Dear Family and Loved Ones,
We had a wonderful week, it was very busy and we enjoyed every minute.
Ted finished interviewing the missionaries just in time to finalize transfers. We enjoyed a special visit from the Jewkes family, Sunday night was our departure fireside, Monday we said goodbye to four fantastic missionaries and today we welcomed ten new missionaries to Long Beach.
At our recent Mission President’s Seminar we were comparing notes with the other Mission President’s and their wives, all of the Presidents were in agreement that the most tiring responsibility they have is interviewing each missionary. It’s an important part of guiding and helping each missionary grow in their assignment but it is very time consuming and takes a lot of energy. It’s always nice to have made it through another round of interviews but because the our transfer followed the interviews so closely there really wasn’t time for Ted to catch his breath before starting right back in to another major event (getting missionaries home and getting new missionaries settled).
Kelly, Stacey and girls were in Long Beach for a few wonderful days. Kelly and Stacey were filming a wedding in Los Angeles Saturday so we got to spend time with Pearl and Violet which we loved! Sunday we celebrated Pearl’s 5th birthday a few days early (her birthday is on June 2nd). Our celebration consisted of spaghetti dinner (plain noodles for Violet and Pearl), ice-cream cake with Disney Princess cake toppers and a photo booth manned by Kelly and Stacey. We had a great time!
Monday we said goodbye to four missionaries who are returning very far distances to their homes. We enjoyed teasing our Elder who finished his mission that he was going home to distant and exotic country of Texas. The sisters who finished returned to Taiwan, Laos and Tonga. Each of the Sisters will travel about seventeen hours from LAX their native countries!
Today we welcomed ten new missionaries, they are eager and excited to get to work. They are always happy to be finished with their training at the MTC. They are even excited to have a simple pizza lunch after many cafeteria meals. Some of these missionaries have had some extreme challenges in their young lives; one sister lost her brother in a traffic accident, another sister’s mother has terminal cancer, others have serious medical conditions. Any of these difficulties could be a good excuse not to serve, yet they have all determined to dedicate themselves to the Lord’s work. We admire their willingness to put their own concerns aside to serve their brothers and sisters here in Long Beach.
As I was thinking about the far flung places our sister missionaries are returning to I was reminded of something Ted used to say about young people. He commented that the greatest export of any ward, or community are their children. Parents, teachers, advisors, mentors, etc. all play a role in helping young people develop their talents and skills so they can go out into the world and make a contribution. I can only imagine the incredible impact for good our missionaries will make as they complete their missions and return home with their many new-found talents, abilities and testimonies. We remind them that their mission is just a beginning, a foundation for their lives and that once they return home they should continue to build the Church and strengthen their family, friends and associates. I’m sure they will make a difference in the world.
We love each of you,
The Long Beach Buberts
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