A few more pictures...

Pictures Pictures Pictures:)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas all of you wonderful missionary moms!! Only a few more days until we get to hear from our amazing sons and daughters!:) As I look back on this year I feel so blessed to have a son serving a mission. There is a spirit in our home and a love that was not there prior to his mission. I am thankful for his faithful service and know each of you are too. I can hardly wait until Sunday when we get to speak with Elder Suder!! He is back in Puyallup where he served the firs 9 months of his mission!! He loves it there and is excited to be spending Christmas there again this year. Only 4 transfers left until I get to hold him in my arms!!.. but whos counting!! haha

Merry Christmas and may each of you be blessed with peace and love during this season!!!
Love,
Kristi Suder

October Already!!?

Happy October!!

I am excited to say that we are all one month closer to seeing our wonderful missionaries!! Transfers have come again and wondering where/if your missionaries were transferred!!? As for us, Elder Suder was transferred back to Puyallup. This is the same area where he spent the first 9 months of his mission. He was delighted to be "back home" with so many wonderful, familiar faces. He is still the zone leader and is now serving with Elder Blea. (Is Elder Blea's mom out there?) He was also excited to be back with Elder Smith who is in another companionship but in the same area as well:)

Hope each of you had great letters from your missionaries and I look forward to hearing from each of you!! Only 13 Sundays till we get our phone call!!!! (Thank you Nanali for that reminder!)

Happy Fall:)

Kristi

Elders Ellis and Hunter

I thought this was so cute...I had to share it. It's Elders Ellis and Hunter

Finally new pictures...

They were able to climb Mount Si on P-day with an recent convert. It was a highlight, and I can see why! So beautiful!!

Elder Suder is loving working with Elder Workman! Sounds like they are having great success. He finally sent some new pictures:)

Elder Ellis...and pics from Seattle

Here are some pics that Elder Ellis recently sent home. He was transferred and is in Renton now with Elder Hunter from CA. We just hit the 9 month mark.

Elders Ellis and Rollo (comps in Seattle...but transferred out today)

my district... me, elder and sister maxwell, elder rollo then elder lao and elder van den akker. Elder and Sister Maxwell (the sr couple) work in seattle first ward with the less actives which there is a list of about 700-800 less actives in that ward. I'm not sure WHY they are wearing blue teeth....but it's funny :D

TRANSFER TIME!!!

Hey Sisters!!

Its transfer time again. Cant wait to hear where/if your missionaries are being transferred. I think Elder Suder is being transferred to Bellevue South and will be companions with Elder Workman!! He is so so so excited to be with Elder Workman. Hope you all hear from your missionaries soon. Give us an update once you do!!

Happy P-Day!

Kristi

Its been too long!

Seattle Skyline

Who says that riding tandem is not for missionaries too....

Anyone recognize these amazing Missionaries??

This is hilarious! Elder Suder and his companion left their apt keys at the Elders apt. who were living next door. When they came home this is what they found.... keep in mind that these cups are ALL filled with water!!!! Hahaha.. too much time on their hand I think!

Its been too long!! Im am sorry to the wonderful missionary moms for my delay in updating the blog. It has been a crazy ride at the Suder home. As far as Elder Suder goes, he was transferred to Bellevue this last transfer. It is a very wealthy area and he says the work is progressing. Here are a few pictures that he recently sent. Please feel free to post new pictures of your amazing missionaries as well. I look forward to upcoming transfers and hearing all about your WA-SEA MISSIONARIES!!

Kristi Suder

Beautiful Washington!!!!

Elder Suder sent some absolutely amazing pictures that I could not help but share. I hope you new missionaries waiting to enter the MTC will enjoy seeing what you will soon be experiencing. I am constantly surprised at beauty of Washington!!

Wa-Sea Missionary Moms Luncheon!!!! Come one-Come all!

Seattle Missionary Moms Lunch
Sat, April 30th 12:00pm
Donna Smith's Home

1821 N. 320 W. Orem, UT

Bring: $4 for meal---Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa Salad made by Donna
Treat/Dessert to Share if you want
Bring any pics you want to share of your son/daughter, his companion, area---anything you want because you KNOW we'll all be talking about our missionaries!

It'll be so fun to connect with other Seattle Moms that live in or close to Utah!
Please RSVP to Stefanie @ stefanie@garrinsauto.com

Elder Ellis

A recent update from Elder Ellis:

I got transferred and Elder Van Den Akker stayed (in Snoqualmie)!! how crazy he will now be in that area for 10 1/2 months. i got transferred to the Seattle 7th ward in north seattle stake. so i am actually in seattle now. its way crazy up here and ive always heard crazy stories from other missionaries about when they served in Seattle. so it will definitely be an interesting stay.

My new companion is Elder Thornley and he is from syracuse UT so another one from utah lol... but he goes home at the end of this transfer so i will be here for at least two transfers it looks like

Stefanie Ellis

Just received my call!

Hey! My name is Treyson Lewis and i got my call about a month ago and will be heading to Seattle on June 22nd! I'm way excited to serve and if anyone has any advice on things to prepare or things to bring or leave behind or just any pointers that might be useful, it would be greatly appreciated! thanks!

Treyson

Elder Lindeman and Elder Howell

Mary,
Thanks for your comments. This is Elder Howell's last transfer. He has loved working with the Tongan's. He will be excited to hear that Elder Lindeman is a hard worker. He wants to work hard to the very end. I am sure they will work very well together and will be successful.
Elder Bret Howell is from Spanish Fork, Utah. He has been involved in sports all his life. Another great thing in common. He played baseball and ran track.
They will be wonderful missionaries together.
Elder Howell's mom Tammy

Elder Lindeman and Elder Howell

HI, My son, Gregory Lindeman is Elder Howell's new companion. He is excited to get to know so many Tongan people... At least that is what he has been told. Greg has been out for 2 transfers and was most recently with Elder Aiken in Issaquah. He was surprised to be transferred because they thought Elder Aiken was up for one first. Greg is a hard worker and looks forward to learning from his new companion... It will be fun to hear about him. Greg is most recently from Alpine, UT. He was born in NY and lived there for 12 years then lived in Indiana for 4 years. We moved to Alpine in 2005. Greg played football at Snow College in 2010 so yes, he is big :) and he is used to playing football with the Tongans he hopes to be teaching in his new area.

Mary

April Transfer News

Hi All,

We heard a lot of transfer news on the email and I would love for you to post it here as well. We finally heard from Elder Suder late yesterday afternoon. He was transferred to Auburn and made zone leader. He is in a trio with Elder Serall and a brand new missionary Elder Miller. He is very excited and nervous about the changes. The are serving in a Marshallese Branch and from what I can gather, they only speak Marshallese in the branch. It will be a great time for growth for all three of them, I am sure.

Let us know about your missionaries! Did they stay did they go and who are they serving with????

Have a wonderful week!

Kristi Suder

Elder Workman

My son Judd [Workman] is serving in the Bellevue area.

By Eileen on Transfer News... on 4/6/11

Transfer News...

Elder Ellis and VandenAkker are still companions...neither got transferred. He said only 2 out of 18 companions in their zone got moved around.

Stefanie Ellis





Elder Suder was transferred to another ward in the same stake! After nine months in the same ward/area he was sad to leave. He was so grateful to the wonderful families and leaders in the Surprise Lake ward, but ready to go wherever the Lord would like him to serve. He has a new companion Elder Smith. Seems like they are going to be great companions. I look forward to hearing all about it!

Hope transfers went well for all your amazing missionaries!! Look forward to hearing where they are and who they are with:)
Kristi Suder

Transfers Again!!

Transfers are here again! I have not heard from Elder Suder yet, but would love to hear about your missionaries. It is exciting to see who goes where and if our missionaries cross paths. Let us know when you hear from your son/daughter!!

Happy email day!!!!

Elder Ellis and Elder VandenAkker

Elder Ellis and Elder VandanAkker live in this cute little cottage in Snoqualmie . The first picture is the property behind the cottage. It is so green and beautiful!!



























This is a picture taken just last week after the snow. What a beautiful site!! This could be a postcard!













Elder Ellis and Elder VandanAkker. I was so happy to see seatbelts!! ha! Looks like P-day:)

A note from Sister Graves

Sister Petersen,
I can give you some clarification on a couple of your pictures. The church building is the building your son and Elder Rasmussen serve in. The mission office is also in the same building.We've been told that SLC was not very excited with this building when it was built. I have to admit the first day we say it I couldn't believe it was an LDS building. It's long and rambling.Bellevue is a very wealthy area and the members donated lots of money to have it done the way they wanted.For anyone working in the primary..you would love the nursery. It has large floor to ceiling storage cabinets and an enclosed outdoor patio with riding toys. It's the largest nursery I've ever seen.The mountain behind Elder Petersen is Mount Rainier. It's magnificent to see on a clear day. It almost seems to be floating amid the clouds.The weather has been a bit chilly and rainy the past few weeks but we do see lots of sun. My husband and I are from NC and I was worried about the lack of sunshine so I have kept a calendar noting the amounts of sunshine we have each day and I have been amazed. It's beautiful here and the people are warm and friendly.
Sister Graves
Mission Office

Sister Howell,

Your son and Elder Flickinger are wonderful Zone Leaders. They serve together in the Bellevue South Stake and are over 16 missionaries.Zone Leaders carry a lot of responsibility but do it in such a humble way. My husband is the vehicle coordinator and just saw them both at the Zone Leader Council at the mission home this morning.
Sister Graves
Mission Office

SD Cards... evidence of life in the mission field

I'm not sure about the rest of you mothers - but all the pre-mission pep-talks about sending home pictures has not seemed to work (yet).  But having a birthday helps.  I received a package from Elder Petersen last week and it was wonderful to see evidence that he is indeed alive and well.

He & his companion (Elder Rasmussen) found this in a Lego store.

His birthday gift to me was this Lego kit of the Seattle Space Needle.  I loved it.  It is occupying the prime real estate next to his mission photo.

I suppose when you spend as much time in a car as the missionaries do,
anything catches your attention.  

Of course, I can't have everything.  There was no information to let me know what is going on in each of these pictures.  But, using his (very short) emails - I've pieced together a little information for at least one of the photos.

This must be one of the chapels in Bellevue.

Even though these photos show no other missionaries - perhaps you may see something that will ring a bell from one of your letters.

I thought this was a sweet picture of how they "decorated" for Christmas.

Hmmmm.  Gingerbread house?  Maybe made for them by Primary children?

Before he left for the MTC, I knew he would not take the time to print photos.  That's why I ordered three fairly inexpensive SD cards and sent them with him along with a few padded envelopes.  This is the second one I've received in about 3-1/2 months.  I guess that isn't too bad?  I download them onto my computer and then send it right back, hoping I'll see it again in a few months.  Now I'm wishing I had given him better instruction on how to shoot a good picture.  I'm not complaining though - I'm happy to receive anything.

Elder Petersen with (what I'm assuming?) is Mt. Rainier in the background.

A very unexpected baptism.  Elder Petersen arrived in Bellevue on a Tuesday,
then was asked to baptize this sister the following Saturday.
He was thrilled (and humbled) to be able to baptize the prior Elders' candidate.

I have several others of what the apartment looks like, some winter scenery in Bellevue, and how they celebrated Christmas.  If anyone is interested - let me know and I'll post them also.

Thanks Nancy!!

Hey missionary moms,
For those of you not on the email list, I wanted to post an email that was sent from Nancy who lives in the Seattle Mission and is always on the lookout for our missionaries. She has been amazing about updating every time she sees or visits with them. Thank you Nancy!!! She wrote the following:

For the Seattle moms:

We had stake conference this weekend and heard the Larkins speak. They are
such down-to-earth people and just wonderful. They both spoke at our adult
session on Saturday, and then there was a youth fireside Sunday afternoon
where they were the speakers. She told the story that she told at our last
conference - about a girl who lived down the street from them and wanted to
be a part of the fun she had at her house with the YW. He spoke about
missionary work and had fun games where the kids were to stand if they had
been preparing for a year, 2 years, etc. About 5 kids were still standing
when he asked if they had been preparing their whole lives. He found one
young man who was a convert of 3 years and had him share his testimony. The
interesting thing about President Larkin is that his voice is booming when
he first gets up to speak. I can imagine the stake president was almost
scrambling for the volume control for the mic when he started his remarks.
But when he's talking about something sacred, his voice is almost a whisper.
What a great couple they are.


The elders and sister arrived at our stake center about an hour before the
conference started. They mingled with people they knew from their wards.
As people were filing in, they stood at the doorway like a color guard to
greet people. It was an awesome sight. I saw Elder Suder again, but didn't
get a chance to shake his hand this time. I should have written down the
names, but if your missionary is serving in the Puyallup stake, they were
probably there. It was an awesome conference from beginning to end.



Nancy in Bonney Lake, WA - Puyallup stake and Seattle mission

Feel the LOVE

I had to show a little LOVE in our background this month. I felt that this represented the LOVE we have for our missionaries, the LOVE they have for the work they are doing and the LOVE that the Savior has for each one of us.

May your February be filled with LOVE!!

Finally some Pictures

Well after months(And I do mean months!) of begging for pictures, Elder Suder sent some pictures with his email~





A couple of investigators.. hope she doesn't have a hard punch!! haha.







Passing another car of missionaries on the road. Anyone recognize these Elders?













A Tongan meal fed to Elder Suder and Elder Westover. They LOVE this family!!











Christmas morning all snuggled in a snuggie!

The view from Elder Suder and Elder Westover's appt. ... the boy from Colorado thought he would get a weather change on his mission... hmmmm, I guess it snows in Washington too:)

Elder Howell/Elder Flickenger

My son Elder Bret Howell was transfrred to Bellevue South. His new companion is Elder Flickenger from Nephi, UT. Elder Howell is excited to serve in Bellevue. He love the Seattle Mission.

-Tammy

Elder White

Elder White is staying in the University of Washington Singles Ward. He was been there 12 weeks and was happy to get to stay. They had a baptism on Saturday and were so excited. They have been working really hard so it was nice to see someone fully embrace the gospel and be so excited about it! His new companion is Elder Vang from Sacramento, CA. He has been out for six months. Funny, that is where I grew up and 45 minutes from our house. He also commented on Elder Kearon giving a fireside for new members and that it was great! They were excited to introduce their new convert to him after the meeting was over. He is really enjoying the Seattle area. I think we are going to send him a "sunshine package" to help him endure all that rain!

Jennifer

Elder Perkins/Elder Bergstrom

My son Elder Perkins was transferred to Bellevue 2nd Ward. His new companion is Elder Bergstrom from Cedar City.

-Phyllis

A little more on transfers

Thank you Anne for the wonderful information. I always get confused on exactly how the transfers work. As for Elder Suder he is staying in Surprise Lake. He is going into his 8th month there but so excited to stay. He is now the District Leader and is staying with his companion Elder Westover. We fasted as a family this week for him and his companion that they would be blessed with open doors and softened hearts. Those prayers were answered and they saw the blessings come as they had great success this week. He said, "I know that the Lord will bless us... he always does. So many miracles happened this last week. We were able to see physical proof that comes after a trial of your faith!"

This applies to us as well. May the Lord keep each of your missionaries in the hollow of His hands while they are on His errand.

PS-Anne, I too am begging for pictures!!! Will post once I get some:)

Thinking of you all today!!

A little "FYI" on Transfer Days

Hopefully you've heard from your missionary today.  I knew it had been six weeks since the last transfer, so I was expecting a delay.  My son (Elder Chal Petersen) remained in Bellevue with his current companion - Elder Rasmussen.  He mentioned a few things in his email today that I wish I had known before.  Thought I'd share it in case you were a little confused like I was.

Transfer Day Info:

Transfers are usually every six weeks.  So - that would mean the next one will be around March 8th (?)

The Assistants to the President send out a voicemail to all the Zone Leaders just before the upcoming transfer - either Saturday or Sunday night - letting them know who is being transferred.

Those being transferred are then notified by the Zone Leaders, and they attend a transfer meeting where they find out where they are going and who their new companions are.

Preparation Day - which is usually on Mondays - changes to Tuesday (or whatever day Transfer Day is) for the entire mission.

When a transfer happens, they usually change up who is in each District so they can meet more of the missionaries serving in the mission.

There are usually four companionships in a District, and then 3 or 4 Districts in each Zone.

Bellevue Area Info:

Last Saturday all the missionaries in the Bellevue area (and maybe even other areas also - he didn't say) had a special meeting with four visiting members of the Seventy - Elders Clayton, Keerin, Merrill, and Bussy.  They made sure they met each missionary individually, shook hands with each one, and then opened the meeting up for questions.  He said that was a pretty amazing meeting.

He also mentioned that the Stake Presidency has all the missionaries serving within the stake boundaries over for breakfast to one of their homes monthly.  He describes the Stake Presidency as "awesome" - I'm sure the same adjective describes every Stake Presidency serving in the Seattle Mission.

Wish I had pictures :(   but if I keep sending reminders, maybe a miracle will occur and I'll have some to post soon.  Hope you have all heard from your missionaries and that all is well wherever they are serving in Washington.