Sister Schwartz (in imitation of the Ten Virgins scene in the Easter Pageant) begs Sister Parker for more oil for her lamp, but of course Sister Parker is unable to help her. It is April 7th, the day before Easter, and we have been given permission to take pictures on the pageant stage. The day is sunny and warm. What an amazingly beautiful place to serve as missionaries!
Some of our sisters get creative with flowers to add color to their photo. Going in a clockwise circle from the bottom left, Sister Dashjav, Sister Solorzano, Sister Javed, Sister Falcon, and Sister Tejada.
We are saying goodbye today to the Pecks, a local couple who have been here as service missionaries at the Center. We have enjoyed working with them and will miss seeing them at the Center. Although they are both in their eighties, they told us they are planning to submit their papers to serve another mission. Amazing!
Elder and Sister Romrell are completing their seventh mission today. They will return to St. Anthony, Idaho at the beginning of next week. We have LOVED working with the Romrells. Sister Romrell is so organized and efficient, and Elder Romrell does so many "magical" things on the computer that makes scheduling shifts at the center much easier. I don't know if we'll be able to get along without them.
The couple on the far left, The Hennigs, have also served a local mission which actually ended in January. We wanted them to come today to show our appreciation for the wonderful job they did. We are so blessed with the caliber of help that we have at the Visitors' Center. Sister Hennig is a remarkable missionary! Nobody leaves the Center without being welcomed and taught valuable gospel principles when Sister Hennig is around.
Sisters Lamb and Larson look fresh as a daisy, even though they've been up until midnight every night for the past two weeks. I think everyone will be relieved when the pageant closes tonight and we return to a more normal schedule.
Here are three more of our Spanish-speaking sisters. From left: Sisters Slater, Hartvigsen, and Sordes. I hope they'll be able to teach me some Spanish while we're serving here. (They'll have their work cut out for them, however.)
Sister Sordes, center, joins her companion - Sister Avila, left, and Sister Crawford for a photo shoot. Aren't they lovely?
Sisters Hartvigsen, Hollady, and Slater. Big smiles, girls!
Sister Anderson is looking particularly 'Springy' today. It's nice to put away the black clothes for a few months and enjoy the pretty spring colors.
Sister Kranendonk is standing where you can see the light stanchions and rows of chairs in the background. This is the vantage point the cast sees each night as they perform.
Sisters Hansen and McKee hug for a quick picture. They keep so busy that I was lucky to get this. Sister Hansen is one of my administrative assistants and Sister McKee is one of our trainers. They are both invaluable to the smooth running of the Visitors' Center.
Sisters Burton and Parker are companions this transfer and work very well together. They are both hard workers and full of enthusiasm for missionary work.
Sister Lewis chooses a spot among the flowers for this pose. She is as lovely as they are.
Sister Avila has fun with a basket of fruit. Although raised in Texas and fluent in Spanish, she was called as an English-speaking sister. So far she has only been with Spanish-speaking companions, however. It will be interesting to see how long that continues.
And here is the lovely Sister Javed also sporting a basket of fruit on her head. I wouldn't be surprised if she has seen women in her culture carry water and other things in this way. Sister Javed is ALWAYS smiling - this is not just a pose for the camera.
Sister Romrell gives Sister Shurtz a big, final hug. I'm sure it will be hard for them to leave these darling young women, but it will be wonderful to be back with their family again so it's a trade-off. Goodbye - God Bless.
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