Arrivals Day

We did some work in the mission office and then went to lunch with the other senior missionaries.  They are a good group of committed and very capable members.  Sister Tolleeton is completing her service as the mission secretary.  She has served for 34 months.  She has done a great job and has provided great service to the missionaries.

We did some additional work in the office and then drove to the mission home (for the last time) to meet the incoming missionaries.  Seven were supposed to arrive, but only six were on the plane.  A Sister Missionary was arriving from the Mexico City MTC.  It took her over two hours to clear immigration and customs at the Atlanta airport, and she missed her flight to Tampa.  She finally arrived, and the APs returned to the airport to get her.  So it took awhile, but all of the missionaries arrived.

Busy Departing Missionary Day

This was a departing missionary day at the beginning of transfers.  We have the routine down by now, but today was busier than normal.  I started the day by loading my car with four boxes of clothing and other items that we will be shipping home on the moving van with the Cusick's' household goods.  Then I added some items we are giving to other senior missionaries, our tv, beach towels, and so forth.  The back of my car was stuffed.

We then met the Elders for one last lunch at Blaze Pizza.  We drove to the mission office, partially unloaded, then drove to the mission home and finished unloading.  The dinner with the departing missionaries was bitter sweet as always.  We had some interaction with all of the missionaries in this group and had worked closely with several of them.  It was a good group of missionaries.

Speaking :Day

We first attended the University Park Ward Sacrament Meeting.  One of the assigned speakers was not there, so the young women who attended Girls' Camp last week were asked to share their experiences.  Then we were asked to share our testimonies as the bishop knows we're are leaving.

We then attended the Sarasota Ward Sacrament Metting where we were the assigned speakers.  Renee spoke on fathers using the hymn "O My Father."  I spoke on home teaching and visiting teaching. None of the wards in the Sarasota Stake, or the mission for that matter, are very good at home and visiting teaching.

We then returned home and continued sorting and packing.

Two Baptisms

We did some more sorting in the morning and then attended two baptisms.  The first was in the Palmetto Ward.  This was a convert baptism combined with an eight-year old baptism.  The Elders and the sister to be baptized were there on time.  However, the family with the eight-year old were late.  I of course was stressing because we had to leave immediately following the baptism to get to the next service.  The Sister who was baptized was a bit nervous before the service, but she was pleased and excited following the baptism.  She said to Renee that now she has a family.

Fortunately it ended with just enough time to drive to Sarasota for a baptism in the Beneva Branch.  We arrived on time, but the people involved with that service were even more delayed than the first service.  So I was stressing for nothing.  Although it started way late, the service was fine.  The brother who was baptized seemed excited, though I couldn't talk with him because he only speaks Spanish.

Sorting and Packing

I don't know how the missionaries pack up and move with one day's notice.  We are still working on packing everything, and I'm sure we will be rushed to finish in another week.  Of course, the missionaries probably haven't accumulated as much stuff as we have, and we brought more with us to begin with.

Renee spent the entire day in the apartment sorting and working on the mission history.  I left twice -- once to get the oil changed in our car to prepare for the return trip and once to get some dinner.  Renee ate leftovers from our dinner yesterday.

More Inspections

We finished up the last of our apartment inspections today.  One of the sets of missionaries was driving out of their apartment complex as we arrived, so they returned and visited with us for a few minutes.  We will miss the interaction with the missionaries.

We are happy that the apartments are generally clean and tidy.  I hope the missionaries continue to maintain their apartments that way.

Apartment Inspections and an Interview

We drove to St. Petersburg to conduct four apartment inspections.  Interestingly, our timing was such that three sets of missionaries were in their apartments when we arrived for the inspection.  That provide us with the opportunity to visit with them.  They all enjoyed the mission activity on Monday, which is not a surprise.  Fortunately, everyone returned safely from the activity.

Renee was interested in seeing touristy area in Madeira Beach City called the John's Pass Boardwalk.  John's Pass is a waterway between two of the offshore islands.  The boardwalk and surrounding area has a lot of shops and restaurants.  It was too hot to walk around, so we just drove through the area.

We did find an ice cream shop, Larry's, that Elder and Sister Smith recommended to us.  It was a good recommendation as the ice cream was excellent.

After finishing the apartment inspections, we drove to the St. Petersburg Stake Center where I had a special considerations interview.  I have done a few more of these since Pres. Healey departed since I am now the only counselor.  I wonder what the new mission president will do for counselors.