June Cambios . . .

Our new missionaries arrived this week. It was a small cambio for June, only 7 missionaries leaving and 3 missionaries arriving. Fortunately, the rain stopped long enough for them to enjoy some pleasant weather on their first day in the mission.
After interviews and a nice lunch, they were prepared to meet their trainers and start to work. Pictured above are the new missionaries. Seated with Susie from l-r are: Hna Tauteoli from SLC, Utah and Hna Baum from Heber, AZ. Standing l-r are: Elder Opazo one of our assistants, Elder Seager the other assistant and Elder Barbosa from Columbia. Hna Tauteoli is of Tongan descent and it will be so nice to have another Polynesian in the mission since Hna Moemai left. Hna Baum is from the same ward in Arizona as Hna Porter who recently finished the mission. And Elder Barbosa is from the same ward as Elder Trejos who finished the mission last year. They will all be excellent missionaries and we are excited to have them as part of the mission family.

The group leaving this cambio is special for many reasons. The North American missionaries were in the MTC in Provo when Susie and I began our mission and we were able to meet with them before we left for Chile. Having witnessed their progress from the MTC to the end of their mission has been a great blessing. Seated with us is Elder Haun from Payson, Utah. Elder Seager and Elder Opazo, our two assistants are seated on the arms of the couch. Standing l-r are the following: Elder Cook from Colorado, Elder Davis from Utah, Elder Noble from Arizona, Elder Sonntag from Utah, Elder Darrington from Nevada and Elder Vilasau from Santiago, Chile. Elder Vilasau finished his mission here with us having started in Colombia. Most missionaries gain weight in the mission, but Elder Haun and Elder Darrington lost a lot of weight here, with Elder Darrington losing over 100 pounds.

Perhaps this picture is more representative of the fun and loving nature of this great group of missionaries. We love them very much.