Departing Missionaries

     I posted about the typhoon and our first new arriving batch but I neglected to mention the first batch of departing missionaries. They arrived at the mission home late afternoon on Sunday, July 13. There were only six of them. We had a nice dinner, visit, and Bart interviewed the missionaries. They stayed at a hotel that night and came early the next morning for breakfast before going to some training (ERC/Employment Resource Center) at the stake center. Monday evening they returned for dinner, family home evening, and a testimony meeting. It was a very nice experience and I wondered how difficult it will be when we actually know the missionaries. After another night at the hotel we ate breakfast together, took some photos, and walked them down to catch the bus. It was during the middle of the night that they left that the typhoon hit. A couple of the missionaries had their flights postponed for 5 days!

Departing Missionaries on July 15, 2014

     The weeks went by and all of a sudden it was transfer week once again! The second batch of departing missionaries arrived on Sunday, August 24. There were eleven departing missionaries this time. Eight were Filipinos and three were foreigners. We had an enjoyable time with this group as we ate together, visited, and they had their interviews with President Mangum. It was nice that we had visited with all of them previously and gotten to know them a little. We really enjoyed the Family Home Evening. It's great to hear them share experiences and especially their testimonies. On Tuesday morning, August 26 we had one of the sister's and two elders' parents and families pick them up. It was fun to meet and visit with them. We walked the missionaries down to the road to catch the bus and after waiting for over an hour decided that they needed to be driven to Manila. Apparently there had been a holiday on Monday and the previous Friday so the buses were full. The Assistants and Office Elders loaded them up and had an adventure driving them to Manila.

Departing Missionaries on August 26, 2014