Friday, December 12, 2014

December 2014 Departures


In December, 14 of our missionaries completed their service and gathered at the Mission Home for the traditional departures' dinner 

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



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.

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!

Elder Lussier-Houle

Elder Tavana
Elder Stubbs




Elder Guerrero


Sister Johnson

Elder Gardiner


Sister Saviano listens to Sister Connelly's story while Sister Johnson and Carrie watch

Sister Saviano

Sister Lau

Sisters Taggart and Liu


Elder Horowitz

Sister Carcamo


Elders Malugin and Tavana
Departing  Testimonies
at Transfer Meeting

Sister Carcamo


Elder Gardiner
Sister Connelly

Elder Guerrero

Elder Horowitz

Sister Johnson

Sister Liu

Elder Lussier-Houle

Elder Malugin

Elder Proudfoot

Sister Saviano

Elder Stubbs

Sister Taggart

Elder Tavana


Airport Departures:

Half the group left before Christmas:

Elder Stubbs and Guerrero on the left, Elder Lussier-Houle and Sisters Liu and Connelly


We had time for a quick lunch before this group boarded
On through security and on to the flight home for Christmas!




The other half of this group left 2 days AFTER Christmas:

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!

Thursday, December 11, 2014

December 2014 Arrivals


Reagan National Airport
Holiday Style

Sisters Griffin and Huddleston, Elder Yang, the Pres and myself, Sisters Parabirsing and Wilson
Elders La Rotta and Warnes


The reception crew of APs and STLs with the Pres
Sister Training Leaders Turley and Chapman
APs Wilcox, Hansen and Malugin
with the President
waiting at the gate for the new arrivals to come through security

Instructions for riding the DC Metro


 AP Malugin (L) with newest AP-in-training Wilcox in the middle and AP Hansen  (blue tie)


Elders Wilcox and Malugin showing Elder La Rotta around the Metro tunnel


Sister Griffin (left behind the pole) and Sister Chapman behind her
along with Sister Parabirsing (across in the purple) and Elder La Rotta
are all strategically sitting by fellow passengers they are now talking with during the ride.
Bravo!

While waiting to change trains at Fort Totten, Elders Warnes and Yang talk with a fellow traveler
while the President watches over the train change

New Companion/Trainers


Elder Swensen will train Elder La Rotta

Sister Black will train Sister Huddleston
Elder Farley will train Elder Warnes


Elder Yang will be trained Elder Liang

Sister Griffin will be trained by Sister Maughan

Sister Black and Sister Parabirsing

Sister Wilson and Sister Stauffer

Happy Holidays !