Four New Arrivals!

We received four lovely new missionaries this week to replace the four that went home.  This is Sister Schwartz from Atlanta, Georgia.

Hailing from Kaysville, Utah is Sister Cottrell.  The sister missionaries who have been here a few months knew her cousin who also served here at the Visitors' Center.

Next we have Sister Slater from Tulsa, Oklahoma.  She was a surprise arrival, coming a full six weeks ahead of her scheduled time.  Learning Spanish was a snap for her.

Our fourth arrival is Sister Larson, who calls Houston, Texas home.  She admitted she played tennis non-stop for a full month before she came to get enough to hold her for 18 months.

Sister Schwartz's companion is one of the VC Trainers - Sister Falcon.  She's very lucky to work with such a seasoned, capable sister.

Sister Cottrell is being trained by Sister Fors.  This will be a dynamic duo!  Sister Fors is one of our most enthusiastic missionaries.  She LOVES this work.

Sister Slater is learning the ropes from Sister Hartvigsen, who will just finish the 12 week training course when she is released in May.  She has a lot of experience to share with her new 'greenie'.

Color coordinated and a perfect match, Sister Larson will enjoy having Sister McKee for her trainer.  Sister McKee is one of our VC Trainers and charms everyone she meets with her million-dollar smile!  You can't help but feel happy around Sister McKee. 

And speaking of training - Elder and Sister Beckstrand were grateful to have President and Sister Ellsworth tutor them, along with the mission zone leaders and the VC Trainers, at a special Zone Training Meeting on March 9th.  We learn so much from our Mission President and his wife.  They love missionary service and they love their missionaries!

The sisters come for weekly training each Friday morning at the VC.  After the meeting we enjoy eating breakfast together.  The room comes alive with chatter when the young women get together.

Yesterday the sofa and window was piled 4 feet high with clothing that the sisters didn't want any longer.  The recycled clothing is brought to the break room to be gone-through by the other sisters and is free for the taking.  (It's always a big relief to the tidy senior sisters when it eventually goes on to Deseret Industries for distribution to the needy.)

Sister Hansen models one of her new acquisitions.  Very snazzy!  She'll sleep pretty tonight.

Spring in Mesa

Spring arrived in Mesa back in January.  The temple gardeners planted thousands of flowers the week we arrived.  Now in March they have grown into glorious displays of color.

 

The stage for the Easter Pageant continues to grow daily.  We're just three weeks from opening night.

As we walk from our home to the Visitors' Center we pass these gorgeous flowers.  They perfume the air with a smell that is indescribable.

The beauty of the different colors and varieties is candy for the eyes.

I would like to know what these beauties are called.  Anyone out there know?

The daisies grow waist high.  If my daisies in Bountiful could see these they would hang their heads in shame.

All sides of the reflecting pools are lined with flowers.

Notice the white flower inside the violet flower.  Soooo pretty.

We took a drive out to Gilbert on Saturday to see the progress on the new temple that is being built there.  The Mesa Temple is very crowded.  This new facility will be a welcome addition to the valley.

The north side has quite a lot of the outside wall in place.  It looks like this will be a good-sized temple.  It will be beautiful when it is all finished!

Natives of the area warn us that summers here are brutally hot.  For now, however, we're lovin' life in Mesa. 

Goodbye to Four Exemplary Missionaries

A farewell breakfast was held at the Director's home on March 2nd for our four sisters who will be released next week.  Sisters Kranendonk and Falcon are enjoying the orange knots.  (Sister McKee said they were the best tasting knots she's ever had in her stomach.) 

These sisters have to rise early to be here for a 7:00 am start time.

Sister Burton looks like she's been up for hours!

Two of our departing sisters - Sister Vause (left) and Sister Arias (right) share a kodak moment with Sister Tejada (center).  She will be returning home in April.

Our senior couples are a wonderful support for these young sisters and the Visitors' Center.  Elder and Sister Livingston do their job cheerfully and well.

Two other hard-working couples are the Jenkins (left) and Pecks.  We'll only have the Pecks one more month - they will be released after the Easter Pageant concludes.

Four smiling faces from Sisters Dashjav, Anderson, Vause, and Fors.

Sister Beu shares a hug with Sister Hartvigsen.

Sister McKee and Sister Solorzano.

Sisters Sordes, Avila, McKenna, and Lamb pause while finishing their breakfast to smile for the camera.

These sisters become very close during their service together.  Sister Parker shows her love for Sister Javed.

Yes, they're happy now, but wait until the companion legacies begin.  Then the tears start to flow.

Our Visitors' Center Choir will be performing at the Mission Fireside on Sunday.  This morning we took advantage of the opportunity to have a 'dress rehearsal'.  This group of young women love to sing and create beautiful harmony together.

These are the four sisters who have completed their service here.  They have become very dear to us in just the two months we have been here.  From the left they are:  Sisters Vause, Arias, Beu, and McKenna.  I'm guessing that their families are going to love seeing them come home to the same degree that we're going to hate seeing them leave. 

Elder Beckstrand and I are going to feel a huge void at the Visitors' Center when these fine missionaries leave us.  They have been a huge help to us and have set an amazing example of hard work and dedication for all of the young missionaries who serve here.

All of the VC sister missionaries (and some of the senior couples) meet at the Christus statue for a picture and the song, "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again".  Most of us had trouble getting through the song. 

Group Hug!  We'll MISS you!  We LOVE you!

Introducing the Visitors' Center Missionaries

We definitely have some of the finest sister missionaries in the world - and they come from all over the globe.  These young women are Sister Solorzano from Nicaragua (left), and Sister Tejada from New Jersey.

 Sister Shurtz (on the left) is from Clearfield, Utah.  She is training Sister Crawford who just arrived in January but alas, won't be with us after this transfer because her call is not to the Visitors' Center.

This cheery pair keep everyone upbeat.  Sister McKee (left) was raised in Hawaii but will be returning to her family in Duchesne, Utah when she is released in May.  She has recently been called as a Trainer in our VC.  She is learning the ropes from Sister McKenna who will be released in March.  Sister Beu will also be leaving us in March.  Her home is in Rapid City, South Dakota.  She has been a great help as my Administrative Assistant (read computer guru). 

We love these delightful sisters - they are a dynamic duo!  Sister Parker (left) comes from Thornton, Colorado and Sister Anderson from FILLMORE, UTAH!!!  We could hardly believe our good fortune in having a sister from our home town - or at least where we went to Junior High and High School.  Our home towns are Kanosh and Meadow - just a hop, skip, and a jump down the road from Fillmore.

Sister Holladay and Sister Falcon work extremely hard at the center.  Sister Holladay calls Lindon, Utah home, and Sister Falcon hails from Mexico City, Mexico.  She is also one of our very capable Trainers.  We currently have seven companionships who are Spanish-speaking, and six companionships who are assigned English.  These sisters are Spanish-speakers.

Sister Vause (left) is on her last transfer.  On March 6th she will be released to return to her home in Pleasant View, Utah.  We'll miss her!  Sister Fors comes to the Mesa Visitors' Center from La Canada, California.  (Another Spanish-speaking companionship.)

These young missionaries blend totally different cultures as they serve together.  Sister Burton is from Henrico, Virginia, and Sister Dashjav is from Mongolia.  Her English language skills are amazing!

Sisters Carlson and Javed are also from different countries and cultures.  Sister Carlson calls Aurora, Colorado home, and Sister Javed is from Pakistan.  She is also doing very well with English.

These sisters are called to be Spanish-speaking missionaries, but Sister Sordes (right) comes from France and speaks French, Spanish, and English.  She's fluent in all three languages.  Sister Hartvigsen is from Kaysville, Utah  (you know she's a quality missionary if she's from Davis Country!)

Our darling African sister is Sister Catherine Koki MacKenzie who comes from Kenya.  She is partnered with Sister Hansen from Murray, Utah.  Sister Hansen is my other very capable Administrative Assistant, and is a huge help to me at the VC.

There will be a big hole in our hearts and at our center when Sister McKenna (right) is released on March 6th.  She has been an outstanding trainer - both of the other sister missionaries and for the Beckstrands, the most 'clueless' of anyone at the center.  Her capable companion is Sister Lamb from Panama, who broke her arm in a bicycle accident just after we arrived.  These are also Spanish-speaking sisters.

These Spanish-speaking sisters are extremely adept since they've spoken it since their cradles.  Sister Arias' native country is El Salvador, and Sister Avila (right) comes from Houston, Texas.  She is also fluent in French and, of course, English.

We have just one companionship that hails from the same city.  Sister Kranendonk (left) and Sister Lewis both call Salt Lake City, Utah, home.  However, Sister Kranendonk gets extra points for having Dutch ancestry!  She has been a very capable trainer for Sister Lewis who just arrived in January.

Our Center is also very lucky to have five senior couples (at least until after Easter Pageant.)  The Romrells come from St. Anthony, Idaho and are serving their seventh mission.  Amazing!  The scheduling of shifts at the center has gotten much easier since Elder Romrell took over the job.  It is usually the Directors' wife's responsibility to handle that chore.  I wish he could stay forever, but we'll be losing them in April.

The Livingstons come to Mesa from Ogden, Utah.  They served a previous mission in the office here in the Arizona, Mesa Mission and they enjoyed it so much that they decided to come back - this time to the Visitors' Center.  They'll be with us 18 months.  We're so grateful to have them.

We also have two additional couples, the Pecks and Jenkins, who I introduced on my previous blog.  They serve capably and well.  Our biggest challenge with the Jenkins is keeping them busy enough!  They continually tell us they'd rather be working than sitting around their apartment.  After Easter Pageant they might regret those words!