Mission Office Staff

President and Sister Trayner were called to preside over the Texas McAllen Mission in July 2010.  They will preside over the mission for three years.  President Trayner has served as a bishop and stake president in the Salt Lake area.  Before being called as mission president he was the president of a law firm in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Last summer, 7 local service missionaries were called by the stake presidents in the McAllen Stake and the McAllen West Stake to serve in the mission office.  This enabled the mission office to function without any full time elders or sisters.  At the present time we are the only full time senior couple working in the mission office.
We enjoy serving with these wonderful elders and sisters.  They have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome here in Southern Texas.  We have a great love for these wonderful servants of the Lord.



President Stephen Trayner and Sister Sandra Trayner

Elder Ervin Mantle and Sister April Mantle
Office Secretary

Sister Amparo Gonzales
Finance

Elder Ricardo and Sister Nidia Rios

Cars, Phones, & Referrals

 

 

Elder John Valdez
Mission Supplies and bikes

About the Texas McAllen Mission

The Texas McAllen Mission is comprised of nine zones in 4 stakes and one district.  The boundaries are:  Laredo on the west, Brownsville on the southeast, Corpus Christi on the northeast.  There are between 170 to 180 young missionaries and 8 fulltime senior couple missionaries.  In addition there are 7 local service missionaries that serve in the office.  The mission office is located at 200 W La Vista Ave, McAllen, Texas.  The mission office is located in the McAllen Stake Center.



Front of the McAllen Stake Center

Entry way to mission office

Front door to mission office

This is where it all happens!

Our Assignment

President and Sister Trayner were very excited to have us in the mission at last.  After one day to unpack and shop we began our adventure as housing coordinators for the mission.  There are about 80 apartments for which we are responsible.  We also make sure the missionaries have furnishings and household items that they need.  Because there had not been anyone specifically assigned to oversee housing for some time, we had a big job ahead of us.  The first couple of weeks we shopped til we dropped!  We had to catch up on a lot of needed supplies and household items for the apartments.  We spent a lot of time at Walmart, Target, and Lowe's.  Sister Choules enjoyed this much more that Elder Choules.  Some of the items we purchased were:  microwave ovens, blenders, toasters, vacuums, mops & brooms, toilet brushes, bathmats, front door mats, etc.
After making our purchases, we then had to organize and label the items by apartment and zones.  We had to do this in a weeks time so we could get the items to the zone leaders at the Zone Leaders Council which was on Feb 1, 2012.  The zone leaders then were able to distribute the items to the apartments.  Hurray, we did it!

Arriving in Texas

We arrived in McAllen, Texas on January 23, 2012 after a 3 day journey from Provo, Utah.  After a brief stop at the mission office we went to our new apartment. 
Our apartment complex is the Villa de Nolana and is a very nice gated community about a mile from the mission office.  It is a one bedroom apartment with new furnishings.  It seems small compared to our home, but it is all we really need.  One advantage is that it is a lot easier to clean.

When we opened the door we were met with a surprise banner from our grandchildren.

We arrived in the mission the same day as the new elders and sisters arrived.  After we unloaded our car, we went to the mission home for a Texas Barbeque with brisket, ribs, and chicken. 

After dinner we went to see Brice and Emily and our 3 grandchildren.  They were excited to see us and we were excited to see them!  Not only do we get to serve a mission but we get to serve where our daughter Emily and her family live.  What a blessing!