The End is in Sight

                   We’re wrapping it up and the end is insight!  👀

Soon we will be home and so this was our last time fixing a meal for Zone Conference. We were surprised at how many people had not ever heard of “Hawaiian Haystacks”.

                               We enjoyed watching them fill their plates.

                   (Our problem was the plates had a hard time holding it all!)

We had invited one of the sisters that will be replacing us to come and help with Zone Conference so she could see how it was done. Sister Wright is from Salt Lake City, and she will be serving with her close friend, Sister Smith. 

                              Sister Wright spent the week with us.

Besides helping with Zone Conference she spent Friday morning learning how to get the missionaries needs list out. She also met some of our ministering people and was beneficial in helping us serve them. She was able to go to the YMCA and spent the morning working with us and also taking it out to our ward members.

 

                       Let me share our YMCA delivery man with you. 

He likes to attend a Labyrinth convention here in LA every year.

                         This is him in his costume for this year.

He may not look like it in these pictures, but he is the nicest man!

We were asked by our mission office staff to help with the incoming and outgoing of our missionaries (transfers). We had done the catered meals, but they needed help with all the tasks of checking new missionaries in and old missionaries out.

It did however break our hearts that we would miss our day at the YMCA. 

In a panic we called a faithful member to cover for us and she willingly accepted to spend her day getting this done for us. The tender mercy and miracle that came that day was that our friend, Bart had come and helped once at the YMCA. 

On this day he decided to surprise us and show up to help out. He didn’t call us because he wanted to surprise us. (Had he called he thinks he wouldn’t have come when he found out we weren't going to be there.)

Once he called and said he was at the YMCA looking for us we were able to tell him of the sister in our ward that would be coming for the first time. (they are both in our ward). Bart went right to work and helped her know what needed to be done. To us it was such and blessing and a relief to have someone there helping her.

Bart sent us proof that he had found her and was helping her and all was well.

Because of Bart's help we were able to help the mission home with arriving and departing missionaries.

We still have some elders that use bikes. We often have elders that lose their driving privileges and have to start using bikes. 

Elder Newey was talking to one elder and said because he only had about 600 miles of driving experience, he wouldn't dare give him a car to drive; thus they ride bikes.

Sister Snyder weighed luggage of outgoing missionaries. 

And when all was done, we were able to do all the washing (sheets and towels and whatever else left behind) for the Office people.

As we wrap this mission up, we are having our LAST times…..

Last time for us Single Sister Missionaries taking an outing with the Bohn’s.

This was our last Monthly Get-to-gather with our Senior Missionaries. We made it a birthday party for everyone with cake and ice cream and a candle to blow out after we sang. On this last get-to-gather we sat around the fire and those leaving bore their testimonies and said their farewells. 

Pres. Newell asked that we then sing, “God Be With You Till We Meet Again”.

                       It was such a sweet and spiritual time for us all.

 

Some of the sweet single sisters serving here. They are in the Family History Center.

Our Mom and Pa! 

They are the Newey's. They run the office, or you could say, 

They run the Mission!

A few more of the sisters (husbands not allowed in this picture) that serve here in this mission. We are so grateful because we hear of missions that do not have any senior missionaries, and we would be at a loss without ours. 

In closing, this is our Sweet Mission President and his wife. I hope you recognize HIM at least. 

President Lloyd Newell and wife Karmel Newell!

                                 See you all too soon for us...... 

Sorry if that didn't sound right but it is so very hard to leave this work and these people. 

Heating up in Los Angeles

Still going strong despite the heat 

(even got into the 90's!😂😂)

   Meet the New President and his wife, Lloyd and Karmel Newell

His first meeting with Senior Missionaries.

Pres. Newell visited each zone instead of having a big Zone Conference this time. He wanted to meet all the missionaries in a smaller setting.

We helped our Mission Secretary Sister Newey make cute little treat bags for each missionary. It took Pres. four days to get them to everyone.

We also helped our Sweet Sister who fell, get rid of her piano and it was a stressful task! 

We had to coordinate with the movers, as well as the sister of the sister in the care center (she lives in Salt Lake). The sister in Salt Lake then must coordinate with the next-door neighbor who has the house key. We then had to line it up with the lady who was getting the piano for a young Persian boy who was getting the piano. She then lined it up with the boy. To make matters more challenging, this young Persian boy lived on the 8th floor of an apartment building. 

               This is getting it out of the sister's upstairs apartment!

The movers said it was one of their hardest moves.

Besides the weight of this extremely heavy piano, there're stairs, sharp turns, and a fire extinguisher.

The smaller mover, who was taking a lot of the weight is from Russia. He has been here one year. His brother owns the company and they both won gold and silver medals in a "jitsu" competition the day before.

(thus the nice looking muscles!)

Once to the high-rise building, we had to get permission to bring it in.

Once IN we had to figure out how to get it through the door.

 

The front door was too narrow a had a sharp turn once inside the door. 

Thankfully the mover saw the kitchen door and decided to take it through there. 

Of course, the door was too small for the piano. But thank heavens he was able to take the door off and it just barely slid in.

There were many times that we were afraid we wouldn't be able to make this happen for the sweet sister. (She was dealing with so much medical challenges at this time).

This took place on Monday, but on Sunday we had car trouble and couldn't get the car started for church and had to ask someone to jump the car several times that day. 

We tried to get the problem taken care of on Sunday, but of course you know that never pays off, so on Monday it went into the shop. 

On Monday I called the sister who had found a good home for the piano (Susan) and asked her to pick me up while Sister Snyder stayed at the garage. 

A few minutes later Susan called me to inform me that she had a flat tire and wasn't able to fix it. We both prayed a lot!

This had to be the time because Friday afternoon the piano mover had giving us a smoking deal and I had spent the weekend lining it up with everyone. We had to move Monday morning to take advantage of his offer.

It's in to stay!

                                     We had a busy 4th of July! 

First, we went to celebrate at Fort Moore which has roots with our Mormon Battalion.

The TV Station was there to film it for the news.

There was dancing. 

The raising of the flag..,

Of course, we were to close so we had to go check out Olvera Street and all the little shops.

That afternoon we had a Sing-A-Long and then ended with the Seniors having a BBQ.

Brother and Sister Newey were surprised when their family showed up for Sister Newey's birthday

(they're from Idaho and didn't tell them that they were coming.)

Our Sister Purdy loves to make balloon designs. 

This is Sister Newey's bouquet of flowered balloons.

We wanted to show you our Thursday afternoon when we go out to the ward and deliver the food to the members.

I didn't plan to put any pictures of the homeless in, but I couldn't resist this one. 

Look closely and you will see his army gear and his beautiful, shined shoes.

On my return back through I thought I saw his bald head and he looked pretty old. I'm not sure what this person is all about.

                 This church always has people sleeping on the steps. 

The last two weeks have been busy with house checks, visiting the sick, taking dinners to ward members in need, attempting to set up the Echo for our Ministering Sister, YMCA da,y and Needs List out to missionaries.

To top it off on Friday, we learned that they want us to do the Zone Conference Luncheon in August!!!

We followed that with a busy Saturday. 

That night we were asked to teach the English Connect 1 Class to the people learning English!!!

It has been a busy, busy time, so on Monday we went with the Senior Missionaries to visit the "La Brea Tar Pits". It was very interesting.

    It has been on my bucket list since I taught school in Palmdale Ca.

Sorry that the words are not clear but the "gist" of it says they didn't have to go clear into the tar pits to get stuck. It was gooey all around the pit. 

Light up your life!

On the way home we stopped at a graveyard just a few blocks from us. It is right in the middle of the city buildings. What a surprise...

We all agree that the joke is on Hugh Hefner who thought he was so smart by being buried beside Marilyn Monroe. What a surprise he is going to have!!

 Don, who we visit in the Care Center has been sent to the Psych ward. We hope we weren't the cause! 

The last time we saw him, he told us that he was going to buy a house for us all to live in. He said we could do church work all day and then care for him at night. He was sure he wasn't sick and that all he needed to do was exercise and then he would be able to get out of the Care Center.

We keep checking but they haven't let him out yet.

We got permission for one of the sisters who replaces us in Sept. to come down during Zone Conference and see how it is all done. She will spend 5 days with us. We will be able to show her how we do the YMCA and ward food, clean the mission office, get needs list out, do house checks, help Baylee with incoming and outgoing missionaries, take care of extra items from apartment by hauling off things to dump or Thrift Store, and introduce her to the four people in the care centers. (We hope these two sisters still want to come in September after spending the 5 days with us.)

Our next week has us covering for Baylee. She will be at Girls Camp and so we will serve the incoming and outgoing missionaries for a couple of days. 

We will then start to put together our last Zone Conference luncheon. 

We think this Zone conference meal will be a breeze thanks to Mary Taylor and her daughter Mal. They are working out proportions for our 120 and even the recipe for the sauce. Thank you, Mary and Mal... 

We are finding that there isn't much down time for the wicked:) 

I guess we'd rather be too busy than have a lot of time on our hands.....

Until next time,

Stay cool!

Love, The Sister Sisters