JANUARY 1st, 2014
We're far away from home, but the sky is still beautiful wherever we go.
Albuquerque has a variety of homes. Many of the people live in trailer parks like this one.
We went to dinner for New Year on January 1st to avoid the crowds who were out celebrating. Here we are, Elder and Sister Ellis, with Sister Marilyn Yerkes. She and her husband are over the apartments, and work in the office. He loves having Elder Ellis around to help him pick up or deliver furniture, or take anything to Good Will that needs to be gone.
Elder Neal Yerkes, Sister Barbara McBride (her husband, Jeff, is sick), and Sister Linda Dennis. Elder McBride is a counselor for the missionaries, and Sister Dennis is President Miller's secretary.
OUR FIRST MLC LUNCH - THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2014
MLC is training for the Zone Leaders and Sister Trainers. It was held in the Mission Home.
These are some of the wonderful elders and sisters who came. The one closest to the camera is Elder Turnbow, one of the AP's.
These are the beautiful sisters, eating in the dining room.
Here are more of the wonderful elders.
And more!
Still more! The elder with the surprised look on his face is Elder Vial, who is also an AP. The elder closest to the camera is Elder Magalei. He is a happy boy, and makes everyone else happy. He also has a beautiful voice, and sings often, regardless of where he is.
We forgot to take pictures while we were in the kitchen, but Elder Ellis did a great job of helping to clean it up. We served potato bar with chili and lots of toppings, green salad and baked beans, with brownies and ice cream for dessert. They all loved the menu, and we were very glad! It's nice to have your first one be a success. We will do this the first Thursday of every month, and we are so happy to be asked to do this.
After lunch, we all went in the backyard for a group picture. President Steve Miller is getting everyone in place.
All of the missionaries love President Miller because he is such a kind man, and they know how much he loves them.
Beautiful members of God's Army!!
DISTRICT MEETING - FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2014
These have got to be some of the best zone leaders in the world. Elders Jenson and Weber (like Webber) with the chart they use for each zone to report how they're doing.
Elder Jenson with a cookie sheet and paper cups supporting him to represent how important ward members are to the missionaries.
Elder Weber didn't think about how important balance is for support!
The Albuquerque Temple - Saturday, January 4
Sunday, January 5 - Almost every Sunday night, we get together with the other senior missionaries for dinner. Sister Linda Dennis, Sister Barbara and Elder Jeff McBride, and Elder Wayne and Sister Geri Cottle. Elder Cottle is over the cars, and she pays the bills. Elder Cottle is glad to have Elder Ellis here to help with the cars in many ways.
OUR FIRST LUNCH FOR NEW MISSIONARIES - Monday, January 6
Monday, January 6 - For all the pictures I take, you'd think I could remember to take some of our first lunch for the new missionaries. But, no. This is the only one. We had eight new ones come - two of them sisters. We fed them turkey, ham, and cheese hoagies with potato salad, green salad, olives (which they all were excited about - including President Miller!), chips, and white cake with cherry/pineapple topping and ice cream. They were so appreciative of what we fixed, and it went very smooth. Some of the seniors commented on how we served the meats and cheese - the meat folded and put on plates, and the cheese cut into triangles. We were happy that we'd gone to the trouble to serve it in an appealing way, even though we just thought that's how it should be done. We will do this every six weeks when the new missionaries arrive. Tomorrow will be transfer day. We're anxious to be part of that.
Is this a picture-perfect sky, or what? I don't know why there were so many jet trails, but it was too beautiful to miss catching it. I'm so glad I did!
These are typical of some neighborhoods. Did you notice the yards? Most don't have any grass - rocks and gravel, and a few bushes. There's not much water here, so landscaping is done with that in mind. We miss the trees and grass back home - especially the beautiful trees.
January 10 - Every Friday we have District meeting from 10:30 to 12:00.
These are our District leaders - Elders Beck and Sircable. They do a great job with their responsibilities. Elder Beck has THE BEST laugh! He makes everyone laugh when they hear him, and he is just happy. Elder Sircable is waiting for his visa to go to Brazil, speaking Portuguese. He's been here for a few months, and we're all kind of hoping his visa never comes. He also loves it here. We just love both of them, and feel blessed to be able to serve with them.
Sisters Hellickson, England, McShane, and Murphy.
Getting used to all of the things expected of us, and loving every minute of it!
We went visiting later in the day and ran into Elders Jenson and Weber out doing the same thing. They're kind of the short and tall of it, and a great companionship.
Elder Weber's Birthday Dinner - January 11
Getting things ready in our cute little kitchen. The washer and dryer face each other on the other side of the door by me. Very handy, and they're both good machines - definitely another blessing to us.
Sisters Murphy and McShane (they call themselves McSmurph) and Jenson and Weber, working on the puzzle Ray got for Christmas from family. He left the worst part for last, and is glad for the help.
This was a fun birthday dinner to make. I told Elder Weber he had to choose the menu, and he said he loves breakfast, so we had waffles, bacon and sausage, and scrambled eggs. And chocolate milk, of course. It was just what he wanted.
Dishing up the cheesecake he chose for dessert. It was a fun evening, and we love having them over.
Monday, January 13 - We were so happy to get a call from Dan and Jan Christensen, from Layton, telling us they would be in town and would we meet them for dinner. Dan and Ray played in Kent McMillan's dance band for over thirty years. Dan played the piano, with no music. He is a very talented, busy man. This was the first time we'd been in Albuquerque city center, and we were amazed at the big, tall buildings. The roads in town are two-lane roads, so there's no sunshine in between the buildings. Albuquerque is so much bigger and more modern than we had expected, but it does depend on where you are.
This is in front of the Hyatt-Regency, where we met them. Isn't Elder Ellis handsome?
Wednesday, January 15 - Sister Murphy and McShane asked us to help them give a Bible story at the Beehive House, an assisted living home. We will do this every Wednesday. None of them are members of the church, so they don't know any of the songs we sing. Our stories have to be nondenominational, so they're always from the Bible. We enjoyed our first experience there.
