Dear Family, Friends and Elders and Sisters who have served in the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission,

This is President Shumway. Usually, Sister Shumway is the one that keeps up on this blog but I felt like I wanted to be the one to share two things with anyone who might be interested.

First; as I know some of you have heard, the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission will officially cease to exist on July 1st, 2015.  The Mission Home will be moved from Tulsa, to Bentonville, Arkansas which means the name of the mission will also change. The Oklahoma Tulsa Mission will become the Arkansas Bentonville Mission. There are no boundary changes. The Mission retains all of it's stakes and wards as presently constituted.
The First Presidency approved this change just a little over three weeks ago and so Sister Shumway and I are busily trying to close down the home in Tulsa and move furniture and office equipment to our new home in Bentonville.
This has been a long and complicated process but we have felt the Lord's hand, and His promptings, as each phase was completed.  This new and more central location will mean much less travel for the Mission President and it will be much for efficient for the communication challenges that naturally exist in such a geographically large mission.
Our thoughts and emotions are tender as we think back on the 50 year history of the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission. This mission home has welcomed thousands of missionaries through it's doors.  And it has bid an emotional and tearful goodbye to that same number. We are honored to be here at this time and we are well aware of the obligation we have to end strong as we remember the efforts given by everyone who has served and labored here in the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission.
At the same time, we are excited to work towards the motto of, "End Strong, but, Begin Stronger." We will try and create as much momentum as we can so that the new Arkansas Bentonville Mission will carry on the tradition of hard work and obedience established by so many.

Second; we have been contacted by many who wondered when we would be reporting our mission to our home ward in Pleasant Grove, Utah.  We will be speaking on July the 12th and church begins at 9:00 am. The address is1106 East 200 South...Pleasant Grove, Utah.   We would LOVE to see you all there!!! 

Sister Shumway and I have LOVED this mission and we count it as one of the greatest blessings of our lives to have served here at this time. We are truly torn.  We want to go home...but we really don't want to leave.  We will miss our service and the people that we have come to love. We will miss "our" missionaries and the beautiful scenery of Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri. We will always pray for the Lord's work to hasten throughout the world, but our hearts will hold a special place for the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission.

Much Love,
President Shumway