Our First Transfer

Last weekend was the Camarillo Stake Conference.  We attended the Saturday night adult session and it was one of the best ones we have attended.  It was well attended.  As it turns out the theme was on missionary work.  The Stake Presidency asked President and Sister Castro to attend and to speak.  There are also 34 missionaries who are serving in the Camarillo Stake and we were all there.  They had asked 3 converts to tell their story and it was wonderful.  One Hispanic sister joined the church about 11 years ago and has 3 children and they are all serving missions at the present time.  She mentioned that it was very hard converting to the Church – and changing her friends, but it has been a blessing in her life.  She said that she tries to support her children as much as she can by herself, but is appreciative of the help that the Stake has provided.  Her testimony was so touching and we really felt the Spirit.  Then the other two converts told their stories and the commonality between them all was how hard it was in the beginning, but their hard work has paid off.  President Castro told his story of conversion and how his friends in Ecuador had tried for 2 years to get him to join and he wouldn’t.  When it became close to his birthday, they gave him a wrapped up book in beautiful wrapping paper and he was so embarrassed to unwrap it – because that wasn’t the “boy” thing to do, so he hid it behind his back and unwrapped it when he was alone.  It was a Book of Mormon.  It was many months later that he read the book and eventually was converted and baptized.  His point was to never give up on anyone and don’t get discouraged when it takes a long time.  It was a great meeting.

Transfers were this week.  It starts on Monday morning when the new missionaries are picked up at the Santa Barbara airport.  10 came from the MTC in Mexico, 18 came from the Provo MTC and one was driven here by his parents.  We had 29 new missionaries.  They spend Monday in training and interviews with President Castro at the Ventura Stake Center and then they are picked up by members in that Stake and they stay the night with them.  Then we took 2 “visa waiters” (these are people who are waiting for VISAS to other countries and so they were serving in our mission for 4 months until their visas came) to the Los Angeles airport on Monday at 4:00 to catch their flight to Australia.  Here they are checking their luggage in at the airport:

 Here are Elder Jamison and Elder Castro who have been in our mission for 4 months waiting for the visas to Australia.  They are now in Australia after about a 22 hour flight.

 

We arrived home at 10:00 p.m. and had to get up at 5:00 to be to the Ventura Stake Center on Tuesday morning by 7:00 a.m.  We stopped by our office at the Oxnard Church building to pick up the many, many packages that came in for the new missionaries, and the packages we haven’t mailed in the last few days to those who were transferring to new districts.  So we loaded the van and I drove the van, Sister Truman took her car, and Elders Ruse and Truman took the truck because they had to pick up bikes in storage for those elders who were going into a bike district.

Then at 7:30 we started the new missionary orientation, and welcomed the new missionaries.  We do this in the primary room.  I gathered their licenses and passports, and make copies of all of those and returned their licenses to them.  Then I told them about the mail and how everything has to be sent to the mission office first class or priority mail.  If they don’t do that, then the package has to wait in the office for zone leaders to take it back to their areas.  And then I talked about phones.

It was just like MBA orientation.  They didn’t smile at all!  I know exactly how they feel, because that is how we felt a month ago.

Then at 10:30, they go into the “transfer meeting” in the chapel.  This is where they are told who will be their companion.  This is also where those who are being sent to another area of the mission will find out where they are going and who will be their companion.  Then the 7 leaving missionaries bore their testimonies and President and Sister Castro spoke.  It really was an incredible experience to have.  The entire chapel was filled to the brim with missionaries who were involved in the changes.

Elder Ruse, Elder Truman and myself had to go to the cultural hall when it was done and I gave the new areas a new phone, Elder Truman gave them keys to their apartments and Elder Ruse gave them keys to their new car.  As soon as I gave out my last phone, I went out to the parking lot to see if I could help Sister Truman with handing out the packages that we have been collecting – and gratefully, they all were picked up.

It was a very tiring day and we returned to the office about 2:00 and the phones starting ringing!  A set of sisters called and said that their new car’s engine was racing – so Elder Ruse called the chevy dealer to see if anyone could look at it – they drove it back to the dealer and found out that they were driving it in first gear.  Then a set of missionaries didn’t have a key for the gate around their apartment – and Elder Truman had to help them with that.  And then a set of  missionaries were in an accident – and we are grateful that no one was hurt – but the car isn’t drivable, so they had to come and get another car at the office.  WHAT A Day!

Elder Ruse and Elder Truman had to leave at 5:30 this morning to take the 7 missionaries who are going home to the airport.  It takes the truck and the van to get them and their luggage to the airport.  They spend last night in members homes in Ventura.

It really is a very busy time.