May

Elder and Sister Marsden ran the Mission Office for the last two years.  They finished their mission this month and went home to New Zealand.  We love them.  They are great people and helped us in our adjustment to mission life and missionaries and the "local culture".  They have already signed up to serve another mission in their hometown of Hamilton.


President Lindsay started the missionaries on a Book of Mormon Reading Challenge.  We are all using a new copy of the Book of Mormon and reading about five pages a day and marking every verse that speaks of Jesus Christ or that contains His words.  The missionaries are really enjoying it.  President Lindsay sends out a text each morning to all of us where he highlights something to look for in the days' reading. It has been a blessing for the Mission.

President Lindsay has also added our "vision" for the Mission to the bottom of all his texts and emails.  It has been great to help the missionaries remember why they are doing what they are doing.  This is what it says:
"We are full purpose missionaries.  We know how to find, we know how to teach, and we know how to progress increasing numbers of God's children to sacred ordinances from baptism and confirmation, to the sacrament, through ordinations, temple endowments and sealings.  And because we ACT in faith and obedience God is with us in the work." MAKE IT HAPPEN!
We say 'full purpose' because we work with investigators, as well as less active members to help bring them all into the fold.  We are partnering with the members in the Rescue.  We learned in the MTC  to focus on "real growth" and that includes helping members participate in all the gospel has to offer.  And of course we emphasize faith and obedience because they are KEY.  And the final "make it happen" reminds us we can't wait for someone else to jump start us, or our Area. 

All the missionaries have white boards in their flats to help organize their work.  This one is terrific!

No one knows for sure but we think this really big white board came from a broken down rolling frame at a chapel

Bruce and I had a great time celebrating with a Zone that achieved their Zone goal for baptisms in a single month.  They worked really hard and continue to do so.

Remarkable, Resilient, Righteous - WE LOVE THEM

One view of the new Mission Leadership Council