Goodbye Sister Tejada, Hello Sister Noble

 It's always hard to say goodbye to our wonderful sister missionaries.  Sister Tejada (center, pink sweater) has been here eighteen months, however, and we have to let her go.  We'll miss her!

The sisters gather round to sing "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again."

Time for hugs - Sister Avila gets to her first, while the other sisters patiently wait their turns.

A final picture with Sister Javed.  This is a happy-sad occasion.  Sister Tejada has had a wonderful mission and is going home with honor, but we will feel a huge hole at the VC in her absence.

Welcome Sister Noble!  It is so nice to have a shining new sister to replace Sister Tejada.  Sister Noble is from Indiana via Utah State University.  (Go Aggies!)

We stole an opportunity to take a picture at the Christus with our newest sister missionary.  What a privilege it is to work so closely with these wonderful young women.

We were SHOCKED to walk toward the Visitors' Center one morning and find all of the flowers removed from the front of the temple.  While the flower bed was empty and could be walked on, there were some cracks in the  retaining wall that needed repair. 

These workers did a great job rebuilding the wall.

The final coat was smoothed over and made ready for repainting.  It will soon look good as new.

Meanwhile, on the south side of the Visitors' Center there is work being done in the reflecting pool.  The tile around the perimeter is being replaced, and a new surface put on the floor of the pool.

The temple grounds are always so beautifully tended.  We're right in the transition between spring flowers and summer flowers.  The rim of dirt around the edge of the pool will soon be full of beautiful summer flowers - hearty enough to withstand 120 degree temperatures.

Hey!  It does rain in Arizona!  The first real rain we've seen since our arrival came on April 26th.  The state is especially dry this year.

Outside to the north of the center we watched a huge crane take down the light towers in front of the pageant stage.  These huge metal stanchions are unbolted from their casings in the grass, and then lifted up and gently laid on the ground by cranes.  This is quite an undertaking.

Now that they are down they can be dismantled and stored until next year.

NEWS FLASH!  We have chicken pox in the mission!  Sister Hansen is the lucky new recipient of chicken pox.  She's feeling pretty rotten, and is quarantined from the other sisters.  She spent the day on our sofa while I made cinnamon rolls for the Prep. Meeting breakfast on Friday.  We're hoping and praying that we can stop the spread of the disease to the other sisters. 

 We had a great prep meeting on April 27th in which Sisters Anderson, Fors, and Carlson demonstrated the Armor of God presentation that we do for Primary groups.  Sister Carlson reads the scriptural reference from Ephesians 6 as Sister Anderson helps dress our cute volunteer.

Sister Fors looks pretty well protected with all of her gospel armor.  Now she's ready to face the adversities that are so prevalent all around us.

Following the meeting the girls enjoyed cinnamon rolls and fruit, juice and cereal - whatever they were in the mood for.

Sister Cottrell is finishing a cinnamon roll while Sister Lamb visits with her.  They get these few moments of time together then they're back to work, fulfilling their missionary purpose.