Out With the Old and In With the New

Today was a very sweet day! We got to go to our first transfer meeting. It was so neat! Last evening we met the six new incoming missionaries to our mission – three sisters and three elders – at the mission home, where we all had dinner, and they had some paperwork to fill out. Today, they received training prior to transfer meeting. Then at 10 o’clock the chapel was filled with the elders and sisters who were either being transferred or were the new companions of those being transferred. President Castro explained that this is a revelatory process, and that he spends a lot of time in studying areas, situations, etc., and in fasting and prayer as these decisions are made. He told us what a sweet experience it was for him when he interviewed each of the new missionaries and had it confirmed that the trainers they were assigned to were the exact ones the Lord wanted them to have. Love President Castro! And Sister Castro! They are exceptional servants of our Heavenly Father.

I learned, by error, that in the future whenever I attend a meeting where President and Sister Castro are speaking, I must have pen and paper, because I surely wish I’d had them today. They spoke both at transfer meeting, and then again this evening at the mission home for the farewell meeting for those who are returning home tomorrow. Their messages were so good, and the Spirit and Love felt and shared was abundant and sweet. Each of those who are leaving their missions tomorrow bore testimony. It was just a great day!

President had some great advice for those returning home, things to help them remain strong and to go on with life now. He commented that if in five years they are still saying that their mission years were the best in their life, then that would not be a good thing – that the best years should always be the most recent ones. We must progress and be happy always.

Elder Blue is picking up Elder Mecham tomorrow morning at 4:30 or so, and they are then picking up two sisters and one elder to take them LAX. Then the APs will take the other four a little later. Sister Tuipulotu (affectionately called Sister "T"), who is returning to Tonga, doesn’t fly out until after 9 p.m., but Sister Hatch leaves around 10 a.m.