Some Pictures to Share

Here we are while still at the MTC.  I think we were headed to a fireside in the building to Mom's right.  It is used as a gym, but then they pull out the bleachers and set up the podium and chairs, and it transforms into an auditorium with great acoustics and a great sounding organ.

It is Friday, and we are recuperating from a week on our own. It went okay, but the computer programs don't always cooperate.  We better relax while we can because on Monday the Missionaries going home come into town.  They will have their "exit interview" with the Mission President, a final dinner at the Mission Home with a testimony meeting to cap off the night. (Mom and I are also invited to participate with these dinners).  Then on Tuesday they are taken to the airport, and we are getting a new batch of eight missionaries that are picked up that same day.  We will then conduct an orientation, have a lunch, and get them off with their trainers.  It may not seem like a big deal, but with about a third of the other missionaries involved in transfers, all the apartment addresses, vehicle assignments, and cell phones have to be matched with the correct companionship.  The "big deal" about it all is that the transfer information is kept real "hush hush", so we don't even find out about who goes where, and who are made the new zone leaders or district leaders until Tuesday morning, and by Tuesday evening, all the information has to be updated and complete.

If we look too relaxed, it is because it is 5:25pm on Friday afternoon, and we are ready to boogy out of the office.  The reason we are still there is because at 4:55pm we found out that at the last minute SLC assigned us one additional Elder who will be arriving on Tuesday.  Guess I will worry about their Medical Card and J.P.Morgan credit card on Monday.  Good thing Transfers only happen every 6 weeks.

Aaaah, Yessssss!  Tomorrow is P-DAY.

Blessings Received

I am out of sequence with this entry, but wanted to relate the following story.

As we packed up the trailer at home, the weight of all our stuff affected the tires which now were bulging a little.  This was not any cause for concern or anything like that.  We had not used the trailer in over a year, and it had just been parked in our "overflow" parking area for all that time, so needing to add some air was not unusual.

As I got the air compressor in place and started to fill the one tire with the lowest amount of air, there, in plain view, right on the top part of the tire, there was a nail in the tire where it had punctured the tire.  I went ahead and mounted the spare tire and then went to Les Schwab in Longview to have the puncture fixed.


We had already been under a lot of stress about leaving Joie, leaving the house, making sure all the systems were turned off, and also making sure we had not forgotten anything.

Experiencing a flat tire on the road, in the many open and uninhabited spaces between home and Idaho would probably have "done us in".

A loving Heavenly Father knew that and was looking out for us.  That nail was right there where I would see it.

Thank you Father.

A very busy week.

We just finished a very busy week.  We are quite overwhelmed with all the things we have to do. The couple we are replacing overlapped us with a week for training, and they showed us 6 weeks of stuff, that we are supposed to manage, . . . . . in 5 days.  Once we get into it, I'm sure we will be fine.  The accounting side is no problem for me (already found errors to correct, and a real mess to dig into on the utility payments for the missionary apartments).  Mom will also have her hands full where the two other Sr. sisters in the office have minimal computer skills. What they lack in computer skills, however, they make up for in desire to learn, and they are wonderful.

We can see why we were sent here to this mission.  They need us !!

Our schedule is from 830am to 500pm, Monday through Friday, and time flies by.  As we run errands in the evening, in our missionary attire and name tags, people take notice and give us knowing smiles and say "Hello".  One fellow, as we were exiting a restaurant, said "Hi, Elders", TO BOTH OF US !!!  Yesterday we visited an Urgency Care Clinic for Mom (she is better now), but in visiting with the Physician's Assistant (PA) that saw us, we told him why we were there in Roseville.  He said he had seen the missionaries come and go in the apartment complex where he lives.  Anyway, as we finish up and he is on his way out the door, he says, "maybe the Mission President can give you a blessing".  He obviously knew more about Church than he let on.  Seeing us hopefully will stir some positive thoughts about the gospel for him.

We are doing fine.  We love our Heavenly Father and know that He loves us.  We pray for your safety and welfare and know that He is mindful of your needs.  We love you all very much and are grateful for your love and support.

Love,
Dad

We are in Roseville California

Here is the picture of our District that I had trouble loading last week.

In the front row are Sister Vazquez and Sister Hubbard.  On the back row are Sister and Elder Rippy, Elder and Sister Wells, and then us.

Here are our tags.

So last week we had our training at the MTC specifically for office couples.  Our class had 4 couples and Sister Hubbard, who was in our District the week before.  We were again trained by returned missionaries attending BYU, they are amazing, and we also had a couple that "had been there, and done that".  They were very helpful in explaining what goes on in the office and other guidelines for Sr. couples.

The class curriculum included the basics on computers and on the Microsoft Office Suite of Word, Excel and Powerpoint. These are programs we have used extensively in our business life, but most of the others in our class had not, so the class was a good thing for them.

We also learned how to pay the bills, how to manage the cars, and all the other things done in the mission office.  It actually is quite a lot.

We finished the training on Thursday afternoon, and that evening Mom and I treated ourselves to a great meal at P.F. Changs in Orem.

Friday morning we packed up the car, picked up the trailer at Albert and Kris' and off we were.  That day, 4 feet of snow was forecasted for the mountains with snow and rain on the valley floors. The snow was falling and real pretty as we picked up the trailer in Highland, UT, but we pushed on hoping for better weather in Nevada.

We drove 710 miles that day and were surprised we made it all the way to Roseville.  The Donner's Pass had some snow, but was okay when we went through.  We learned later that on Thursday, the day before we came through, the pass had been closed, and then opened with Chains Required.  There was a 3 hour back-up.  Talk about the Lord taking care of his missionaries.

On Saturday, we went exploring.  We found the apartment complex we had made arrangements with and found the Mission Office.  Although we were not scheduled to move in until the following Tuesday, we talked the apartment people into letting us move in that day. That was another blessing.

So this senior couple that works in the mission office, Elder and Sister Morgan, comes out to help us move in. He is a retired surgeon, and his wife is a retired nurse.  He is 83 and she is 80!!!!!  Our apartment is on the second floor,  and you all saw the picture of the stuff in the trailer!!  They worked me to death!  How could I quit when they were still going?  We emptied the whole trailer, and got everything in the apartment.  The next day we went to church with them.  They are in a Ward with 650 members.  They come early or you will miss out on parking.  Then after church, they had us over for dinner.  What a delightful couple they are.  They recently gave up skiing, and he is frustrated with his golf game "because he has lost some distance" in his drives.  

We have new aspirations to be like them as we grow older.

On Monday we will start our work in the mission office.

Our First Week in the MTC

We have had a marvelous experience being here at the MTC.  The Spirit is so strong and it is a great feeling.

We were divided into Training Districts of 4 couples, and this is the group we met with each day with a morning and afternoon instructor.  These instructors are returned missionaries who are students here at BYU.  Bros. Barney and Whiting are great instructors who taught us to be missionaries from the PMG (Preach My Gospel) manual.  What an inspired manual that is!

As we were taught about the Restoration, we were also taught how to prepare a teaching plan because on Wednesday we had a "teaching appointment" with a "real live investigator".

The MTC has volunteers who come to be investigators.  They are given a role to play, and are instructed to stay in character as investigators throughout our "appointment".  We also have to stay in character as missionaries.

Mom and I had to knock on the door, and introduce ourselves to the lady that answered the door.  The information we had been given about her was her name and that she was a referral from a neighbor, but that was all .  I learned that day not to do all the talking but to let Mom have a turn.

On Thursday we had another TA (teaching appointment) to teach the 2nd Discussion about the Atonement.  We had two girls in their mid twenties as "investigators", and as we taught we both felt that our testimony was something THEY really needed to hear for their own personal life.  As we testified of the atonement of the Savior to these two "volunteers", tears were shed and personal commitments were made.

On Friday, we learned about re-activating members.  We roll played teaching another missionary couple and took turns teaching, or being taught playing the inactive members.  We all had thought of an inactive couple we knew in our own life and played their scenario.  Even in this artificial setting, the Spirit was strong as we testified of truth, and it was reaffirmed in our own hearts that the gospel is true.

Our setting apart as missionaries by our Stake President, President Bolen, has been ratified by the Lord and He has blessed us to know what to say at the very moment we need to know.  We can testify of the restored gospel without fear or reservation.

This coming week we will have Office Couple specific training Monday through Thursday, and then we will leave for Roseville CA on Friday.

Love, Dad.

PS: I had pictures to include, but can't figure it out.  Maybe next time.