They come and go!

It's amazing to consider that in the year we have been here we have said good-bye to over 80 missionaries! That's a huge turnover. These elders will be powerful leaders of the church someday. They have been so here. Thank you elders.

Back:  Elder Engele, Elder Johnson, Elder Collard
Middle Row:  Elder Wilkey, Elder Hansen, Elder Durfee
Front:  Elder Wily, Elder Barrionuevo, Elder Mann, Elder Gardner

Hurricane Update

Good news!! The hurricane turned to the north to miss Florida by 250 miles. When you consider that the hurricane is 140 miles wide and then the tropical storm weather out side that is over 400 miles wide we were lucky to be missed by that far!! I am watching the warnings so closely. That is part of my responsibilities. I am to know the weather threats and let the missionaries know how to prepare. Last Monday when the warnings came that it might hit Florida the projections showed that the eye of the storm would go right up the center of the state! We had already put things in place for an emergency. A few months ago President had arranged with the Red Cross throughout the mission for the missionaries to serve as volunteers at the evacuation centers. The Red Cross had come to all the zone meetings throughout the mission and trained the missionaries on what to do.  Monday we instructed the missionaries on how to put together a 72 hour kit and how to prepare in other ways.  I am proud of them. They took it seriously. By yesterday when it became obvious that we would be missed completely we all breathed a sigh of relief. It’s a really good feeling to know that we are all now ready for any hits in the future.

It’s not so happy for the east coast from North Carolina to New Hampshire. I’m sure you have all been watching the weather and know all this.  We are praying for them and the protection of life.  As it is there is already a death in Florida due to the hurricane.  We have warnings to stay off the beach and out of water.  The rip tides and huge waves will be a problem.  I saw on the news tonight that someone on Coco Beach drowned because of the waves.  They are telling us that we will have winds up to 40-50 miles an hour and large waves and some thunderstorms…and that is 250 miles away! 

Wow, the power of nature is amazing! 

We are being blessed. 

Transfer meeting

All of these pictures happened after the transfer meeting. I forgot to take pictures during the meeting as I usually do. We held the meeting in a different church further north. We needed to accommodate the distance of the Savannah Zone. This church, Dunn Ave Ward, is more central in the mission. It still is a 3 1/2 hour drive from the north and from the south!

Elder Svedin, Elder Reid, Elder Larsen, Elder Jacobs, Elder Payne, Elder Aiono

Elder Dandridge and Elder Wadsworth

Elder Crites and Elder Salvesen.  They are new companions

Elder Christensen, Elder Thygerson, Elder Bingham, Elder Gardner, Elder Porter, Elder Mecham, Elder Hall, Elder Aiono



Elder Cox, Elder Lisman, Elder Barrionuevo, Elder Graham, Elder Taylor, Elder Marquez, Elder DiCristofano, Elder Hansen, kneeling

Elder Bigelow, Elder Christensen, Elder Crosby, Elder Svedin, Elder Bennion, Elder Webster, Elder Howell



We have decided that we have a set of twins in the mission with the last name of Goodman.  Sister Goodman just arrived from the MTC and Elder Goodman has been here for over 1 1/2 years.  They have never met and don't have any relations that we could tell but it was fun to see how much alike they were - in size, looks and hair color. 
Left:  Elder Rasmussen, Elder Goodman, Sister Goodman, Sister Martins, Elder Aiono

NO NOVICES

Nine new missionaries came to us this transfer on August 16 and not one of them is a 'greenie'. In fact we are noticing that all the new missionaries we are receiving since we arrived in the mission are more and more prepared all the time. There is no longer such a thing as a 'greenie' any more. They come into the field doctrinally sound and ready to work hard. Thank you parents and the MTC. Things are working.

This picture was taken at the end of the new missionary training meeting.  They meet their trainer and are taught for 90 minutes.  They are getting to know each other in the following pictures.



On the front row is Elder Gebhard (left) who will train Elder Beckstead.  Other trainers and new missionaries are behind them.   




In the front is Elder Baczuk who will be trained by Elder Hinton.  Behind them is Elder Lee who will be trained by Elder Taylor.



On the right is Elder Suttner who will be trained by Elder Barnes (in the middle).

On the left is Sister Martins who will train Sister Goodman. 

Yes, they are as good and clean and pure as they look!  They are powerful disciples of Christ.



Back:  Elder Baczuk, Elder Green, Elder Beckstead, Elder Payne,
Front:  Elder Suttner,  Elder Lee, Elder Lisonbee, Elder Vilorio
Sister Goodman



More returns

It's a fun experience to have 'our' missionaries come back to visit as returned missionaries. We still see them as powerful witnesses of God. They still have the fire and the drive to do well. We love them for that. Here are two more that came back to visit.

Jason Brooks, Talitha Cutler, Sister and President Barry
Sister Cutler came back to introduce her fiance to us!  Congratulation!!! 
Your on to the next mission.

Elder Osborn - I mean Travis, Sister and President Barry
You can't imagine how hard it is to call them a different name. 
It almost seems wrong.
 This Elder was an Assistant to the President for many months. 
He spent a lot of time in our home.  It was nice to have him 'come home' again.

Couple Conference

Probably the biggest blessing of the mission is to have 8 couples serve here!! They are the cream and the work they do is helping to establish the church in the FJM. We gathered together from all over the mission and spent a morning touring through a local art museum and gardens. We had lunch at the mission home and President Barry then conducted a training with them. We learned from each other many wonderful ideas of how to serve more fully as senior missionaries. Thank you, dear friends.



It is hot in Florida right now.  This picture in the back yard of the mission home.  We were sweating and running to get back inside. 



Sister and Elder Barrus
Military Relations - Naval Station Mayport, Jacksonville, FL

Sister and Elder Banks
Mission Office

Elder and Sister Baum
Military Relations - Fort Stewart, Hinesville, GA

Sister and Elder Deal
Member and Leader Support - Crescent City, FL
They finish their mission on August 12th.
We will miss you

Elder and Sister Elliott
Member and Leader Support - Jesup, GA

Sister and Elder Robison
Church Education System - UF Campus, Gainesville, FL 
They arrived last week and are just getting their feet wet.  Just in time for the semester to start at UF.  We are thrilled you are here! 

Sister and Elder Shirley
Office Couple

Sister and Elder Stills
Member and Leader Support - Cross City, FL

A reflection of the mission!

Our monthly meeting with the zone leaders is to counsel together about the mission. They discuss problems and find solutions. They are focused on how the Savior would solve problems and go about doing it His way. This is a reflection of every missionary. They could all step in and do this effectively. They each do it in their areas. We love them all.



Back Row:  Elder Bass -JAX West Zone. Elder Wadsworth - Gainesville Zone.  Elder Kelley and Elder Crosby - Savannah Zone.  Elder Aiono and Elder Jacobs - Assistants to the President.  Elder Wilkey - JAX South Zone.  Elder Johnson - JAX East Zone.  Elder Grant - Kingsland Zone.  Elder Taft - JAX West Zone.  Elder Reid - JAX South Zone
Front Row:  Elder Graham - Kingsland Zone. Elder Summers - Gainesville Zone. Elder Failner and Elder Snow - Lake City Zone. Elder McArthur - JAX East Zone.  President Barry



Personally, I like the crazy pictures the best.  I'm not the stoic type and I love the personality of the crazy look.  Hopefully this isn't a reflection of the mission. :)
Love these missionaries. 



So much has happened since July 17th, the last post. It's so exciting to see what is happening around the mission. There are too many miracles to describe and our numbers (key indicators) are going up fast. We have the best, most diligent, obedient, worthy, powerful missionaries there can be.

 Last week we were blessed with a visit from Elder Giddens, an area authority seventy. He told the missionaries that they are the best this mission has ever had. It is that way throughout the world. They were reserved to come forth in the latter-days to do this work. The Lord has reserved the best for now. I can attest to that. We are amazed with their goodness!

This represents about half of the mission.  These are the missionaries from the 3 Jacksonville Zones. 
Thank you Elder and Sister Giddens for the powerful effect on our mission.