The Office, The Nates - and The Badger Building

*Entrance to the California Santa Rosa mission office*

I love our mission office and truly enjoy working there. From the very first day—over two years ago when I walked through its doors—I felt a strong, peaceful spirit and an immediate sense of belonging. The office is located at the back of the Rincon Valley Ward building on Badger Road, affectionately known as the Badger Building. This is our mission headquarters, where we hold many of our meetings, trainings, and gatherings.

*Back of the Badger Building - Doorway to the mission office*

The office is just the right size for our needs, and we recently brightened it up with a fresh coat of paint and some new artwork. In the office a favorite spot for missionaries is the area around the advancement board. That’s where they gather to look at the photo magnets arranged by departure date. They love seeing who’s heading home next and are always surprised to see how quickly their own photo is moving forward. They love to tease each other by moving the magnets around much to Sister Nate’s chagrin who organizes them not only by date but also in alphabetical order.

This week, President Quinn and I attended our regular office meeting, which we hold each transfer with our office staff to prepare for incoming missionaries and coordinate our calendars. We are deeply grateful for our office team and all they do to keep the mission running smoothly. The office staff consists of the Nates - Office Missionaries, the Cawleys - Housing Coordinators, the Frodshams - Vehicle Fleet Coordinators, and the Ritchies the Mission Health Advisor and MLS Missionary. In this blog post I’d like to share with you what the Nates do to bless our mission as they serve here in our office each day.

*Office missionaries - the Nates and the Cawleys with the Quinns*

Our office is run by the Nates. Sister Nate serves as our office administrator, and Elder Nate is our finance secretary. Sister Nate stays busy with countless tasks some of which are organizing travel documents, transfer books, weekly newsletters, supply orders, orientation packets, and departure notices; coordinating zone conference lunches; preparing meals for missionaries; and creating the photo magnets for the advancement board. One of her favorite times is when she receives baptism photos for the CASRM weekly newsletter—she literally claps her hands for joy each time a photo arrives! She’s a friend to everyone and loves greeting missionaries as they come through the office. The missionaries love her!

Elder Nate handles the financial side of the mission, balancing the budget, paying bills, and managing accounts payable. He says the mission’s largest expenses are the rent and utilities for missionary apartments. He also keeps the MSF (Mission Support Fund) cards updated. What he enjoys most about his service is witnessing the faith, maturity, and spiritual depth of the 18- and 19-year-old missionaries, as well as their enthusiasm for the work. The missionaries think he is awesome and has a fun sense of humor.

An added mission bonus for the Nates is having family close by—their son, KC, and his family live right here in Santa Rosa, which means four of their eighteen grandchildren are nearby. We love the Nates and are so grateful for their devoted service to the mission and missionaries.

*The Nates with their son KC and his wife Candice and their four children - Ella, Hayden, Beckett, and Dolly*

Here are additional photos that tell you more about our office and show more of the artwork:

Office area where packages from home are kept for the zone leaders to pick up to take back to the missionaries in their zones. This art work of Minerva Teichert’s - “The Rescue of the Lost Lamb” is one of my favorites!

*I love this painting of Christ with “The Woman at the Well”*

*Wall with photos of former CASRM Mission Leaders*

*President and Sister Quinn in their office area*

*“The Cave” - The AP’s, Tech Missionaries, and Sister Ritchies office area*

*Sister Youngberg and Pilling coming through the office to pick up supplies*

*My own personal private office when needed - a classroom 13*

This week also included more interviews and our Mission Leadership Council (MLC). It has been another great week here in Norther California! Thanks for reading our mission update. We hope you enjoyed learning more about our office and how it operates.

And here is our #15 “Coming to Know Him” journal prompt! We’re so excited for each new prompt‼️ Have a beautiful day! Sister Quinn

A few more photos from the week:

The Office, The Nates - and The Badger Building

Family, Faith and Fun - Santa Rosa CA