New Beginnings

Meet the Halls.  

This is Garth and Sharon Hall

President of the Florida Orlando Mission

The Halls and Darringtons

As soon as the Darringtons drove away President Hall stepped inside the door and said:

"Now what do we do?"

He has a twinkle in his eye and the assistants spoke up and said:

PARTY!

What a change! There couldn't be two people and Presidents so different.

President Darrington was a City Planner and Coordinator, executive all the way. That is just how he ran the mission.  It was a tight ship and things went smoothly. They stayed at the mission home a lot- there is an office there. He only came into the Mission Office to meet with the assistance and staff and with the doors closed.  He did a lot for the mission and he and his wonderful wife will be missed.

President Hall has been a Collegiate Football Coach most of his life.  His last Coaching job was Ricks College.  David Bednar was the President as you remember.  When they dissolved the athletic program and they created BYU Idano activities program he went to President Bednar and said. I don't want to leave Rexburg do you have a job for me.  So he became a College Administrator. 

He will always be a coach at heart and that is how he started this mission.

He gathered key figures around him and made a game plan. He has moved his Mission Home Office to the Mission Office and the door is open and he is accessible to all. 

At the MTC the Halls were taught to keep using the "Preach My Gospel" and how to really work it.  There are many changes taking place with the six week rotation of the mission routine.  It is amazing all the things they are doing.  

What an exciting time to be apart of the mission when all of these changes are happening.

Those of you who are planning to go on missions start studying "Preach My Gospel".  Know it inside and out.  It is a magnificent book and will be used for many years to come.

The Lord is stepping up the work and expecting all the missionaries to step up another notch or two.

The Senior Couples were invited to attend the Zone Leader Conference where the new program was introduced.  Those Zone Leaders all but stood up and cheered.

The 13 new missionaries.   

They came in Tuesday night and came to the Mission Office for Orientation and their companions Wednesday.  This group is on fire!

The office was full of  six foot plus missionaries.  I tread lightly when navigating through the maze. They are here to get new assignments or a new missionaries.

Elder Shawn Rice is being transferred and wanted a picture.  He is also a big guy.

Keep up the letters he loves them. I will forward them to him.

Elder Conant or David Little the second.  

He could be David's clone. A great missionary, good sense of humor and all around great guy.

Office Elders replacing Rice and Hansen.

On the left is Elder Beckstead, he is still with us.

Middle is Elder Schow or lovingly referred to as 'Elder Geek'.  He is a genius, and he admits to it.

On the right is Elder Wilks.  Quiet and reserved but a powerful missionary.

ALSO NEW THIS WEEK

I took out the old rug and table that were rotting and cleaned the cement with soda and vinegar (Disinfects deodorizes and cleans without water.)

New plant stands.  Of course my 'sticks' are growing.  I have a grapefruit tree growing from a seed I planted it is to the right on the middle stand.

A new resident.

He is a double-crested Cormorant.

They lack oil glands that keeps the feathers from becoming waterlogged.  To dry off it strikes an erect pose with wings outstretched, facing the sun.

No it isn't a lake monster.  It is the Cormorant.  He comes up for air and then dives back down  underwater to eat small fish and aquatic insects.

I discovered at least three different kinds of Palm trees.  Palms are not all the same, did you know that?

Then at the temple today I saw this:

It is about my height.

There is also a scrub type palm that grows wild and is more like sage brush. 

The last part of this week, our skies looked like this most of the time.  The clouds become striking when the sun is rising and setting.  New this week, clouds in the morning and all day long.  Maybe we are finally in the 'rainy' season. 

There are have been a lot of changes this week.  BUT the work continues forward without a hitch.  A Testimony that this is the Lords work and nothing will stop the Gospel from going forth and filling the earth.

Celebrate Everyday

One of the fun things we sometimes get to do as a senior couple is escort departing missionaries while they play at Disney World.  I had not hope of ever doing this because...well Elder Campbell would  just rather not go to theme parks.  BUT Elder Hansen came up short an escort at the end and asked Elder Campbell.  Elder Hansen is one he could not turn down.  SOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Friday we went to Disney World with Elder Hansen and Elder Urry.

Elder Hansen and Elder Urry.

It was kind of a sad deal in a way.  The man who was had the tickets was held up with personal business and couldn't get away till almost noon.  We brought the Elders  to the apartment and fed them breakfast and then they watched the DVD Emma, their choice.  They loved the movie.  About that time things came together for them and we headed to Disney world.

The card at the first of this blog with Micky Mouse on it was our ticket and it was good for any of the theme parks and there are a ton.  Because of time we only went to Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and that was just to walk through it a little bit.  I believe you could go to Disney World every day of the year and  never see it all.  BUT if you want to see just certain things then pick an choose because there is way to much to see in a few days. 

A little girl full of anticipation of seeing Magic Kingdom and Small World.

A little girl who had had it and was done.  You could see the frowns on people driven to see everything and there wasn't happiness or joy anywhere.  People were hot and tired and seeking something they could never find at a theme park.

This is the closest we got to Micky. This is at the gates of Magic Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom. 
There were bands playing and singers and all kinds of street acts.
All the stores are magical.  With fun things in each one to do and discover.

The main rides at Magic Kingdom are Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain.  BUT our guys rode them both and it took over four hours for a couple rides that took a few minutes.  The trick is to get there early as the Park opens and get fast passes.  That will get you through quickly.  There are only so many and if you don't get one early they will be gone.

Because of Elder Hansen's knee injury it was hard for him to get around.  So we got him a chair for the day.

To get from theme park to theme park you travel on buses monorail or paddle boat.  We did all of them.  They are very efficient in shuttling people around so you don't have to drive.  You park at one of the parks and they shuttle you from there. 

Epcot.
Once Elder Hansen got here he was tired and wished he would have come here first.  He felt Magic Kingdom was a waste.  From here he went with Elder James to a Luau and Elder Urry with with the Wellington priesthood leader and we went home.

While we were walking to the exit this is who we found!!!!

Donald Duck.
He is waving to you Reigan!!!!

Stan found these old trucks at Hollywood and wanted me to take pictures.

That all happened Friday.
The week has been a buz with transfers and the President leaving and the New President coming in.  Of course the Elders going home, it is always hard to say good by.  I just really got to know Elder Urry and after we watched Emma we were talking about the church and history and he mentioned that he was related to Elijah Fordham, who was raised from the dead by Joseph Smith.  His mother is a Fordham.  So I met a cousin just as he was going home.  Now I will need to visit with his mom about family history.

Some things never change.
Yes Stan is at Disney World and on the phone. 
Of course it is the phone he has to carry with him 24/7 so the missionaries can contact him.

I couldn't pass this up.  As we left the car in front of us in the parking lot had this on it.  What an appropriate name for a politician.

I had a couple of visitors on our patio this week.  The top picture is of a small dragon fly.  They really get big out here.
The bottom picture is of two gecko's who found their way into our patio and into some empty flower pots I had in the corner.

Wednesday Stan and I took the ALS sisters to dinner at our favorite eating place. Crispers.  A couple of weeks ago we took the assistants here with the James'.  When ever we eat out this is were we go and we always leave a pass along card on the table.  When we were there with the assistants the server came to us and asked if we were 'Mormons'.  She was baptized as a little girl and wanted to come back.  The assistants got her name and are following up with her.  Well when we took the Sister missionaries, Sister Homer and Ellsworth, one of the servers we see all the time came up to us with a pass along card and asked if he could have more to give his friends.  Immediately the sisters and Stan and I whipped out our cards.  He was like a little boy at Christmas.  He was so excited.  The sisters  talked to him a little bit and he was excited to know more.

Last night the Assistants, Elder Steinman and Elder Doxy brought an investigator and her member friends to the apartment to teach her.  What a treat.  She wants to be baptized and can't learn fast enough. We feel it a privilege to have had her in our home.  I served some fruit and crackers after and we visited.  I love the experiences we are having while on our mission.

Thursday the assistants came to our door.  Elder Doxy had a shirt he wanted ironed, their iron makes brown spots on their white shirts.  They sat down and had some salad with us and were gone again to a teaching assignment.  They are so fun and we are so blessed to have them just come and feel comfortably in our humble home.

Today the Bowels were confirmed. 
They are a wonderful family. I know I have said this before, but they are so willing to do anything that is needed to keep the Covenants they have made.

I hope that someday you can meet them.
Little Makalah asked today if she could call me Grandma. 
What an honor. 

Once again the Orlando sky. 

As I look back on this week and all we experienced we had some very contrasting experiences.  Disney and all its glitz and glamor and then we had the work we are doing and the spiritual experiences we have had with people just learning and just making covenants.

Elder Hansen commented that all of that he experienced at Disney was so shallow compared to his two years of service.  

Wise words from one so young.

Just a note. 
Today is Ruth's birthday.
We miss you kiddo.

Three months

Three months and Elder Campbell is becoming organized. He felt so good Friday as we headed out of the office that we were able to see his desk.  (for our grandson Ben, no he didn't stuff it under the desk as you can see, or to the side.)  His phone rings constantly with Elders and Sister and car needs.  He has to approve everything.  He found that in licensing the cars this year that some of the cars were mixed up and not done right in previous years. Details other Vehicle Coordinators  have over looked or didn't care much about.  With Elder James' records, he purchases the licenses, and going over every car and calling the missionaries sometimes as many as 3-5 times he finally got through the mess.  I am so proud of him.  Yes we all help him with other things but he is finding the glitches in the mission vehicle program and ironing them out.  PLUS he has sold most of the used cars.

A BIG HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO STAN!!!!

Sunday night about ten there was a loud knock on our door.  When I opened it there was a big Staples box full of hygiene products with the note attached.  Monday morning we found that all the missionaries in our ward received one.  We didn't need all of that so we took it to the office and set it out for the missionaries as they came in to email home.  It was gone in a blink!  There are some angels out there looking out for the missionaries.

Sister James grew a tomato on her patio.  She gets less sun then we do. She brought some in last week for our salad day.  These were so cute, a mama papa and baby.  We get Costco Caesar salads every Thursday for our lunch, it adds variety to our bag lunches. (When it cools down I may make a go at growing food on my patio.)

Just a note here while taking about plants.  The flowering tree in my last post is a Crepe Myrtle and the bird was a blue heron. Thanks to Sarah for the information.

This is a weed.  Wish I could grow weeds like this.

Elder Deluccich drew this on the back of the envelope he sent his baptismal records to me.  He is quite the artist AND he can print clearly.  His is the best record I have received so far.  I would have taken a picture of that, but the record has personal information on it so I can't do that.

The main thrust of this week was getting the Bowles family prepared for baptism.  Since they missed last weeks lessons we had to double up this week.  We were at the church with their family almost every night this week.  I fed everyone as well.  I purchased pizza twice and then chicken at Sam's club once and the night of the baptism I did the taco soup and cookie salad, now those were a huge hit.  Something these people have never tasted before.  Swaine's  brought a veggie plate and James' brought cookies.  They also helped clean up which was wonderful.

The above picture is of the Elders waiting while the  Zone leaders interview Ian and Melissa. 

 

The Elders have created a new sport. 
They can be very creative. 
This is Elder Hansen. 
What they do is put the lid on a normal empty water bottle. 
They twist the bottom till they can't twist anymore and all the air in the bottle is condensed at the top of the bottle putting a lot of pressure on the lid. 
Holding it tight they release the lid with their thumb and it blows. 
The air is so condensed it looks like smoke coming out of the bottle.
I took three pictures and never caught the 'smoke'.

Try it yourself and you will have a fun thing to do with kids.

Elder Hansen is giving Makalah and Hayden an up close and personal lesson on how to condense air.

ANYWAY

This is the Bowles family the night Ian and Melissa were interviewed for baptism.  Pretty special night.  They are such a great family.

Back row:  Elder and Sister Campbell - Melissa - Little and Big Ian - Hayden  and Melissa's mom Mary and sister Sheryl and Elder Hansen.  Front Row:  Elder Rice - Makalah and Elder Beckstead.

Stan performed the baptism. 
Elder Rice and Beckstead were witnesses. 
Elder Swaine spoke on baptism and  I spoke on the Holy Ghost. 
Sister Rich led the music and played a musical number, then the bishop and Elders quorum welcomed them into the ward. 
It was a special evening and the spirit was strong.  All of the Senior couples went together and purchased quads for Ian and Melissa.  They were in tears when they saw their own scriptures with their names on it.  A  humbling experience.

Today when they were supposed to be confirmed by Elder Hansen - little Ian was having some problems that caused them to rush to the emergency room.  They didn't come till almost the end of Sacrament meeting.  They will have to be confirmed next week.  The meeting ran over and there wasn't any time at the end for the ordinance to be performed.  Melissa was in tears.  I took Makalah to Primary and Melissa and Ian went home.  I feel really bad. 

BUT

Mary, Melissa's mom was there for all of the service.  Before the meeting she showed me a Book of Mormon.  She said that Melissa gave her, her book.  I asked Mary if she was reading it and she indicated she had already read some of it.  I asked if she wanted to be taught by the missionaries and she said yes.
  The other day I was waiting for Melissa and was visiting with her sister Sheryl.  Sheryl said she is looking to turn her life around and wants the same things Ian and Melissa have.  She has been in prison for using drugs.  Her husband is at a Jacksonville rehab facility right now.  She is going into one at Ft Lauderdale.  Her in laws have her three children.  She has weekend supervised visiting rights.  She has a serious word of wisdom problem as well.  But she is sincere and really wants something different at this point. 

Once again the skies of Orlando are amazing.  This doesn't even begin to capture the beauty. 

Thursday I left work for a little bit to go out to distribution that is by the temple.
  On the way back I could see some very dark and threatening clouds ahead of me.  Lightening was striking constantly.  I didn't know if I should keep going.  But the traffic was slow so I just watched.  As I got closer to work I could see a lot of huge puddles.  As I drove a little more I could see a lot of destruction.  Clearly it was a terrible storm.  When I returned to the office they said that the storm was of hurricane strength just for a short time.  The power shut the computers down twice and they stayed off the phones because of the lightening strikes.  The slow traffic kept me from being right in the middle of that.  I think that would be as scary as being in the middle of a blizzard.  I am grateful the Lord was watching out for me.

I do not know how we continue at the pace we are going except for the strength of the Lord that is with us.  I am so grateful for the blessings that are ours. 
We are together all the time and have learned a very different kind of love. 
The Lord   blesses the senior couples greatly as he does the youth that work so hard day to day. 

This is His work, and we feel very humble knowing that we could do none of this without Him. 

A week of Hope

There has been so much going on this week but to tell it in a blog would be boring.  Lets just say that all 76 new baptisms are recorded with Salt Lake, referrals are pouring in and the work continues onward and upward.  

When we got here there were 17 cars in our parking lot that were retired from Missionary work and needed to be sold.  Stan is now down to two cars.  He has had calls on those, but he has been resurrecting them by letting the missionaries use them.  The cars had sit in the parking lot for a year and a half and the Florida heat and humidity is not good for them.  The batteries become corroded and they will not work.  Stan had the missionaries use them and little by little he has been able to sell them.  Of course 'wheeling and dealing' is what he loves doing.  Elder James and the Assistants are still helping a lot with the computer records, but he is gaining in the work.

The rainbow above is a symbol of hope.  That is also our theme for Sacrament meeting this month.  With a week like the one we just had we need hope and faith to carry us through.

These are some interesting things we have seen and observed this week and since we have been here.

One of the many wonders of the Florida skies.  They are NEVER the same, I could do a complete blog just on the changes in the sky above us.

When we got here in March there were these trees all over that were just sticks coming out of the ground.  No growth at all.  I was very curious about what would become of them.  As soon as the weather really warmed up the growth on them exploded and I was blown away, you could actually see them grow they grew so fast.  THEN this last week they started to bloom.  They are everywhere.  There are white ones, purple and pink.  Mind boggling.  

In front of our office there is a similar tree -- but it is BIG.  The blooms look like lilacs, but lack the fragrance.

Mama duck with her four little ones who now have feathers.

A new mama with NINE little ones. They are so tiny!

This guy moves so fast it was hard to get a good picture.  I still haven't found him in our bird book, he does look like the white egret but it isn't.  This is the first time I have seen him around our complex.

Geckos are so common. The reason for the screens around back yards and patios are for insects yes but these guys are found even in our homes.  Top he is very little on top of the trash can, here he is on the side.  I have never been able to get my camera fast enough to take one, this little guy was not shy.

Another interesting phenomenon.  These are 'love' bugs.  They are like a push me pull you.  They fly all over like this.  They are very hazardous to the paint on the cars.  The acid in the eggs corrodes the paint.  This one was sleeping on our patio screen, this is the tummy side of them. 

These little guys, blackberries, are growing up in our honeysuckle hedge.  I don't think anyone else takes the time to observe the growth.

Today's harvest.

Another side to Orlando.

The Eskelson family.  Kathrine holding Jeffery.  John is down by the kids with JD on the left and Mary on the right. They are in our ward.  I meet them out walking a lot.  The kids come up and hug me and then walk with me.  Gives mom and dad a few minutes alone.  This family moved here a couple months ago from Idaho.

The work goes forward in the Lords kingdom.  People come up to us where we are eating, when we are shopping or just walking around.  They ask us what church we represent, and they always want more.  People are so hungry for the truth and they want security and the gospel gives them that.  We carry the pass along cards with us all the time.  We have to replenish our supply a couple times a week.  The Bowles family are getting ready for baptism next week.  What an outstanding couple and family they are.  Already Ian is being a missionary.  He has invited his new boss of four days to come to his baptism next week.  Melissa's sister who has had some major problems wants what her sister has and is going to come join in.  Melissa's mom is next.  

We have been so blessed while here.  Even when things are tough we feel the strength of the Lord with us on every side.  This is His work and nothing will stop it.

I know that Christ is the Savior of the world and He has restored HIS church on the earth once more.