All good things must come to an end!

On our departing day we had the chance to say good-bye at the mission office for the very last time. Good-bye to our beloved missionaries, represneted by Elder Zitumane and Elder Campbell. Go well and know we love you all. Please look us up when you return home and know we will never ever forget you and are anxious to stay in touch!

President Dunn was so fortunate to have these two as great Assistants right to the end. They have the privilege of serving longer together than expected due to the earlier transition of the Dunn's and the Leavitts.

Good-bye hugs are always sweet to capture. They all get hugs from me after their missions!

We then said good-bye to President and Sister Leavitt
They are off to a great start and already have their first transfer underway.

Great to have Elder Campbell and Elder Zitumane join us. The Assistants will be such a help to the Leavitt's. It is great to leave it in such good fashion.

Good-bye to the Elder and Sister Larson. They also leave in a few weeks and are now training their replacement. We have loved working and serving with them and honor the way they have loved and socialized with so many wonderful members of their ward. They also have done such a great job with their office roles. They leave it all improved and are now training the Wagner's to take over. It is a great way to leave knowing everything is in such good hands.

Elder and Sister Wagner have arrived just as we go. They are a wonderful addition to the office staff and have arrived at the perfect time. They will take over for the Larson's in just a few weeks. It is a blessing for them to arrive right when the Leavitt's came. They will all start off together for a grand adventure. We wish them all well.

Last but not least!  Our dear friend Tyler has come to bid us farewell. Tyler and Lynne drove all the away from Centurion to see us off today. It reminds me of when they came to visit me at the mission home in September of 2014 just after I arrived. They have been the dearest friends and wonderful members to associate with. We love them dearly and will look forward to seeing them stateside when they come to visit. As you can see from Tyler's shirt- she plans to attend BYU and knows we will be together in the future.  They are family!

Final Departing Missionaries!

Our last departing Elders were Elder Masiya and Elder Irakiza. We want to highlight these last two Elders.

The last video reflections...thanks to the Gatten's.

Elder Irakize from Burundi 

 Elder Masiya from Malawi

Elder Owen Masiya heads home today as our very last departing missionary.  He departs the day we also get transferred. We love this valiant missionary son. he is from Malawi and was converted by his uncle who is also the branch president.He is the only member in his immediate family. He has been such an obedient, diligent, consecrated missionary. We look forward to staying in touch with him.

See the departing video reflections here of Elder Masiya, Elder Irtakize and also us. We all are transitioning on this March 21st date. Elder Irakize actually flies out this Friday so we didn't get a chance to take his final pictures.

https://youtu.be/UMUbZuOH6IE

The SAJM mission pin is the last thing Elder Masiya gets before flying to Malawi. Go well!

Standing at the airport with Elder Masiya is very poignant. We have said good-bye to over 400 missionaries in this same place over the past 3 years. It is always bittersweet to stand here and know there mission is over, but their life is just beginning.
All the best Elder Masiya.

Cumorah Crest #49

Empty Mission Home

After three years of living in this space, it is amazing to pack up all our personal items and get the house ready for the next mission president and companion. On Wednesday March 15th the Bailey Moving company came and packed and left us with a clean house ready for the Leavitt's to bring their personal items and make this house their new home for the next three years.

Luckily, we get to leave the important things for the Leavitt's. Even though we leave all the missionaries behind and all their pictures on the wall, we take them all home in our hearts and also in our scrapbook!

Guest room ready and waiting

I lvoe this room and all the visitors that stayed here.

Lots of meals happened around this table.

I love this galley area and wash area. It certainly got a lot of use from us and missionaries as well.

Our last Sunday with the Leavitt's had some of my favorite foods ready and staged for final dinner in the mission home for us and together with the Leavitt's.

We had one fridge full of food I had prepared and some they can have for leftovers

and the front fridge completely cleaned and ready for them to move in.

View to the back yard!

I loved this library area and used it so many different ways over the three years. We hosted orientation meetings here, did buffet tables and all the scrapbooking at this table. Great memories!

This table (in all it's lengths) got so much use.

Looks clean and ready for the Leavitt's

We really transformed this room and loved using it for interviews. It is such a great room with so much natural light. 

Ready for the Leavitt's

New bedding and a great new pillow for the Leavitt's

Views from the bedroom

Master Bath!

View from the bedroom

Love this picture of the Big5!

New addition to the mission home. See the blog post with all the individual pictures attached of each Elder in the mission holding Elder Latu's badge.

This is a memory place holder. The house looks so nice and clean and ready for transition. We are grateful for all the choice memories we have in this place and we felt the mission home had a great spirit from al that had come before. We were honored to live in this historic mission home