Hooray! Four Great New Missionaries, June 2012

The only thing better than getting new missionaries is watching them baptize.  We got four wonderful new missionaries this time.  Please meet:

Elder Ludlow, Elder Romero, (President and Sister Baird),
Sister Rogers and Sister Ishihara

 In case you can't read kanji, the sign at the right says this group of missionaries are all fabulous.  (Just kidding--about the sign, not the missionaries.)

Do think there are any butterflies in stomachs right now?

How can two sister missionaries who have traveled all day
 look so beautiful?

Dinner for four tired missionaries and off to bed.
Elders Kervinen and Ellsworth, AP's on left.

Next morning, they are all rested and ready to start training, but not before we get to be treated to a violin/cello rendition of "If You Could Hie to Colob."   

It was truly subarashii.

Sister Rogers and Elder Ellsworth, one of our AP's.

Sister Ishihara, left, with her new trainer, Sister Shimoji.
Notice the tissue (and if you have good eyes, you'll see a few tears
in Sister Ishihara's eyes.)
First, the spirit told President Baird to make these two companions.
Second, these two told President Baird that they were good friends.

Sister Inori Ishihara's parents and oldest brother all served missions.   She is from Okinawa, Japan and plays the French horn and flute.   She likes touching people's hearts by being bright, friendly, and optimistic.   She has received many blessings from prayer.

Sister Shimoji is a very happy, cheerful person.  Sister Shimoji listened to 
General Conference and as they talked about serving a mission, 
she felt inspired to go.  Even though she got a good job, 
she quit it to serve a mission.

Sister Inori Ishihara's parents and oldest brother all served missions.  

She is from Okinawa, Japan and plays the French horn and flute.  

She likes touching people's hearts by being bright, friendly, and optimistic.  

She has received many blessings from prayer.

Sister Rogers, left, and Sister Hunt

Sister Rogers comes to us from Brisbane, Australia and has two sisters  and six brothers.  She loves musical instruments and plays piano, violin,  guitar and sax.  She also plays basketball, soccer, and has a black belt  in Taikwando.  She will audition at the Queensland Conservatorium of  Music after her mission.

Sister Hunt loves to work. She also finds that music energizes
 her mind and spirit. And she enjoys a sincere conversation.
 While she loves to read, she finds that reading the scriptures
consistently is simply a feeling that can't be replicated
 with other literature or philosophy.

Sister Rogers comes to us from Brisbane, Australia and has two sisters

 and six brothers.  She loves musical instruments and plays piano, violin, 

guitar and sax.  She also plays basketball, soccer, and has a black belt 

in Taikwando.  She will audition at the Queensland Conservatorium of 

Music after her mission.  

Elder Ludlow, left, with Elder Schade

Thousand Oaks, California is where Elder Matthew Ludlow  calls home.  He enjoys basketball and football and loves competition.  He hopes to eventually become a chiropractor.

Notice Elder Schade's huge smile.  It makes a lot of people happy.
He loves being out of doors and also plays the piano.
He knows from experience that prayer is a powerful tool.

Thousand Oaks, California is where Elder Matthew Ludlow 

calls home.  He enjoys basketball and football and loves competition. 

He hopes to eventually become a chiropractor.  

Elder Romero, center, with his trainer Elder Dinkel on left,
and Elder Gates on right (a threesome!)

From the great city of Provo, Utah, we get to have Elder Jose Romero.
  He is the youngest of 7 children and says his mother is an
incredible woman.  Elder Romero loves to rock climb, hike, bike,
 canoe and swim.  He loves a physical challenge, but he especially
 loves getting to know people better when he spends time with
 them outdoors.  He has had many wonderful spiritual experiences
 and is grateful for leaders who have taught him great things.

Elder Dinkel has a great smile that shows his enthusiasm for 
the work.   He knows lots of words and loves to use the big ones.  
Not everyone gets to train two people at once.

At the time of this blog post, Elder Gates has only been 
in the mission for  three months.  His trainer, Elder Dinkel 
says he's already very good with his kanji, takes part 
in lessons effectively, and is willing to share his great 
musical talent.  But the best thing is he is perfectly obedient.