Summer is Really Here! July is Hot Hotter and Hottiest!

July: heat, haboobs, monsoons, visits, farewells, matching, pioneers, new missionaries, birthdays, trainings, and visitors

It has been a very busy month. I will do a few blogs to get it all in. 

The weather is interesting here. The news says things like, we are cooling down, today it will only be 109 degrees. The humidity can get up to 60% during monsoons. The highest temp was 115 degrees so far. All I can say is that it is hot! People come in dripping with sweat, not just figuratively. Many carry towels with them. 

We drink lots of water, they recommend one gallon a day. We try to keep smiling! We are so blessed to have AC everywhere we go. We are wimps, I know.

Brooke DeMille came for a visit. We love it when our returned missionaries come to visit!

From left to right, Hermanas Embley, Alcocer, Hourrutiner, Brooke, Hermanas Mayorca,
Leon, Taboada, Sisters Younce Tingey, Pickett, Hermanas Orr, Jeppson and Castillo.

VC Training Leaders, Sister Brown, Sister Pickett, Hermana Orr and Hermana Jeppson. They are great leaders! We are learning so much from them.

Hermana Greene, our new missionary from Utah and her companion Hermana Luna.
We always love having more missionaries!

Hermana Lund on right joining us from Utah also, with her companion
Hermana Alcocer. 

We all wore red white and blue on the 4th, great matching!

This shift remembered to take a picture. Lovely!

Sisters Younce and Grow helped Sister Cameron make this festive cake! It was
delicious!

Experiencing our first dust storm, (haboob). Not fun getting sand
in your eyes and teeth but Sister Tingey and Sister Weedman smiled anyway!

Hermana Valledares, now Katia came back for a visit with her
sister Karen. We were thrilled to see them.

From left to right; Karen, Sisters Thompson, Finau, Taumarawa, Katia, Hermana Mayorca,
Sister Avanesjan, Hermana Jeppson and Sister Bolliger.

This little family just reminded me so much of my grandkids. They treated me
like I was their grandmother. The girl on the right wanted to hold my hand and hug me. She told me about her shoes and how her nail polish matched her dress. The others joined in. It was just so fun, it warmed my heart.
A senior missionary needs miracles like these to take the place of getting to love and hold grandchildren. The Lord knows!

Sister Weedman and Sister Beaudette looking wonderful in navy.

July birthdays, Sister Avanesjan, Sister Thompson and Hermana Castillo, Happy Birthday, and many more!

Birthdays are a good excuse to eat cake!

And after the cake, smile!

Brother Tietjen is a regular visitor to the center. He loves to see the missionary work and brings
Z bars, which will be a special memory for all the missionaries for years to come. We took
some pictures and gave them to him, per his request. The Andruses, the Camerons and the Ballards.

The sister wanted to be in a picture with him too!

We spent the day with this nice group of youth from one ward! Can you believe it. This reminds me of
when my children were growing up and we had a lot of youth. They did baptisms, watched movies,
and toured the visitors' center.

The VC sisters work closely with the field missionaries to teach and testify. A new mentoring program was initiated to teach the area missionaries about all the
wonderful tools found here to facilitate their teaching. It has been very successful. 

The Scottsdale Mission also brings their new missionaries to the visitors' center.
This is their first day in Arizona and they are so enthusiastic and ready to teach the people
about our Savior Jesus Christ.

Hermanas Jeppson and Orr matched in coral today. Sister Orr
is going to the field. We will see her often we hope!