Our wonderful missionaries

One of the great blessings we have as being the office couple is the chance to rub shoulders and get to know our office elders. I was sad when Elder Brown left, sadder yet when Elder Everett left, and now we are blessed with Elder Ayers who will soon be joined by Elder Stegeby, a Swedish missionary, who we look forward to getting to know a we work together in the office.

Elder Ayers, a young man from Canada whose family now lives in AZ is one of our office elders. He is always willing to lend a hand and is very thorough. He and Elder Sutton have struck up an especially sweet and special relationship, referring to each other at times as Dad and Son. What a blessing to know these wonderful young men who are setting such a wonderful example and who have come thousands of miles to serve the Lord.

Elder Ayers current companion is Elder Anisiforov, a native Russian. He is a whiz at fixing anything that is broken (like Elder Luekenga's iphone) and the laminating machine which was on the fritz for the 3rd time. He does a wonderful job of ordering train transportation when needed. He has made phone calls for me when I couldn't communicate due to the Russian barrier. He will be leaving this week and finishing up his mission with his best friend, and fellow Ukrainian, in opening up a new area! Very exciting. (That is when Elder Stegeby will coming on board).

Even missionaries who do not work in the office are often coming in for one reason or another, or they call for help or advice. It is a blessing to be able to nurture these missionaries, elders and sisters both.

We are especially lucky because we get to meet the new missionaries when they first arrive from the States. Because I work on their arrival packets, I see their pictures and "get acquainted" with them a little before they even arrive. How wonderful it is to finally meet them after months of waiting for their arrival. I have established a few special relationships among these special young missionaries, elders and sisters alike.

AND we can't say enough about the senior couples we get to work with, play games with, have dinner out with, and learn from and enjoy!  They are a special blessing in our lives. Especially the two other couples who work in the mission office, the Naegle's and Luekenga's. We love them and are so grateful for them!