Our last transfer and celebrating Independence Day

It was our last full week at the office and it was one of our busiest weeks also.  It always feels like the work of a mother--mothers work SO hard and accomplish a lot, but their work is never done. 

 

We were excited to see how transfers would go with President and Sister Ahlander.  They were to do transfers after only four days in the mission, and we wanted to help them as much as possible so that it would go smoothly.  We thought about them all morning as they picked up the new missionaries at the airport and then went to the mission home to have breakfast and take the famous first pictures that I would then mail to the parents.  They and the assistants told us that it went well, and they were even on time to the Alexander building where we meet them to start their orientation.

 

I was impressed immediately with opening talk given by Pres. Ahlander.  It was so upbeat and positive and it seemed like he had already been the president for so long!  Sis. Ahlander was the same way, with such a wonderful and encouraging smile on her face.  Every interaction she had with the missionaries was endearing.

 

 

I follow Pres. Ahlander with my presentation and pass out the new missionary handbooks that I have made to the 22 new missionaries.  Sis. Sudweeks follows me and then Glen follows.  Sis. Ahlander follows Glen.  His last powerpoint presentation and it was kind of sad!

 

 

Our new missionaries were at the MTC the same time that the Ahlanders were and they were at the Marriott Center to see the amazing Missionary Worldwide Leadership Training meeting, which they were so excited about!  They are pretty tired at our training because they got up at 3:30 a.m. at the MTC to catch their plane to Las Vegas.  We served lunch after the morning orientation and it's always fun to talk to them as they fill their plates with pizza and salad.  This seemed like a great group.  We then clean up the kitchen and head back to the office to continue working while they are being trained by Elder Dana.

  

 

We come back at 4:30 with the mail and packages and to pick up the papers that I left with them to fill out.  We knew it was VERY HOT outside, but check out the outside temperature that registered on our car! 

 

 

 

Pres. Ahlander interviews all 22 missionaries during the orientation and then at 5:00 he presents the new missionaries to their trainers and all the missionaries who have come to transfers.  It was our last time to sing "Called to Serve" with these missionaries--it was so emotional!  I looked out across the cultural hall and knew every face and every name--and compared it to our first transfer when we were so overwhelmed and only knew a handful of missionaries!  I was just filled with wonder at the change that had taken place.  The transfer went smoothly and it was amazing to us that the Lord's work just goes on with a new mission president!

 

 

 

 

We said goodbye to three of our missionaries who are departing this month and we will really miss them:  Elder Seaman, Elder Ringer and Elder Pulsipher.  We drove home at 7:00 with a lot of feelings and knew that we would miss being at transfers as much as anything! 

 

 

 

On Tuesday, as usual, the zone leaders came in and my heart was full knowing that this was our last day to experience that as well.  This is a typical scene around my desk, where the missionaries gather and enjoy each other.

 

 

 

We gathered for our last picture of them and expressed our love to all of them.  They are Elders Murry, Dowdle, Herlin, Parker, Perez, Tews, Jones, Butler, Sister Hanson, Sister Christensen (sister training leaders), Elder Park, and Elder Wilcock.  We will miss Tuesdays at the office too!

 

 

Elder Kredt and Elder Ririe, Mesquite's zone leaders, came in later too after their drive into Las Vegas.

 

 

 

On Tuesday night, Elder Manning and Elder Wilkerson (Redrock's new zone leader--Elder West had been in our ward for the last 6 months and now Elder Wilkerson would now take his place) came over to our condo to pick up his camera and we had a wonderful visit.

 

On Wednesday I worked as hard and as fast as I could to finish the new leadership letters to the missionaries and the letters to the parents of the newly arriving missionaries.  The week after transfers is always my busiest week and this one was busier than usual because we had to talk to Pres. Ahlander about a lot of things and I was showing Sis. Sudweeks how to do a lot of things. 

 

 

 

 

 On Thursday we celebrated July 4 by first going to our ward breakfast and flag raising ceremony.  Can you see Elder Yee and Elder Madore with Glen on the far left? 

 

 

 

We went outside for the flag raising ceremony and it was really good--and really hot.

 

 

We were told by our ward members that there was a "small town" parade held about half a mile from the church known as the Summerlin Parade.  Of course we wanted to go see it!  We walked with them and Elder Manning and Elder Wilkerson where they had staked out a spot at 5:00 a.m. and put up a canopy.  This "small town" parade lasted over about two hours and had the neatest floats, military groups, Governor Sandoval (Nevada's governor) Senator Dean Heller, and all kinds of other entries, and was absolutely unbelievable!  We loved it and had so much fun there with the Judds.

 

 



 

 

 

Even Star Wars!

 

An amazing group of Native Americans in native dress and doing a dance.  It was awesome!  Possibly Shoshones?  We're not sure.

 

 

 

Even though it was so hot, we were so glad to be able to see it.  We loved it!

After it was over I went back to the office for a few hours to finish the letters that needed to be sent.  It was so funny because the assistants were also there getting their work done and so were the Sudweeks!

 

 

 

That night, the Larkins had invited us to their home for a barbeque and swimming.  So sweet!  Here is Melanie Larkin with her daughter Jane who made these red white and blue dipped strawberries.  So cute!  Melanie prepared an amazing meal.  Isn't she the cutest lady? 

 

 

They had rented a slide for the kids and a lot of the adults went on it too.  We couldn't resist going down either!  It was so fun.  We had such a great evening with them and were able to meet a lot of Wayne's family, who were so warm and friendly--especially his 86 year old mother who was an incredible lady!

 

On Friday I was invited to go to lunch with Sis. Hanson and Sis. Christensen who are amazing missionaries.  We went to Pollo Loco and talked about what experiences they had that helped them decide to go on a mission.  We had so much fun talking!

 

 

 

On Friday night we went out to dinner with Jay and Valerie Chapman at Garfield's, which was located on the edge of a small reservoir near Lake Mead Blvd.  It was a gorgeous setting and we had a great time.  Valerie even gave us a plaque and Willow Tree figurine.  So sweet!

 

 

 

All day Saturday we cleaned and packed and put the furniture back to it's original place and cleaned and packed some more--12 straight hours!  What a crazy feeling to pack up the last year of our lives! 

 

 

 

We were thrilled to be invited over to have dinner with Ron and Nancy Yocum--we sure needed the break! It was a yummy dinner and we had so much fun talking--and then they gave us a gift of chocolate and lotion, body splash etc. from Bath & Body Works.  So sweet!  We have loved all these wonderful people from the Buffalo Ward and will miss them so much.  They will be on our eternal friend list.  And today we will go to our last Buffalo Ward meetings.  So sad!  

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.

, 

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.

Getting Ready for the New President

It seems crazy that we will be getting a new mission president in just a matter of days.  We have been SO busy getting ready for his arrival!  I've had to update an entire 3" binder with all of the documents that I use to prepare the Missionary Guidebooks, do the SPC's, luncheons, and all the letters I write to parents and missionaries, and stake presidents.  I'm not finished yet, and it has taken me HOURS!  The missionaries have expressed concern about having so many changes take place:  a new mission president, new mission secretary, finance/housing/cell phone secretary, and vehicle coordinator.  (Elder Dana is being released just four days after us.)  They've said such kind things to us.

Glen also had a very busy week doing two full days of visa waiters again.  He processed nearly 70 visa waiters in the last 3 weeks and he has had to be away so much!  Plus to get the housing and cell phones ready for our next transfer and train Elder Sudweeks--he has been BUSY!!  But it makes the time fly and we are enjoying it a lot.

When we arrived at the office on Monday morning, this picture was on desk.  It was a picture of the Spoken Word taken the day before by one of our assistants, Elder Carlson.  He thought the man circled in the picture looked just like Glen.  Funny, huh?

Tuesday, is of course, my favorite day of the week at the office because the zone leaders come in to give us the stats from their zones, do vehicle reports, and get supplies.  We never imagined the amount of supplies that fly out of a mission office.  They take stacks of copies of the Book of Mormon, pamphlets, and pass along cards.  Pictured here are Elder Dowdle, Elder Werner, Elder Sanders, and Elder Torgersen.  They are all such good elders!  On Tuesdays the Church also emails me the new missionary recommends that are assigned to our mission--and on this day I got a record number of twelve new missionaries who were assigned to our mission in just one week!  

On Tuesday evening we had some special visitors--Michael and Nancy Boyer, Juliann's brother and sister-in -law and their four children.  They have recently moved to Las Vegas for Michael's job as an RN, so we were so excited to see them and have dinner with them!  They are just darling and we had a great time with them--but I forgot to take a picture with them!   I was devastated!  

On Wednesday I was invited by Sister Larson and Sister Hoffman to go out to lunch!  Their choice to go was Subway, and we had SO much fun talking!  They both told me that when the announcement was made to lower the age for missionaries they immediately knew that they should serve even though they hadn't planned on it before.  They are both beautiful and wonderful missionaries.

On Thursday night we were able to go see "The Music Man" with the Buffalo Ward Empty Nesters FHE group.  Even though I saw it the week before, I was so excited for Glen to see it!  We had a little picnic dinner and had so much fun with this group.  Pictured are Jay and Dorothy Burt, us, Eula May Judd, Tania and Brent Leonard, Jay Chapman, Lata Tu'ua, and Valerie Chapman.

  Bradley Stirling, who works at DI, would come into the office a lot to visit us because this was his last week to work at DI.  His next step in the training process is to get a job outside of DI.  He's a sweet man and for some reason, he really latched onto us and kept telling us how much he would miss us.

I was at DI looking for more desks and chairs for the missionaries when I saw Ashley and Priscilliano standing together.  I was SO excited because I had wanted a picture of them so bad before we left, so I could remember how much they had always helped me throughout our mission.  DI has been a big part of our experience here and I just love the people who work here and have helped me so much.  Glen always calls Priscilliano one of the Three Nephites because he is not married and is so awesome and good.

On Saturday we drove out to Pahrump to bring furniture to the member home who will be housing a new set of elders, bringing the total number of missionaries who serve in Pahrump to eight!  This is a beautiful home, and we were so appreciative of Elder Bloomfield and Elder Houghton who came to help us move in the furniture.

After all of our work, we met the other missionaries at Mom's cafe and had lunch with them.  We had so much fun with them!  They all love it in Pahrump and it's the first time the mission has ever had sister missionaries there.  Pictured are Sis. Rasmussen, Sis. Baker, Elder Wong, Elder Van Etten, Elder Bloomfield (he is SO funny!), and Elder Houghton.  

After lunch we went to Elder Wong and Elder Van Etten's "house" so that Glen could inspect it.  It was quite the place, but they like it!  

We got back just in time t ogo to the Hofbrauhouse, a German restaurant that Glen has been wanting to go to since we arrived in Las Vegas.  It is patterned exactly after the Hofbrauhouse in Munich Germany where he served his mission, and where Danny, Heidi, and we went in 2006.  It was quite the place!  A musician came to our table and played this huge Swiss horn--it was really awesome. 

We were so excited to go to dinner with Joni and Dave Rasmussen and Spencer and Jill Judd.  The food was great and we had such a good time with them.  It was a good way to end our busy week!