August 10, 2015 Oakland, CA
Here is what we know about Connor's Mission President and his wife:
Brent Alan Palmer, 62, and Karen Sue Testi Palmer, five children, Mercer Island Ward, Bellevue Washington South Stake: California Modesto Mission. Brother Palmer serves as an area executive secretary and is a former stake presidency counselor, stake mission president, bishop, elders quorum president, ward mission leader and missionary in the New York Rochester Mission. Executive vice president and chief valuation officer, New Tower Trust Company. Born in Salt Lake City to Earl Harman Palmer and Shirley Ann Moscon Palmer.
Sister Palmer serves as a ward Primary worker and is a former stake Primary presidency counselor, ward Young Women and Primary president and ward missionary. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, to Thomas Testi and Shirley Mae Bock Testi.
And, here is a picture of Connor with President Palmer and his wife in the mission home on the day he arrived.
The group of new missionaries in the mission home together. Some of them were from Connor's MTC District, including his companion, Elder Elliott (who is in the front row on the very left).
Some information about the new Modesto California Mission:
The California Modesto Mission was created from the California Fresno and the California Sacramento missions beginning July 1, 2015. The mission is currently divided into six proselyting zones serving six stakes: Lodi, Modest, Modesto North, Manteca, Stockton and Turlock.
Modest is located in the heart of one of the greatest agricultural areas of our nation--The San Joaquin Valley. According to various reports, the San Joaquin Valley is widely considered one of the most productive areas in the world. Dairy, nuts, fruits, grapes and poultry products are some of the top commodities.
Centrally located on Highway 99, Modesto is easily accessible from throughout California. West of the valley and over the coastal mountain ranges lies the San Francisco Bay area, a 90 mile drive from Modesto. Eastward are the foothills that house the famed Gold County "Mother Lode" and lead to the majestic Sierra Nevada mountain range and Yosemite National Park
The mission office is located in Modesto, California. The mission home is located in Ripon, California.
The mission and its boundaries:
Connor was able to email us when he arrived. Here is the letter he sent:
Hey Mom and Dad! It was so good to get to talk to you today!! I'm so glad I got the chance to actually talk to you guys and hear your voices! So I arrived safely in Oakland, and we met our Mission President and his wife, and we drove and hour and a half to Modesto. I haven't talked to him much yet, I think I have an interview with him soon, but he seems really cool and nice! His wife is super nice!! I think I'm gonna really like them :) On the plane ride, I talked to the guy sitting next to me (super scary!) and he said that there's been a huge drought here so that'll be interesting! A question for Dad: He was Catholic and his wife is a member, but she's an intellectual and questions some things in the church. He said one thing that she has problems with is that there was a transcript or something that was found, and it supposedly showed that there were major differences in Joseph Smith's translation and an actual translation...or something like that. Are you aware of anything related to that? I'm not worried at all, just curious if there's anything behind that or if he didn't know what he was talking about :) For Mom: Thanks for the advice in your email! That's super cool with Debbie! That was a really good reminder about the endowment! Thank you so much for the motivation :) Anyways, I just talked to you guys so I don't have a ton to say, but they let us get on to email cause Monday is P-Day. Everything is going well! I'm feeling pretty good about things...a little overwhelmed but feeling ok. I haven't met my trainer or gotten my area yet, but I'll let you know as soon as possible! Thanks for everything you do for me! Again, I'm so glad I got to talk to you! I miss you both so much! I love you!!
Love, Connor :)
I had sent him a "greenie" package so that he would get it when he arrived. Here are a couple pictures of that. I was pretty proud of it. When I first had everything laid out I was pretty sure it wouldn't fit in the box from the post office. But, IT DID...everything! It was packed in pretty tight, but it worked. He loved it!
We were anxious to hear about his first area and his new companion. But, we knew that it would be another full week before he could email again. That Sunday morning I received a text from Sister Palmer with a picture and a message. It said, "Visiting in Jackson. We love your missionaries." Here is the picture she sent. It totally made my day--my week, actually!
Elder Hopkin, President Palmer, Elder Dixon
August 16, 2015
We now join the 88,000+ families who are anxious each week to hear from their missionaries. Mondays now take on a new meaning, at least for me.
If you want to know more about missionary work you can visit this site:
https://www.lds.org/callings/missionary?lang=eng
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