Welcome to the TKM!

On April 4, 2024, we welcomed 10 new missionaries to the Tennessee Knoxville Mission.

We welcomed 8 of them at the McGhee-Tyson Airport who flew in from Provo, Utah. Sister Arnold and Elder Lindsay were delayed flying in from the Mexico Missionary Training Center, so we missed them in the picture at the airport.

This is a really long day for these missionaries. They woke up at 3am in Utah and haven’t slept since. They are hungry and tired. We have a dinner at the mission home and briefly share some thoughts, then get them off to the hotel to get some rest.

The next morning we start at 8am at the Farragut building where they receive orientation on things like finances, healthcare, vehicles, apartments, and adjusting to missionary life. Sister Barlow and I have the opportunity to interview each of them. Then we take them to the University of Tennessee campus to do some street contacting and invite people to learn more.

We love getting these pictures with missionaries on the first day, because we will look back on these in 18 and 24 months and see very clearly how much they have changed due to the many experiences that lie ahead.

One of the most exciting things we get to do as mission leaders is to assign these new missionaries their first companion. Our handbook tells us to only select the most capable missionaries to be trainers. It is the most important leadership role because trainers build the future of the mission. As we think about transfers, the very first step we do is identify who should be the trainers.

When we announce these companionships, we invite the new missionary to stand and then introduce them to their trainer and their first area. It is a really important moment for these new missionaries, thus a really exciting moment for all of us.