Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Mission Christmas Party

We had our mission Christmas party today at Fort DeSoto Park.  This is a nice state park on a barrier island.  It has a nice beach and some large pavilions.  We can't fit all of the missionaries under one pavilion, so we hope for no rain.  The only downside was the insects!  Proof that there are over 500 varieties of insects in Florida.  Several of the missionaries, including Renee, got many bites!  These are not your typical mosquito bites as some sting, and the itching goes on for days!

We went a bit early so I could try taking pictures of some of the many birds on the island.  We went to a fishing pier where we had gone before.  There weren't as many birds as the last time, but there were some.  I am finding it more difficult to take pictures of flying birds than I had anticipated.  Here is my best attempt.

A brown pelican looking for lunch.

I am better at bird portraits when the birds aren't moving.

A snowy egret

We finished my photo endeavors in time for the beginning of the party.  President Cusick spoke a bit about the need for the missionaries to have faith as did Nephi.  We took a picture of all of the missionaries, and then held an ugly sweater contest.  Following that, the missionaries played football and soccer on the beach and worked on sand sculptures by zones.


The FTM Missionaries

The Ugly Sweater Contest winners, Elder Bishop, Sister Packer, and Elder Ohlau.

These are the sand sculptures


The Nativity sculpted by Renee and Sis. Healey


The winning sand sculpture - SL Temple Square
 





The missionaries returning from the beach to eat dinner - Army of Helaman


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