Change week

This past week was a very busy week. It was change week. Every six weeks we receive new missionaries and a group goes home the same time. I think this is pretty standard in all the missions church wide. For example Karen and I entered the MTC August 4th. In the computer it says our release date is July 4th, but actually it will be June 30, 2010 as that is the change date at that time. The missionaries come in to the office that are going home on Monday. This past week we had 16 going home. The president interviews them during that day. There is luggage everywhere. They have a meeting where they are instructed about the Perpetual Education Fund. On the 3rd floor of our building is the church employment office. They are taken down there and the Latins are instructed in going about finding a job etc. All of the missionaries going home come to me and settle up their finances. If they have any excess funds they are to turn them back to the church. They give me their JP Morgan bank card. On Tuesday at 8:30 they all go to the temple with president and sister Elmer. At noon they eat lunch together at the home of the President. In the evening we all go to the Magdalena Stake Center. The missionaries going home sit on the stand and they bare their testimonies and the chapel is full of members coming to tell them good-bye. Then that night usually around midnight they fly out to their various homes. Then Wednesday morning the MTC here in Lima brings by bus the new missionaries. This time we had 28 new missionaries. We keep getting more and more missionaries. Right now we are up to 213. Rumor has it that next July when President Elmer goes home that our mission will be divided. Who knows which mission Karen and I will end up in. The new missionaries are instructed all morning about the rules of the mission and the president instructs them using the Book of Mormon and how important it is. I usually have about 20 minutes to talk about finances, how much they will receive to live on etc. At noon we go to the presidents home to eat dinner. At 4:30 we go to the Magdalena Stake Center where the new missionaries sit up on the stand and the other missionaries fill the chapel. Then the president introduces the new missionaries and says something about them and where they are from. It never ceases to amaze me how well the president does in remembering each elder and sisters name. Then the president announces each new companionship. The new missionaries will go down and sit with their new companion after giving each other a big hug. It is a very fun experience. The pictures above are of sister Broadhead that is going home. Her family came down to pick her up. The other is of Elder Rojas that was an assistant to the president. The other is of Elder Worsham, assistant to the president. He was in the office when we came. He is 6' 7".