Day One of Transfers - Tuesday, October 5, 2010

We got up early knowing it would be best if we arrived at the office before 9:00 since today was transfers. There is always something to do or a fire to put out and we weren't disappointed. We got a head start on things we needed to get done before the onslaught of missionaries came with luggage in hand to change companionships. Remises would line up on the street to take missionaries back to their areas.

Since Elder Lazo is going home, a new Assistant was selected by the President and Elder Urra is the perfect man for the job. He and Elder Lowry will be companions until Elder Lowry goes home in December. Elder Urra is from Chile and in July his father was released as Mission President in Chile. He is a great elder. Tall Elder Lowry seems to always get a short Latin companion. His last three companions have been the same height, but he can attest that great things come in small packages. All three have been powerful missionaries with strong testimonies.

One of the things the President wanted done this transfer was to give the missionaries their mail -- mainly their packages. So I prepared a list of the missionaries that were to come to the office and see me for their mail. We posted the list where it could readily be observed.

Elders Camposano (Chile), Johnson (TN), and Peinado (Colombia) came in early so I snapped their picture. Elder Johnson got a package! The other two weren't so lucky.

Here is a close up of this handsome, fairly new elder. Elder Johnson is from Tennessee and his mother will be glad to see he is smiling and well. She found our blog.

The package give-a-way was a big hit, but oh so hectic. Elders were coming and going and even some who didn't see their name on the list. They were just hoping I had left their name off the list, and they really did have something in my supply room. But it did clean out the mail and I was glad to get it into the hands of the receiver.

Transfer day is always fun for the missionaries as they meet old companions and abrazos are freely given. Here are a bunch of happy elders.

Elders Green and Watson pause to let me snap their picture. It was a beautiful warm day outside and it was fun to mingle with the young missionaries.

The hermanas are always glad to see each other. This group includes Sisters Keele UT), Peña (El Salvador), Ruiz (Chile), Freitas (UT), Allen (UT), Rivera (Chile), and Kroff (UT).

The trainers eat lunch and are instructed by the Assistants before they go to the mission home to receive their new companions. Some missionaries get the opportunity to be a trainer more than once. Elders Merrill, Ditto, Hales, Rodriguez, Charles, Beatty, Tapia, Johnson, Olguin, and Lybbert will all be excellent trainers.

Elder Kroff's urgent need to get to the bank to cash a check trumped our going to the mission home for the matching up of the trainers and new arrivals. Money had been flying out of his cajachica like mad today -- especially for all the remises used. There were only two pesos left by the time he replenished it.

A call Elder Peterson received from the South caused concern because one elder he sent South had not arrived. The elders who were at the airport to receive him said he wasn't on the plane when it arrived at Calafate. Oh dear! Did he get confused and get on the wrong flight, or maybe he failed to get off at Calafate and ended up in Ushuaia. Many calls later without a reasonable answer prompted us to consider that perhaps he missed the flight and was still at our airport waiting for someone to discover his whereabouts. He had no cell phone with him and probably no money to take a remise back to San Fernando.

It seemed like a long shot, but we had to check out all options. Rich and I volunteered to go to the airport and look around to see if he was still there. We took Sister Rivera with us because she was my companion for the day. Her new companion was coming back from the South, but her plane wasn't due in until around 8:00 p.m.

We didn't find the elder, and when calling Elder Peterson to tell him, he said that the elder had been found. His plane did arrive on time, and he was at the airport waiting to be picked up. For some reason the airport told the other elders that the flight had come two hours earlier and he wasn't on it, so they left. I'm not sure how they found out he was at the airport.

Returning from the airport, we stopped off at a Burger King to have something to eat. We were hungry and so was Sister Rivera. We had to hurry because the fireside honoring the leaving missionaries was to begin at 6:00, and Sister Rivera was to lead the music. Little did I know that I would be asked to play the piano.

A different group of missionaries attended the fireside. Some came as companions to the one going home, and some brought investigators. More time to visit came after the meeting. These elders include Elders Witherspoon (AZ), Ludwig (NV), Hallett (FL), Gardner, (CA), Rivas, (Chile), Jimenez (MEX), and Thompson, kneeling (UT).

These hermanas are so darling and they love seeing each other. Sisters Sandoval (Chile), Cano (Perú), Rivera (Chile), Salas - came today (Chile), and Campos (Chile) form strong bonds through serving together in the mission field.

What a wonderful day this has been, but we were ready to be home when we got here. Missionary work is so rewarding. Sometimes tiring, but always rewarding!!