How do I love thee...

33 years ago, on Valentine's Day, we were married.

How do I love thee...

....enough to get up at 5am and go to the airport

to say goodbye to Elder Christian Calderón.

and then spend 3 hours at the downtown market

followed by 3 hours of missionary interviews
(of course handing out chocolates and valentine stickers)

and an evening of missionary phone calls.

How do I love thee...

more each day

through every experience on our journey

to eternity.

We have finished interviews with 4 zones
San Fernando, Villa Colombia, Calima, and Palmira

In Palmira we went to the zone leaders house to interview

Elders Jensen and Galeano.

Elder Galeano arrived with our 25 new missionaries and 2 days into his

mission he ended up in the hospital for 5 days.

He is now having a nurse visit 4 times a day at their apartment to give injections.

After 7 days of this he is hopeful to really get started on his mission.

I love these faithful missionaries. 

Our zone leaders, Elder Coria (pictured here on the right)

and Elder Tauese (out with missionaries)

have been amazing as they have loved and taken care of this great new missionary

Friday we had Zone Leader Counsel.

We now have 9 new zone leaders who are excellent missionaries and love serving the Lord.

Elders Coria, Smuin, Stutz, Alfaro, Rocha

Moscol, Flores, Garcia, and Cachi

A day of training, spiritual feasting, and planning.

These great zone leaders are the future leaders of the kingdom!

24 Zone Leaders + 2 Assistants + 1 President + 1 Sister Prince = one long day well done!
I LOVE being with these missionaries!!

Until we meet again....

2 year ago parents anxiously sent their sons off to the faraway

Colombia Cali Mission

in hopes that they would be taken care of by people they did not know.

This morning I sent off 14 missionary sons to homes faraway

to be taken care of by people I do not know

....but I KNOW they are good people

because they have raised incredible sons!

"and they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all--they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.

Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before Him."  Alma 53:20-21

Each time it gets harder...there was NO training for saying goodbye without crying

...not sure I will ever learn.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN!

3 of these great young men were valiant in their English study program...

Elder Rivas, Elder Bautista, and Elder Garrido

received their certificates for taking the English Proficiency Exam.

Elder Rivas                                                   Elder Garrido

Elder Bautista

The week in review...

40 interviews

206 plates of food prepared

3 trips to and from the airport

110 missionary transfers successfully executed

11 new zone leaders

6 hours of new missionary training given

4 exhausted office Elders

2 incredible assistants

1 lost suitcase....miraculously found

many miracles

innumerable handshakes and hugs

too many tears shed

 

Announcing...25 new missionaries...excelente!!

We feel like lucky parents to have received

25 new missionaries in one day!

All parents are partial to their children, but these missionaries

are EXCELENTE!!!

They come to us from 11 different countries:

Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, El Salvador, Colombia, USA,

Chile, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Uruguay

23 Elders and 2 Sisters

Housing them and training them was exciting, exhausting, and engaging.

We have a lot to learn from these chosen representatives during the next 2 years!

A visit to Cristo Rey to look over their new field of labor...

A baptism at night to teach that in this mission

we work with members to baptize and retain new investigators.

President Prince had the blessing of baptizing one of our investigators that night

....it was a spiritual feast!

A day full of training...our new missionaries might be a little overwhelmed...

 but together with their new trainers...they are happy and ready to go to work!!

Welcome to the best mission in the world!!!



Where do I begin...

Some days BEGIN early...(5 am trips to the airport)

On Friday, Jan 20, 2012 we went to the airport to say goodbye to

Elder Guevara



Elder Guevara was our first Financial Secretary in the office when we arrived. 

 Three of our original office crew have now finished their missions.

Saying goodbye is BEGINNING to get harder and harder!

2 financial secretaries...saying goodbye is hard to do!!

On Saturday we BEGAN the day

learning to make snickerdoodles.

Elders Ramirez, Rázuri, y Zuniga wanted to thank the members

for their work in finding new investigators this week.

 By Sunday we were BEGINNING to see the fruits of

hard work, faith, fasting, relying on the Lord and working hand in hand with the members.

Our incredible missionaries have completed their commitments with an overwhelming

1,375

New Investigators!!!

Now the real work BEGINS...

...as they love, teach, build testimonies, and help these investigators receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. 

I am BEGINNING to feel more Colombian.

On Monday night I had my first Sancocho...

A delicious soup with chicken, yucca, potatoe, plantain, and corn and
of course with plenty of rice on the side.

With the help of the missionaries and a ward member we BEGAN to share the gospel
with our friend Cristina and her family.
 It was also her sons birthday so we did a little Happy Birthday-ing as well.

Elders Hansen and Borg with Brother Loayza

Leonardo, Cristina, Cristina's mom (90) and Janeth

Happy Birthday Leonardo!

Here's hoping that this is the BEGINNING of a whole lot of happy for

this family and our missionaries!

AMAZING!!!

Our missionaries are awesome!

This week they have worked to keep their commitments.

At this moment we have

948

new investigators in the Colombia Cali Mission.

Our goal was 800...and we have 2 more days to go!!

According to Preach My Gospel New Investigators are:

"...individuals who have received a lesson AND accepted a specific return appointment."

At this moment President Prince and I have about 7 new investigators...we are turning them over to our competent missionaries to teach and bring to baptism.

The Lord is at work in His vineyard with His servants...He has prepared these people to receive our missionaries.  The members here have been wonderful. 

The missionaries could not have done it without the support and help of these great saints. 



Committed!

This week has seemed like a month...

We have met with 12 of our 12 zones in 8 days.

Manizales, Pereira, Armenia, Tuluá, Palmira, San Fernando, Popayán, and Villa Colombia, Calima, Pasto, Belén, and Medellín.
Those in the Pasto zone we trained via skype as we couldn't get flights soon enough.
(that has it's own challenges, but it was great to have the technology to do it!)

Playing "who wants to be a millionaire?" with questions from Preach My Gospel was a great diversion from the statistics and data of the mission.

Here are our winners from the zones:

Elder Tellez - Zona Calima, Hermana Careno - Zona Popayán, Elder Sorensen - Zona Palmira, 
Elder Haycock - Zona Belén, Elder Jairo Vasquez - Zona Armenia,
Elder Rivas - Zona Manizales, Hermana Lopez - Zona Tuluá, Elder Juarez - Zona Medellín,
Elder Ocon - Zona Villa Colombia, Elder Diaz - Zona San Fernando,
Hermana Leguizamón - Zona Pereira
(yes, we are missing Zona Pasto...we didn't get to go there, and will save the game for our trip there)

These missionaries KNOW the Preach My Gospel Manual!!

We discussed the difference between a goal and a commitment.

Learning to make REAL commitments and complete them was the theme of the training.

Committing the number of push ups they could do and then having to complete them without letting down their zone was a living example.  We had only a few who with shaking arms, and sweaty hands fell before completing their final one. 

President Prince and the Assistants are sore from the constant exercise!
....but they set the example of keeping their commitments and going the extra mile!

 

We are preparing for a special week called "La Semana de la Siembra".

The missionaries have COMMITTED to find 10 new investigators per area during this week. 

The members are involved with helping them. 

We have COMMITTED to have 800 new investigators in the mission this week.

After days 1 & 2 of this week we have 251 New Investigators.
Pray for our missionaries to find those the Lord has prepared.

Stand by to see if we are able to keep our commitments!

Zone Leader Counsel

It takes a mighty zone leader 

to do the work of 10 missionaries.

But it takes an even mightier zone leader to get

10 missionaries to do their work!

We have great leaders in our mission.

They are learning about leadership.

They are learning about dealing with challenges and personalities.

They are learning to be more humble.

They are learning how to do hard things even when it isn't fun!

Their warm hand shakes, smiles, and kindness

make every cookie I bake worthwhile.

They simply know how to make me smile.

Zone Leader Counsel
January 2012

And of these 24 leaders, 9 will be finishing their missions

before our next zone counsel.

Well done...thou good and faithful leaders!

Elders Galindo, Diaz, Rivas, Cary, Cachari, Zuniga, Vasquez

Fiestas, y Calderón with Hermana y Presidente Prince

AND
we could not train these leaders without the help of

"The Office"

Hermana y Elder Torgerson
Elders Belnap, Rázuri, Ramirez, Alfaro, Vera, y Jamett
y MARIA!!! 
(every office needs a Maria - just ask the missionaries!!)