The 'leavers' always have a few minutes to speak to the group at the
Tuesday morning transfer meeting. All missionaries and companions of any
being transferred, as well as the senior staff, and President and Sister
Carter assemble in the adjacent church and the changes/transfers are
read aloud over the pulpit. Until that moment, missionaries only know
they are being transferred, not who they are with or where they are
going. They get a call Monday morning from the assistants who inform the
missionary if they are 'staying' or 'packing.' Training meetings
follows transfer meeting for new trainers and the whole place buzzes
with anticipation for the few days preceding transfers. It's exciting to
be a part of this great process!
President Carter challenged us to 'turn outward' and shared examples of President Monson and Jesus Christ that illustrate turning outward and thinking of others rather than focusing on ourselves.
Since we only had one 'leaver' this transfer, the Carter's took Sister Vaifale (vie(like pie) fall ee) to dinner and the office staff assembled with them back at the Mission Home for dessert. In case you are wondering, Sister Carter made brownies and her famous chocolate sauce over ice cream and it was rich and delicious! We all shared our testimonies and President and Sister Carter sang their usual parting song, which I videoed but the file is too large to email to Shelby in its entirety. It's always a wonderful meeting and the song very touching. There was lots of sniffing going on :-)
Wednesday, Lee was up and out early to take missionaries to the bus station for 'far' destinations, arriving back at the mission office in time to get another load to take to the airport for 'farther' areas. He brought back the first batch of 'arriver' missionaries to the office once they landed, and turned right around to go back for another load at the airport. The poor man didn't know if he was coming or going!
President and Sis Carter meet all incoming flights at the airport and once arrivers get back to the office, we have the usual orientation by housing, finance, and Lee about bikes and cars. President interviews each new missionary and we joined together at the church for an 'arrivers' dinner. The office prepared sesame chicken over rice, salad, and dessert and afterward, trainers were introduced to the 7 new missionaries. By this time, the newbies were asleep on their feet, so we adjourned to distribute bedding, bikes, and helmets. After clean up, we got home to our flat by 9:30 pm. 'Been a long day!'
Thursday morning Lee left very early to take the last group to the bus station, and Friday morning he took the Carter's to the airport for the Alice Springs Christmas celebration. Sunday at 3:35 pm he went back to meet them returning.
Friday night we attended the temple and Sister Salazar met us for dinner. We tried a new-to-us restaurant, although she had eaten there previously. We had a great time and really appreciated the cloudy, breezy evening, after a very HOT week! It sprinkled a few times over the weekend, but it was still quite warm temperature wise.
Saturday, Lee went grocery shopping in the morning, then we drove approximately 45 minutes to Plymouth to see a wholesale cash and carry. This was the first and only store we have seen that carries any bulk sized items at all. I enjoyed being out and about but the store is too far away to patronize regularly.
I spent Saturday afternoon sewing and finally finished my Christmas projects. I made black Rice Krispie treats (coal) and my mom's famous cheeseball.
We had missionaries for dinner Sunday at 5pm and I cooked crock pot chicken tacos with toppings for Elders Dass from Sydney and Woodfield from Texas. Yes, it's the same Elder Woodfield we knew in Mount Gambier as he was just transferred back to Adelaide.
Sunday evening at 7pm was a multi stake single adult (18-29 yr old singles) choir concert at our building. The young people did a wonderful job in song and narration depicting the Christmas story. Just before attending, we dropped some cheese ball and my quilted aboriginal fabric table runner for the Carter's, and after the concert we took them to Sister Salazar and Sister White. I gave the senior men and the assistants a 'bag of coal' mentioned above in this post. And I was NOT naughty, but nice enough to tell them to eat them at home so they could brush their teeth after because the black food dye turns teeth and tongue black. Pinterest didn't mention that..............sorry guys.
The week was busy but very gratifying. We love transfers for the new missionaries that arrive, but it's bittersweet, because missionaries leave to go home then too. Transfers mean hard work for the seniors, but we love serving and feel very blessed for this opportunity to show our love and commitment to the Savior. We love and support President and Sister Carter as they love and support the great missionaries in the Australia Adelaide Mission.
President Carter challenged us to 'turn outward' and shared examples of President Monson and Jesus Christ that illustrate turning outward and thinking of others rather than focusing on ourselves.
Since we only had one 'leaver' this transfer, the Carter's took Sister Vaifale (vie(like pie) fall ee) to dinner and the office staff assembled with them back at the Mission Home for dessert. In case you are wondering, Sister Carter made brownies and her famous chocolate sauce over ice cream and it was rich and delicious! We all shared our testimonies and President and Sister Carter sang their usual parting song, which I videoed but the file is too large to email to Shelby in its entirety. It's always a wonderful meeting and the song very touching. There was lots of sniffing going on :-)
Wednesday, Lee was up and out early to take missionaries to the bus station for 'far' destinations, arriving back at the mission office in time to get another load to take to the airport for 'farther' areas. He brought back the first batch of 'arriver' missionaries to the office once they landed, and turned right around to go back for another load at the airport. The poor man didn't know if he was coming or going!
President and Sis Carter meet all incoming flights at the airport and once arrivers get back to the office, we have the usual orientation by housing, finance, and Lee about bikes and cars. President interviews each new missionary and we joined together at the church for an 'arrivers' dinner. The office prepared sesame chicken over rice, salad, and dessert and afterward, trainers were introduced to the 7 new missionaries. By this time, the newbies were asleep on their feet, so we adjourned to distribute bedding, bikes, and helmets. After clean up, we got home to our flat by 9:30 pm. 'Been a long day!'
Thursday morning Lee left very early to take the last group to the bus station, and Friday morning he took the Carter's to the airport for the Alice Springs Christmas celebration. Sunday at 3:35 pm he went back to meet them returning.
Friday night we attended the temple and Sister Salazar met us for dinner. We tried a new-to-us restaurant, although she had eaten there previously. We had a great time and really appreciated the cloudy, breezy evening, after a very HOT week! It sprinkled a few times over the weekend, but it was still quite warm temperature wise.
Saturday, Lee went grocery shopping in the morning, then we drove approximately 45 minutes to Plymouth to see a wholesale cash and carry. This was the first and only store we have seen that carries any bulk sized items at all. I enjoyed being out and about but the store is too far away to patronize regularly.
I spent Saturday afternoon sewing and finally finished my Christmas projects. I made black Rice Krispie treats (coal) and my mom's famous cheeseball.
We had missionaries for dinner Sunday at 5pm and I cooked crock pot chicken tacos with toppings for Elders Dass from Sydney and Woodfield from Texas. Yes, it's the same Elder Woodfield we knew in Mount Gambier as he was just transferred back to Adelaide.
Sunday evening at 7pm was a multi stake single adult (18-29 yr old singles) choir concert at our building. The young people did a wonderful job in song and narration depicting the Christmas story. Just before attending, we dropped some cheese ball and my quilted aboriginal fabric table runner for the Carter's, and after the concert we took them to Sister Salazar and Sister White. I gave the senior men and the assistants a 'bag of coal' mentioned above in this post. And I was NOT naughty, but nice enough to tell them to eat them at home so they could brush their teeth after because the black food dye turns teeth and tongue black. Pinterest didn't mention that..............sorry guys.
The week was busy but very gratifying. We love transfers for the new missionaries that arrive, but it's bittersweet, because missionaries leave to go home then too. Transfers mean hard work for the seniors, but we love serving and feel very blessed for this opportunity to show our love and commitment to the Savior. We love and support President and Sister Carter as they love and support the great missionaries in the Australia Adelaide Mission.
No comments:
Post a Comment