The Facers

Elder Facer's family came to pick him up.

They arrived Sunday and were here to participate

in the Testimony meeting, the Family Home Evening

and the Goodbye Lunch today in the Mission Home.

They are from Idaho Falls. 

It is nice to finally meet them.

Elder Braxton Facer was in the office right next to 

my desk for about 9 months.  

I feel like I already knew everything about them.

They are going to do a few things here in Trujillo

and then head to Machu Picchu.

We put all this precious cargo on the plane this afternoon.

Talk about sad...

I will love you all forever and ever.

Our new ones arrive at 9:00 tonight due to Holiday Schedules.

I am sending all of these home and only receiving 4 new ones.

Send me more Missionaries... Please.

I think we are down to only 210.

Como Puedo Ser...

How Can I Be.... like Jesus Christ




Those leaving in this group...  Elders:  Facer, Hargis, Munson, Pickett, Briones, Tagle, Valdivia, Mikesell, Elmer, Whitehead, Hermanas:  McVey, Hererra, Montes, and Lazo

Future Mission Presidents...

We had our Goodbye- Family Home Evening on Sunday night

because of the Holiday and flight changes this week.

Thirteen are heading home today.

Here they go ... back into the real world.  SAD!

I hate to let them go but they are all ready for the next chapter.

This group is full of future Stake Presidents, Relief Society Presidents,

Bishops, Primary Presidents, Gospel Doctrine Teachers and Mission Presidents

They might serve in the nursery... it doesn't matter where they serve

but how they serve.  Just keep doing what you have 

been doing here in the mission.

While the President was giving his last hurrah....

I ran inside where the office Elders had set up their Sunday night 

nerve center in the Mission Home.

Sunday Evening is when all of the results for the week are called in.

And this week being Change week is when

the Assistants have to call each Zone Leader and go over 

each missionaries assignment.

Elder Wright and Elder Vera were busy at their task.

After all the calls came in...

And all the tallying was finished...

It was official... a record breaking week...  Congratulations to Everyone!

Elder Valdivia and Elder Briones look great behind the President's desk.

I won't be surprised when they are called as Mission Presidents someday.

We know that we are going to see great things

from all of this group that is leaving.

but oh, how we will miss them!

We Need More White...

 Last night we were speaking at a Stake Conference adult meeting

and President received a text message saying that 

the family we had over to our house

the other night was getting baptized.

When we were finished, we hopped in the car

and ran to another Stake Center

on the other side of town.

When we got there, several others were there to be baptized.

There were so many baptisms yesterday throughout the mission

that the missionaries had a hard time finding enough white clothing.

Office Elders saw the bat signal flashing and they 

had to drop everything to fly to the office, 

gather the extra white clothing there and flag taxis

to head to the Stake Centers in need.

What a beautiful problem to have.

But we need to get going Stakes to make

sure that we have plenty of white modest clothing.

We are going to be baptizing more and more.

The work is moving forward.

We need people called in each Stake to take care of the clothing,

 to make sure that it is in the right place 

at the right time.

Another recored breaking week.

SPECTACULAR!

Conference is Over...

We said goodbye to our sweet friends and 

flew home last night.

Hermanas: Prince, Ghent, Blunck and Dorius...

I love them.

But before we caught our flight

there was just enough time to catch a bite

of our favorite SUBWAY sandwich.

Our batteries and our bellies are recharged and ready to fly.

Thank you to our leaders and friends

for a fun few days.

We have been enriched.

Until next time...

Four Generations ...

Elder Facer popped into the office to pick something up

and we realized that we had four

Financial Secretaries

right here together.

We had to take a photo.

Elder Facer leaves this next week for home which is Idaho.

Elder Brian followed Elder Facer in the Finance chair and now has been 

President's right hand man as personal secretary.

He will be leaving to go out as Zone Leader.

Elder Brian trained Elder Richards to be financial Secretary

and now he is training him to be the Personal Secretary.

Elder Richards looks like he is ready to be the Personal Secretary

I had to put all of these pictures on because

He has a freakishly wide arm span... 

that is why he is such a great swimmer

for BYU 

Elder Richards

is now training Elder Cook.

Elder Cook is our newest Financial Secretary.

We want to welcome him to the office.

Elder Richards gave Elder Cook

all the money 

to run the mission 

for the next year.

Elder Cook was a little confused.

"You are kidding, Right?"

Elder Cook is going to be a great addition to the office.

He is from Spanish Fork and loves to Golf.

And now we hope that he loves to 

balance the budget.

We are so blessed to have such capable Elders throughout the mission.

I

I Could Write a Book...

We were in training all day with these gentlemen.

Elder Uceda, Elder Pino and Elder Waddell

all of the First Quorum of the Seventy.

This is the SouthAmerican NorthWest Area Presidency.

They are over five countries...

Peru, Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, & Venezuela.

Their hands are full!

We have 25 Mission Presidents and spouses

and then of course the office staff and Doctors and Lawyers etc...

These are great people that we get to associate with.

I was just taking random pictures while we were getting ready for the real photographer.

Below are some of our favorites...

the Dorius' and the Bluncks,

We love to get together and compare notes

on anything and everything.

Oh the stories we can tell...

We could really write a best seller 

and here are some of the possible titles...

"Memoirs of a Mission Mom"

"Wait 'til your Mission President Gets Home"

 "Angels and Stinkers"

"Could You Please Repeat that Elder"

"Mystery: Elder Plum in the Mission Home with the Brass Plates"

"Line Upon Line ... Ingrown upon Ingrown"

It is late and these are ridiculous...

If I think about it for a minute

I will get a great one.

But for now.... I will stop!

My Real title would be something about 

"Too Many Blessings To Count"

"Miracles Never Cease"

I LOVE THIS MISSION!

Lima, Perú

We are in Lima, Perú

for our Mission Presidents Seminar.

We are in a very tall hotel.

And we are in an Earthquake Zone.

Good Luck to us!

I´m kidding... I am not nervous.

Come what may and love it... Right?

I hope that if we are in the big earthquake

that our Assistants

remember what to do

as we have practiced our earthquake drills.

I want them to bring in the herd.

I know they will.

Elder Wright and Elder Vera

are very capable.

President Turk

looks very Presidential in the dimmed

light of the hotel room.

He never wastes a minute of his time.

It only I could be this disciplined.

The second he stops 

he catches a little power nap

and then on to bigger and better things,

Tomorrow is a busy Day.

I better sign off and get some zzzzzzz´s

I'm drifting already.

Good Night!

Elder Whitehead.... Don't Go!

This is our Sweet Elder Whitehead.

He is leaving a week early to get home 

for his sister's wedding.

So we took the Assistants and the 

Traveling Assistants to 

dinner with Elder Whitehead tonight.

The traveling Assistants just got in from Casma today

and tomorrow morning they head to Casa Grande.

They are doing great things.

We had to stop by the Plaza de Armas on the way home

so that Elder Whitehead could see it lit up

one last time.

He has been an excellent missionary.

I have a feeling that

he will miss the mission and the mission will miss him.

His mission will have a lifetime effect on him.  

There are things that you learn on a mission

that you can learn no where else.

"I believe there is nothing in all the world that can compare 

with the joy that a man feels

when he realizes that he has been the instrument 

in the hands of the living God 

of reaching some honest heart, inspiring in it a love of God

and the desire to serve Him."

President Heber J. Grant

It has been our privilege to serve along side of you, Elder Whitehead.

We wish you the best of everything in your life.

We love you and will miss you..

Well Done!

It's a Hair Raising Experience

It's that time again... You know the routine.

Every six weeks new missionaries arrive

and some of our old missionaries leave.

This creates the ripple affect through out the mission.

It is called Changes around here.

 I watch closely from my bedroom window

that looks down upon the President's home office.

He ponders and prays while he carefully arranges the missionaries

lives for their next 6 weeks.

The most amazing thing is that he has any hair left on his head.

When he is stewing over decisions 

his hands are all over his head, fingers brushing through his hair.

The same when he is talking on the phone...

one hand on the phone

the other in the hair.

Whatever he is doing is very successful.

Let him release the tension 

with a good old fashion

Dutch Rub

minus the headlock.

I love to watch over him 

while he is studying or contemplating or reading

or praying downstairs 

in his office.

Thanks for the fishbowl honey...

You are entertaining.

What a Difference a Year Makes!

A year and a half ago we were meeting in this tent

while they were building a new Chapel

in Virú.

And now look at this beautiful building!

We had our District Conference 

here today

and it was a packed house.

It is so exciting to see actual growth

in numbers and in the people themselves.

They are blossoming right before my very eyes.

I love Virú.

President Turk is the presiding authority over the Districts,

So his counselors are always at these Meetings.

And then of course there is a District President and one of his counselors

 in this picture too.

Thank you to all the people in Virú

for your strength and your help

with our great missionaries there.

What a difference a year makes...

You can get a lot done... if you just keep doing!

Let's Getter Done!

Small and Simple...

I love when we are out and about and we see some of our 

missionaries talking to people on the street

about the Gospel.

By small and simple things are great things 

brought to pass.

They were actually waiting for the missionaries

that the President was dropping off

but they didn't want to waste a second

of their time.

They are on the Lord's errand.

Elder Wright and Elder Mieles 

hooked up with Elders Canaan and Whitelock

and went out on exchanges.

They had a lot of success, and a great afternoon.

Alma 37:6

 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; 

but behold I say unto you,

 that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; 

and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.

You know the Church is true when the missionary program

is made up of 19 to 26 year old young men and women.

I have seen them confound the wise.

They are definitely directed and guided by the

Spirit of the Lord.

I see it every day... It is Beautiful.

Whom God Calls .... He Qualifies!

Keep Your Eyes Peeled...

Every single day you have to have your camera ready

or you will miss something unusual.

This morning President was caught in this traffic jam.

The police were standing at the pineapple cart enjoying

the view and their food... The traffic jams are usually

undone by a taxi driver that will jump out

and start to untangle everyone...

Never the Police!

I always talk about dogs living on the roof tops here.

But this dog died and they stuffed

the dog and put it back up on the roof.  

A little creepy, No?

President was with Elder Yat and Elder Terry who are some of our Zone Leaders.

They taught some amazing lessons with a few families

They have some funny little characters out in 

the different neighborhoods.

This picture was taken at a public playground.

The water towers are different in each area.

I use them for my landmarks when I drive.

This barbecue cart below is ran by one of the members

in this neighborhood.  He is serving up

grilled chicken hearts, chicken feet and wings

and other things...

Elders Ramos and Rengifo had a great afternoon

with the President.

There are always neighborhood volleyball games going on.

Sometimes they take over the whole street and you have to back up your car

and try to find a different road to get you to your destination.

This red sticker is stuck to the front of the homes

indicating that you have payed your taxes.

No matter where you go in this city

you will run into large piles of rock and sand.

Construction sites are everywhere and this is what they build with

ROCK AND SAND - Cement!

I always want to run up these little mounds of materials

or drive right through them.

I know, real mature of me!

It makes everyday exciting... What will I run into tomorrow?