The Michigan Lansing Mission 2020-2023

Dear Family and Friends, On a bittersweet note, Elder Marcus and Sister Afton Reid of Aurora, Colorado will be completing their service in the Michigan Lansing Mission next month. They were serving in the Grandville Spanish Branch when COVID struck, and the Brennans moved them into the Mission Office in Lansing where they took over as Mission Financial Secretary and Mission Secretary. When we arrived at the end of June until now, they have done so much to help run the mission, help us know what we were supposed to know, and blessed the lives of all the missionaries, especially those missionaries who work with them in the office. It wasn't the mission they expected to serve when they began, but they are great examples to us of being flexible and willing to do whatever is needed most. They are beloved in the MLM.  The Reids have already trained their replacements, Elder Nigel and Sister Denise Rogers from the UK. We are all in love with their British accents and missionary enthusiasm...

Hello Family and Friends, Our missionaries have found the perfect nickname for Elmer - President Hype. I can’t believe someone didn’t think of it earlier (and I can’t believe that I’ve been roped into it somehow), but let me tell you how it all came to pass. Pretty early on in the mission we got wind that one of our missionaries wrote about “President Hype” in his email to home. Unbeknownst to this fine elder, someone his mom sends his emails to is also friends with Neal and Tracy Walton (our dear friends in San Diego - Neal is also our stake president). So I’ve kept this little gem tucked away for a good day. During our last Sprint Week (where everyone is all in to accomplish mission-wide goals), our Assistants put the first day's totals in the mission chat showing we were off to a great start. So the timing seemed just right to reveal that I knew what the missionaries were secretly calling their mission president, who has great enthusiasm for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The reac...