Fresh on the Mission; Back to the Beginning

Elder Corbett came and joined us officially today!  We have seen him from time to time as he has been doing his training here around the MTC, but now his smile is here with us to stay!  With our numbers being low, we have been very anxious to get new missionaries.  So, we are also full of smiles here to have a new missionary!  I am blessed to be his first companion while he is serving here with us.  I feel I am always lifted by the enthusiasm and dedication which new missionaries have, and Elder Corbett certainly has both enthusiasm and dedication for the service he is giving here.

While he has been serving here, it has made me think of my own first day here in the MTC.  It took me a while to find some pictures, as I had originally deleted them, but I was able to bring them back!  I am not sure I have a lot to say about them, they really speak for themselves!

Following the Wake of Giants

Not only is our service as missionaries something which is relatively new for the church, it is also something which has included a new type of missionary.  Currently, all of us have different medical things which have kept us from serving a walking mission.  Not only do I have my own story of how I got here, but every missionary who serves here is a wonderful example of perseverance, faith, and patience on the Lord and His blessings.  This being the case, I do believe our mission fluctuates in many ways that most other missions do not.  I know currently we have half of the number of missionaries with us compared to what we had at this time last year, and four more of us will be leaving before the end of Summer.  Seeing as there are only seven of us here currently, we have felt a great impact when each missionary has left.  The latest two who have left us were Elder Howden and Elder Moxley.  As I have been thinking about them, and the support they have been I had thought it might be nice for me to share some experiences I have had while serving with them.

Both of these missionaries were serving missions elsewhere, and then because of different things were reassigned to our mission.  I believe Elder Howden and Elder Moxley tell their stories better than I could, so I wanted to give my perspective on some other things.