July 2014

There are always plenty of little Geckos around
the office. They are so cute and fun and they appear everywhere.

These missionaries were returning home. It is hard to let go now. Several of these I have
gotten to know so well that I feel like some of my kids are leaving me. They are wonderful!!

Elder Reay in the middle left us.  The assistants are in the
office so often and take such good care of us that we hate
loosing one of them. Fortunately the Lord gives us new ones.

On the 4th of July the booth was at a celebration In Kissimmee.

These are the Elders and Sisters that did a great job of talking
talking to everyone about the church.  The Beans (our new Medical
Advisor and his wife) are in charge of the booth. They are great
missionaries and talked to everyone also!

Tower of the states in the park
entrance. It has a fun symbol to
represent each state.

Palm trees in the evening

On our way to Jacksonville again. We went back to Mayo clinic to help a
Sister find answers to a lingering problem after being hit by a car on her bike.

Love this sister.  I miss her. She has been
my buddy every since we came. So happy
for her great future ahead!

I love that I never have to change
companions!! That is the best part of
being a Senior Mission!! 

These are our Bumby Ward Elders and we love them!! Elder
Nielson Spoke at this Baptism.  This is our friend Bro. Ledix
from Haiti.

Elder Nielson was just going down our main street when a
car pulled out of a parking lot and hit him. Fortunately he
was not hurt and the car has since been repaired.

Hydrate or Die is a mission saying because everyone sweats
so much here and because it is humid it is hard to
remember to drink enough.

Fun new bags that they love. We did training along with
the Presidents Interviews this time.  It was great to see
and enjoy everyone.

Three Sisters who dropped into the mission office

Sis Busath's birthday magic moment!

She loves Minions so the cupcakes for her birthday were
Minions. Every size shape and personality.

At the Interview Training we role played Elder
Nielson's accident so that the missionaries
would know what to do if they had an accident.

No matter where we go there is always a new or replacement
iPad that needs to be set up. Elder Nielson is someone they
like to see because it means they get their iPad working
again.

This is the Cocoa District at Interviews.  Love Love Love
the missionaries!!!!  Everyone of these brings a special
memory!

This cute missionary turned into a champion over
pain one night on her mission. She is great!!

Sis Jacklin was by the office for a long time and we became
buddies!

The long and short!!
Elder Patton is taller than
anyone in our mission and
our sister from Japan is not so tall!!

We left early one morning to do the training for
the Cocoa Zone so we could make it through
the traffic.  We arrived early so we and the Beans
had to figure out what to do with the extra time.
I think we did a good job of figuring out
something!!

We ended the month in the best most exciting way possible!!
Rob and Allyson had Clara Catherine on July 29.  We
Love the pictures and we can hardly wait to hold her and
welcome her to the family!!!!!  Love you all!!!!

June 2014

Beauties of Florida

Hibiscus that blooms on our patio; the fountain in the lake outside our apartment; palm trees at the Daytona speedway, and the birds that entertain us in the cell phone lot while we wait for missionary flights at the airport. The mug shot in the middle is of the left one, who started pecking at dead bugs stuck on our front bumper after this was taken.

Applying a bandaid to
companion's head after a fall

Happy to have her chin better

I do medical most of the time. I thought I'd add a couple of pictures this time.

Baptism in Lake Nona

OJ's Baptism in Bumby

Baptism in Bumby

Baptism in Wetherbee

Baptism in Hunters Creek

Senior Birthdays

Senior Missionaries leaving their mark on the Mission Banner

Arriving Missionaries in June - Welcome to the Florida Orlando Mission!

Senior missionary Prep Day tour at the Daytona Speedway

May 2014

Missionary letter written on a ball

The letters and packages arriving at the mission office for our missionaries come in many sizes and shapes, but this one was declared by our mail carrier as the most unusual that she has ever delivered. It was an inflated ball with messages written on it, and had an address and return block (top left) and a valid postage sticker. It arrived in good condition (names smeared out just for this photo) and got much attention in the office as well as excitement for the missionary.

Our missionaries and investigators at May 7 temple tour 

Temple tour nights are wonderful. There is always a spirit of peace and rightness there that investigators can feel as they tour the grounds of the Orlando temple. Bro Herzog and Pres. Wood do great jobs of explaining what temples are for and what goes on inside. It expands our vision of the eternal nature of our lives and why the gospel of Christ is so vital for us to understand and accept. The questions of where we come from before this life, what is the purpose of this life, and where we go after this life are all discussed in the tour, as taught in more detail in the temple. These pictures were from the May 7 tour that we attended. Bro Bao (top) and Bro. Louis (bottom) were both baptized later in May.

Sis Nielson with mothers-day "flowers"

Happy Mother's Day -- Jan felt quite spoiled to have such wonderful children who made her Mother's Day so nice. Thanks to all of you who made it a great Mother's Day! This picture shows her with a bouquet of fruits that Becky and her family sent to her at the office. We both enjoyed them!

Blondy at his baptism with the elders who taught him

We went to a baptism service on May 10 where Blondy was baptized. He's in our Bumby ward and we've come to appreciate his dedication and hard work to get his education and excel in his work.

Special tastes of Florida

The Gordon's, who work in the mission office with us, brought a sampler of foods they discovered at a friend's restaurant in the South of our mission. They were delightful! Bottom left is alligator, bottom right is catfish, top right is turtle, and the rest are southern hush puppies and coleslaw. These are great treats of Florida, and they taste great -- better than chicken.

May 16 Temple Tour

Vapor trail from rocket launch at Cape
Canaveral as seen from Orlando Temple

These pictures are from a temple tour on May 16, where we enjoyed meeting Wil and seeing many of our missionary friends. As often happens when seeing missionaries, there are medical questions. This time there was an infected spider bite (below) that needed an antibiotic. Sis N transmits photos to our area medical doctor to document and consult.

Spider bite

Near the end of the Temple Tour we saw an unusual vapor trail and were told that it was from a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral. The winds have already shifted the trail from the straight path it began with.

Bro Bao at his baptism with Elders Vance and Gallo

Long before we knew Bro Bao, Elder Gallo told us he believed he would baptize someone in Chinese. Elder Gallo studied some Chinese (and speaks English and Spanish besides his native Portuguese). Just before his scheduled return to Brazil May 21, but performed this special baptism on May 17 in Chinese. Although Bro Bao speaks English well, a musical solo and the baptism ordinance were performed in Chinese, adding a special spirit to the baptism service that brought tears to all of us. After the baptism, Bro Bao bowed to everyone in gratitude for the blessing of his baptism, endearing him to all of us.

Aileen on the Orlando Temple grounds

We met Aileen, a new friend from Italy, at church and shared enjoyable times for the few weeks she was here, including the dedication service for the new Ft Lauderdale temple. She's a former missionary in England, and returned to her home in Italy on May 20.

Pres and Sis Berry with 11 newly-arrived missionaries May 19

Monday evening, May 19, we received 11 new missionaries, followed by another one a week later. We missed greeting them on arrival because we were helping a sick missionary check into a hospital.

Twelve missionaries finishing their missions

We had a farewell dinner for 12 departing missionaries at the mission home on May 20, hosted wonderfully by Sis Berry, Sis Busath and Sis Gordon. It was hard to see this group finish and go home because of our many friendships and attachments to them.

Us with our two finishing Brazilian missionaries

We've grown especially close to our Portuguese-speaking missionaries from Brazil because of their faith and diligence and our common love for Brazil. We hate to see them go but expect to see great futures for them.

Baptism in Wetherbee YSA ward

Jan attended the baptism of a young man in the Wetherbee YSA ward on May 24. Elders Fuller and Collins were privileged to teach this well-prepared young man.

Lunch-time pictures at the conference for the North Zones

We attended zone conferences on May 26 (north zones) and May 27 (south zones), where we helped with car inspections, presentations, and some iPad support. We only got the lunch pictures for the north zones because of some glitches and medical issues that took our time.  Loved the Teddy-Bear cookies (or in Orlando, Mickey Mouse cookies). They were yummy besides.

Pictures from Orlando South, Hunters Creek, and Cocoa Zones (top-bottom)

Getting Hurricane Packets

Loading emergency water

We helped put together emergency preparedness packets for the missionaries, which were distributed at the zone conferences. We also prepared lists of the nearest emergency shelters for each missionary apartment in the mission. We hope we're prepared for this hurricane season, which starts June 1.

Baptism in Hunters Creek

We attended the baptism on  May 31 of a 14 yr old whose mother (shown here) was baptized a month ago. He didn't want the lessons then, but changed his mind after coming to church with her. He bore a great testimony at his baptism. As he spoke, he reminded us of our oldest grandson in his manner of speech and behavior.  

April 2014

Jan and Nancy at the Temple

E's Tucker and Call with Nancy

On Sis Nielson's birthday she went to the Orlando Florida LDS temple with Nancy, a recent convert whom she helped arrange to be baptized for her deceased mother. Elder Call, who originally baptized Nancy, baptized her for her mother and also baptized Elder Tucker on behalf of Nancy's deceased father and brother.

Ben, Jeana, Jared, and Anna celeb Jan's birthday and seeing Florida

Our son Ben and his family came to visit us the first week of April for Sis Nielson's birthday and to see some of central Florida with their children. We took a little time from mission office work to spend with them, though Sis Nielson continued to field medical calls and arrange appointments for our missionaries.

It was great to watch conference with them via our internet TV link. As always, we were inspired and uplifted by the messages and counsel of the Lord's prophet and apostles. We've continued to study their written messages since then to better absorb their meaning for us.

Gator Joe and blue Heron in pond by mission home

We walked from our apartment to the pond behind the mission home before conference started so Jared and Anna could perhaps get a glimpse of "Gator Joe", who lives in the pond. We were well rewarded, catching some good views of him and a few pictures. We also watched one of the blue herons catch and eat several fish from the pond. The heron didn't seem to mind eating them whole and alive, so we could see the fish-lump wiggling all the way down his throat each time he ate one. Circle of Life! The heron stayed his distance from Gator Joe though, and sometimes flew to the other side of the pond.

Pres and Sis Berry with 12 newly-arrived missionaries

On April 7 we greeted 12 new missionaries who arrived here from the MTC in Provo, UT (english) and the MTC in Mexico City (spanish). One additional new missionary (portuguese) arrived the following week. They're working hard and adjusting well. They're pictured here by the pond behind the mission home, where they looked for Gator Joe. No sightings this time ... too late in the day.

Gordons, Berrys, Busaths, and Nielsons

After their welcome dinner the senior office missionaries and Pres and Sis Berry sang a welcome song for them.

Candid pictures at the "Missionary Mall"

Sister Berry organized a "Missionary Mall" event on April 11 for the sister missionaries. It was a clothing exchange, food cooking and recipe exchange, and instruction and association among the sisters. The wives of the mission presidency and members of the Hunters Creek stake helped make it an enjoyable day!

The Whites with us and our missionaries

Our daughter Lisa and her family arrived for their spring break visit to us and Florida, and enjoyed a brief meeting with Elders Delgado and Sherwin at our apartment. We spent some fun times with them interspersed with work at the mission office. Once again, Sis Nielson's cell phone was indispensible and kept busy even during the vacation days.

Air boat ride and a gator at Wild Florida

A few days later we were also joined by our daughter Becky and her family for some more vacationing. They were all very flexible to fit into our 2-bedroom apartment with the hide-a-bed and some inflatable mattresses and cushions. We had a fun time exploring the headwaters of the everglades by airboat and seeing lots of alligators (and holding one for the picture).


We spent a day at Epcot and went to Melbourne beach after the Wild Florida tour. We toured the Orlando temple grounds, took lots of pictures, had BBQ at Bubbalou's, and had as much fun as possible sandwiched in between the essentials of our office work. Sis Nielson really goes for the roller coaster rides at Disney, but Elder Nielson takes it a little more mellow.

Vacation days with the Whites and Jorgensens here in Orlando

Daltons with us at the Orlando temple

Stephen at his baptism
with Elders Robert and Fina'i

On April 13 we attended Stephen's baptism in our ward, and also saw the Daltons at the Orlando temple. We knew them from working at the Salt Lake temple and Jan was a YW resource missionary in SL when Sis Dalton was the General YW President. 

Norma's baptism

One of our greatest joys is attending baptismal services. Norma is a Brazilian who always drives by the Orlando temple to get to work. She always felt a special spirit just going by, so she stopped in one day to learn about it and go inside. Elders Gallo and Costa, pictured with her here, are both native Brazilians and taught her in Portuguese about the restored gospel as well as about the temple. She was baptized on April 20 and is now preparing to go inside the temple.

One of the baptisms in New Smyrna Beach

We dropped in for a couple of baptism services on April 26 in New Smyrna Beach and Bunnell.

Jason and Lisa (and missionaries) after their baptism in Bunnell

There was great member support and excitement for these new members of the church and gratitude for the chance to make covenants to follow Christ on the part of the new members of the church.