Leaving, Arriving, Conferencing, Speaking, and Training: The Fun Continues

Sun peeking through the pine trees overlooking the Mission Home

On Monday, October 16, one of our visa waiters, Elder Gassant left for Ghana after receiving his visa. Once we arrived at the airport and check him in, we took a few pictures, gave Elder Gassant a big hug, and sent him up the escalator. Even though he has been here just three weeks, a lump came to our throats. It’s like our children leaving. We wish Elder Gassant well. We did receive a note from him that he had arrived safely

President and Sister Hammon, Elder Gassant

Around 5:00 p.m. that same Monday, we headed back to the airport to pick up Elder Castro from the Mexico MTC. We arrived and drove into the parking lot. There were zero spaces for us to park. Consequently, Sister Hammon stayed with the van, and I walked in and waited. I didn’t have to wait very long before he came down the stairs. We grabbed his bag and then headed outside to the van. We loaded up and headed to grab a bite to eat. Then, we drove home where Elder Castro and I had our personal interview. He is a good young man with a good heart who wants to serve well, which I know he will.

Elder Castro and President Hammon at the Mission Home

One of the special times we have with the missionaries is in multi-zone conferences. We have divided the ten zones into four different groups. So, we began on October 17 with Corona and Lake Elsinore;

Lake Elsinore zone

Corona Zone

October 19 with La Sierra, Riverside, and Mt. Rubidoux zones; 

La Sierra Zone with President Norman and Elder and Sister Fuller

Riverside Zone

Mt. Rubidoux

October 20 with Jurupa, Moreno Valley, and Menifee zones; 

Jurupa Zone 

Moreno Zone

Menifee Zone

and finished on October 24 with the Hemet and San Jacinto zones. 

Hemet Zone

San Jacinto Zone

It was delightful! Our topics included everything from “Emergency Preparedness” to “Companionship Study” to “Short-and Long-Term Planning” to “Asking Inspired Questions” to “Obedience and Recommitting to the standards found in the Missionary Handbook” to “Finding Joy in Our Trials” to “Mission Elevated.” We also had inspired music throughout the meeting with each zone providing one musical number. What talented missionaries we have in the mission! 

Moreno Valley, Menifee, and Jurupa zones

One of the highlights of each session was the testimony meeting of the incoming and the outgoing missionaries. We are happy to see those coming into the Mission and both sad/happy for those who are leaving, sad because they are leaving and happy because they are going to be embarking on a new adventure. Plus, we ate delicious food from Hawaiian to Mexican to BBQ.

Hemet Relief Society Luncheon

Hermanas, Bartschi, Flores, Hernandez, Coffeen, and Schooff

And the stars of the multi-zones are the Relief Society who always put on an incredible luncheon for the missionaries. 

Hemet Relief Society sisters

Jurupa Relief Society

Also, we sang happy birthday to several missionaries:

Happy birthday to Sister Loranger; Elders Hofer, Andrews, Gulbranson, and Baum

Happy Birthday to Elders Gregory, Sanchez, and Mounts; Hermanas Troncoso y Buitrago

Happy birthday to Elder Dundon; Sister Bartschi; Elders Tobiasson, Briggs, and Kocherhans

Happy birthday to Elders Bailey, Clark, and Darling

Sister Hammon and I attended both sessions of the Riverside Stake Conference. We had the privilege of speaking during the Saturday evening session. We had a great time speaking together. Our topic was “The Role of Temple and Family History in Convert Retention,” based on the Mission’s Missionary-Member Relations goal of “Enriching relationships with bishops, ward mission leaders, temple and family history consultants, and members We also attended the Sunday Conference Session although we did not speak. Elder Paul G. Watkins, Area Authority Seventy, spoke on a variety of topics. One stood out. He said that the Sacrament is a sacred event each Sunday, a memorial service where we contemplate what Jesus Christ did for us and honor Him who paid our debts. Another topic was the importance of patriarchs, both those who give Patriarchal Blessings and those patriarchs in the homes, the fathers. We sat by Patriarch Merrill and his wife, and we felt blessed.

The missionaries singing to the Relief Society sisters in Lake Elsinore.

We had a large group of trainers and trainees come to the Trainer-Trainee Training. As you know, we had 28 new missionaries last transfer. After four weeks, they come to the Mission Office where we do additional training. What a delight to see the progress of the new missionaries. Many of their trainers said, “They came ready to work and learn.” We loved that about them. Five companionships discussed how the 12-week training was going and how using the Book of Mormon has enhanced their training, and what they were going to do differently the next eight weeks. Almost 60 people attended the meeting in Grand Building. (We apologize! For some odd reason, we did not take a picture of this wonderful group.)

We continue having a great time. We have incoming and outgoing missionaries again on November 7. We love these missionaries!

Outside the front door of the Mission Home