Week 30 from Quito Ecuador

Our new missionaries arrived this week.  It made for a very busy week. We thought we had it all worked out so that all the missionaries would be here for the welcoming dinner on Tuesday evening.  Monday morning, as we checked the emails we had a travel itinerary come through for Elder Clark, who we had coming with the group from the Mexico MTC Tuesday afternoon.  There was even a ticket number for him, but this new ticket information had him coming from the Provo MTC late Tuesday night.  Evidently, he had visa problems and was sent to the Provo MTC instead of the Mexico MTC but we were never informed of the change, and I guess, neither had the travel office in Mexico. So, Elder Clark missed the special dinner that Sister Richardson had prepared for the new missionaries on Tuesday evening.   

Tuesday was a very hectic day as we had missionaries arriving at different times, our largest group from the Colombia MTC arriving at 10:30am. We decided to take care of the first things that were needed to be done at the Colon chapel, such as:  gathering their important papers needed (passports, visas, health records, etc.), have their first interview with President Richardson, email home, complete the questionnaire, teach some basic missionary survival skills, picture taken, etc.  We asked the senior missionaries from the Quito mission to help.  The Kaneens took care of the “Internet café” at the Institute in back of the chapel and having them complete the questionnaire.  Elder & Sis. Nuttall taught the cooking and nutrition class.  Sis. Platts taught the ironing, laundry, water purification class.  Lynn and I took their pictures and then I took all the passports and visas to our apartment, which is just a few blocks away, to be scanned and prepare the empadronamiento application packets.  Lynn was busy going back and forth, getting missionaries where they needed to be.  This group didn’t arrive at the chapel until after 2pm.  They did pizza for lunch. The rest of the groups coming would be taken directly to the mission home where the welcoming dinner would be served.  After I got the passports and visas scanned Lynn and I went to help Sis. Richardson.  Sis. Thomas and Sis. Allred, our new senior sister missionary, also helped.  It was a very nice dinner of rice, beans, marinated chicken, rolls, salad and a chocolate Bundt cake for dessert.  Their home is beautiful and made for a very special environment for dinner.

A beautiful view from their apartment

Lynn and I went to the office in the morning to finish preparing the packets.  Lynn had to go back to the chapel to get passports and visas from those that we still needed to get and brought back to the office so that I could process them.  While I was there Sister Ghent brought her son and his girlfriend in to the office to meet.  They came for a visit with the Ghents.  After I finished getting the packets ready Lynn went back to the chapel to take the first group of missionaries to the government office.  It ended up taking a long time to get them done with applying for their empadronmientos.  He was taking them in two groups.  He got all the tickets for all of them and then would call when the first group was done for the second group to go, since it’s just around the corner from the chapel.  But they were very busy and it took about two hours before they could start with our group. In the mean time,  the assistants did training with the group waiting. Even though it’s a real challenge to get these empadronmientos applied for it’s better to get it all taken care of now before the missionaries are sent out to their areas of service.

After taking care of some business at the office I went to the chapel to help Sis. Richardson prepare lunch.  We had toasted cheese sandwiches, chips, bananas, and cookie.  It is a real challenge to take care of the meals for the missionaries.  Since the chapel only has a small stove and small sink and no refrigerator and no utensils and other equipment everything has to be taken to the chapel for the meals.   There’s always something forgotten and so we either have to make a trip to the store and do without.  Even though Sis. Ghent has been doing this for two years she still would forget something.  I have to really admire these mission presidents’ wives.  They have a great responsibility to see that the missionaries are taken care of.  It’s a lot of hard work.  After we had the lunch prepared and waiting to serve the missionaries, Sis. Richardson went back to the mission home to finish preparing dinner. She served sloppy jos, (which was a big hit with the North Americans), potato salad, coleslaw, and brownies.  All of this had to be prepared and then brought from her home.  Since the mission president and his wife are the only ones who are allowed to drive a car they have to do most of the transporting of all the needed items for the meals and anything else needed.

As Lynn and I were cleaning up after lunch there was a man seating in the foyer.  He was kind of interesting to talk to.  He spoke English so I was able to communicate with him.  As we were talking the subject of motor cycles came up.  He said that he had been to all the states in Mexico and the lower 48 states of the United States on a motor cycle.  He said that someone had told him once that you should buy a motor cycle for your son’s last birthday.  That was an interesting thought.

Thursday was more training and getting assigned to their trainers.  They first meet together and then divide up with the trainers going with the assistants and President and Sister Richardson and the new missionaries getting presentations from the finance secretaries about how their mission credit cards work and other financial matters, Lynn giving them information about safety, mail and showing some pictures of the areas they will be serving in and baptism pictures and the mission nurse giving a presentation on health needs and concerns.   The new missionaries are then assigned their training companions.  They are really excited to get to meet their trainers and the trainers are excited to meet their new companions that they get to train.  Some of these trainers are fairly new themselves but are great missionaries.    We then served lunch which was Subway sandwiches, fruit, chips, cookie and juice. After lunch we took group pictures and sent them on their way. Lynn still had three missionaries that needed to apply for the empadronamiento which he did after pictures were taken.  As we were finishing up and taking pictures, President and Sister Ghent stopped by with their son, his girlfriend, their daughter, son-in-law and their grandchild.  Their family are here for a visit and it was nice to meet them.

The new missionaries

 

The new missionaries with their trainers

Sister Richardson with the sisters missionaries

The Ghents

The  Elders and High Priests in our ward decided to have an activity.  They met at about 5am and climbed a hill, not too far from our apartment building, to watch the sunrise and have breakfast.  Lynn, Elder Nuttall, Elder Sego and Elder Kaneen went with them.  It was a bit cloudy so they didn’t get to see what they wanted to but it was a good time to be together.

That morning the senior sisters were having a farewell breakfast for Sister Thomas, who is leaving on Tuesday and Sister Phelps who will be leaving about September 23rd.   We always enjoy being together and talking so it was a good morning.  But it was a bit bittersweet as we will truly miss these good sisters.

I think I mentioned that Sister Thomas had decided to participate in a 10K run that they were having in Quito on Saturday.  She has been training for it for months.  There were also some of the workers in the church office building that were also participating.   Some of the senior missionaries decided to go to dinner at a restaurant down by the park where the finish line for the race was to greet Sister Thomas as she was ending the race.  Lynn and I decided not to battle the crowds and just walked down the street our apartment building is on to the street the race was on, which was just a few blocks away.  We almost missed seeing Sister Thomas but I got some pictures of her.  She is such a trooper and it was a great way to end her mission here. They aren’t the greatest pictures since it was dark but I was glad to get them. I'm even including a short clip of Sister Thomas as she went by.

Today was Sister Thomas’s last day at church.  Everyone is sad to see her go.   We are going to miss her greatly.  She has been the teacher for our English Sunday School class and was an excellent teacher.  She used to teach early morning seminary in one of the areas she has lived and I can tell she was a great teacher for the youth.  She always has a way of applying the lessons to our everyday lives and encouraged us to share some personal stories that we could learn from.   Now we need to decide who will teach the Sunday School lessons.  It’s not really a calling here, since we, as missionaries, aren’t supposed to have other callings besides being missionaries but I for one need at least one part of our three hour block where I can understand what is said.  It’s been really nice to meet together and learn in English.

Our last group picture together before Sis. Thomas leaves.

With some of the Relief Society sister in the Colon Barrio (Ward).