MLC Review

I think I defined this before but MLC Review is a Monday morning meeting once a month when the entire zone meets together and receives training and testimonies from the zone leaders(ZL) and the sister training leaders (STL).  MLC means mission leader council which is led once a month with the leadership from all 10 zones in the mission.  Then they come back and teach us.  These meetings are awesome, even if much of it is directed at the actual tasks the young missionaries need to do.  We benefit from the spirit that is there and from their testimonies.

It has become our tradition to bring donuts and drinks for this meeting since the whole zone is together.  This time we got them at a special place to surprise Elder Smythe who LOVES maple bacon bars.  Gary had googled it and found the only place nearby that served them.

This is NOT what I thought they would look like.  I was thinking bacon bits mixed into the maple glaze on the bar.  Elder Smythe was delighted.  (He said he has seem them both ways and likes them either way.)  They were popular with the other missionaries as well!  And these were definitely high quality donuts.  The plain maple bars were perfect!!

Elder Kutchinsky jumped up to lead the music while Sister Madden played.  Awesome to sing hymns with them especially Christmas hymns.  Great start to our meeting...

Tried to get a photo of the group but couldn't get both ends in the same photo while staying in my seat...so one with Sister Ohki and then one with Elder Simmons on the other end....this time we also had President and Sister Beutler at our zone meeting but I neglected to get a picture of them!  He serves as a counselor in the mission presidency.

This meeting we missed the middle part because it was also zoom interviews with the mission president.  Each transfer he has a 15 minute interview with each missionary which alternates between being on zoom and in person.  It is a huge commitment of time for the mission leaders with 200+ missionaries, but important and worth it for everyone.

About half way through our interview which also included Jena, she said, "When are we going to talk about me?"  We had gotten caught up in talking about our specific assignments and our zone that we hadn't let President talk to her.  I was actually proud of her that she spoke up.  She loves President and Sister Collins and understands that they have an important role here with her and all of the missionaries.  She is a smart one! :)

We then had lunch with the missionaries which is always fun.  We then took the Mena elders back to their car in Waldron which is about 60 miles south.  We were planning to do some grave sites, but Jena left her phone at the Church, my phone didn't get charged the night before due to "human error," and Gary forgot to make sure his phone was charged as well.  We took it as a sign and headed home and took care of some things there.  Productive day.

Christmas Is Coming

one more time without our traditional Christmas trees, stockings, nativities, Christmas parties, and the other things that have served as the backdrop for our holidays of the past. The great news is that the things that really matter "travel" with us--our testimonies of Jesus Christ, our love of family and friends, including our new friends here in Arkansas, Christmas music, and the scriptures.

But I didn't want to have another Christmas without some decorations and a tree of some sort--so here it is!

Boxes ready to be mailed to family
this week!!

Our tiny tree....

The three ornaments I brought are too big for the tree so are hanging with our stockings from last year.  (Jena definitely didn't want to end up with a grocery sack like our first year in Salt Lake.)

Our sweet grandchildren

Since we have a mantel in our apartment, I decided to get these stocking holders.  We will leave them for the missionaries who follow us in this apartment.

This we added last year and was one of the items I brought to Arkansas with us.

We have started the Christmas season this year with a Christmas Concert at the University on Tuesday night which included a community sing-a-long which was fun.  Then last night, Jena and I went to the Relief Society Christmas party at the Carter's home.

Jena with her cookies and Karinna,
our newest member in the background.

Jena's cookie

I have also started with Christmas cards.  I hope if I mail them early--we can avoid a bunch being mailed to Syracuse and we can enjoy them here instead.  I love Christmas cards--both sending and receiving--even though they are definitely going out of fashion with social media options.  I love thinking about each of the people as I prepare a card to mail to them.  The layers of happy memories from a lifetime of living around amazing people--family and friends.  I hope to send Christmas cards until I am no longer here.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

LET THE CELEBRATIONS AND THE REMEMBERING COMMENCE!

JESUS CHRIST TRULY WAS BORN, LIVED AND DIED FOR US!

INSIGHT!

I am probably just "very late to the party" as they say--but today as I was reviewing the Sacrament hymns during the Sacrament time at Church, I was reading "Once he suffered grief and pain;" I was reminded how His Atonement was an individual personal one--for each of us one by one.  Impossible to understand with our mortal minds, but certainly part of my testimony of Jesus Christ and the Atonement.  The new insight?  As Christ did that, He already knew us as his eternal brothers and sisters--we weren't just a "number" or a "name" but He knew us likely since we arrived into our Heavenly Parents' home.  He greeted us then as new spirit siblings and He has loved us since then like Elder Brothers do.  He agreed to take this role BECAUSE He already knew and loved each of us.

The Sky

With Gary being sick, Jena and I have spent more time in the car with just the two of us.  I mentioned once how pretty the clouds were as we were coming home from Van Buren and she grabbed my camera and took the first two photos of the blue sky and white clouds.

Later on a different drive, she took this one as well.  She understands the role of the front seat --passenger!  The phot0grapher!

We all missed the best "sky" shot of the week or maybe even of the year.  Last week we were coming home from Springdale after a zone conference during a rainstorm with heavy grey clouds everywhere.  Then right in front of us, a long and "fat" strike of lightening filled the sky.  Both Gary and I immediately commented on how "Fat" it was!  No time for a photo but I checked google and found this...
 

Except ours happened during the day against a backdrop of dark grey clouds.  It was beautiful and a bit scary as the thunder came a few seconds later.

Always good to look up!