We were so thankful to welcome so many wonderful, sweet, excited missionaries on Tuesday June 28 2011. Half of them arrived from the CCM in Chile, and the other came from the United States. We picked up the North Americans at the airport amidst a thick, gray fog. We were concerned that their plane would be late because of the fog, but everything turned out well. We were very thankful once they were safely on the ground, and we could see their smiling faces. They were alert and happy and ready to serve. They had hundreds of questions as we drove to the Las Condes Chapel where we met with our new Latin missionaries who were equally happy and smiling. It was a fantastic day with orientation, a huge spaghetti dinner, and the implementation of our new training program that we just received from Salt Lake. These Elders and Sisters will be the first group to participate in the new training, so it is a special time for the mission. Actually, we invited others who arrived in the last two changes to participate in the new training as well, so we are looking forward to many good times to come as we learn together to do the Lord's work in the Lord's way. We are so excited to see the progress that these missionaries will make as they work together with their trainers to become fabulous gospel teachers. We had a wonderful time getting to know this new little army of missionaries. They are delightful and full of the Spirit. We can hardly wait to see all that they will be able to do in the Chile, Santiago East Mission.
What a fantastic group of Missionaries! We will miss them. We love them. They have left the City of Santiago better than they found it. They have served faithfully. Each one of these missionaries had a unique and special mission designed very carefully and lovingly by our Father in Heaven. Even though we have all served together in the same mission, each mission has been drastically different. That is because each of these Elders and Sisters is unique and beautiful with different needs and hopes and dreams and futures. We so enjoy seeing how the Lord creates a unique experience tailored especially to meet each missionary's needs and teach him or her exactly what he or she needs to know and learn and become. It is such a privilege for us to be a part of this magnificent work!
It gets more difficult to let go of each wonderful group of missionaries that completes their missions. We shed tears of sadness because they are leaving us and tears of happiness because they have become such lovely young servants of our Father in Heaven. We will miss every one of these fine Elders and Sisters. We love them and will keep them forever in our hearts and prayers.
We also said farewell to three wonderful Missionaries from the Chile, Santiago North Mission on June 28. President and Sister May and their daughter Sarah completed their mission service and returned home to Utah. They have been such a strength and blessing to us. We will miss them tremendously, but we have learned so much from their example of true Christ-like love and charity, and we are better for having known them. We love them and honor them. We know our associations with them will last throughout eternity. 
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