Finally, Fully Fall!

          All of the photos above were taken on the way home from church today, Nov. 3, 2013.  We have enjoyed the brilliant colors this week.  Elder Jones took a trip with 2 young Elders to a small town near Cape May, MD and enjoyed a colorful scene of tree-lined highway all the way there and back.  He even commented on how gorgeous it was.  I have seen colors of fall that I did not even know existed in foliage.  We are happy to be enjoying such beauty.
          We have had a very busy week.  On Monday evening we had a dinner to honor the outgoing missionaries.  We had 10 elders and 1 sister.  They all flew home early the next morning.  Then on Tuesday we had the transfers of all those involved, so there were about 150 missionaries at the office to get this all accomplished.  2 new areas were opened for proselyting so that was good.  The missionaries who were paired up left, except for the 21 who would be getting "goldens" the next day.  They stayed with various missionaries close by.  Then training began for those who would receive "goldens" and that had to be cut short so we could leave and pick up the incoming missionaries at the airport.  We all went, returning with precious new missionaries to the mission home where various paperwork, interviews and orienting occurred.  Elder Jones had to interview each one to see if they would be able to drive a car.  I mostly helped in the kitchen.  Then Elder and Sister Jones took off to pick up one last missionary at the airport who had flown in from the Mexico City MTC.  We got a good visit with him.  The thing that all of these missionaries shared was hunger, sleepiness, and happiness to actually finally be on their mission.  They especially enjoyed a regular home-cooked meal at the mission home.  They all spent the night there, then came to the mission office the next morning to be assigned to a companion and an area.  It is an exciting time.  Elder Jones once again presented his Power-Point on Managing Stress as a missionary.  We absolutely know that the Lord is over this work!  He has to be in order for it all to somehow work.  We love seeing the growth of the ones returning home compared to the ones just coming into the field, but the "goldens" are so enthusiastic that it is also good to see.  In the 21 new ones we received were also 4 "Visa Blessings" who are awaiting their Visas to go to Brazil.  This transfer and the in and outgoing missionaries means that all of the phones and cars get moved to new missionaries (they stay with the apartment normally).  That plus the fact that Elder Jones had 9 new cars to be assigned made an interesting situation for each of us.  We have appreciated the Lord's help in handling these situations.  We each had some mind boggling computer issues to conquer.  We are growing in our appreciation of just what it takes to manage a mission.