a clear picture of them--but it was so impressive!  They present their gifts to the baby Jesus.  Can you believe these costumes?  Mary was such a beautiful girl and Joseph and Mary played their parts so well.  It was so touching.

The crowd was so big that we couldn't get near the baby Jesus to take a picture.  But we got one with the wisemen!  We were so grateful to witness such a beautiful production.  The story of the birth of Christ is just beyond words and our feelings were so tender.

On Friday night we got to see Jack Jeppesen, our beloved back door neighbor!  It was so fun to see him and visit with him, and he was able to take some things back to Layton for us.  Thank you Jack!

On Saturday we drove out to Pahrump where four of our elders are living and check out where they live.  Since it is on the way to Death Valley, we drove there also and had so much fun.   In fact, it was the elders who encouraged us to go there!  It really is such a unique place, and is actually in our mission boundaries, even though it's in California.  It's the hottest place on the earth!

The visitor center people told us that it is usually 120 degrees daily in the summer, but you can see that it was a perfect 72 on Dec. 8--the day we were there.

After going through a couple of visitors' centers and touring the area a bit, we hiked up Golden Canyon and did a 4.3 mile loop.  It was so fun to be able to enjoy the beautiful (in its own way) area and feel so renewed. The landscape is a bit different than Adam's Canyon!

The view of Death Valley from the canyon.  It's a huge valley!

Glen's gps registered an altitude of minus 281 feet below sea level--and the sign said it was minus 282 feet below sea level!  Pretty close!  

The white in the background is salt.  It reminded us a lot of the Dead Sea area which is 1388 feet below sea level.  Glen said, "We went to Death Valley and came out feeling alive!"  What a great way to celebrate our five month mark on our mission!