Another one of those bittersweet moments as we approach the end of our mission. This activity was the last thing we did as the senior missionary district leaders. We introduced Cummings as our replacements at our district meeting on Friday. It was very nice though to gather with them one more time before we leave the ABM--and our days together were perfect.
Thursday night, we met at the hotel and had Chinese food at the place near the hotel and then headed back to play games. Cooks arrived in time to join us (they come from Rolla--3 1/2 hours away) and then the Calls also joined us who live nearby.
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| We have probably stayed in this hotel more different times than any other our entire lives (not more days since moving to Hong Kong and back required longer stays--but the most separate trips.) |
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| A fitting fortune for me... |
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| The Cummings--brought a map of the mission so the couples could show where they live. It was a fun addition and a good visual for the other couples. |
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| The Cooks--our sweet friends serving in Rolla They head home in October so she is feeling the feelings like me as they shared their departing testimonies. |
Then we headed next door to the Bentonville Temple to enjoy a temple session together.
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| Bennetts, Cummings, Cooks, Bairds, us, Griffins, Calls |
Of course, we had to head to Smokin Joes Ribhouse for lunch. The Cooks had invited a set of sisters serving in the local area to join us...then they asked if the zone leaders could join us...and then we ended up with eight missionaries having lunch with us. We sat across for a couple we didn't know, so it was fun to talk to them and share their experiences on their mission. The office couples also joined us so we had 27 people there.
Some of the best people ever......
A new display.....not sure about it, but it was fun to look at the pieces of wood and art assembled on this wall
Even Sponge Bob was there.....
The first time the lines were too long so we enjoyed seeing this visual display with no waiting this time......mirrors and lights.
A stop with the Cooks....
Several of us went to a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright home that is on the property. It was built in the 1950s in South Carolina but they moved it here and restored it as much as possible. This was one of his "middle Class" homes and it was very interesting to hear and learn about his style and use of lines, woods, and windows.
Game Playing,,,,
Watching the Mission-wide Zoom meeting...
We got to hear Elder Smythe's and Elder Shield's second departing testimonies as they spoke at the one at the end of the last transfer as well.
Saturday morning, we had a 7:00 am appointment for sealings with some of the other missionaries. That was a sweet experience as well even though I was so tired. We didn't even eat before we went. We got to take part in sealing a family of 11 children to their parents. That was a highlight for sure.
Then some of the missionaries headed home including us...but three couples went on our post-gathering trip to the George Washington Carver National Park. It was story telling day there on top of the amazing exhibits. We heard later that they all had a wonderful time and were so glad that they had gone. We hope to stop on the way home as it is located in Missouri somewhat on the way home. But they won't be having the story tellers which was a highlight from the reports.
After lunch, we headed to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. We have been there twice but things change and it is always fun to share things with people you love.
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| E. Cummings, Bennetts, Sister Cummings, Griffins, and Cooks Us in the background with Jena on a rock for some height. |
We then headed to the Rogers Stake Center for a potluck dinner and a game of elders against sisters in Blast from the Past--A church history version of Chronology. We had a plan for a simple dinner and a night of game playing BUT.....we found out that there was a baptism for a young adult in the same building that night so we all headed to that at 6:30 pm after a quick dinner and then President Hathaway send a message about a special mission wide zoom meeting at 9:00 pm so we hooked up to a TV and watched that all together. And actually, even though we didn't get much time for game playing, it was a sweet and perfect way to spend time with other senior couples serving YSAs....
We had planned to go, but our stake conference had gotten changed from the prior weekend to this weekend and we needed to be back in Ft. Smith for 3:00 pm meetings.
I took this picture of our "packed" car at the hotel. Gary was pointing out how much stuff was in our car for a two day overnight trip---how in the world can we get everything home? I have no idea!
It was a great time together and one of the memories from our mission that I will cherish. The people...not the packed car. :)
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