Graduation

On April 23rd Tyler graduated from BYU in Marketing. He has worked hard and we are so proud of his accomplishments. It has been a year full of events for him, including getting married on December 29th to Sarah. She has been a big support to him. Both her parents flew up to the graduation to be there for him. It was a beautiful spring day. The day after his graduation he received word that he was accepted to the University of Utah to go to graduate school. That made his daddy proud, after all
that is the real school, or so he says.

Tyler and Sarah

Cathie and Jeff Beecher, Sarah's parents, attended the graduation and took
everyone out to dinner afterwards. Tyler opened a gift from Sarah, which were some beautiful cuff links. Jeff asked to see them so we passed them around the table. Somewhere between Jeff and Sarah's grandpa, they fell into the dish of fresh horseradish. Calmly, Jeff pick them out of the dish and licked them off and continued to pass them around the table back to Tyler. We all laughed until the tears fell. It was a wonderful celebration for everyone there.
The tulips around the Marriott Center were in mass bloom and were beautiful!

Transfer Day

Elder Beames is our newest Spanish Assistant. Elder Crandall was excited to have him back
as a companion again. This is one Spiritual Companionship and we could all learn a lesson from
them. Their responsibility is to oversee the Spanish companionship and work in the mission.

Welcome Elder Beames!

We have had a rash of stolen bicycles in the mission lately. Unfortunately, our missionaries
get on and off their bikes so much they are a little lax in locking them up. We even had
a companionship that locked them up together in the back of the truck. The person who
took them got a double bonus that day. We encourage our missionaries to get a really good
bike lock to discourage people from taking them from our poor missionaries.

Elder Davis' bike looks like it is ready to be ridden in a parade. What are you thinking Elder Davis?

On a Transfer day the missionaries have fun reuniting with old companions and missionaries after the
transfer meeting and before they are off to their new areas with their new companions.

Elder Farnsworth found out that you can't put your cell phone on top of the car
and then drive off. The result for him was a smashed phone. Poor Elder Farnsworth!

Fresh from the MTC

Welcome to our seventeen new Elders and Sister. Elder Hatcher, Henrie, Daniels, Duda, Mitchell, Barker, Bartlett, Cannon, Carter, Davenport, Geren, Jaussi, Juchau, Sheets, Harris, Neubert, Falconer, & Sister Kolo. Try memorizing those names before you have even met them, especially at my age.

Our new missionaries stand out in the airport as it is, but when you have seventeen of them
following their leader (that's me) through the terminal, then the eyes do turn

Have you ever heard of feeding the ten thousand...well maybe not ten thousand but

I do know we had a lot of hungry missionaries that day for lunch.

After a big lunch in the warm weather out on the patio, a two hour introduction to the mission

and an interview with the President, we had a lot of tired missionaries that took a quick cat nap.
They crashed where ever they could find a spot.

Our garage is turned into a locker room. We just have them keep their luggage in the garage because we don't have room for it inside. It is like figuring out a puzzle when placing mattresses in the family room to bed down. Sister Kolo had her own bedroom and didn't have to deal with that.

Just before bed they all pulled out the journals and captured the feelings of the day. Tomorrow they
would be introduced to their new companion, new area and become a missionary in the real world,

not just the MTC. With the Lord's help they will become instruments in His hand to share the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Arizona.

Elder Sentman & Elder Taylor are our most helpful office Elders who drive the mission van and trailer.

They actually fit all the luggage into the trailer and all the missionaries in the van and off they went to transfers!

So Long...Farewell

It's that time again for transfers! We sent home 7 missionaries this month....Elder Sweeney, Elder Clark, Elder Sly, Elder Payne & Elder Owens, Elder Bramwell and then, of course, Sister Eustice, the only rose in the group.

The night before this group left, Elder Sweeney bore a testimony of his love for the people in Buckeye, where he was serving. He said he wasn't ready to go home........little did he know that the airlines would be calling him to say that his flight to Scotland was canceled until May 4th because of the Volcano eruption. I guess Elder Sweeney won't be going home with the rest of the group as displayed above.

Some of these missionaries really know how to dress up a waffle.

Bloom Where you Are Planted

It is that time of year that our sisters anxiously await. A day that we all come together for spiritual renewal as daughters of God. The theme was "Bloom where you are Planted". Indicating that wherever we are placed in God's garden, we need to do our very best and find out what we can learn and grow from. We had twenty three sisters come from across the mission to have their wells filled spiritually and to spend time getting to know each other. We enjoyed a get to know you game, a morning of spiritual renewal, a wonderful "cafe rio" lunch, a talk by a guest speaker and questions answered by President & Sister Beck. It was a wonderful spring day to just be together. Our Sisters are the best!

Cafe Rio Salads

Sister Kunz shared her expertise and lead us in some exercise routines that the sisters
could apply to their morning schedules.

The Easter Pagent

Our good friends Charlie and Nancy Brooks, who once lived in Cincinnati but now reside in Mesa, went to see the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant with us. It was an incredible performance of the Life of the Savior and His Resurrection. The beautiful costumes of the massive cast were so authentic and the message was touching to the thousands that gathered on the temple lawn to hear the message of the Resurrected Christ. President had the opportunity to give the opening prayer to the multitude that were gathered from far and near.

President Begay

After the hike up Sunrise Mountain, the Elders showered and gathered at the mission home for some more instruction. Sister Beck was so sore that already every single muscle in her body ached, but with the help of Sister Sorensen and Sister Eager we pulled together a meal of Hamburgers on the grill, baked beans and fruit, with Root beer floats for desserts.

President John C. Begay

President John C. Begay is one of the counselors that helps the work on the Reservation. At the Christmas Zone Conference he usually chants "Jingle Bells" in Navajo with his drum. (It doesn't even sound like Jingle Bells) This last time he didn't have his drum because it was lost, so during the Zone Council Meeting after the hike, we presented President Begay with a new drum and he sang to the Elders.

"The Sky is the Limit"

It was time to take our 20 Zone Leaders, most of them new since the last hike, on a training experience up Sunrise Mountain in Peoria. We began at 6:30 at the point of the mountain just after the sun rose and began to climb up the mountain. The purpose was to send a message to our "Senior Leadership" who were our Zone Leaders and were in charge of leading their individual zones in the mission. We needed to be unified in purpose to reach our goals of doubling our convert baptisms.

A little nourishment of bagels, gogerts and juice was supplied before the Zone Leader Hike

And the long hike began............

The Arizona beauty is truly unique. The flowers in the valley and mountains were all in bloom!

The climb up Sunrise mountain was all about lessons of life. We all had a goal to reach the top, and for some it was easier than for others (that included me). There were stones along the paths that made it difficult to climb at times, and at times we would slip and fall, but with the help and encouragement of others we all made it to the top. At one point, some of the missionaries in the front began on a path that was a little longer and easier around the mountain and found they had to backtrack to the rest of the group to get back on the path that took us straight up the mountain. Just as life has many different paths that we can take, some of them not in direct line with where we need to be going, there become the need to backtrack. We also learned that we need to plan and communicate before hand the direction we should go. I being one of the last of the group, and falling quite far behind the group, found myself yelling to those who had reached a plateau and were looking back down the mountain at us, we were those lost sheep who had fallen behind without anyone to guide us and encourage us to keep on going.

At different points along the hike, President would stop and point out the view in the valley. We found as we climbed the mountain our view became broader and our vision more clear with what we needed to do as the Lords instruments in sharing His message to all in our mission. Too many times we are satisfied with the view we have when there is so much more for us to experience and strive for.

Each missionary put his rock on the pile at the top of the mountain, signifying his commitment to lay on the

alter those things that were keeping them to be the instrument they needed to be as the Senior leadership in the mission. It was up to them to create the "Lord's" culture of the mission. It would take great commitment, hard work, diligence and endurance to accomplish this great work.

At the top of the mountain the view was beautiful and clear as we looked from the North to the South and East to the West. We had a great work to do and President Beck gave an inspirational talk of encouragement and motivation. We finished by pulling out our new APM flag and raising it to the wind. We have incredible Zone Leaders that are humble and love the Lord and were ready to go make a difference. We ended by reciting the mission Statement which was created several months ago by the Zone Leaders themselves.
It states:

In the Arizona Phoenix Mission
We Baptize and Confirm
We are a "Preach My Gospel" mission
We love and Live the Book of Mormon
We obediently love and Serve
We always listen and follow the Spirit

Yes, I was the last one down the mountain as each step was very painful. I wanted to quit or at least go at my own pace, but President took my hand and pulled me down the mountain. He asked that the next time I go hiking I get shoes that fit. I was grateful I made it down to the bottom without a stretcher. I knew my recovery would not be soon.

Who says I can't Play Basketball?

Every Monday is preparation day for our missionaries. It is a time for them to prepare for the upcoming week and do their laundry, wash their cars, clean their apartments and write home to family. Even though those are the priorities and reason for Preparation day, the thing they look forward to is a time to let it all out and recharge themselves. This is one of the activities they do.....and this time they persuaded me to be a part of it. I use to play basketball in high school and loved it, but it did wear me out. I had a fun time sitting under the hoop and waiting until one of the missionaries passed it to me to make a basket. They are the greatest and I got my exercise for the week!

A scent of Heaven

You can get an idea of all the rains we have had in the desert this month. This is a picture of our back yard after one of the rain storms. We have already received a years worth of rain. Everywhere you look you can see blankets of green. It is amazing to see the small mountains covered in a spring green rather than a desert brown. It is a desert beauty.

A blanket of green covers the mountains that are usually brown!

I love this time of year when all the flowers are blooming and the flowers are so bright and beautiful. My favorite things is the smell that the orange blossoms put off. It is like a sweet perfume that penetrates the air. To lay in bed at night and have that fragrance seep through the open window is enough to make anyone think they are in heaven. Only one problem, the birds in our backyard must be mating and they are bird calling all night long making it impossible to go to sleep.

Zone Conference - "Divine Companionship"

Our theme for the March Zone Conference was "Divine Companionship". In order to be effective missionaries we needed to have a third companion and that is the Holy Ghost. It is the Holy Ghost that brings things to our remembrance as we teach, it is the Holy Ghost that is the converter and testifier, it is the Holy Ghost that directs everything we do, including leading us to those who are ready to hear the gospel;or the elect. Every thing we do as missionaries require the divine companionship of the Holy Ghost. We all learned that if we didn't have our lives in order and were not being obedient then we would not be able to have the Holy Ghost to guide us in this work. In fact, we learned that "If ye have not the spirit, ye SHALL NOT TEACH." It is commandment language, just like Thou shalt not lie. I think that was an eye opener for many.

The highlight for our missionaries, I think, was the demonstration President Beck and I did on having our own Companionship Inventory. They got a first hand view of how companionship inventory should be. We opened our own companionship doors and let them in to see how we solved problems and become united as a companionship. It is something we all need to do, especially in our marriages so we are united in purpose. Each week every companionship should sit down and find out what is working and what is driving them apart and then come together.