Missionaries are Temp Workers -- Count on Change

One thing you can always count on is change. With our mission we regularly see changes. People come and go, and missionaries are really only Temp-Workers. They come into the mission with a release date assigned along with their start date. They are assigned to an area and may have a long or short stay. Scheduled transfers happen every six weeks. We may not move around, but that doesn't mean anything stays the same.

Today was our first Sunday in the wards since the recent transfers, which brought changes to both wards we attend. In Steung Mean Chey we kept Elder Beckstead and welcomed back Elder Maurer, who served in Steung Mean Chey a year ago. Sisters changed as well. We kept Sister Gallahad and welcomed Sister Clark (from Morgan Utah), and Sister Im (the sisters are in a threesome for now). We were feeling very blessed to have 5 translators in Steung Mean Chey, then we learned that the young missionaries were the speakers today. We still were blessed for their services.

This afternoon at Chaktomuk ward we also saw the effects of the changes. Sister Sheffield moved from Steung Mean Chey to join Sister Larsen as the Senior Sister Training Leaders.  We kept Elder Asay, still serving as Assistant to the President, but now Elder Lauritzen is his companion as the new AP.

Missionaries are not the only ones who come and go. As we left sacrament meeting in Chaktomuk Ward we happened upon a picture taking event for the International Branch. Caleb and Kim Baker and their family, who have been here for a year with his job, will now be moving to Belgium. We came in just in time to help take photos, and sign a photo for the Bakers to take with them. We have had opportunities to interact with many of the members of the branch as well.

We think of all the changes we have seen during our mission and we are so thankful to be some of these Temp Workers who have been called to serve here in Cambodia.