Lots of Visitors, New trainers meeting, preparing for huge transfer!

Last week Steve did 37 interviews for departing missionaries at 30 minutes an interview! That's a lot of time spent! The missionaries always enjoy this final interview with their mission president though--some are really sad to have it come. But I have to think there is a twinge of excitement, too!
We also had our New Trainer's meeting on Friday. We will have 30 missionaries training the new ones arriving tomorrow! This is the biggest group we have ever had come--28 tomorrow, and then 2 Mandarin speaking elders arriving on the 15th. We had a good meeting, and discussed the importance of loving and caring for your new companion, and setting a good example for them. We also talked about striving to achieve our Standards of Excellence each transfer, effectively using Preach my Gospel, being obedient, and being humble enough to accept your new companion's suggestions for the work. We have a good group of trainers and are excited for them to go forward with this new assignment. This transfer will really change up our mission as we welcome 30 new missionaries with their enthusiasm and excitement, and I think in September we get 23 more! It's quite a turnover!
So, we have been busy preparing for this week and all the little details that will happen with this transfer, with so many going and coming. We also spoke in two different sacrament meetings on Sunday, one in the Confederation Park 6th ward, and one up in Airdrie. Of course we spoke on member missionary work--we just hope something we said might have inspired someone to reach out to a friend, or acquaintance and share the gospel with them. We realize that when we were home we weren't the best member missionaries, and so we feel like we need to repent and not only do better here, but do better when we get home! We have committed to talk with everyone we can about the gospel, and we have had some great little experiences, with hotel clerks, housecleaning staff at the hotel, gas station attendants, servers in restaurants. Two agreed to have the missionaries meet with them, one took a pass-along card and said she would watch the video of Christ on it, and we gave one a Book of Mormon. It really has been fun to do, and we feel like we are doing what we should do, and we pray that one of them will actually embrace this wonderful, glorious gospel, and receive the blessings from it. If every member of the church that is 12 and older would pray about just one person to share the gospel with--think what could happen! It would be incredible!
We also had great visits this week--one from our returned missionary, Angel Rodriguez and his girlfriend Andrea. Then, my dearest friends of 37 years, Sue and Annie and their husbands, Kery and Gary came to visit. We were able to go to dinner with them and catch up! It was so fun to see them! And then on Thursday night my youngest brother Brett, and his two oldest twins, Devin and Hope, and my Mom came to visit. It was so great to see them! They spent the night with us and attended our New Trainer's meeting with us on Friday. We even had Devin and Hope be the investigators in a role play with our assistants. It was great! It was wonderful to see them, and we sent them on their way home Friday after the meeting.
This transfer we say good-by to one of our assistants, Elder Assily who has served so faithfully and diligently. We will miss him, but know there are great things in store for him as he returns home. And so we welcome a new assistant in- Elder Wolfe. And we are excited to have him serve in this capacity. One thing I have learned, is that as we send wonderful, diligent great missionaries home, the Lord always sends us wonderful new ones to replace them! And so the work keeps going!