3 Weeks in Kansas

3 weeks ago today our mission began in the Kansas Wichita mission. So much has happened  these last 3 weeks ! I am amazed at how busy and wonderful life is when you're involved in missionary work.

On Tuesday July 12th we received our first batch of new missionaries, fresh from the MTC. One of the things that was so great about that is, we met all of these missionaries when we were  in the MTC. There were 10 elders and 7 sisters. The assistance each drove a van, one with the trailer hooked to the back, and we went to the airport to pick them up. We walked upstairs to wait for them and see them as they came walking down the hall. (Of course the assistance tried to do a little missionary work while we were there!!) It was a great reunion and hopefully comforting to the missionaries to already know us. I wish I could hug all of them but I got to hug the sisters and Mitch got the hug all the elders! After taking a few  pictures at the airport we loaded up the vans and all of their luggage and headed to The Keeper of the Plains.

-Keeper of the Plains is a statue of an Indian where the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers meet. (oh here it’s not Arkansas it’s pronounced Ar-Kansas)

There is a tradition in this mission where they go straight to The Keeper of the Plains and have their picture taken and then at the end of their mission before they go to the airport they go back to The Keeper of the Plains to have their picture taken again. That's a tradition we will keep! We came right back to the mission office where they had their first taste of Kansas barbecue. Once their stomachs were full they were paired up with a missionary and sent out to do missionary work for a couple of hours. I came home and worked on preparing dinner for 21 of us. They showed up around 5:30 p.m. exhausted and yet happy and ready for a good meal. It was a pleasure to sit and talk with his sisters and find out how their new experiences proselyting had gone. They had been challenged to invite people to be baptized and I think pretty much they were all able to fulfill that challenge. Once dinner was done the assistants took all 17 of the new missionaries down in the basement to do some training and while they were training, each missionary came upstairs to be interviewed by Mitch. There was always one missionary waiting on the couch and so I got to visit with each one and find out all about them. I really enjoyed getting to know each one of them, such great young men and young women excited about serving the Lord. The assistants took all of the elders to stay with them and the other office elders while all the sisters stayed here in our home. I loved going downstairs to check on them and seeing them all sitting there reading scriptures, writing in their journals and studying. It was such a peaceful, sweet feeling down in that basement. All of  missionaries had been up since about 2:30 in the morning, if they even slept at all, so they were exhausted and the lights were out by 10 p.m. In the morning, following Mission rules, they were up at 6:30,ready, studying and getting ready for the day. We had them over to the mission office by 8:30 in the morning where they are able to have breakfast. The missionaries that were going to be their trainers showed up and then there was all kinds of training going on. The new missionaries in one room and the training missionaries in another. Afterwards they were paired up, ate a huge lunch and off they went to their assigned areas.

A couple of hours later we were off to Topeka (an hour and 45 minute drive) for a visit with some missionaries and a coordinating council with a stake presidency. Then turned around and drove right back home.

Saturday we drove over to Dodge City ( another 2 and a half hours) for the baptism of Simon Dang. It was a beautiful experience. Got back in the car and drove over to Derby (just outside of Wichita) for the baptism of Robyn Williams and her daughter Dianna. Both baptisms were filled with SPIRIT and so wonderful! I will never forget the look on their faces and the joy they radiated. It was priceless. The Gospel changes lives. It’s a joy to be apart of this wonder and true work.