Spring is definitely in full swing around here.  So many trees and plants blooming.  Pollen everywhere. The grass has been mowed, the birds are there to help wake me up each morning and the sun is with us more.  Temperatures getting up to mid to high 70's which I love!  Today and yesterday we are home enjoying the 5th wheel and watching sessions of conference.  Here on the east coast the first session doesn't start until noon!!  Doyle had his priesthood meeting last night from 8-10pm.  That's past his bedtime!
Tuesday we worked in the office in the morning and then had Senior Training and then dinner at the mission home.  We lost 2 senior missionary couples this month.  Our senior training days are the only times that we all get together.  All seniors come in from their areas and spend the day here in Columbia.  For lunch the President took the office staff out to Atlanta Bread for his traditional goodbye luncheon with departing senior couples.

 

Elder and Sister Berry, who are sitting by Doyle, served in Augusta for 18 months and return home to LasVegas where they have lived for the last thirty five years.  He's originally from Mississippi.

Our dinner that night had an Easter theme and colors.  It's always so much fun!  This time we were even entertained by Elder Decker who brought his guitar.

After our meal and our entertainment and testimonies from our departing seniors, we all went outside to take a picture on the front steps.  Several people have cameras with timers and they were trying to get them set up.  After several minutes we did manage to get everyone on the steps.  I don't have that picture yet, but I will post it soon I hope.

 

Wednesday was Zone Conference for Columbia-West Columbia zones.  We went all day over to the stake center to help inspect the missionaries cars and be taught by President Holm, the AP's and other missionaries who gave mini training sessions.  So much of what we do is directly out of Preach My Gospel. By 12:30 everyone was ready for lunch which the Relief Society had prepared for us.  After lunch, they got the basketball out and everyone was asked to take shots.  Not being athletically inclined I tried to get out of it, but they insisted!  I just wanted to take pictures of everyone else!

The President has a close eye on me..so I tried and guess what?  I actually made a basket!!  That meant, I had to do it again!!

Doyle also tried his hand.

In the end, we had the most unlikely winner of the shoot-out.  Sister Terry is a new missionary who just arrived in our mission and is officially the shortest at 4'10"!!  She is such a sweetheart!

All those Elders in the background can't believe it!

 

Sister Rothman, who works in the office with us, was the shortest person in the mission.  I had to get the two of them in a picture together.

 

On Friday we set up a new apartment for sisters and had help from the sisters who are living there, plus the two elders in the area.  They were so excited about their new apartment and we were all excited to have the elders there, especially when we saw that it was a second story apartment.  Carrying furniture up and down stairs is not something we look forward to doing!  After we finished moving them in we all went out for lunch at Subway.

We had another delivery and a pick-up from a lady who had some donations.  When we talked to the Elder Aguilar, who needed the mattress, we found out that the elders who live about 12 miles down the road didn't have a dining room table, so off we went to WalMart to see if they had the kind we've been buying.  As luck would have it they had one in stock.  We bought it and took off to Elgin for another delivery.

 

Elder Smoot and Elder Davis are pretty happy to have a dining table!  We went up to their apartment to do a quick inspection and discovered a most unique paper towel dispenser. The missionaries sure are creative!!

Well, conference is about to start and I need to wake Doyle up!  In parting today, I would like to share a scripture.

"And let us not be weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not"

Galatians 6:9

Until next week...love y'all!