The New Year, Great Potential! - And Some Fun News
Elders Black and Wright serving in Fairfield
The final days of the year were filled with celebrations, including some fun missionary birthdays. Sometimes companions look so alike they could be siblings, and in this case, even twins! Elders Black and Wright, companions for two transfers, both celebrated their birthdays on December 28. They kind of look like each other — don’t they? Elder Gonzales rang in his birthday on New Year’s Eve, December 31. And we even have a New Year’s day baby, Elder Griguhn! His mother received gifts for delivering the first baby of the year at her hospital. What a joyful way to welcome the new year.
Elder Griguhn and Elder Gonzales
2025 was truly a year to remember. It was filled with magnificent miracles, incredible missionaries, and many friends entering the waters of baptism. This year, 462 people were baptized. Our “stretch goal”, reset in September, was 476. I am thrilled with this number. We increased the number of baptisms by nearly 3X from the previous year. This is a sign of the dedicated and faith-filled service of our missionairies! We really knocked our numbers “out of the park” this year. Good job everyone!
Sister Dyreng and Hermana Brimhall, our tech missionaries, in Santa Rosa
As a mission leader, I reflect on the past year with a heart full of gratitude and joy. Our amazing Tech Sisters created a delightful end-of-year video featuring the faces of our CASRM missionaries. It’s available on our mission’s Google Drive and is such a gift to watch.
Our daughter Hannah and her family joined us for Christmas and New Year’s. We have enjoyed having our children join us on our mission. Unfortunatley, the flu bug also joined us for a few days. As a family, we were grateful to have the flu bug behind us and were able to enjoy a day in San Francisco. We walked through Ghirardelli Square (I love chocolate) and snapped a photo at Baker Beach with the Golden Gate Bridge behind us. Such a sweet memory.
Ghirardelli in San Fransico since 1852
Elaine and Alice Francis
Quinns and Francis family at Bakers Beach with Golden Gate Bridge in background
Ken, Alice, Elders Bracken and Parrish, Sister Quinn, Elaine, President Quinn, Hannah and Sam
New Year’s Eve brought simple fun as we made crowns and popped sparklers together.
Looking ahead, 2026 promises new opportunities, fresh beginnings, and new ways to become more like our Savior. I especially loved Elder Wilson’s, one of our missionaries, New Year’s resolution: “To build and maintain spiritual momentum.”
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf beautifully reminds us:
“May I invite you to rise to the great potential within you. Do the best you can, and the Lord will provide the rest. Have faith and confidence in Him, and you will see miracles happen in your life and the lives of your loved ones.”
I love the idea of rising to the great potential already within each of us and keeping up that spiritual momentum.
Sisters Hirschi, Remund, with Hermanas Haroldsen, Richins, & Jackson at interviews this week.
2026 will also bring meaningful changes this summer. President Quinn and I recently received word of the mission leaders who will take our place when we are released July 1. We are excited to announce that Ben and Natalie Peterson of Orem, Utah, have been called to serve as the next mission leaders of CASRM. You’ll find more information about them with a photo below.
I knew we would receive this news in December and wondered how I would feel. Would I feel protective of “my babies?” Would it feel strange? Instead, it was a deeply sweet experience. I felt overwhelming gratitude for the Petersons and their willingness to serve and love our missionaries. After Zooming with them, that gratitude turned into excitement. I could feel their love for missionaries and their joy in coming to the California Santa Rosa Mission.
Natalie and Ben Peterson zooming with the Quinns - So fun to meet them!
Meanwhile, President Quinn and I still have much to do and many ideas to pursue. Six months is a lot of time. We are excited to jump into this new year here in CASRM. As we often remind our missionaries. in CASRM, we sprint to the end! That is exactly what we plan to do as we help each of you and ourselves rise to our great potential within!
Happy New Year!
So excited to announce our 26th Coming to Know Him journal prompt! ❤️ ❤️
Here are some more photos from the week. We loved having two former missionaries come visit us! It is always wonderful to catch up and meet the parents. We love these missionaries!!
Elder Nathan Gordon and his parents with President and Sister Quinn
Elder Benjamin Branson and his mother with President and Sister Quinn
Sister Beattie and Hankins at interviews this week
Elders Mecham and Capell at interviews this week. Poor Elder Capell came down with the flu!
Hannah and Sister Quinn at Bakers Beach with Golden Gate Bridge in background
Grammy (Sister Quinn) Hannah, Elaine, Alice and Sam with homemade New Year’s crowns.
Here are a few more photos of Zones wearing their t-shirts:
Speaking of Elder Wilson above, here he is with the Ukiah Zone
Eureka Zone
Vacaville Zone
Fairfield Zone
And now🥁🥁introducing Ben and Natalie Peterson and family
Ben and Natalie Peterson and family
Ben and Natalie Peterson have recently been called as Mission Leaders for the California Santa Rosa Mission beginning July 1st 2026 to July 1st 2029. The official announcement will be in the Church News this Friday Jan. 9th. We were told we could now inform our missionaries. The Petersons are from Orem, Utah and are the parents of six children. Natalie Peterson served a mission to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Ben Peterson served in Caracas/Barcelona Venezuela. They loved their missions!
Natalie Peterson grew up in Arizona and is one of six children. Ben Peterson grew up in Pennsylvania and mostly Utah and is one of ten children. They both graduated from BYU and have raised their family in Orem, Utah.
They have six children, three are married with one granddaughter and one grandson on the way. They have a son on a mission in Guatemala, who will be released the end of July. They have a daughter who is graduating from high school this year and will be with them on their mission for at least the summer. She is excited to meet the missionaries and go on some exchanges with the sisters. Their youngest is a son and will be a sophomore next year. He will be with them the entire mission and while he is sad to leave his friends in Utah, he is excited to have lots of new “big brothers and sisters” in the mission!
They are really excited to be mission leaders and are already praying for and love our missionaries! We can pray for them too as they begin their six months training. Thank you and we love you too! ❤️
Their son - Elder Peterson
