In December, 14 of our missionaries completed their service and gathered at the Mission Home for the traditional departures' dinner
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The evening ends with everyone posing with the service coins awarded for completing their missions.
Back row L-R: Elders Gardiner and Stubbs, Pres and myself, Elders Malugin, Tavana and Proudfoot
Middle: Sisters Connelly, Johnson, Saviano, Liu, Taggart and Carcamo
Front: Elders Guerrero, Lussier-Houle and Horowitz |
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| Sisters Taggart and Saviano with our daughter Elizabeth |
Everyone creates a personalized page for the Cookes' scrapbook, which page becomes the cover sheet for any other notices of important life events that missionary sends us later - e.g. these wedding invitations of former WDCN missionaries
After dinner and scrapbooks, we gather to share funny memories of each missionary's service.
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Sisters Taggart and Liu (a Temple Square sister who came to our mission for a two-transfer full-proselyting rotation),
Sisters Saviano and Connelly, Sister Johnson (blocked from view) and our daughter Carrie in back |
Let the stories begin!
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| Elder Lussier-Houle |
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| Elder Tavana |
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| Elder Stubbs |
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| Elder Guerrero |
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| Sister Johnson |
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| Elder Gardiner |
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| Sister Saviano listens to Sister Connelly's story while Sister Johnson and Carrie watch |
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| Sister Saviano |
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| Sister Lau |
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| Sisters Taggart and Liu |
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| Elder Horowitz |
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| Sister Carcamo |
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| Elders Malugin and Tavana |
Departing Testimonies
at Transfer Meeting
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| Sister Carcamo |
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| Elder Gardiner |
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| Sister Connelly |
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| Elder Guerrero |
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| Elder Horowitz |
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| Sister Johnson |
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| Sister Liu |
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| Elder Lussier-Houle |
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| Elder Malugin |
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| Elder Proudfoot |
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| Sister Saviano |
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| Elder Stubbs |
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| Sister Taggart |
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| Elder Tavana |
Airport Departures:
Half the group left before Christmas:
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| Elder Stubbs and Guerrero on the left, Elder Lussier-Houle and Sisters Liu and Connelly |
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| We had time for a quick lunch before this group boarded |
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| On through security and on to the flight home for Christmas! |
The other half of this group left 2 days AFTER Christmas:
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Elder Gardiner on the left, Elders Malugin and Tavana on the right
Sisters Carcamo, Taggart and Saviano |
What a great post-Christmas celebration for these families!
