In with the new...

November 3rd, and some of the missionaries in the MTC are up long before the crack of dawn, eager to move forward in their missionary life. This is the big day that they graduate from the Missionary Training Center, and head on up I-15 North to the actual mission! They've studied and studied and studied some more, until they think their brains will explode. Now it's their turn to put all that knowledge into practical application. By 8:00 a.m. they are getting off the bus in the parking lot of the Mission Office. Welcome to the Utah, Salt Lake City Mission: the best mission in the world!

Who are these new missionaries, and where did they come from? First of all, we have Elder Samuel Lindquist, an ice hockey player from Orebro, Sweden, with his trainer, Elder Keim.

Wait, that sounds wrong. Elder Keim is training him to be a missionary, not training him to play ice hockey, although it won't be long until I'm sure he'll be training him in the finer skills of the game of USLC-mission-touch-football-during-lunch-in-the-gym! It's an interesting game, with slight similarities to regular American touch football, but played in street shoes, white shirts and ties, and with all the enthusiasm that you'd find on any NFL field!

Next is Elder Aldo Menendez, a former cub scout leader from Las Vegas, Nevada. He will be teaching in our Spanish areas. He is being trained by Elder Morris.

Welcome to Elder Zachary Larson, a high school football player from Six Mile, South Caroline. We wonder if his Spanish will have a sweet southern drawl! Elder Hoffman will train him.

Hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, Sister Kirstine Larsen-with-an-E got a jump start on all of the other new missionaries. Well, sort of. She arrived two weeks before everyone else, but we just threw her into the deep end of the pool and hollered, "Swim!" Joining the others at the mission office this fine November morning, she will finally get some orientation and training along with the rest of the gang. She hardly needs it by now, though. She's already doing great!




Elder Jorge Grau Garcia is here from Cartagema, Colombia to serve a Spanish speaking mission. He loves to cook and his lucky companion and trainer is Elder Thomas.



Another of our new Spanish speaking missionaries is Elder Israel Gomez Aragon, from Cadiz, Spain. He likes to draw and has already completed a two year degree at the Art Academy of Cadiz. Elder Coulston is technically his trainer, but with all these native Spanish speaking missionaries, sometimes I wonder just who is going to do the training!

Elder Adam Stant is here from Hampton, Virginia, to bring up the mission average on any P-Day that the Elders decide to go bowling. He is an avid bowler who also loves to play ultimate Frisbee. Soon, he will also say he loves to tract.

Sister Jamie Long, coming to us from Essex, Vermont, spent a good deal of time mentoring disadvantaged children before she began her mission. Being here on a mission is really turning the tables for her! Just over a year ago, in 2009, she met the missionaries and was taught the gospel and baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We all love to just sit around and listen to Sister Claire McDonnell tell us about her home in Worcester, England, where she was studying psychology. Her accent is so fun to listen to, we think it would be a good idea to just stand her on a street corner, and when people stopped to listen to her speak, we could grab them from behind and throw them into the baptismal font. (I'm just kidding! First, we'd teach them, THEN we'd throw them in the baptismal font.)

Elder Shawn Wilkinson is from McMinville, Tennessee. He likes to camp. That could be good. Sometimes, missionary apartment living conditions are sort of like camping...

From The Dalles, Oregon, Elder Seth Reiter is full of talents. He can fix your computer or fix your car. He can run a backhoe unless he's out wake boarding. We will see if we can help him add bringing souls unto Christ to his list of talents.

Elder Alex Yancey, from Mechanicsville, Iowa, played basketball and baseball in high school. He also says that he likes to find solutions to problems. This is the place for him!

Another Canadian has ventured south to join us. Elder Payden Mendenhall has come from Raymond, Alberta, Canada and will set aside his guitar for two years to serve the Lord.

I keep trying to tell the Tongans that there is no need for them to come to Salt Lake City. I would be more than happy to travel to Tonga, make the sacrifice, and be the mission president's wife over there! None the less, they keep coming. And since we are here, and we do like them, we let them come. At least now when our mission is over, I will have an excuse to go to Tonga and visit my missionaries who have gone back home! Elder Soane Ramsay is here from Holonga, Tonga to be a part of our mission.

One of the local boys from Ephraim, Utah, has been sent to our mission to help us with the local folklore and customs. We are delighted to have Elder Ephriam Burrell in our midst. Another musician, he loves to sing! We'll certainly put that talent to good use.

Last, but not least, as these pictures are very random and in no particular order, is Elder Brian Purcell from Hilliard, Ohio. Elder Purcell likes to play rugby and wants to go into sports medicine for a career. If he continues to play rugby, I think that may be a very useful occupation for him!

After we were all introduced, and pictures taken, we had all the missionaries sit down and write home to their parents.

Dear mom and dad,

I'm safely here, but I really have no idea what to expect next....

We feed them breakfast, then take them all down to Temple Square to see the Visitors Center there. They meet their trainers, and have lunch together, and we send them out to do some street contacting. Welcome to the life of a missionary!

Welcome to the Utah Salt Lake City Mission.

We're so glad you're here!

If you want to see all the pictures from this day, go here:

Nov 3 New Missionaries