MTC Days 4 through 7

 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so let me start by sharing a picture of the plight of the poor daffodil here in Provo, Utah.  I had planned to take this picture yesterday when the snow was still on the ground, but I guess the snow was camera shy because it is still freezing here!

 

 Friday was our last day of Preach My Gospel Training (PMG). I thought I would be a little relieved because the feelings here have been so intense. But instead what I felt was a deep sense of sadness at the thought of having to leave my new found friends and draw to a close the wonderful growing experiences we had. But before we had to say good bye we had a wonderful opportunity to hear missionary reflections from a Brother and Sister Smoot who had served two humanitarian missions in Tahiti and one CES Mission in Australia. Though their circumstances were oftentimes challenging they inspired us to love the people that were had the opportunity to serve.

Below is a picture of one of our instructors, Brother Bellingham. He is a pre-med student at BYU, originally from North Carolina and engaged to be married to his sweetheart in April. He is also a returned missionary from...wait for it.....the Sacramento, California Mission 2009-2011. He served in Laguna, Carmichael and even Elk Grove in the Waterman Ward and the Cosumnes River Ward! Obviously we can't say enough good about this awesome young man.  His sweet spirit greeted us each morning as he presented his powerful and inspired lessons. As a result he gave us the confidence that we needed to do the hard things that we were expected to accomplish. We miss him already.

 

 

Below is a group picture of our little PMG District. From left to right, Sister and Brother Simon, from Carston, Canada, called to serve as leadership support in Toronto, Canada. Next to Brother Simon are the stars of this blog of course, and then next to us is Brother Bellingham, then Elder and Sister Butler from Centerville, Utah who were called to serve in Jacksonville, Florida as leadership support in a small branch there. Last but definitely not least, are Brother and Sister Dominguez, originally from Mexico City, now living in Arizona and on their way to serve in the Mexico City Temple. It just doesn't seem possible that in five short days we met these people for the very first time and now we feel like they have been and will be our friends forever.

 

Elder and Sister Busath with Sister Cluff, our afternoon instructor. Sister Cluff is also a student at BYU studying Speech Pathology. She is originally from Tennessee and served her mission in Florida teaching the deaf (another one of the Lord's tender mercies for me). She is a newlywed of one year and I think we loved her almost, but maybe not quite as much, as her new husband does :)


Our PMC District with our afternoon instructor, Sister Cluff.

 

 

 Sister Cluff and the Butler's. Elder Butler worked as an attorney for a federal judge in Utah before he retired and although Sister Butler professes to be just a "stay at home mom" her strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ taught me much more than she could ever imagine.

 

Sister Cluff, the Butler's and the Simon's. Brother Simon was converted to the Church at the age of 23 and was a drama teacher by profession. Sister Simon served a French speaking mission in France, is the mother of a large family and is very musical to top it off. The people in Toronto are in for a treat.

 

The Spirit had been so strong during our PMG training that we didn't want it to ever end.  So we invited "Lambie" to join us as we drove to the Provo Temple in the drizzling rain Friday night. After completing a inspiring session we actually had the pleasure of running into Sister Cluff and had the privilege of meeting her husband. It turned out that he is as cute as she is if that is even possible!

 

 

 The day wasn't over yet. At 8:30 that night Elder Busath and I decided to avoid the rush and take care of our laundry needs before we retired for the night.  We had been so busy being spiritually fed for the past few days we soon discovered that to just sit and wait around for our laundry to be done seemed wrong some how. So we picked up a broom, emptied the garbage cans and assisted the student who was assigned to clean the laundry that evening in any way we could.  I think she appreciated the unexpected help and we were thrilled to be doing something for another as our way of giving back a little something in appreciation.

 

 Saturday morning was our first official Preparation (P) Day.  Since we had already finished doing our laundry, changing the sheets and vacuuming our apartment (2 minutes total) the night before we decided to drive to Salt Lake City walk around temple square and complete a session at the temple. Of course we invited "Lambie" to come along since she apparently loves road trips :) As expected the session at the temple was so uplifting we were hesitant to leave and return to the COLD cruel world outside.  But the weather actually warmed up a little and the peace and serenity found on temple square just made our day that much better. Seeing all those beautiful brides also helped just a little.

 Lambie even posed for a picture in front of the waterfall at the Conference Center across the street from the temple. I think she is getting to be quite the camera bug.

 

 For lunch we visited the Purple Turtle and of course feasted on the fish sandwiches, potato gems and don't forget the fry sauce. Just a little about the Purple Turtle for those of you who don't know of it's significance. It is a historical monument if you have ever lived in Utah. Everyone who is anyone has eaten there at one time or another.  Elder Busath was introduced to the Purple Turtle by his good buddy, Dave, prior to their elk hunting adventures. Not to be outdone it was a regular stop for "the girls" during Education Week thanks to Janie! So in honor of Dave and Janie we just had to pay homage to our special lunch stop.

 

For many of you on Facebook,  yes, we actually ate at the Purple Turtle for lunch and had dinner at Smashburger! I know, I know that's a lot of food, but being away from the MTC facility or as Elder Busath lovingly refers to it as "the compound" made us a little crazy and we were seriously in need of some comfort food to fortify us for the coming days.

 

Ok so it appears that all we think about is food which isn't altogether untrue.  However, we just felt that you had to see it to believe it when we talked about "running" into someone at the MTC cafeteria.  In fact, good news!  We actually "ran into" Jacob Warren here Sunday morning.  Unfortunately we didn't have our camera handy, but he is doing well and assured us that he had already written his parent's.  So if you happen to see Gayle or Paul please let them know that Jacob's letter is in the mail :)

 

 

Speaking of Jacob's.  Our son in law, Jake, advised us that the chocolate milk at the MTC is a little like manna from heaven so Elder Busath couldn't resist and as you can see he hardily agrees!

 

It is a little after 1:00 on Sunday as I post this and we have already been to four meetings and actually look forward to at least two more. I guess I really am a missionary. Our Sacrament Meeting began at 7:30 this morning as Branch #52 and was attended by an intimate group of elders, sisters and a sprinkling of senior couples. An elder and a sister missionary spoke briefly about enduring to the end and then a Sister Taylor from the Draper, Utah area shared her experiences of being called by the brethren of the Church to write a brief history of the area prior to the dedication of the Draper Temple.  She told of the three years she researched and interviewed people for the assignment while still serving as her Stake Relief Society President. (For those of you reading this that are not yet members of the Church, a Stake Relief Society President is responsible for the temporal and spiritual welfare of thousands of sisters within a certain boundary). Sister Taylor then told us of the lessons she had learned just three months prior to submitting the 90 page document for printing. It was Christmas time and she had submitted it to a knowledgeable brother in her ward (congregation) for review and comments. Days passed without a word and then she called him. What she expected was a brief dialogue regarding spelling and syntax but what she got was basically advice in strong words to start over from scratch. Long story short she learned a valuable lesson which included obedience, faith being an action word and humility. Fortunately with the Lord's help she was able to complete the assignment on time. 

Brother Taylor spoke of an elderly? man (60+ years of age), a shepherd by trade who had worked for many years herding sheep, and who epitomized enduring to the end. This man ran in an ultimate marathon in Australia.  A course covering 500 miles over a period of 5 days in overalls and work boots.  Many said he would not finish, but when others slept he ran and ultimately finished first. A modern day tortoise and the hare story and one in which we often need to be reminded of.

 

*Another small world announcement. The young sister who gave one of the talks this morning in Sacrament Meeting we soon learned is the daughter of an old CHP friend, Duane Samples, who Elder Busath had worked with years ago.  Sister Samples lives in Utah and was recently called to serve in the San Jose, California Tongan speaking Mission.

 

We also had the opportunity to enjoy the Spoken Word by satellite broadcast and to hear the Mormon Tabernacle choir sing one of my favorite Primary songs, "A Child's Prayer". 

 

But that is not all!

 

The Relief Society sisters had the privilege to hear from Sister Carole Stephens, the first councilor on the Relief Society General Board.

 

*She reminded us, as President Gordon B.Hinckley had; that women are a powerful force for good!

*We have reason for rejoicing as outlined in the Book of Alma, chapter 26, in the Book of Mormon.

*The commandments are for our benefit and that it is our duty to try to be a little better each day. *The Lord has a purpose for each one of us, but we need to take time to ask and then to listen so that we will know what it is that we are to do.

Simply put she admonished us to be obedient with exactness (Alma 57:21) and we would be blessed as promised in the Doctrine and Covenants Section 89: 18-20.

She bore a powerful witness of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, of the restoration, and of the Book of Mormon being the word of God.

It was an amazing meeting and I feel blessed having been a part of it.

 

Sunday isn't over yet so I am sure I will have plenty more to report in the days ahead.  I apologize for the lengthy dissertation's and will try to be more brief in the future. But if you know me you know that I am a firm believer if two words are good ten are even better, sorry.

 

Days 2 and 3 at the MTC

Ta da...Here we are in front of one the last "historical" monuments at the MTC.  The front sign at the entrance of the MTC, where every new missionary had his or her Kodak moment in the past, has been removed to avoid traffic collisions due to the new drive by, drop off policy. 

 

 

Our humble abode...

 

 

As you can see we have even decorated to make it feel more like home.

 

 

Elder Busath hard at work completing his assignment for the next day.  Yes, even Grandma and Grandpa have homework!

 

 

The Pleasant Valley building, located just outside the MTC compound, is where we spend most of our day. We attend classes, role play and receive profound advice, such as; "Teach people, not lessons" and my favorite, "Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape" :)

 

 

 

 

 On Tuesday evening we had the privilege to attend a very special Missionary Devotional presided by Marcos A. Aidukatitus, of the First Quorum of the Seventy. It was a humbling experience to stand as one of hundreds of missionaries and sing the Church hymn, "Called to Serve". 

Elder Aidukatitus' message was simple and from the heart. He urged each one of us to decide today which kingdom in heaven we wished to inherit. Then write it down in bold letters. Once that very important decision has been made all future decisions will be easy.

 

 

 So, what are the chances of actually running into someone you know among hundreds of missionaries you may ask? Well you can see for yourself that chances are pretty good!  We actually ran into Elder Verdoorn in the cafeteria Wednesday night.  Incredible if you consider that 400 new missionaries arrived just this afternoon. We are still on the look out for Elder Warren, but so far no luck.

 

and the adventure continues...

 

 

 

 

Off to the Mission Training Center

Once upon a time, a very long time go a little gray wooden lamb appeared in my life. I honestly can't remember how she came to be, but I vaguely recall Katie receiving her in a Young Women's activity with a reminder, "Ewe are Special". Fast forward the turbulent teenage years and "Lambie" disappeared and was forgotten. Then suddenly one day she reappeared and the game was on! For the past couple of years Katie and I have made it a practice of secretly passing Lambie back and forth from one house to another. Lambie has been mailed, hidden in drawers even secured in tasty treats.

Long story short, it has now become a family affair with Steve as well as Lucas, Mason and Jill taking part. So we decided what better way to detail our travels than by including Lambie on our adventure...

 

Day One-leaving from our home sweet home in Sacramento

 

 

 

                                                                 through Nevada..........

 

 

passing through Oregon.........

 

 arriving 10 hours later in Meridian, Idaho.

 

 

 

 

We spent 4 wonderful days with our daughter Andi, husband Brian and grandson's Dax, Cale and Jett. We even found time to enjoy a delicious dinner and play catch up with friend's Dave and Janie . We celebrated Brian's birthday at Red Robin's, picked out light fixtures for Andi's newly painted house, played on the Wii and rode quad's (much to Dax's delight :))

 

 

 

                                   But soon it was time to hit the road again.  So after Church we met briefly with our BFF's Dave and Janie for a quick hug and a good bye and off we went.

 

 

 

 Sunday, March 3, 2013 we arrived in Orem, Utah and spent the night with cousins, Greg and Jan prior to reporting to the Mission Training Center. To our surprise we actually had the opportunity to visit with even more Utah cousins, Sandy and Bruce and Eddie and Mary. It was so unexpected I honestly forgot to pull out my camera and record this Kodak moment, sorry.

 

 

March 4, 2013

Mission Training Center (MTC)

Provo, Utah

 

Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come; and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation.

 

Orlando, Florida by March 20th!

 

Just a brief overview of our first day at the MTC. The weather was a crisp 36 degrees this morning with patches of snow on the ground. We were actually told by the natives here that today was one of their warmer days, brrr!

 

 

There are approximately 78 people in our group. 14 couples have been assigned to serve in temples across the globe. Washington, D.C, Mexico, Canada, London, the Philippines and Japan. 7 other couples and two single, senior sisters were called to serve as family history record preservationists. Two couples were called to serve at Church historical sites, the Independence, Missouri and Wyoming Handcart Mission. One couple from Idaho has been called to teach farming to the Navajo Indians on a reservation in New Mexico. The remaining couples, including us, have been called to serve in places near and far, Cleveland, Ohio, Lansing, Michigan, Eastern Europe and Russia just to name a few.

 

Most of our group are from Utah as expected, but two couples are from Los Angeles and one other couple, Elder and Sister Leach, are from the Rosemont area in Sacramento, who are called to serve in Sweden. The funny thing is that Steve actually knew them, so it truly is a small world. One third of the couples in our group have served at least one previous mission so we are surrounded by wisdom, experience and a great love for the work.

 

It has been a busy day filled with fun, facts and inspiration. Missionary orientations, special speakers, and making new friends. We were actually divided into smaller "Districts" composed of 3 other couples at the end of the day  so we look forward to getting to know our District couples better. 

 

In Matthew Chapter 19:29 it says: And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, (or grandchildren), or lands, for my sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

 

If you were to ask us how we felt about our first day at the MTC I think Steve would agree with me, it was better than we had ever imagined it could be!

 

Tomorrow we start our training classes and have a special devotional in the evening by a General Authority of the Church. We can't wait!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

T-Minus 6 Days and Counting

 

It's been said that the secret to having it all, is believing that you do!

Well we truly believe that we do.  We have so much to be thankful for so even though I hate to see this time in our lives draw to a close we are finally ready for the next adventure to begin...

 

We want our example of living life, our walk before our ten grandchildren-to be more than just talk. Actions really do speak louder than words. We believe that children are a reflection of their parents, and grandchildren are the blessings, the reward of a job well done. We all need someone to look up to; that's the privilege of being grandparents!

 

After working for the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) investigating paramedics for four short years it was time for Steve to pack up and take a leave of absence to serve a mission. Steve has loved the people he had the opportunity to work with and will miss the hunt of searching for the truth.

At the request of our daughter, Katie, our wonderful friends, Tony and LaRee Bermudez hosted a Missionary Farewell for us on Sunday evening. Katie reached out to many of her friends for help and the results were delicious!!!

 

Just appreciating all the hard work of so many...

 

Steve, Jim and Diana Hunt and our hostess, LaRee.

 

My sister in law, Marian, her son, Jeff, her daughter, Megan, and my granddaughter Sienna.

The love and support we received was overwhelming!

 

Just a preview of all the things that we are planning to take on our new adventure.  Steve thinks we may need to rent a U-Haul, or at the very least rent a bus, but I have faith that he will be able to fit everything in our car.  I truly can't imagine leaving anything behind and have actually considered seeing if a grand child or two will fit in my suitcase :)

 

 

 

Daffodils are my favorite flower, and I always look forward to their arrival every year. So it seems only fitting that I close this entry by stating something that suddenly occurred to me.  As hard as it is to leave family and friends at this particular time, we like the daffodils, will return again next spring so now we all have something to look forward to.

 

We leave for Meridian, Idaho first thing tomorrow morning to visit our oldest daughter and her family and then enter the Mission Training Center in Provo, Utah on Monday, March 4th.  Our next post may be a few days late, but hopefully it will be worth waiting for. 

 

14 days to go...

14 days to go and let me just say that the days seem to be getting longer and longer if that is even possible.

A wise person once said, “What you are becoming is more important than what you are accomplishing.” Well I don’t feel like I am accomplishing much at this particular point, (except maybe putting on a few pounds with all the recent lunch dates I have had) but I hope I am learning patience and I am definitely learning to count my blessings.

 

 At the end of January I had the opportunity to fly to southern California to visit 4 of my favorite people, my Grandmother, Mimi, who will be celebrating her 100^th birthday August 23^rd of this year, my Aunt Holly, my youngest daughter Sam and her husband Jake. The weather was warm and the conversations priceless. I even received some important genealogy information thanks to a surprise telephone conversation with my Uncle Mike.

While visiting in San Diego Sam and I went to visit the Mormon Battalion Museum, lunched in Old San Diego, and shopped at Target (Jake had to work).  Then Sam and I loaded up and drove back to Sacramento to attend my grandson, Mason’s, 8^thbirthday celebration at Red Robin and his baptism the following day.

The fun just never ends. I cut my finger preparing treats for our family Super Bowl in home party (as opposed to tail gate party) and had to get three stitches! But thanks to everyone staying home to watch the game and the lights going out at the end of the second quarter, the Emergency Room was a ghost town and I didn’t even miss

halftime. 

 

We purchased a new "Smart" phone recently in preparation of our new adventure. Everyone makes it look so easy, but looks can be deceiving! I know that I will eventually "get it", but until then I am struggling. Not to worry, I can still text and e-mail with the best of you, but don't ask me to share a picture, because it appears that they are being held hostage on my phone :(

 

 

Saturday, February 16th, Steve’s siblings hosted a family dinner to celebrate our “call to serve”. It is humbling to think that so many people are willing to sacrifice their time and travel far to show their love and to wish us well.

 

On Sunday, February 17th, many of our friends and family gathered together to listen to Steve and I speak in church. Steve thought it would be a great idea to have our two grand daughters wear matching dresses in celebration of the occaision. It's fortunate that we only have two grand daughters at this time because outfitting a whole crew could become costly.  I apologize to my eight grandsons, but we didn't think you would appreciate another tie.

 

At the begining of this post I mentioned recent lunch dates I have had and if my new phone wasn't being so stubborn I would love to be able to share pictures of some of these special people in my life.  The first, my high school buddy Mary. With us both working full time meeting for lunch was never an option.  But now that I am a lady of leisure we jumped at the chance and had a great time catching up.

 The second picture I would share is one of my BFF Janie, who was in town for a brief visit over President’s weekend and who initiated an impromptu get together at Panera’s. Marili, Alison, Alisa, LaRee, Roberta, Carla, Beth and Louanne were all there.  It’s a good thing we are all busy women because they probably would have had to kick us out at closing if we didn’t have other things to do J

The clock continues to tick.......

 

 

The Saga Continues...

A wise friend suggested that I read Ether, Chapter 6, in the Book of Mormon, for some great advice about overcoming trials. Please allow me to paraphrase, "And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters...they were buried in the depths of the sea..the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land. And they did sing praises unto the Lord.  And thus they were driven forth 344 days upon the waters  And they did land upon the shore of the promised land! 344 days? I guess we can hang in there for a measly 34 more days! I have to admit that it is a little humbling to think that Satan thinks we deserve all this attention :)

 

Just in case you are one of those people that think "retired" prospective senior missionary couples do is sit around all day watching the birds and waiting for the camellias and daffodils to bloom,  let me assure you that nothing could be further from the truth! Aside from surfing on the Internet to find 8 to 10 short sleeved shirts that don't fit like a tent and are actually available in our lifetime we have had a series of homework assignments to complete prior to reporting to the Mission Training Center, March 4th.

 

 

 There were actually 2 hummingbirds and four other birds having breakfast on us.  But of course once I pulled out the camera they all became camera shy!

 

 

 I am happy to announce that we have finally completed our last assignment and are looking forward to going back to bird watching and flowers growing, just kidding :)

Enough is enough...

Countdown:  40 days!

What do supplemental health insurance, a new water pump, a new washer and dryer and a new garage door spring have in common?  They are all unexpected financial set backs.  It appears that Satan has heard the news of our mission call and is working overtime to discourage us.  We now know that Satan's work to slow missionary efforts is not just manifest in tempting us as individuals to break God's commandments.  He also tries to guide us to depend upon the thoughts and ways of man.  When we are preparing to do the Lord's work we should expect temptation and deception to intensify...but seriously enough already!

 

Who knew that Kaiser wouldn't be enough?

Supplemental Insurance, here we come!

 

A recently fixed truck

 

Our new washer and dryer

 

...and a working garage door

 

 

 On a brighter note we have family and friends that continue to support us and cute sea shell towels and new measuring cups and spoons to help make our apartment in Orlando feel more like home.