Elder & Sister Lindsay with Baltimore Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta
All of the missionaries in the Maryland Baltimore Mission gathered at the Columbia Stake Center on December 17, 2012 for a transfer meeting, Christmas dinner and special program. The was the first time since we came to the mission 15 months ago that all of us were together in the same place at the same time. While it was a wonderful opportunity for all of the elders and sisters to interact with each other for a few hours, this was also somewhat of a bittersweet experience as we said goodbye to 17 of these young men and women who had just completed their mission assignments and were leaving the next morning to travel to their homes around the world and be reunited with their families in time for Christmas.
As a surprise, Mark Richards, the mission president, arranged to have Dennis Pitta, the 27 year old tight end for the Baltimore Ravens professional football team, come to the dinner with his wife as a special guest. Dennis, who is 6 feet 4 inches tall, is a graduate of Brigham Young University and a member of the Church living in the Eldersburg Ward of the Columbia Stake. Brother and Sister Pitta spoke to the missionaries for a few minutes, and then it was my responsibility to take a photograph of each elder, sister, and senior missionary couple with the football player (that was no small task with more than 150 people lined up for this photo opportunity).
As you look at the photograph, you may be wondering why each of us is wearing a Hawaiian shell lei. One of the departing elders is from the Big Island, and his family sent a whole box of them to the mission office for their son to distribute to everyone at our Christmas get-together. Sister Lindsay and I have now placed ours on the Christmas tree in our apartment.
As a surprise, Mark Richards, the mission president, arranged to have Dennis Pitta, the 27 year old tight end for the Baltimore Ravens professional football team, come to the dinner with his wife as a special guest. Dennis, who is 6 feet 4 inches tall, is a graduate of Brigham Young University and a member of the Church living in the Eldersburg Ward of the Columbia Stake. Brother and Sister Pitta spoke to the missionaries for a few minutes, and then it was my responsibility to take a photograph of each elder, sister, and senior missionary couple with the football player (that was no small task with more than 150 people lined up for this photo opportunity).
As you look at the photograph, you may be wondering why each of us is wearing a Hawaiian shell lei. One of the departing elders is from the Big Island, and his family sent a whole box of them to the mission office for their son to distribute to everyone at our Christmas get-together. Sister Lindsay and I have now placed ours on the Christmas tree in our apartment.
Sadly, we had about a dozen new missionaries scheduled to arrive from Utah in the afternoon in time for this Christmas event but their flight was grounded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania due to heavy fog. The airline put the elders and sisters in a hotel overnight until they could safely travel to Baltimore on Tuesday morning on the first available flight.
Each of the six mission zones provided delightful entertainers for a special talent show, which everyone really enjoyed. We have some "really awesome" (President Richards' favorite superlative phrase) musicians and comedians among the missionary workforce with their incredible energy and enthusiasm, which tends to remind the senior couples of how it used to be for those of us who have somehow grown older.
Sister Lindsay and I were happy to see and speak with Brother and Sister Pitta again while we were at the Washington DC Temple on Tuesday morning. Dennis explained that Tuesday is his day off from his work schedule with the Ravens.
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