The Michigan Lansing Mission 2020-2023

Dear Family and Friends, Yesterday, I texted Gavin that we were on the road to Grand Rapids. Later in the day, I texted him that we were on the way home from Kalamazoo. He asked why we went to Kalamazoo too. Turns out we only went to Kalamazoo; we never went to Grand Rapids; and I am the one who drove us there. I have no idea where I am.  I know our children will find that the most shocking thing about the story above is that their dad wanted me to drive, not that I didn't know where we were going. For some reason, my driving makes Elmer nervous. But if you ask our auto insurance company who is the best driver in the family, it will tell you that I am crushing it. There's no competition really.  Fun fact: We have no idea what is happening in the world. It's very nice. We've lived in this house for almost a month and just found out there is a TV in our bedroom. We saw the one in the family room but haven't had time to turn it on. I did receive a news alert last week ...

Dear Friends and Family, We welcomed 19 reassigned missionaries this week. What was supposed to be three smooth trips to the airport turned into seven trips to the airport, eight lost and then recovered pieces of luggage, five Chick-fil-A runs, seeing five elders get off the plane when we thought there would be two, delayed flights, missed connections, and all of it done in face masks, of course. We can't wait for our first transfer next week, which is where we receive 12 brand new missionaries and two more reassigned missionaries and lots of other missionaries will move areas and receive new assignments.  In important news, during interviews with missionaries in our Spanish Zone last week, we found out where some good Mexican food was in Grand Rapids (and it wasn't Taco Bell as I had originally feared). We had dinner at Tacos El Cuñado (meaning we ate in our car COVID-style). I believe Tacos El Cuñado means something like Brother-in-law Tacos. It was not bad. We'll definit...

Dear Family and Friends, For everyone who was hoping that I was going to write a politically-charged email from what you inferred in the subject line, I am sorry to disappoint. We have found that making a left turn while driving in Michigan is often not allowed at large intersections at any time. Never allowed. We're not sure about the reasoning except for the time that Elmer didn't see the no-left-turn signs and ended up headed into oncoming traffic. Yikes. We lived to tell. Subsequently, we have learned to make "a Michigan left," which is a right turn and then you drive down the road a bit and make a u-turn. This nonsense is the system. We are a bit bewildered, but we are onboard to try new things.  You can imagine how much Elmer loves the inefficiency of it all. And GPS will tell you that you  can  make a left turn at these intersections, but you cannot. Not ever. We have now been able to interview most of our missionaries in person, which wasn't allowed due to...

Dear Loved Ones, Elmer and I have been here almost a week. And we really do love it. The best things: 1. The missionaries 2. The stone fruit The tough things: 1. Trying to go to bed early when it's barely dark at 10pm and adjusting to East Coast time. 2. Trying to remember to call each other by our mission titles in front of the missionaries. The first thing to announce is that after only being in the mission 24 hours, I was made Vehicle Coordinator Supreme Commander. Just kidding! We have a young, talented, 19-year-old missionary who is our Vehicle Coordinator. But if any of you are in touch with Ernie Brazier, be sure to tell him I am the Vehicle Coordinator Supreme Commander.  At the virtual Mission Leadership Seminar we attended before we flew to Michigan, we were told that there were 135 new mission leader couples being trained this year. Then they said, 77 couples would be able to go out to our missions to serve on time (arriving on or about June 30th) and 55 couples were del...