Departing Missionaries

All of the missionaries leaving tomorrow to go back to their homes come to the mission home.  They have a fancy lunch -- subway sandwiches.  

This group was very fun.  I so much enjoy laughing over crying.  So after shedding tears at transfer meeting it was a welcome time for laughter.  Some helped with a service of cutting and tieing blankets for charity.  They played a game that was gospel oriented - it consisted of topics being acted out (charades), drawn (pictionary), and humming (name that tune).  

Elders Bryson, Shields, Canzona, Spackman, and Jackson

Hermanas Player, Eastman, Sister Moure, Hermanas White and AhMu

Transfer 3/10/2015

I had a hard time getting outside to take pictures.  Some missionaries had left by the time I did get outside.

Sister Ashworth

Elder Berg and Elder Trujillo

Sister Berry and Sister Dearden

Elder Berg, Elder Jackson, and Sister DeVries

Sisters Beatty, Moure, Ashworth, and Hermana Tauiliili

Elder James and Elder Lemus

See if you can find your missionary from the back

Elders Walker, Ruby, Kim, and Comin

Sister Cox and Sister Blake

Sisters James, Wilson, Hardman, and Scoresby

Hermana Jeronimo and Hermana Eames

Hermanas White, Eastman, Griffes, and Frias

Hermana AhMu and Hermana Garza

Elders Fisher, Atkin, Kanenwisher, and Walker

Hermana Green and Hermana Hurley

Elder Cavazos and Elder Griffin

Elder Gardner and Elder Spencer

Elder Hernandez and Elder Barlow

Sister Hiapo and Sister Brown

Elders Hamson, Lopez, Toa, and Passey

Sisters Nicholas, Kemp, Barnes, Reneer, Giambattista, and Ulassin

Elder Dort, Sister DeVries, Elder Hidalgo, and Elder Soubie

Elder Weiss, Hermanas Ricks, Johnson, Clark, and Keith

Elder Dort, President Felix, and Elder Trujillo

Elders Hale, Tufts, and Reed

Elder Tufts, Elder Reed, and Sister Felix

Hermana Young came for a visit as she went home for rehab on her knee

Elder Santos and Elder Jones

Elder Weiss and Elder Phillips

New Arrivals 3/9/2015

Our typical schedule of missionaries arriving just before noon had been changed.  These missionaries arrived in Santa Barbara at 9:00 a.m.  Wait, there's only 6 and we were suppose to have 8 missionaries.  Two hermanas were missing.  President Felix called the IFR (Infield Representative) for help in finding the two.  After talking with missionary travel we were told their flight would not arrive until 3:00 p.m.

Elder Willis from Virginia

Hermana Frias from Mexico

Hermana Green from Utah

Sister Ulassin from Texas

Sister Berry from North Carolina

Elder Lemus from Maryland

Hermana Johnson from Utah

Hermana Eames from Washington

We went to the Institute at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB).  Elder and Sister McIntosh prepared breakfast of french toast, a fruit medley, and orange juice.  The plan was to stay there and let the missionaries rest a bit while President Felix interviewed each one.

We went to the Cross so they could see the ocean, Ventura, and Oxnard.  President Felix talked about having both feet in and being anxiously engaged.  Leave all behind and be fully committed.  

Hermana Green was the last to jump in with both feet.

We dropped the missionaries off at the mission home with the assistants for lunch.  It consisted of roast beef on flat bread, grapes, cantelope, chips and snicker doodle cookies.  President and Sister Felix left them there and drove back to the airport to pick up Hermana Johnson and Hermana Eames.  It was fun visiting with them on the drive back.  

The assistants drove the missionaries in the mission van to the Ventura Stake Center for training in the 12 week program and they then had the opportunity to go out with some of our missionaries.

They were then brought back to the mission home for dinner.  We ate on the deck.  We had fiesta chicken pasta salad, taquitos, and watermelon.  After a powerpoint intro of President and Sister Felix and a short orientation from the assistants, we enjoyed ice cream and brownies.

It is such a long day for these missionaries.  They were up so early to get to the airport. We were blessed to have the bishop of one of the wards in Ventura have the two elders stay the night.  They were picked up at 8:00 p.m. and dropped off at the mission home the next morning at 6:45 for breakfast.  All of the sisters stayed at the mission home.  They were such good sports to stay awake (or wake up) to practice a song at 8:50 to sing at Transfer meeting.  They sang Lead Kindly Light and sounded very good.  

These pictures are Tuesday morning as they were receiving some instruction from the Senior Couples regarding, medical, mail, housing, finances, driving and biking.