Moving van came, Final Stake Conference!

Well, I guess we really are going home since the moving company came on Tuesday and loaded up all of our belongings!  We really are just living with the things we can pack into our suitcases now!  I'm hoping mine will all fit!
The remodel of the mission home is completed, but there is cleaning to be done, draperies to be steamed, and a few odds and ends.  It looks beautiful and will be so nice for President and Sister Keung when they arrive on Friday.  There is such a great spirit in the mission home, and we have really missed living in it for the past month and a half.  Hotel living, even in a good hotel, is just that--hotel living!
This past week we held our New Trainer's meeting for all of the missionaries that will train the 16 new ones arriving this week.  It was such a great meeting!  We really left this meeting feeling like these new missionaries will be in good hands!  It is really weird to think that we won't be here to watch them progress.  We love watching the new missionaries come, and then be able to see them grow and blossom and gain confidence and everything else that happens in the first transfer.  We will miss that.  We will miss this whole mission experience--what an incredible blessing it has been for us.
We feel so privileged to have been able to serve in this capacity.
On Thursday evening a little social gathering was held for us for all the Stake Presidencies in the Calgary area to come and say good-by.  We have so grown to love these good men and their wives and are so grateful for the friendships that have been created.  One of the great blessings of serving in the church are the friendships that are made because of that service.  We know that we will be able to stay in touch for years to come, and are looking forward to it.
Friday we had a fun dinner at the Stephen's home with our mission presidency.  We have loved serving with the Gedlaman's and the Stephen's and are so grateful for their friendship and their devotion to the work.  Steve also released them that night as his counselors!  It was hard to hug them good-by!  We love them!
This Saturday we participated in the final stake conference of our mission, the Fish Creek Stake Conference with President Kipp Craig.  Originally we thought we were speaking only on Sunday morning, but when we looked on the program on Saturday evening, there were our names!  And also on Sunday morning!  So, I took a little gulp, said a silent prayer, and just shared what came to my mind.  I have learned to trust in the Lord to 'give me what to say in the very hour' when I need it.  He is so kind and merciful and wants to bless us.  I mean, He really wants to bless us!  It was such a great stake conference, filled with the spirit, as we learned more about ministering as the Savior would have us do.  And the music was incredible--I have loved listening to all of the choirs in the stake conferences!  Today, for the intermediate hymn we all stood to sing "The Spirit of God".  I have never felt more power as the whole stake stood in unison to sing that hymn than today.  There was an outpouring of the spirit, and as the hymn says, 'the spirit of God like a fire is burning'--I really felt that today as it was sung.  We were so grateful to be there.
We have attended about 27-28 stake conferences a year--so in doing the math, that's about 80 or so!
And have spoken in at least one or more of the sessions.  It's been such a blessing, but I am happy to go sit in the congregation now!
We are looking forward to our transfer week this week!  We say good-by to 21 missionaries on Wednesday morning and welcome 16 new ones that afternoon!  It's always a fun week.  This one is different for us, because we welcome them really for President and Sister Keung.  I actually think the Keung's will be able to meet them in the MTC on Tuesday, because they are there at their New Mission President's Seminar--so that would be wonderful if they do!
As our mission comes to a close, it is beyond difficult to articulate my feelings for this experience.  I will be forever grateful to the Lord for letting us have this time to serve with these incredible missionaries and be part of the gathering of Israel.

Boxed and ready to load!

Moving van is here!

President and Sister Nzojibwame of the West Stake, and us!

Us and President and Sister Thompson of the Bow River Stake

Us and President and Sister Craig of the Fish Creek Stake

lunch at New Trainer's meeting!

All of our New Trainers! They will be awesome!

Fun visit from two of our returned missionaries-Cally Rumbolt and Courtney Messick!

Us with Sassa & Tony Stephen- Steve's second counselor in the mission presidency.