July 7, 2024

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times!" That is how I feel about this week. It was a crazy, busy week with transfers and new arrivals. So many of our beloved missionaries went home this week that I told Elder Rowan that if we just left this week too it would be okay. But, even though we only have just under two months left now, there is still work to do and missionaries to love.

Transfers and new arrivals have been on Thursdays and Fridays since we arrived in the mission but this month and going forward they will be on Tuesdays & Wednesdays. That threw me off for the whole week. Wednesday felt like Friday but we still had half a week left to go. The departing missionaries started arriving on Monday afternoon for interviews with the President. Once they start coming in the office starts to buzz with their energy! They are excited to see each other and busy with visiting, weighing their luggage, finshing their "My Plan," etc. It is emotionally exhausting but wonderful all at the same time.

Tuesday morning was transfers which means Elder Rowan and Elder Larson left at 7:00 AM to drive the luggage from one location to another. They go from our building, to Salem, and then on to Bend and back. It is a long day for them. The departing missionaries go to the temple in the morning with President & Sister Phillips and then they take them to lunch. In the afternoon we have them in and out of the office as interviews are finished up. Then they go to the President's house for dinner and departing counsel. There were 17 going home this transfer so we decided we better start our pictures with them because they were leaving really early the next morning.

One of the missionaries going home was Elder Reil. He was a missionary here in Newberg when we first arrived and then later as an Assistant. I think we spent 8 or 9 months serving with him so almost half of our mission. We love him and are going to miss him!

Elder Place also went home. He served here in Newberg too for 4 or 5 months at the beginning of our mission and was the District Leader who got us to start attending District Council. He is a crazy goof ball but an amazing missionary. He attracts attention where ever he goes because of his height but people love him. He was a terrible driver so Elder Rowan is happy he made it home without an accident.

This is Elder Leve. He had the distinction of being the oldest missionary in the mission. He has an incredible story about overcoming agoraphobia, the fear of leaving your home. With therapy and prayer he was able to come to Oregon and serve a successful mission. Half way through his mission the President asked him to switch to Spanish speaking which he did and was great at it. He was well loved by the other missionaries and we will miss him too.

Elder Jacobsen was an Assistant too for several months and we will miss his energy and the fun he brought to the office. I think he could charm anyone out of anything. It is hard to say no to him! He served with Elder Soucy who is also going home and I told him I think of him as "The Greatest Salesman." Between the two of them we didn't stand a chance.

We only had 3 Sisters going home this transfer but one of them was Sister Jacobsen who served here in Newberg as a Social Media Sister for almost 6 months. We are hoping for a match with her and Elder Reil so we will have to see how that plays out. Pictured also are Sister Roach & Sister Keller. Both amazing Sister missionaries!!

Here is the whole group going home. So many incredible missionaries! We had 17 missionaries go home and 17 new missionaries arrive!

In the midst of transfers and new arrivals there was even more going on. Monday we had to do the shopping for the New Arrival dinner on Wednesday. I was able to go with the Sister missionaries to teach their "friend," Mark. Elder Rowan and I had to take (2) reassigned missionaries to the airport Tuesday night. Sister Barrus & Elder Jaurez were here temporarily while they waited for their Visas to Mexico. Elder Rowan was especially happy to be able to talk about Mexico with them.

On Wednesday my friend Janet and her new husband Loren dropped by for a visit. Janet has been living in Cosa Rica for almost 3 years and I am glad she has found peace and happiness in her new life. It was nice to meet Loren and give Janet a hug. She was here for her daughter's wedding in Portland so I was blessed to be able to see her.

Thurday was the 4th of July and we couldn't let that pass by without celebrating our nation's freedom. In my reading of the Book of Mormon I am reminded over and over again that this is a choice land that our Heavenly Father has prepared for us and he will preserve it if the people are righteous. We live in perilious times and it is scary to think of what the future holds for us. But still, I am grateful to live in this country and have the freedom of religion to worship as I please and enjoy the many blessings we have been given.

Last year when we looked for somewhere to see fireworks the only place people told us about was the St. Paul Rodeo. As you drive through St. Paul they advertise that they are "The Home of the 4th of July." This year we decided that was the place to be and we got tickets to attend with the Larsons. It truly was a grand event!! This little town of 400 people host the 15th biggest rodeo in the country out of 700 rodeos. They put it on for 5 nights and each night there is a crowd of 10,500 and each night is sold out. We got there early, had great parking, walked around the carnival, and even had a picnic on the lawn before the show started. The rodeo was a little long, going on for almost 3.5 hrs but it was still fun. We had one scary moment when a bucking bronco stumbled and went end over end right on top of it's rider. We thought for sure the rider was going to be seriously injured but he got up and walked away. It was unbelievable! We enjoyed wearing our badges and being stopped by other members of the church as we wandered around. The fireworks were good (but not as good as Utah) and I have never seen so many cowboy hats in one place!

It was hard to believe that we still had another day in the office after this very busy week but we still had Friday. It was Sister Larson's birthday so we decorated the office for her and Sister Bready made cupcakes. Later in day President Phillips took us all out to dinner to celebrate her birthday and to visit with Sister Imlay and her parents who were visiting the mission. Sister Imlay went home in January and it was fun to see her.

They came and took away a batch of cars (11 cars) on Friday so Elder Rowan was glad to be done with car exchanges for now. It is rumored we will get more cars in July but we haven't heard from any dealerships yet. All week as we drove by the hydrangeas blooming on the church grounds I wanted to take a picture and was finally able to snap one. Another flower here in Oregon that we love!

I was able to stay home on Saturday to rest and recharge but Elder Rowan went with Elder Larson and some other Elders to clean out an apartment to get it ready for a new Senior MLS couple. No rest today for him either because we had church, then Break the Fast with the other Sr missionaries, and then District Council. Two more months he reminds me :). We invited the Burgoynes, the Senior MLS couple in the Gates Branch, to join us for our Break the Fast dinner. It was fun to get better acquainted with them and learn more about what they are doing in their area.