Merry Christmas, Missionaries

--Sorry to post a letter to the missionaries instead of something for the non-missionary types, but things are a bit pressed for time around here.  Merry Christmas!

Dearest Missionaries,

            Merry Christmas!  President Hall and I truly pray that this Christmas season will be one of deep personal meaning to you in your full-time service of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

            As we follow Elder Holland’s counsel to understand Christmas instead of merely enjoying Christmas, our focus shifts. It shifts away from us and towards the baby in the manger.  Instead of wondering what we will get, we wonder how it is that Christ was born, lived, atoned and opened the doors to exaltation to all of us. 

            As we understand Christmas we understand those shepherds who first heard the news from the angels--

Luke 2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

                We have heard the Good News, we come in haste to Christ to learn of Him, to do His will and to make it known unto those who have not yet heard. 

            Take some time this Christmas to read the story of our Savior’s birth with your companion.  Sing a Christmas hymn.  Ponder and keep in your heart the feelings you have as a representative of Jesus Christ.  May your most precious gift be that of the Holy Ghost testifying that it is all true--that mankind has a way back to our Father in Heaven, because of Christ.  Because of Christmas.

We Love You, Merry Christmas

President and Sister Hall

Dear Cousins,

This is just a copy/paste of a letter I sent to mi familia extended.  I hope it makes sense for the most part.  I'm way too tired to worry about it if it doesn't :)


Querido familia,

First, I finally met KH--sister of the wonderful MaryAnn. (She is the matron of the LA Temple)

 Second, I read the riot act to the zone leaders about not acting like missionaries and felt distinctly Oscar W-ish.  Which is odd since I have never met the man but not so odd seeing as how this is his old mission.

Third, boy am I tired.  Not as tired as Ken, mind you but tired nonetheless.  We just finished speaking to the "youth" session of a stake conference.  Much more fun than just the few minutes you get in the general session. (they keep the youth there after general, feed them lunch and then have an hour meeting) We used the theme of Know Before You Go.  I compared them to investigators.  I explained that to join the church an investigator is required to do something unique in the world.  They tried to guess (baptism? Have faith? Etc) but the answer is to join the church you are required to have a  revelation.  You must know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, the Book of Mormon is the world of God and the Church is true.  They need to know that too, so how do you find that out.  Well, you need to pray, read the Book of Mormon and go to Church (sacrament meeting).  Which is why their parents are hopefully having family prayer, family scripture study and dragging them to church.  Ken spoke more about the Hastening of the work and the changes that are coming from the new age requirement. 

We currently have 190 missionaries and we will have 250.  Theoretically, a young man could graduate from highs school.  Go straight to the MTC and (if he is called to his native language) be in the field 12 days later.  Kind of makes you think.  The new youth curriculum is really set up to help this and the topics it covers are the same ones all investigators learn.  Hopefully mutual will change--especially for the YM.  More MTC and less NBA, if you get my drift.

The last three weeks have been crazy!  First there were interviews, then transfers and then Elder Don Clarke came for a mission tour.  On top of all that, Ken and the area seventy are meeting with all of the stake presidents, bishops, bishoprics, ward mission leaders and high councilors over mission work in all 10 stakes.  They will be done by tonight.  Our area seventy (Elder Jerry Garns) and Ken feel very strongly that they need to present together so everyone catches the vision that missionary work is a combined effort of members and missionaries.  They are presenting a template that the wards are welcome to use for their ward mission plans.  So if any of you ward mission leaders want a copy, let me know.  It is straight out of Handbook 2 but formatted so it is easy to see and measure.  Ken says too many ward mission plans are nicely framed statements on the importance of missionary work. 

It was also follow-up new missionary training week.  Historically, this mission has had a new missionary get off the plane and then spend the next 4 hours filling out paperwork, watching  driving safety videos, etc.  It made for a stressful and tedious arrival. So this time we picked them up at the airport, took them to a nearby stake center, assigned them a zone leader/assistant/awesome sister as an afternoon companion and sent them out to find someone to teach. It was awesome.  They did the scariest part of missionary work an hour after landing and had a good experience.  We did only the paperwork/office stuff that HAD to be done right away.  The next day they met their new companions and off they went.  A week later they came back for actual, new missionary training.  It was so much better than getting off the plane, terrified, and just doing non-missionary things while waiting for their interviews.  Now they can get interviewed and proselyte and by the time of the transfer meeting feel like actual missionaries.

 The kids are still adjusting.  And by that I mean that it isn't as horrible as it was but it isn't good yet.  Interestingly enough, they love to come to stake conferences with us.  So it is always nice to have them there--the only time we go to church as a family (of course we don't actually sit together, but hey, it's the same meeting!)

 We have put up the tree and tried without success to figure out how the decorations in the garage are supposed to be set up.  We brought our own ornaments and Christmas Lego village so that is nice and home like. 

That is all my fried brain can think of at the moment.

 Love,

Dianna

Have You Ever Played Clue with a Mystery Writer?

Hooray! The cousins came for Thanksgiving.  Stephanie and Brian, et al (ok not all al, Amy and Shauna partied in St George) came down from the north to celebrate with us.  It was so much fun to have them here.

We did touristy things, cooked a billion calories worth of food and laughed until our faces hurt.  Literally hurt.  The  laugh-fests included, but are not limited to, reading out loud the rejected  Breaking Dawn screenplay (we read them all, tears running down our cheeks), watching the family favorite Clue, and our own great wittiness.  A good time was had by all.  Or at least most of us, Ken had some crises pop up and so spent most of Thanksgiving bashing his head against the wall.

Since we watched Clue, of course we had to play Clue.  We have Master Detective Clue which has more rooms and suspects and so we busted out the notebooks and began accusing.  Unlike the standard Clue game, Master Detective Clue gives you a whole sheet of paper so you can take notes as well as make check marks.  I never know what notes I am supposed to be taking--I'm more of a kamikaze player.  Rebecca take detailed notes and always solves it more quickly.  Stephanie, who has written five mystery/suspense novels was fiendishly writing.  Are you curious what kind of notes a mystery writer takes?  I was.  So in true criminal fashion I stole her notes and present them to you.

2:56 pm
Someone here is a killer...it is giving me the creeps.  What evil lurks behind these friendly smiles? I am starting to suspect that the killer is ________________ (trails off to blood/ink spatters)

3:04 pm
Tempers are rising. The tension and uncertainty are affecting all of us. I don't know how long we can endure this before someone cracks under the pressure.

3:09 pm
Matthew looks so innocent with his large blue eyes. What better disguise for a murderer? Or is he as innocent as he seems? I hate how this murder makes me suspect everyone of this most heinous crime! Oh the angst!

3:14 pm
I am growing increasingly suspicious of Rebecca. Her brilliant, devious mind and innocent smile could conceal an evil genius. But did she harbor a grudge against Mr. Body?

So there you have it.  While the rest of us were trying to roll the dice into the conservatory, Stephanie was watching us for clues.  For the record, Mrs Peacock did it in the trophy room, with the lead pipe. (Leading Matthew/Mr Green to say, "I told you I didn't do it!")

Matthew's Baptism

Matthew was baptized by his brother, Thomas, on November 4, 2012 at the McBean Building.  The building is actually irrelevant, I just like saying "McBean."

Matthew was born two days before Thomas's eighth birthday.  In fact, he came home from the hospital on Thomas's birthday and we said he was an extra birthday present.  Thomas took us seriously and has loved and cared for Matthew ever since.  Matthew's first public outing was to Thomas's baptism (which was a giant stake baptism that lasted over two hours--not recommended for newborns).

Now, eight years later, it was Matthew's turn.  Thomas and Matthew met with Bishop Larkins and got the thumbs up.  Thomas's first act as a Priest was to baptize his brother.  He did a great job.  He spoke clearly and confidently and got Matthew all the way under.  It was a wonderful thing. Ken confirmed and gave him a wonderful blessing. 

Grandpa Hall gave a great talk, Katie played the piano, very nice people from the ward helped out with special musical numbers and it was a very nice service. 

Plus, what a great experience for the velcro brothers.

Anxiously Engaged

(These are my notes that I use for new missionary orientation.  Since I have had time to post anything recently, I thought I would share this.  We have a lot of missionaries that deal with anxiety issues--well they all do to some extent, but some really struggle.  The point is that the Lord really has set up His program to help the missionary as well as those he/she serves.)

Doctrine and Covenants 58:27   Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness

·         We are anxiously engaged in a Good Cause, we have chosen to be here and as missionaries we will bring to pass much righteousness.

·         Another definition of Anxiously also can apply to missionaries (especially new missionaries)

·         All new missionaries experience anxiety, some more than others

·         Preach My Gospel and the Missionary Handbook are set up to help alleviate anxiety.  Whether or not you are comfortable speaking with people, whether or not you have a lot of gospel knowledge or very little, Preach My Gospel is set up to help.

1.  Schedule

            The missionary schedule (up at 6:30, etc) is something you can rely on for your whole mission.  You can count on it.  Missionary work can be a bit unpredictable at times but you can count on your schedule.   

2. Study

            Preach My Gospel has hundreds of activities and questions to help you become a missionary who can teach with power and authority.  To learn how to study do the activities in Chapter 2.  To become more Christlike, do the activities in Chapter 6. 

·         Individual Study

            Every day you have an appointment with the Lord to learn His will for your investigators.  Studying the doctrines will lesson your anxiety about teaching.  Studying specifically for your investigators will let the Lord use you as His instrument.

·         Companion Study

            Together you approach the Lord and seek His will and help for the people you teach.  When you are unified the Holy Ghost can work through your efforts to bring souls unto Christ.

Part of companionship study is role playing.  Role playing is not pretending to be someone you are not.  Role playing is a revelatory time where the Lord can guide you in helping his children.  Take it seriously.  It also reduces anxiety because when it is time to teach the lesson you will have already taught it once, twice, three times. 

 

3.  Planner and Planning

            Every night and weekly you will plan out your day/week.  This is more than just scheduling.  You and your companion make plans to accomplish your goals and back-up plans for when things don’t work out.  You will not have to be worried or anxious about what to do—you will know what is coming and what you will be doing. 

4.  Service

            Nothing can help us forget our own troubles faster than serving others.  As missionaries we are always looking for ways to serve—both small ways and large ways.  Focus on others.  Your mission is a unique time in your life where you are always outwardly focused. 

5.  Companion

            You don’t have to do this by yourself.  The gospel is preached two by two for many reasons (second witness, different life experiences, safety, etc.). However, a major reason is to help and support each other.  As a new missionary your trainer can help you learn the joy of missionary work and answer questions.  You can help strengthen your companion’s testimony, share each other’s burdens and join together to love and teach your investigators.

6.  Your Name Tag

            Don’t be afraid to be a missionary.  There is no need to hide it or worry about speaking with everyone.  With your name tag on people will recognize you as a missionary.  They will expect you to greet and talk to them.  It is just what missionaries do.  Act like a missionary.  Your name tag also carries the name of Jesus Christ.  Act how He would have you act. It is His work and His gospel.  He will help you.

7.  Promises from the Lord

      “The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done” (History of the Church, 4:540).  We are part of this great work, and as we go forth boldly and nobly and sound it in every ear, we shall accomplish the purposes of God.

Surprise!

Yesterday in General Conference (gc.lds.org) President Monson announced that they have lowered the age missionaries can begin serving.  WE are so excited.  If a young man is prepared to serve, let's get him out without first spending a year unfocused and waiting.  And personally I predict a tripling of sister missionaries--19 is so much more convenient than 21.

I hope the Priest Quorum advisors and YM presidents take advantage of this new program to use some of  mutual time as mission prep (And Laurel/YW presidents, too). Preach My Gospel has hundreds of activities to use.  The Missionary Preparation manual is free online.  And for the YW presidents who simply cannot resist cute things to pass out, the new teeny tiny Preach My Gospel is just so cute!  Let's leave the sports to the stake sports program and kick mutual up a notch.  (Was that preachy enough?  Because I've got more :)

So excited!  It will be interesting to see how it all works during the next year as things transition.  Aren't you glad you are BYU President Samuelson?  Or the admissions director?  Good times!

Zone Conference: Having the Faith to Find

Zone Conferences seem a bazillion years ago, I do remember they were going on when school started and that, my friends, has taken over my life.  But I shall try and give you the gist of the message. 

Presidente Hall took the New Testament  story of Cornelius to illustrate that the Lord is preparing people to hear the gospel just as He is preparing us to teach the gospel.  There are so many people who the Lord has placed in our path so that we can bring them the fulness of the gospel. 

The Lord knows who is ready but we don't--it is a mystery to us.  But the mysteries of God can be revealed to us and then we will know where to go and what to say.  This takes a miracle.  Miracles come by faith.  More faith=more miracles.  So how do we get more faith? Glad you asked.

Preach My Gospel (page 116 for those of you playing at home) states:

          Your faith will increase through diligent study, prayer, dedicated service, and obedience
           to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and the commandments.

So there you have it--who doesn't need miracles in his or her life?  Five things you can do everyday to increase your faith and increase your miracles.

1. diligent study
2. prayer
3. service
4. obedience to promptings
5. obedience to the commandments

Of course the zone conference focused on these things in a missionary context, but it is just as applicable in non-mission life.  Sometimes we think faith is something that just happens or maybe is given to us.  The concept that we can take specific steps to increase our faith is powerful. 

The real fun has been post-conference.  Missionaries are calling and texting to say that they have put the faith building to the test and, "President, we found our Cornelius."  My favorite was the missionaries who felt directed to go down a street and found a man sitting on his front lawn reading the Book of Mormon.  Or maybe the sisters who knocked on the door and the man said, "what took you so long to find us--we've been reading the Book of Mormon, we're in Alma and we want to know how to be baptized."  It is so exciting to see all these miracles!

Again from page 116: Faith leads to action...When you have faith in Jesus Christ you trust the Lord enough to follow His commandments--even when you do not completely understand the reasons for them.  You accomplish what the Lord wants you to accomplish...You are able to do miracles...

So get moving, people!  The Church is true, miracles still happen and God loves all His children.  Even you :)

Happy Birthday to Me and Thank Heaven for Mr Nowak



Awesome cupcake posted on my facebook wall from my friend, Renon

Today is my birthday--woohoo!  We are celebrating by taking Thomas to the doctor, waiting for a package (not a birthday package).  Ken is really whooping it up with missionaries by interviewing from dawn to way past dusk.

What can I say, we're party animals.

The real present is that Thomas's school schedule is finally, finally settled.  Which is great since I think next week is mid-terms...  But we shall persevere.  Now if we could get him healthy so he can go back to school...

I keep trying to write about Zone Conferences, which were great, but that involves brain power so I am still working on that.

In the meantime, cake!

School, California Style

School has started and boy howdy it is complicated.  We had already determined that California has, well, issues, but good grief.  School started on the 16th of August and they are still messing about with Thomas's schedule. 

The bus system is the city bus and there is a bus stop at the bottom of our hill--Yay! HOWEVER, it doens't go to the high school we are supposed to go to, it goes to a different high school.  I realize that doesn't make sense and I am sure there must have been a reason sometime.  When I called the bus company they didn't know either. 

So I drive Rebecca to the other bus stop (the one a mile and a half from the house) so she can take the bus, which keeps me out of drop-off/pick-up traffic so I can get Matthew to school on time.  Thomas is coming from seminary which is another complication but there is a carpool schedule (don't you love organized people who make up a schedule and hand it to you? I do).

The upshot is that I spend almost two hours a day in the car pondering all the things I should be doing instead of battling the logic that is the school districts. (Yes, districts, elementary has its own district, which would be fine except their calendar doesn't exactly match the jr/high calendar. )  I'm thinking home school is probably out...

Star Struck

I've been trying to get time to write a post on Zone Conferences (great) and the start of school (not so great).  But even more pressing is that they are filming NCIS at the bottom of the street.  I guess we are in California, after all.

Mice!

Okay, okay, not mice.  Mouse!  To be specific, Mickey Mouse!  And Rebecca's mouse ears.

The biggest advantage to having your college sibling home is that she can drive you to Disneyland!

Katie and the kids wanted one last adventure, and to be fair, the Cars Land billboards are everywhere mocking them.  So the day before Matthew started 2nd grade they hopped on the freeway and, two hours later, hopped off at Disneyland.  Ken was at a Spanish zone conference and I was home working on revising the new missionary notebook.  Though actually I was home obsessively tracking my old phone (Katie's new phone) to see where the kids (and my car) were.

They made it to Anaheim, and like everyone else wanted to goto Cars Land.  They waited in a long, long line for fast passes only to find out that the fast passes were already for 10:30 pm.    Since they had to be home by 10 (school night, hee hee) they ditched that idea and waited for almost two hours in the actual line.  They had a great time.

They had fun hanging out together, riding the rides and eating frozen lemonade.  Unfortunately, it was really hot and Becky wasn't feeling very well.  But they had fun, had and adventure and survived 4 hours of LA traffic (in my car--did I mention they were in my car? My non-scratched, non-wrecked car?  Katie drove like a pro--and because she wasn't tailgating had enough time to stop--unlike the the car two behind her that rear-ended the car behind her.  Whew)

The kids determined that Disneyland felt more like home than the house did...We're hoping to get permission to go as a family sometime during the mission (it is out of the boundaries so Ken and I have to live vicariously). 

I'm glad they got to have an adventure.  Although Katie reports that being the one in charge was a lot more stressful than she had anticipated.  :)

Tender Mercy Alert

This very nice man was one of the first missionaries in San Fernando back in the 1940's.  He was visiting his grandson who lives here and has just returned from a mission.  They came to a fireside tonight and he introduced himself and told us about the old days in the mission.  We could have talked to him all night.

This by itself is awesome, but even more awesome than that, his mission president was my Great-grandfather, Oscar W. McConkie.  I am beside myself with the amazing "co-incidence" of it all.  Tender mercies are awesome.

For the record, he reported that Oscar was an amazing mission president--large in stature and power like Nephi. 

Wii Would Like to Play

Katie is here! Hooray!  There is much amusement and happiness in the family room as the kids re-bond over New Super Mario Brothers Wii.

It's good to have everyone back together couch potatoing again.

I Feel Like Queen Elizabeth

(Image Credit: Simon Santi - Pool/Getty Images) http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/02/whats-in-your-handbag-queen-elizabeth/

Apparently, Queen Elizabeth carries a purse.  There is even a book about the fact that she carries a purse.  Inquiring minds want to know what she keeps in there. (Lipstick, fountain pen, mints, and a handkerchief according to my sources.) 

I have a purse.  I hate it.  It's just one more thing to keep track of/forget.  I don't mind my church bag--after all those scriptures aren't going to carry themselves--but I could do without a purse.  In fact, in civilian life I did do without a purse as much as I could.  Anything too big to fit in my pocket certainly could fit in my car.  The kids keep all their junk in the car, why not me?  I have a "wallet" that holds my license, insurance card, debit card and credit card.  On a rare occaision I can shove a greenback in my pocket with my phone.  It's a great system and safer from theft and I can't say I've ever lost my pocket.

Unfortunately this lifestyle requires pockets.  Preferably pockets in jeans.  Which, as you may have guessed, are not the dominating style of my wardrobe these days.  Plus people keep giving me things to carry around--handbooks, ministerial certificates, mission Costco cards, etc.  Stop giving me things people! At least I am down to one phone now.

So there I am in Costco, the only one in a skirt and sensible shoes with my purse over my arm. All I am missing is the royal hat.  That, and a gazillion servants, which if I had, I would not be at Costco, would I? (Or should we say, If we had a gazillion servants we would not be at Costco)

So if Queen Elizabeth ever comes to visit, we can compare purses and head to Costco (two freeways, one construction zone and 400 maniacal semi-drivers away).  Or better yet, I'll let her carry my stuff in her purse since she likes purses (because surely her security could hang on to her lipstick) and I can quit feeling like a pack mule.

Though on the other hand, nothing says pack mule like a cart full of frozen lasagna.

p.s. not only do I have a purse like the one in the picture, I have a jacket like that too.  Maybe I really am 80.  Which is fine with me because if one more person tells me "you look so young" I am going whack them with my purse. 

In the Zone

Zone Conferences are in full swing. To which I say, "stop swinging! You're making me motion sick!"  Sorry, I've completely cracked up. 

As evidence of my cracked brain, I was at Costco when someone's phone rang.  I thought it was funny that someone had taken the time to make the exact same ring tone I had made for Thomas.  What are the odds?  Rebecca finally had to take my phone out of my pocket and answer it. 

Because the Zone Conference schedule is off with the extra conferences of Goobye to Old President and then Hello to New President, it has been tricky getting food for all these missionaries.  The stake Relief Societies have been great but with all the schedule changes it has been confusing for everyone.  Between vacations, availabilty and the conferences without enough warning (I told the assistants that if they didn't get the calendar set they would be practicing the Law of Fasting) I am responsible for the food for about half of the conferences.

Now some loca chica (I'm looking at you SWP) would love this.  I don't even like cooking for my family.  So Sister Costco to the rescue.  I'm sure that I am giving fits to the Martha Stewarts out there but I can feed 48 people with 20 minutes of actual work and no table cloth.  Is it a feast to behold? No, it is not.  Does it feed hungry Elders and not-as-hungry Sisters? Yes.  Somewhere, a mission president's wife is feeling a disturbance in the force--like millions of Relief Society presidents crying out at once.  Me? I'm handing out pudding cups. 

Plus, the true genius of my lazy plan is that the zones that are having lovely RS meals will never know their compatriots are having to peel their own oranges.  Well, the assistants will know but since we've already discussed how they figure into the equation, they are glad I didn't follow through on the fasting threat.

On the spiritual side, Ken is doing a great job of  teaching about having the Faith to Find, which of course begins with having Faith.  He is such a great teacher.  He is definitely a Preach My Gospel kind of president which is great if you are a Preach My Gospel missionary (hint: you should be). 

I have a few minutes to give a shortish lesson/thought/message/whatever.  I think I accidentally called a zone to repentance the other day.  It wasn't the plan going in but sometimes you just have to tell it like you get it.  It was an interesting experience. 

I'm still trying to take care of all the school registration.  Good grief people, they're coming to school not taking over the tri-state area.  My favorite form was a health screening that you MUST have or dire things would happen.  Unless you signed a different form saying you didn't want to do the screening.  I opted out of the MUST have and await the dire consequences of not having Matthew screened for lead poisoning.

So wish me luck.  I have three more groups to feed, school counselors and registrars to battle and more trips to Costco to plan.  In the words of Prince Humperdink, "I'm swamped."  But, I am off to read to the kids (and it is really too bad you all aren't reading with us because we are reading some old tandem stories my siblings and I wrote 15 years ago and they are so funny I can barely get the words out).   That is if we can ever get Matthew out of the shower...

In which we pretend this is a Missionary Blog

So I wrote a letter to my family.  I thought of sending it to my mother so she could post it on my blog, but decided it would be less complicated to just post it :)

I would tell you about our week but it is all a big giant blur.  Suffice it to say that I think this is what happened this week.  It could be last week or even next week, hard to say really.

This week was the highly anticipated, rumored and dreaded transfer week.  Transfers are every six weeks and there is always much shuffling because some missionaries go home, some come and even more get moved around or into training/zone/district positions.  El presidente is really trying to follow the counsel of the brethren and make his best missionaries trainers.   Even in the church we tend to aspire to the honors of men and Zone Leader sounds much cooler than trainer.  Especially when to prepare for being a trainer six weeks from now means you have to be released as a zone leader so you can move to the new area and learn the area before your trainee arrives.  

Adios Amigos!

So, eight missionaries went home and six arrived.  The returning missionaries went to the temple together and then back to the mission home for lunch and good-bye training.  They had all had their interviews the day before so everything was all together.  Ken gave them some good counsel and advice on returning home.  He said they didn’t have to get married but they absolutely had to date.  And then he used the Preach My Gospel chapter on finding to explain how to find someone to date (talk with everyone, go to where the people are, member referrals).  It was fun.  After dinner we had a testimony meeting and that was great.  It is amazing how much a mission can change you.  During lunch, Rebecca decided that she wanted advice from every returning missionary so she passed around an Advice for Rebecca paper.  She got some great advice, including “always eat cake if it is offered.”

We did not have any missionaries sleep at the mission home.  There really isn’t any room with the kids so they were farmed out to the assistants and the senior couples.  I hope they didn’t party too hard… They met back at the house at 4:45 in the a.m. and we weighed the suitcases one last time, made a pile of things not making the weight cut (anyone want some worn out pants and a grey shirt?) Then off to the airport.  Well, I went back to bed but Ken and the assistants went to Burbank.  Everyone was actually on the same flight so that made it easy. 

Ken made it back home in time for new trainer training.  He spent two hours on training the trainers, including sharing Suzanne’s comment that a bad trainer really can set the wrong tone for your mission.  I hope they felt the spirit of how important their calling as trainer is.  It is a twelve week intense training program that comes with extra work but no titled glory. 

The whole family and the assistants (who we might as well call family) went to the airport to meet the arriving missionaries.  Elder A (as in AP I’m trying to keep things anonymous so you may see a lot of Elder initials that make sense only to me) was literally bouncing up and down he was so excited for the new ones.  He said he loves it when they come because they are so excited about the work that it really energizes his companionship.  Our assistants are great.  One is English speaking and one is Spanish speaking and so they have served with both halves of the mission so they really know everybody.

We got the terrified new missionaries back to the mission home for lunch, paperwork  and interviews.  He didn’t want to assign companions until after interviews.  So at five the new trainers came and met their companions and went out to do great things. 

Thursday there was six more hours of trainer and trainee training (say that three times fast).  It was a good meeting even though I had to keep popping in and out for various things.  In one of the times I was actually in the meeting I felt I should share a thought I had about training and a talk Elder Bednar gave about prayer and spiritual creation preceding temporal creation.  I likened it to the dreaded role playing and how if you do it sincerely with a specific investigator in mind you can feel the spirit and know what to practice and prepare for.  Well, it turns out that Ken used the exact same talk and example that morning while I was out doing mom duty.  The talk was four years old and we had never talked about it but we both had the same impression. Pretty cool, eh?  

Ken is working, working, working and I am trying to hold everything together at home.  I have also been trying to arrange food for zone conferences and that is way too stressful.  I vote a zone conference on fasting.  Just kidding, but good grief it is complicated to feed 190 missionaries in 10 different buildings.  I’m just really glad the stake Relief Society president of the Spanish stake speaks English—or else who knows what hilarity would ensue.  Elder P suggested I just find a taco truck to come to the building and that is not a bad idea at all.

Friday night was date-night and we went to The Rose & Crown, a little British pub where we had awesome sausage rolls and fish and chips and watched part of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies in London.  

Saturday we started the must do task of re-arranging the kitchen.  We were tired of trying to learn someone else’s system and are shuffling things around so they make sense to us.  Saturday night we had dinner with most of the area stake presidents/wives and our area authority.  It was nice to meet the presidents at a social type event.  Ken will be working with them on the coordinating council but it was nice for me to get to meet the wives.   

Ken spoke in the Korean branch today while I went to our ward with the kids.  Sundays are so stressful—new ward, new people, blah blah blah.  But on the plus side no trip to Costco…

Goodbye, Hello

Every six weeks missionaries return home and new missionaries arrive (and others are transfered around).  Today is "the day before." 

We have seven missionaries going home tomorrow and six new ones arriving.  This, apparently, involves a lot of food.  What is it with food in this church?  I blame the young women's leaders :) 

Today the returning missionaries attend the temple and then come to the mission home for a good-bye lunch, which thankfully I am not in charge of--hooray for nice people.  Then is the Going Home Training for the Rest of Your Life (no pressure), dinner and testimony meeting.  (I am responsible for that food, I think ramen would be an appropriate last meal but those in the house with dignity voted for taco salad.)

Tomorrow will involve a 5 a.m. airport run, trainer training, a noon airport run, new missionary interviews, lunch somewhere in there and then other complicated things.  Thursday is serious trainer/trainee training. (President Eyring said no saying Greenie--so now you know.  He also said no saying Mission Mom.  I got the feeling he is a precise kind of man).  I am vicariously nervous for the new missionaries, I think it must be so nerve-wracking to arrive in the mission.  Eek!

But best of all, after the new missionaries are safely with their companions we will have dinner with the Lebers!  Perfect timing, too since they will be here in-between chaos.  The kids are so excited (and the adults are too).  They are plotting to show the Lebers the neighborhood and take pizza for a picnic in the "meadow" behind the house. 

Life is crazy but good. 

Hittin' the Links

 We checked out the local mini-golf today.  it was fun but blazing hot.  We pondered that we never would have even considered mini-golf in July in Arizona.  We stopped at Walmart for more sunscreen and had to search to finally find some SPF's higher than 15 (who makes 8? Really?)  Apparently Californians do not fear the sun as we do.

The mini-golf place also had a Farrell's Ice Cream parlor.  We may never eat again.

But we were not through having fun.  No family fun day can be complete without trying to teach Ken how to play the latest wii game.  Right now they are all playing Toy Story Mania wii.  Life is good.

It has been a busy week (of course), Ken finished all his interviews with the missionaries and finalized the transfers.  Muy complicado.  He also had quite a few baptismal interviews this week.  He reports that it is amazing to see the changes people have made in their lives because of the gospel.

Next week we will be getting our first round of new missionaries and having the first round of departees.  Fortunately they are all coming and going from Burbank Airport this time.  Much less traffic and stress than LAX.  We met four of the six new-comers at the MTC so that will be fun to see them again.  So what do you wish you would have known when you entered the mission field? What about when you went home? I suppose Oh be wise (don't do dumb things) applies to both groups, but probably should say a bit more than that. :)

Whoops

Conversation with Brother Facilities Management:

(FM has come to remove some things from the house that we don't need)
FM: Did you want this (fake) plant to go?
Me:  Yes.
FM:  Good--because it's a marijuana plant.
Me:  Probably not the best choice for the mission home...

I have this vision of some poor sister 15 years ago innocently buying a fake marijuana plant while wearing her name tag.

 Never boring around this joint (rimshot).                                                            

P-day!

Our neighborhood has a tennis court, so for family P-day we decided to check it out.  It was really fun.  It's nice to have an activity that the whole family is on the same level--including Matthew.  In other words, we are terrible, terrible tennis players. 

However, we never let our competence (or lack thereof) interfere with our fun!  We smacked the balls over, into and around the net.  At one point we had more over the side fences than on the court.  We played 3 on 2 and still couldn't keep the ball in play.  We had so much fun.  It was hilarious.  We laughed and ran and tried to act like we knew what we were doing when people walked by. (I don't think they were fooled.) I'm not even sure we even know the rules. I should know the rules, I actually took a tennis clss at BYU.  Did you know if you flunk the physical tests and get A's on the written tests you can still pass with a C?  The kids are plotting to get up early tomorrow to go play again.

So don't look for us at the US Open anytime soon, but maybe after three years we can actually play a game.  But don't hold your breath...

Hey, Where's Perry?

I have the brain of a ten year old.  Even though our car is named Perry after Perry Mason (whom I love) I still can't resist homage to a certain platypus and am compelled to say, "Hey, where's Perry?" everytime I go into the parking lot.  And guess what I say when I find him? Is it, "Oh there you are Perry?"  Yes, yes it is.

We are almost, almost unpacked.  If I could manage to stop distracting myself with making dinner and playing yahtzee then I would be done.  But where is the fun in that? Since we are unpacking and exploring we are trying to figure out what spices, canned goods, etc are here.  So if anyone wants any canned beans, come on over.  All the cans remind me of the old Houston hurricane box days (I would only eat canned veggies in the event of a major disaster).  We also found some kind of food storage pasta pack that says it has a shelf life of 30 years. However, there is no packed on date but since the mission is only 18 years old we figure we're good for another 12 or so. 

Since I am so distractable, I had to quit unpacking and upload the 2010 New Mission President's Seminar that the former president left.  The Church sent us the 2011 when we were called and we just attended 2012 so I wanted to see how 2010 was. Great, of course.  It's amazing how calming it is to listen to, like General Conference, only funnier. 

We haven't seen much of El Presidente this week.  He is interviewing all the missionaries before transfers. It makes for very long days (7 a.m. to 9 p.m. not including travel or if he runs over).  He comes home exhausted but so glad for the opportunity to meet them.   I need to collar him and get my calendar co-ordinated.  He keeps randomly mentioning things like, "we've been asked to speak somewhere sometime," but I need details :)

 Tomorrow night is date night so I am picking him up after and we will go to dinner.  Saturday is our P-day and we are trying to find a good activity.  Maybe we'll check out the neighborhood pool or go on hike.  It's southern California, I'm sure there must be something we could do.

Hooray! We Found Super Walmart!

We found Super Walmart.  It only took 20 minutes to get there.  Woohoo!  Costco is bout the same distance in the opposite direction.  The kids are getting used to my name-tag and didn't even cringe when someone asked about it.  Life is good.  Except for the part about needing to go to the DMV soon. 

1 Week Down, 2 years 51 Weeks to Go

We may not be completely unpacked, but we have our magnets on the fridge and the hearts on the wall.  So we're home.

It has been a busy week (go figure).  Two dinner appointments (yummy, again Nice People Rule) and then Tuesday began 5 straight days of Meet the President/Zone Conferences.

The poor kids had to be dragged to the conferences.  Normally they would stay home and out of the spotlight, but for the "meet the President" that includes family and we were instructed at the MTC to take the kids to that.  I took them home after lunch so they wouldn't have to stay all six hours.

The stake RS's provided lunch which was so very kind.  It was so intresting to see how each different group approached it.  My favorite was the group that bought a ton of fried chickent from Albertsons--genius, I tell you.  Though the Spanish stake had a family do it and they were cooking up a storm--mmmm, Mexican food.

The mission home is kind of tucked away on a hillside so getting places generally involves a little backtracking as the crow flies.  Most of the time it involves multiple freeways but since we brought the van, the GPS just reroutes when I miss my interchange/exit/road.  We couldn't find anything without Della (our car is named Perry, for Perry Mason and the GPS is his secretary Della Street, or if we're going to the Spanish zones de la Street.  I crack myself up)

At the conferences, Presidente Ken introduced us, told a bit about how we were called, etc.  I introduced the family with some pictures and the kids waved.  After the intros it was down to business on missionary work.  I missed some of the morning training because I needed to see that lunch was actually going to happen.  I am such an introvert that I just tried to channel my inner Lisa B. and ask what needed to be done and introduce myself. Lisa is my hero.  Some groups were glad of the help and some shooed me out of the kitchen which enabled me to hear what the missionaries were learning.  All in all everyone was very (all together now) NICE.

The kids and I went home after lunch cleanup and tried to unpack.  We have progressed from everything in boxes to everything on the floor.  Sigh.  It is really odd moving into a house that already has stuff in it.  Especially in the kitchen--it took forever to find the measuring cups.  But that may have been because we have all cracked up.

Ken stayed to teach/train and then went out proselyting with the zone leaders up through their planning time.  So we haven't seen much of him since some of these zones are a ways away.  He's such a good egg but he must be exhausted.

Here are the intro pictures I used for the missionaries, they were taken in Arizona by the talented
Michelle Gifford. 

The black and white couple are my great-grandparents, Vivian and Oscar Mcconkie. Oscar was called to preside over the California Mission in 1946 (which included much of Arizona, too).  They are in front of the Los Angeles mission home.  Their mission included San Fernando.  The other picture is two sister missionaries and a convert in San Fernando 1964.  The tall red-headed missionary is Ken's mother! It is fun to come back to where our family served.

We're Here....Gulp

We drove into California singing Australian songs (seemed mission-ish at the time).  We stopped (read: stalled) at Roundtable Pizza, where Ken had a quick gospel discussion with the order taker, and then headed to the mission home.

President and Sister Martin welcomed us in and showed us around.  What nice people (there's that word again--I LOVE nice people).  They apologized to the kids for accidentally leaving the freezer full of ice cream. 

We dragged in our suitcases and Thomas got first pick of the kids' rooms and everyone seemed happy about their new digs. 

Saturday morning El Presidente and I went to the mission office to meet the office staff and the mission presidency.  Ken had lots of people to talk to about lots of things so I went back home to begin unpacking. 

It is a strange thing to move into a furnished house.  We couldn't find the measuring cups for the longest time (we knew they had to be here somewhere) and we had to google instructions for the kitchen fan. 

The Martins had worked really hard with Facilities Management to get he house updated and ready for us.  There are new counters and tile and a brand new church owned flat screen tv mounted on the family room wall.  President Martin was worried that the old one would not have worked for teenagers.  The kids are very, very grateful and have already hooked up the PS3.

We unpacked as much as we could, met the assistants and our area authority Elder Garns.  We also learned that the mission nurse truly is awesome.  Unfortuntely we learned this by experience as Ken came down with strep day one.  But Sister C worked her magic, Dr J worked his and Walgreen's worked theirs. 

We may not be all unpacked and have no idea what we are doing but at least the waiting is over!

More MTC Awesomeness

After being set apart, with Elder Maynes and Elder Cook, the kids and the parents.

Most of the mission presidents were set apart before entering the MTC but we, as always, were troublemakers.  Ken's parents were released from their mission on the 19th but Rebecca was already on her way to YW Camp where she would be until after we entered the MTC. 

Fortunately for us, Elder Cook and Elder Maynes were available to set us apart between sessions so our parents and children could be there.  We had our initial "exploratory" interview with Elder Cook back in September so we were excited to see him again.  Elder Maynes is in the presidency of the Seventy and is responsible for our mission area. 

And speaking of general authorities, it was a very neat experience to be able to listen to these men.  It was like a three day general conference--a really specific mission oriented general conference.  But then when we were in our break-out sessions (classes) you might have a comment by Elder Scott or Elder Holland.  And they were all so NICE.  Especially Elder Holland.  He had commented on the influence his mission president had had on him.  After class I told him I had never had a mission president but he had been very influential as my BYU president.  He said I could claim him as a mission president.

The MTC doesn't have enough space for all 110 couples at a time so we were bunking at the Marriott.  The church had arranged for breakfast at the Marriott in the conierge lounge so off we trotted to breakfast.  I had never really thought about where the general authorities were staying until we walked into breakfast and nearly tripped over President Uchtdorf.  Being big giant chickens we kind of hid in a corner and tried not to make fools of ourselves.  One morning Elder and Sister Edwards were there and we were so relieved to know someone to sit by.  Hooray for the Edwards family is one of our mottos. 

Turns out chickenhood is hereditary.  When the kids and parents came up for the setting apart, they were too chicken to say hi to Elder Oaks when they went to breakfast.

I did introduce myself to President Bruce Lindsay of KSL news fame.  The Lindsays are off to Australia where my dad served so we talked kangaroos.  He was so nice.  Everyone was so NICE.  Someday I will give a great discourse on niceness and how it is part of the gospel and everyone we met was so wonderful.  So be nice to each other--it's a great way to live.

Of all the wonderful MTC experiences, the one I looked forward to the most was this picture.  Now I have my mission map picture.  Now I am officially a missionary.

The MTC is Awesome

The MTC is awesome.  But even more awesome are the people we have met.  We are here with 109 other couples headed out to preside over missions.  Everyone is stunningly amazing and so very, very nice.  But even more awesome than that is being in the MTC with relatives!  So here we are at the map with cousin Lori and Aunt Sara (ok actually Lori and Sara are the cousins so I am once removed from Lori but, hey, I like cousins).  Lori and Wes are headed to Guadalajara and Sara and Jerry to Chicago. (Also awesome was President Monson as the sacrament meeting speaker, but that is a whole 'nother post.)

Tagged

Whooping it Up--McConkie Style

Since receiving our call to California, Katie had to decide when to start BYU.  She opted for summer which enabled us to get her settled and see her dorm room.  Also carry her boxes.

Before abandoning Katie to the wilds of Provo, we had a McFamily party with the aunts, uncles and cousins.  I wanted Katie to see she has a billion relatives locally that would be happy to look out for her.  So we partied. Never let it be said that McConkie's don't know how to party. (Well, they don't, really, but they're all bigger than I am so don't say it)

And by partied, I mean we ate--always food-- and then my parents reported on their mission to Portugal. Yes, when my family parties it is actually a fireside complete with scriptures.  But no singing--you really don't want to hear some of us sing. Is this the greatest family or what? We may not know how to play Twister but we sure know how to have a truly delightful evening. Plus cake!

My parents served in the Centers for Young Adults in Porto, Portugal teaching the gospel by word and example and trying to get everyone married off.  Yes, they were called to party for 18 months (and if you'll note the family definition of party you will see they had to learn some new skillz--like actually partying.  I wonder if they can play Twister?) So I guess they do know how to party now.

After the wild McParty (I think we stayed up til 9:30!) the next day was freshman orientation.  So Miss Katie headed off to be a grown-up and the rest of us headed off to be kids with miniature golf and ran around campus.  Rebecca is ready to move into the library and Matthew had way too much fun with the moving shelves.  We played around in the science center and had fun blasting each other with the vortex cannon (seriously, we need a vortex cannon in our house). We met back together for the official dorm room move in and dinner and then back to St George--minus Katie.  sniff


Vortex Cannon Fun

Blacklight Mini-Golf

Magical Moving Shelves

Rebecca is ready to move into the HBLL

Bye to Katie

If you stop in Beaver, you sit on the Chair