Al & Trace: July 2014

July has hit and is almost gone. It has been extremely hot and our apartment is stifling. No air, but we got ourselves some fans and we are making it. I thought I would try and document a transfer week.

Monday: We try to make sure all the mail is in the proper zones, and that the supply room is well stocked. I start rounding up the table/food needs for each day. We get all the handouts copied, stapled and ready to go. This is also go to Coscto and get all the supplies for our meals for the week.

Elder Nickels and Sister Boehmer start getting the 'paper' work ready.

Tuesday: The two office couples go with the departing missionaries to the temple. We leave around 9:30 and get back around 3:00. We head over to President's house to help Sister Boehmer who has been cooking for the departing missionaries dinner that evening. We feed them a wonderful Prime Rib farewell dinner and then they have a testimony meeting with President and we clean up the kitchen. Elder Nickels and me go home and wait for a phone call and when they are done with the testimony meeting we go and get the missionaries and deliver them to the hotel. This week however, after dinner Sister Silver and I returned to the office and made frosting so we can frost all the cookies that we made last week and that are in the freezer. We have help coming early Wednesday morning to help frost.

Sister Silver just done serving Prime Rib.

Fed and ready to finish packing and head for home, after their testimony meeting. We love them all.

Back to the church to make frosting.

Elder Nickels and Elder Silver go back to work while we are in the kitchen. The clock is about to strike 9:00 pm. They have been at this since 7:30 am.

We came home for a minute and then took our 2 Chinese sisters to the airport just before midnight to board their plane for China. We dropped into bed around 1:00 am.

I think that pink sweater of mine has had it. Time for bed. Farewell sisters, good luck in China. They were such good missionaries.

Wednesday: We leave for the office early. This is the BIG day when the new missionaries arrive from the MTC. Today the orientation room has to be set up, treats gotten ready for when they arrive (they are hungry, they leave for the airport from the MTC around 2 am), picking them up at the airport, training them in the workings of the mission, and the tables set for their supper that evening. Also a salad to be made and all needs to be ready for dinner at 6:00 pm. After dinner they have some more training with the President and then we deliver them to the hotel.

Orientation room is ready to go.

Picking up the new missionaries at the airport is such fun. Finally I figured out a way to get people to look up to me. :)

They are all ready to listen to all our instructions. Wonderful group of youth. They are ready to go.

The cookies get done with all our great help. Thank you sisters. Wow what a project. What were we thinking? (maybe thinking is the key word)

We got all our cookie iced in between festivities. They are to represent President's Logo

Love--Serve--Obey

We have hands, hearts, and shields.

The tables for new missionaries dinner are ready to go. I just go with Canada decorations, they are always so happy to finally have made it to Canada.

They loved their baked potato, salads, and banana splits. Yummy

This was my last picture of the day. Forgot to take one at the hotel and all their luggage. Guess was pretty tired at that point and wasn't thinking. HAHA

Thursday: Transfer day. Here they all come. By planes, cars, buses, and ferries. We pick up the new missionaries at the hotel around 7:30 am and by the time we get to the church the parking lot is full. (And they all seem to be in the office needing something). It is such a fun day to see everyone and find out their new assignments. We have to get the tables all set up and set for lunch. We went really easy this transfer as we had Chinese delivered. That was so nice. The cookies were put on the table and they served as dessert.

Elder Myrick and Elder Christensen come to my rescue. Thank you Elders.

Our table decorations served also as dessert. We made the middles from poster board and had pictures of our new President Burt and his family in the frames.

Sister Boehmer and me are ready to go.

Yahoo, Chinese delivered.

Elder Nickels is getting direction from Sister Boehmer, or is he giving her directions ???? Ha

Elder Myrick and Elder Bliss with Elder Nickels.

Then after lunch is served and cleaned up, everyone hits the office after the afternoon meeting and needs something. It gets very crowded. Usually packages need to be mailed home. Sister Lee has her package all ready to go.

These Elders are being helped by Sister Silver.

So it comes to 6:00 on Thursday evening and just about everyone has left to go back to their areas. Now the work begins in making new updated phone lists, address changes, etc. But the real work begins for Elder Nickels. The President has opened up 8 new areas. Now suitable apartments need to be found, looked out, and paperwork done. After all that, then they need beds, desks, etc. Elder Nickels can hardly leave his desk through transfer week, trying to get ready. He worries that missionaries will not have an apartment to go to, which some have to wait. It is impossible to get that many apartments in that short of time. It is almost an impossible task. It makes my head spin to even think where to start. Dealing with all those landlords would be enough for me to quit. I know I can't adequately describe the amount of work he has to do for apartments, and finance. I get to run around and interact with everyone, while he is on the phone with landlords, or investigating the suitablility of an area. My upper most respect and love goes to him for his patience and endurance. I would of left town long ago. HAHA.

That is Transfer week, which happens every 6 weeks. We have 4 left to do, and although I love it, it is a ton of work.

Well we made it to July. June was so very, very busy as we tried to finish up everything for President & Sister Tilleman and get ready for President & Sister Burt. An emotional time as we said goodbye to a great President and welcome a new President.

Sister Tilleman loved her Canada Maple Leave Quilt.

And we also had to say goodbye to some of our favorite Elders. Elder Clements and Elder Orgill. Elder Orgill has been an Assistant to the President since we arrived on our mission and has always been in the office with us. What will we do?

We started out with Mission Council on the 4th of July. I felt like I just had to bring a taste of the good ole USA to Canada for the 4th of July. The US missionaries had fun with it, and even the non-US missionaries enjoyed our 4th of July luncheon. We had a great day.

Happy 4th of July in Canada.

We had hot dogs, ice cream, popcorn, and red, white, and blue everything else, (including candy corn). It was a fun luncheon for mission council, and President Burt's first council.

The office team.

We popped corn all morning and made such a good mess in the kitchen. It was a fun treat.

Our Cute Sister Leader Trainers. They loved the fun.

Sister Hobbs, Sister Nickels, and Sister DeMordaunt.

We all had to wear our Red, White, and Blue.

President & Sister Burt

Mission Council, July 2014, Canada Vancouver Mission

July 13, 2014 the Silvers and us decided that for P-day we would head up to Whistler Mountain. It has turned really hot and to try and escape the heat we headed for the mountain top. Whistler Ski Resort is a huge place and we enjoyed taking the Gondola to the top of the mountain. The view was awesome. We then took another Gondola across a valley, called the Peak to Peak.

We didn't escape the heat too much as it was still very hot, but we found some yummy ice cream and a little shade and cooled off. It was a fun day.