November 2016--Departing and Incoming

 November 14 and 15--We had 14 departing missionaries. They began their Monday at the San Pablo Stake Center with a light breakfast and then were taught the Career Workshop.  That evening they came to the Mission Home for a nice dinner and a Family Home Evening. We watched a fun good-bye DVD, shared spiritual memorable experiences, and testimonies. It was a great evening. It’s always a sweet experience to be together and think about their growth over the 18-24 months.                         

November 16 & 17--We had an exciting morning as the missionaries got off the bus at the wrong location. President Mangum always tells the travel leader to call when they get to Santo Tomas so we know that they are about 20 minutes away and we can walk down to the street to wait for them. The office staff and President Mangum and I were waiting and wondering what was taking so long. Finally President called to check and found out that they thought they were supposed to get off in Santo Tomas so all of the missionaries got off the bus with all of their luggage and while we were waiting in Alaminos for them they were in Santo Tomas waiting for us. After finding out that they were at the wrong stop they boarded two Jeepneys and headed our direction. By the time they arrived we were about an hour behind schedule and they were all tired and hungry but in good spirits. We sat down to breakfast and counted and there were only 20 missionaries and we were told there were 21 coming. We then found out that one had not come because of medical reasons. President had to decide which of his trainers would not be training.

            It was an eventful start to the day but it ended well. We were able to get the orientation, interviews, and all of the training done. On Thursday morning President Mangum and I met with them after breakfast. They each introduced themselves, told why they were serving a mission, and bore their testimonies. They each had strong testimonies and we felt like they were one of our strongest groups ever. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve with them.

            After that meeting we walked to the Alaminos Chapel where they met their first companions and had some more training, ate lunch and headed to their new areas.