The Comings and Goings of Our Missionaries

Missionaries come and go every month, but this month we are losing two of our senior couples and two of our senior sisters. We are also losing six of our young missionaries. We have been getting together with the missionary couples for family home evening every other Monday night. Here is a picture of three couples: Merrells, Dalebouts and Wilhites. We have enjoyed getting together with these great people and we love them. The Wilhites (the couple on the right) will be going back to Lehi on June 29th. We will miss them immensely. They are really fun to be with.

Sister Babb (middle) is going home next week. She and Sister Fuiomono (right), and Sister Coleman (not pictured) have helped us in the Family History Center. We will miss Sister Babb. She has been a really great missionary.

Young missionaries, who are going home, pose for a picture with President and Sister Smith.

Below are Elder Spencer and Elder Martindale. Good missionaries.

Sister Gee has been such a great missionary. We love her so much. She's got personality plus.

Elder Lambert was one of the first missionaries we got to know when we first came. We inspected his apartment. We love Elder Lambert and wish him well as he goes home and starts attending Utah State.

Here is one of our Polynesian elders, Elder Kafu. He will be playing football for BYU, hopefully this fall.

And, here they are jumping for joy because they are going home. They're all a little sad to be leaving.

This week we had a mission tour, which means that a general authority comes and tours the mission. This conference was in Ossining. Elder Craig Christensen (of the seventy) and his wife came and spoke to the missionaries, including the missionary couples. Elder Christensen and his wife took time to go around a big circle and shake every missionary's hand and talk to them a couple of minutes. This is only half of the missionaries because the other half had already shaken their hands and had gone into the chapel.

.The conference was really good. Elder Christensen talked to the missionaries about the spirit of Christ and the Holy Ghost. His wife spoke about the atonement. And, President and Sister Smith also spoke. President Smith carried on with the theme of the Holy Ghost and how it can be used in missionary work. Sister Smith told the missionaries how much they loved them and the impressions she and President Smith had of them.

The couple missionaries took care of setting up for the food and serving it. L-R: Sister Bennett, Sister Merrell, Dick, Elder Seamons, Elder Merrell, Sister Seamons.

After four hours of meetings, the missionaries were ready to eat!

Missionaries clowning around. Sister Vanderdoes, Elder Richards and Sister Wilson.

Below is a picture of Elder and Sister Christensen and President and Sister Smith sitting with some of the missionaries.

I love Elder Willis. He's the black elder pushing the garbage around picking up everyone's trash. Every time there is a zone conference, Elder Willis goes around and cleans up. He is a really nice elder and has a lot of personality.

So, they come and they go. There are a ton of new missionaries we don't know. And, because we aren't in the office any more, we don't get to know them as well. A lot of the missionaries we know well have either gone home or are going home soon.