A Meeting with President Rasband and ZLC

This week we held Zone Leader Council where we discussed the doctrine of faith as a principle of power and conducted training to improve our missionary skills.  Also, a tri-mission conference was held with missionaries from the three Texas Houston missions.  President Rasband, of the Seventy, was in town for a stake conference and consented to meet with the missionaries.  It was a spiritual feast for us all. Please find below some pictures before and after this event.

 

President Rasband

New Missionaries

This week we welcomed 16 new missionaries to the Texas Houston Mission.  They come from the United States, Samoa and Columbia.  We are excited to have them join us and welcome them to Texas!  Throughout the training, the missionaries seemed focused and prepared.  We feel great about this new group and can tell that they will be good missionaries.  Please see below a few pictures from the airport, orientation and dinner at the mission home.  We will try to attach some pictures of new missionaries during their training, transfers, at the temple and with their new trainers shortly.

Departing Missionaries

This week we said farewell to 12 great missionaries - Elders Rupp, Schultz, Bernfeld, Martin, Reese, Smith, Stephens, Robbins, Bateman and Sisters Ang, Schlauder and Peterson.  We will miss them greatly, but wish them well as they continue to serve God at home.

Senior Missionary Retreat

On Saturday, a retreat was held for all senior missionaries in the Texas Houston Mission.  We gathered at a beautiful farm owned by members of the church in Old Waverly, TX.  President Pingree had the opportunity to speak to the couples about bringing souls to Christ, departing missionaries shared their testimonies, we enjoyed a tour of the farm, sang Texas folk songs, learned about early church history in Texas and finally enjoyed a wonderful potluck barbeque near the lake.  It was a heavenly afternoon for all of us and we thank the Christensens and Nagels for planning the event.  The senior missionaries serve in a variety of capacities throughout the mission - CES, employment center, bishop's storehouse, mission office, proselyting, member support, etc.  They are wonderful people and we thank them for their faithful, dedicated service!

Specialized Training, continued