Elder Jimmy Stirland
Going to the Temple on his last day in West Africa
in a borrowed "white" shirt.
Elder Jimmy Stirland
Going to the Temple on his last day in West Africa
in a borrowed "white" shirt.
As we say over and over again, the current young missionaries (who cleared the raised bar) are amazing and inspirational. They often operate in the spirit of The Law of Consecration, sharing burdens, blessings and material things. Elder Stirland wanted to attend the Temple on the last day of his mission. After two years of hand washing the shirts that had been worn while walking along the dirt roads of West Africa, he had no shirt suitable for the Temple. No problem, his companion offered a loan. It wasn't his exact size (mostly because Elder Stirland 'shrank a bit' as a missionary), but it was the right color and had long sleeves.
Can you see a difference?
Sister Markham took this picture of three 'white' shirts.
The one on the right just arrived, center has been here
a year, and the left is about to go home.
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Sister Markham often takes nice pictures of Elders, then emails their mothers. She asked these Elders for a less formal P-Day pose. (Seguin, Sim, Lowe, McVeity) |
Elder Markham uses optical illusions for object lessons. The young missionaries are entertained by tricks their eyes play. (Stirland, Seguin, Thurman, Parcell, Sim) |
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Elders Wall and Davis are the Supply Elders. Among their many tasks is delivering mail sent to the mission home. We are always happy to see them/mail. |
Elders Wilson and Fine are the assistants. Elder Fine's (pronouced fee-ne) former companion was Elder Wright. Now that was a (W)right Fine companionship! |
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| Elder Seguin | Elder Brown |
We recently had two Elders 'visa wait' in Accra. Elder Brown and Elder Seguin were called to the Ivory Coast Abidjan Mission and sent to the Provo MTC for French training. Before leaving the MTC, they were reassigned to the new Ghana Cape Coast Mission and told they would start in Cameroon. They flew to Accra, Ghana, arriving about 10:30 pm. There was no one to meet them at the airport. Apparently the travel arrangements were emailed to the new mission, but the mission office was not yet established. People knew they were coming, but no one here had the exact schedule. Someone at the airport saw them (with name tags) waiting and asked to help. The stranger knew an LDS Bishop and called him on his cell phone. Thirty minutes later they were safely in the Accra Mission Home. They worked in Accra for two weeks, then went to assignments in the new mission. They will stay in Ghana a few more weeks until Cameroon visas are completed. Sister Markham (the consummate missionary mom) was unsettled by no one meeting them at the airport, and asked how they felt. Both responded that they were so pumped up from their MTC experience, nothing bothered them at all.
How was the MTC?
I was so pumped up I felt like running up walls
and flipping a somersault.
Getting to know Elder Stirland was a real treat. But we worried that his mother might be concerned with his weight, or lack there of. So we did our best to add back a few pounds in the months we worked with him. Just before he left, we made a last trip (for him) to Champs Sports Bar. It is a local obruni watering hole that serves reasonable Tex-Mex, steaks and milkshakes. Couple missionaries (young missionaries can't afford it) go there for lunch when the crowds are much smaller and quieter. Sister Stirland, we did our best to make him thick enough that light couldn't shine through. Just for the record, Elder Sim encouraged him to eat fufu (compatible with missionary budget) to help also. Elder Stirland preferred Champs!
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Elder Stirland at Champs with Friends (Stirland, Sim, Seguin, Markhams, John Mangum and Elder Thompson) Thanks for the photo, Sister Thompson. |
Fufu with Fish Sauce A Ghanaian favorite consisting of high density pounded yam covered with spicy sauce and eaten with one's fingers. |
President and Sister Norby have just completed their tenure presiding over the Ivory Coast Abidjan Mission. Their daughter, Brittany, joined them for the last few months of their mission. They passed through Accra after visiting Togo, Benin, Cameroon and Central African Republic for the last time. They popped into our office about 4:30 pm and asked if we could direct them to the place that has Tex-Mex food. We winked and said it was so hard to find that we would have to escort them there. Knowing they had literally just arrived, Elder Markham asked when they wanted to go, explaining Champs is a sports bar and after 6:00 pm may get a little rawdy for a mission president. Without missing a beat, President Norby said, "We better go now, I never drink after six." We know several missionaries who served under President Norby that plan to attend the U of U after their missions to be able to take LDS Insititute classes from him. He starts teaching there this Fall. We believe this makes a clear statement about his service as mission president.
President and Sister Norby with Brittany at Champs
Britany, their youngest, is getting married in August
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