September 2013

To get started on the right note, we just have to show a picture of the real missionary in the family... Elder Morgan Wade (far right).  We can only aspire to be half the missionary he is.

Savannah and her very nice friend Daniel at an Angel's game.  (It was Mormon Night, so okay for missionaries.) Elder Wade had tickets for all of us, but at the last minute Sister Wade had to make an emergency run to Henderson for Reggie's tonsillectomy.

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We have a few Elders that are very dear to us.  This one is Elder Andersen.
He is the "Bike Elder", which means he delivers, keeps track of,
 and repairs the bikes in the mission.

On the left is another favorite missionary, Elder Arjona.  He recently returned home to Spain, where his dad is
President of the Madrid MTC.  He was a radiantly faithful missionary and it was sad to see him go.
Front and center is Elder Barnes.  He is the new AP and a real charmer.  On the right is Elder Morin who put off a basketball scholarship to serve his mission.

Elder Christiansen has Asperger's, which means he's super smart, but a little lacking
in the social graces. We love his non-filtered reports on his companion.
(He's not afraid to tell us what really goes on.)  He came to us from Laguna Beach, and after
successfully completing a three month mission in Anaheim, he will go to a new location and
complete his two years of service there.  He is doing well and always makes us smile.

We took a three day break from our mission to attend BYU Education Week.
Ken was quite delighted to find that a plaque had been installed on campus
to honor the contributions made by his fine family. Education Week is always a
hi-light for us and this year was no exception.  Best of all was being able to celebrate
Reggie's 3rd Birthday with the Robisons who were vacationing in Provo.
Reggie is 3, Ruthie is 6, and Luke will be 1 next month.

We recently had a birthday party for our fabulous friend, Marty.
She has been investigating the church for a few years now, and any missionaries
who taught her during that time were in attendance.  (Except of course the
ones who have already gone home.)  From left to right are Elder Kenning,
Sister Parkinson, Sister Gladwell, Sister Wade, Marty,
Elder Rast, and Sister Hawkins.

Not sure how Elder Cipcic slipped in here, as I don't think
he actually ever taught Marty.  He must have heard there was cake
and crashed  the party.  He did do pretty
well on the "How Well do you know Marty" game.

From left, Sister Wade, Elder Rast, Sister Hawkins, and Elder Leon.  Standing in the back right is Elder Kolega.
He is from Croatia and is the only missionary currently serving a mission from his country.  He says there are 22 prospective missionaries waiting in the wings, but he is the only one out there now.  Go Elder Kolega...a true pioneer!

Sister Aholelei and Sister Can't Remember
(She's Sister Napigkit's companion and her name is hard to pronounce.)

Marty and Sister Wade learning how to make tamales at RS.

Just to show that we have a little bit of a life outside our mission...
this is Draven.  (Elder Wade's daughter's boyfriend's son.)  He is
playing soccer for the first time this year and we drove to
Sherman Oaks on our Pday to watch him play.  He is a natural!

Gwen Stefani's son is on Draven's team, so we were doing a little
paparazzi work as well.  (That is her in the black and white spotted top.)
Across the field there were a dozen real photographers with
telephoto lenses, but we had a much closer shot.  We never spoke, but did pet her cute little farf dog.

Bekah is Draven's soccer coach and we
were very impressed by how calmly
she coached her team.  

Bekah's boyfriend Conda and his son Draven.  

And lastly, two good friends from our home ward in Dana Point.  Their birthdays are
just weeks apart, so we had them over to celebrate.  On the left
is Shauna' Walton, and on the right is Jill Prospero.  In the middle is Grandma Bertha's Carrot
Cake and one candle for each of them.