Splits Blitz!

After talking to some of our returned sister missionaries one day, I approached the President with a proposal. A splits blitz. I think that you should all be impressed with my knowledge of football. At a football game, a blitz is when all the guys on the blue team run after the quarterback of the white team and try to get the ball before he can do anything with it. I think. So pretty much everyone helps out. Which I thought was a really cool idea, and besides, what else rhymes with splits so well?? So my proposal was to invite all of our returned missionaries to come back to the mission for a night and split up with the current missionaries. That way, we could get twice as much work done on that particular night. Ingenious, yes? Then, when all the current missionaries went in for the night at their 9:30 curfew, the returned missionaries, who no longer have a curfew, could come over to the mission home and hang out for a while and visit with us. It seemed like such a marvelous idea that the President quickly agreed. I immediately posted an invitation for Friday, November 4th, on Facebook.....at which point in time, all of the current and returned Assistants to the President, who know me and worry about my stellar ideas, my habit of acting now and repenting later, my affinity for social gatherings and the fact that I don't always run things by el presidente, called up or texted Bruce to make sure that he did, indeed, know about my shenanigans. I was slightly offended, but I suppose I deserve it. Anyway, we had our first Splits Blitz, and it was fabulously fun! We had 13 returned missionaries attend, they loved going back out to do missionary work again, and everyone stayed at our house to chat and eat until about 1:00 a.m. - which is way past our bedtime! I do believe we shall have to do it again! Thanks so much to everyone who came!! Our favorite participant was Elaine Kahler, who was never a missionary in our mission, but a dear friend of mine back in Hockessin, Delaware! Elaine saw the invitation and signed right up! Since she didn't happen to be in Salt Lake that night, she is choosing option #2, which is to feed a set of poor starving Elders who happen to live in a neighborhood near her. They will love her for it, and I appreciated her spirit of volunteering! Option #2 (notice all the football jargon and be impressed!) is available for all takers out there! Just leave me a message, and I will happily arrange for some missionaries to dine with you soon, thus making you a part of our Splits Blitz, too!

Elder Purcell and Elder Green discuss play options before the game begins.

For this particular event, we reached way back into history and brought Laura Cooper out of retirement. Back in the day, when the Newark YSA Branch was first created, Laura was our very first missionary to leave from the branch! What an honor it was to have Laura and Gordon come to the splits blitz, and how fun to catch up with them!

Elder Purcell's trainer, Elder Ferrell, showed up.

Elder Mendenhall's trainer, Elder Heinzen, showed up.

Elder Dahl, Elder Ferrell, Sister Taylor, Sister Ahern, Sister Winn, Sister Bliss, Sister Cooper, Sister Bates, Sister Taylor's friend and I feel really bad, but I cannot remember her name, President Winn, Elder Jackson, Elder Cooper and Elder Heinzen

And the next morning, it snowed.