Our first week here!

Did I say in my last post that I was a little overwhelmed?  I take it back--I am a LOT overwhelmed!  There is so much to learn!  So much.  I am at the computer for several hours a day, answering the phone and directing calls a lot, responding to emails, forwarding the missionaries' mail that comes into the mission office, (which is a lot) preparing for the 28 missionaries that we will be receiving in 8 days, (which is a ton of preparation) sending letters to parents, organizing meetings for Pres. Black, and organizing luncheons for the zone conferences and leadership training.  And more.  What a learning curve!  Now our children are giving me the same pep talk that I used to give them for the last 30 years--"You can do this!  You can do hard things! You'll be fine in a few weeks!"  Okay then. . .

We only have two more days with the office couple who is training us, and then we are ON OUR OWN!!  Except for the help that we know we will receive from Heavenly Father.  Which we will need.  Me far more than Glen.

We have a lot of people who come in to the mission office--different kinds of visitors, former missionaries who have served there who are visiting and come in with their families, and of course, the missionaries themselves.  I love seeing all of them.  Each missionary brings in his/her unique spirit and I love to talk to them.

On Tuesday, after our work at the mission office, we had dinner with Carl and Margaret Truman, our good friends who have moved to Las Vegas.  It was really good to see them and their new home and fun to visit with them.  I was so distressed that I forgot to take a picture with them!

Wednesday afternoon, after I had another spell of overwhelmitis, the postman came with his usual large delivery.  There was a green 2-liter pop bottle filled with green treats with a cute missionary tie (made of paper) on it with the missionary's name and the mission office's address on the tie.  There were a few missionaries there, hoping it was for them, but. . . drum roll. . . it was for US!  Everyone was green with envy. . . (heh, heh)  So thank you very very much, Brandon and Lindsey!!!  It really helped to overcome my illness for the day.

The other office couple, the Conders, got a kick out of the package from Brandon and Lindsey.

It's so cute, huh?  

On Wednesday evening we also went to the Las Vegas temple.  It's a beautiful temple and we enjoyed the session so much.  But again, I was so distressed because I forgot to take a picture--a symptom of being brain dead at the end of a very busy day.

On Friday, we went to dinner with the office couple, the Zobells, and they showed us the condo that we will be moving into this week (after they move out on Wednesday) and the area that surrounds it.  For those of you who know Las Vegas, it is in the Summerlin area, which is really a beautiful area.  We will be in the Buffalo ward in the Red Rock Stake.  We're excited to move into a more permanent place because we have been living out of only our suitcases since July 9, but we have mixed feelings about leaving the ward that we have attended only twice--we've become quite attached to them!  Here's another reason why---

We were invited to go with the youth to their boating activity at Lake Mead.  I was pretty sure I didn't want to go because. . . well, we're missionaries. . .yes, we had been given permission to go to Lake Mead. . . but it was a YOUTH activity and I didn't want to crash their party. . . but . . .  Glen said, "Hey, it's our p-day, we were invited and I want to go, unless you want to spend the day in our little casita. So we went.  It was such a blast!  We were there all day and got to know a lot of wonderful people and strong, strong youth.  See why we're getting attached?

As I mentioned earlier, we were asked to speak in the ward sacrament meeting today, along with the young elders assigned to this ward, who are just awesome.  The Spirit was really strong in the meeting, and so many of the members came up to us afterward and thanked us and told us that it was an incredible meeting.  We were quite touched.  Then the Sunday School lesson was on Alma 32-34, with a lot of missionary overtones, and the last block was combined Relief Society and Priesthood, with another couple missionary who had served in Africa telling of their experiences.  So what a great missionary block!  We're anxious now to track the number of referrals the missionaries get after such an emphasis on missionary work.  There is also a sister who is being baptized this Saturday, so we're so excited to go to her baptism.

We arrived in Las Vegas

 On Friday, we loaded up the car and truck and left for Las Vegas!  It was so sad to leave the grandkids again.  We picked up Jared at Primary Children's Hospital, where he works, and he helped us drive down.  The plan was to take the loaded truck and car, and then Jared would drive back the truck.  Lisa made us some zucchini bread, which was SO delicious, and we munched on it on the way.  Thanks, Lisa!  The trip went so fast because Jared engaged us in such fun conversation, and before we knew it we were there!  We arrived at 9:45 p.m. or so, and the Blacks (the mission president and his wife) were there to meet us.  It was so sweet!  We opened the car door to a blast of heat and it was 97 degrees--that late at night!

We are staying at a "casita"--a room over an extra garage of the home of a stake president.  It's there, in the background behind Jared.  It's about the size of a hotel room and has twin beds, a couch, and a kitchenette with a microwave, small fridge, and toaster oven.  There isn't a stove or oven, but it's nice and very adequate.  Jared slept on the floor even though Glen and I wanted to share one of the twin beds and have him take the other twin bed.  That is so like him.  He left early the next morning to drive back to Layton, probably without getting much sleep.  Thank you so much Jared, for taking all that time to help us move here!  We had a great time with him and really appreciated it.

On Saturday we got settled in the casita, ran errands, and found the mission office, which we learned is in a large Deseret Industries complex very much like the one in Layton.  It's only about five years old and looked really nice.  That night we went to a stake pioneer day celebration, which was so well done and well attended, and had such a variety of activities which involved the kids and the youth and it was really fun!  We were very impressed with everything.  We met several of the elders in the area and one of them said, "You have some pretty big shoes to fill because the Zobells do a great job."  Another one asked, "So are you tech savvy?"  Gasp!!!    

On Sunday we went to church at the ward where our casita is--not the ward where we will be as soon as we move into the condo.  The ward was amazing and vibrant and there was even a family there who we knew from Layton!  We were asked to speak in church the next Sunday, even though it will be our last Sunday there!  That evening, we went to the Blacks for a yummy dinner and visited with them for a few hours.  It was an awesome evening.

On Monday, July 23, we started our office training at the mission office.  When we got there at 8:00 a.m., we were greeted with this bouquet of flowers and welcome sign!  Can you believe how sweet?  Here we are in the mission office with the Zobells, the couple who is training us.  Our first day was a little overwhelming, but pretty fun.  I had NO idea how much it took to keep a mission running.  All the behind the scenes work that the office people do really enable the missionaries to actually teach and make the best use of their time.   We have a ton to learn, and the Zobells are really helping us.  I have to trust in the Lord to help me as I learn my new responsibilities.  Glen seemed to catch on really fast to his.

In front of the mission office with Jerry and Debbie Black, the mission president and his wife.  They do an amazing job!

Our MTC training is over!

Oh, what a happy and sad day.  Our time at the MTC is over and so is our office training!  Yikes!  I feel like I don't know enough to run a mission office!  The training covered so much material and so many areas.  Glen learned about housing missionaries, how to distribute money to the missionaries, how to set up and pay vendors, how to take care of the cars, how to set up new areas, etc. etc. I learned how to do missionary letters to parents and to the missionaries themselves and others, mission newsletters,  recording transfers, including entering and departing missionaries, convert records, and many other things.  Whew!  Will I remember all of this?  Our teachers told us several times that we were a group that caught on fast.  (They probably tell all the groups that!)  This is a picture of our district for the office training.  From left, the Jensens, us, the Smigelskys, and our teachers, Sis. Hunter and Bro. Bennett.  They taught us so much and were so patient and knowledgeable!

Some fabulous surprises---On Tuesday we got a wonderful letter from Glen's sister Carol.  How fun to get mail at the MTC!!  We just loved it.  On Wednesday we got a letter from Jade, Brigham, and Lily--it was so adorable and really brightened our day and meant so much to us because we had been working so hard and our brains were fried.  Thank you so much Carol, Jade, Brigham, and Lily! We felt so loved.  We also got a package from our dear friends, the Rigbys--a box full of chocolate chip cookies! Oh, talk about heaven. Thank you so much, Kim!   Now I understand  how great it is for missionaries to get mail and packages.  

I must express my feelings about the MTC.  The Spirit of the Lord is so strong here it's unbelievable. Glen and I sang in the choir for the Tuesday night devotionals (Vaughn J. Featherstone was our speaker this week) and it was an awesome experience.  The younger missionaries and the senior missionaries are so very inspiring!  At each meal we sat by many different senior missionaries and always left the table amazed and in awe of the sacrifices that they had made to be here and of their many talents.  They were all going to such diverse places with such diverse assignments:  military relations, leadership,support,and activation, medical, office, (like us) perpetual education fund, public relations, visitor's centers, temples, church history sites, and so many others.  It was incredible. It was very evident that senior couples really do add a great force to the missionary army!  What an indescribable blessing to be here for the last two weeks.  We will never forget it!

Our first p-day weekend

After a very busy and amazing week at the MTC, it felt kind of good to have a little rest.  David, Juliann, Clarissa, Brandon and Lindsey met up with us on Friday night for some ice cream and it was sooooo good to see them.  So so fun.  And after learning Preach My Gospel all week, we needed a little exercise, so on Saturday morning, we hiked the trail up the the "Y".   We had an awesome view of BYU and the MTC, and just as we got back to the car it started to rain! We also studied, did laundry, went shopping, and got more organized

.On Sunday, we went to Brandon and Lindsey's ward because they were teaching the gospel doctrine lesson.  Wow, what an awesome job they did!  It was on Alma 30-31 and they had such wonderful insights and a lot of participation from the class.  We were able to meet their bishop and his wife and it was so fun.  We loved being in their ward.  We were all able to eat dinner at the MTC (the food is so fabulous) and had a great evening together.

On Monday morning we returned to the MTC and started our office training.  We were in a room full of computers with two other couples and our teachers, and were absolutely in awe of the complex nature of running a mission office!  The programs are made specifically for missions and I was so afraid of learning them!  On the first day we learned word and excel.  Even though I'm not sure I'll remember all that I learned, at least I did it for today!!  

As we would walk in the halls, we were totally blown away with the intensity that the younger missionaries would study. All of them that we could see (which were a lot) were deeply immersed in their studies.  The area of the building that we were in are missionaries learning Spanish.

Glen wanted to poke his head into the classrooms of the missionaries learning Spanish.  Actually, he wanted to go to their classes!  We saw the same thing--missionaries diligently studying.  It was so impressive, and there is no doubt that these missionaries had the Spirit of the Lord with them.

The campus at the MTC is so beautiful, with large beautiful buildings and covered walkways connecting the buildings in many places.  We were glad because it rained a few times!  The campus also has some beautiful sculptures, like this one depicting Joseph Smith, and beautiful flowerbeds.  We noticed that the missionaries are scheduled each week to do service at the MTC and they help to keep it clean and well maintained.  

The most amazing week ever.

What an amazing week we have spent here.  I wish I could have gone to the MTC 40 years ago and learned the things we are learning now!  The Spirit is so strong here.  The other couple missionaries who are here are so dedicated and bring with them such a spirit. We have loved getting to know them and the sacrifices they have made to come on a mission.  The leadership here is so awesome and they provide teaching experiences that are so beneficial for us.  The teachers themselves are also awesome.  We have come to appreciate what David did while he taught here and what Brandon is currently doing.  The missionaries that they have taught will always remember them and be grateful for them for the impact they have made on their lives!  There is really no way to describe what happens here.  It is truly a miracle to organize all these missionaries into places to live, classes, cafeteria time, etc.  It's been hard for us to keep up with all that is required of us, so I can hardly imagine what it takes for the missionaries who have to learn a language on top of it.  That is another missionary miracle!

We were divided into districts at the beginning of the week and we just loved our district!  The brothers at the end are our teachers.  From left, Bro. Sillitoe, the Budgetts, the Larsens, the Farlands, us, and Bro. Carver. 

 The Jennings, our BFFs at the MTC.  They live in Layton and are going to Nigeria!

The food at the MTC is soooooo good!  No wonder missionaries put on weight while they're here! 

This week we were to teach "investigators" in the TRC (teaching resource center) on Wednesday and Thursday. These "investigators" are actually people who just live in Utah County and are willing to come in and do this for a service, which is really neat.  Our teachers prepared us to do this, but probably our best preparation was with Brandon before we left.  It really helped us to meet with our "investigators" and try to teach them instead of teaching a lesson. We learned so much from these experiences, and I'm sure it will really help us as we hope to teach in Las Vegas. Glen and I learned a lot about working together as a companionship and it was fun.  On Friday we taught "less actives" who were actually other senior missionaries and it was a great experience too.  We were the less actives for a couple, and then a different couple were less actives for us.  I thought that this was even more rewarding and we hope we get to have real experiences like this in Las Vegas.  I can't tell you how valuable this kind of preparation is!  I wish everyone in the Church could have this experience.  We really are blown away with the kinds of things that we have learned.  The Book of Mormon takes on a whole new meaning when it is used to show such beautiful doctrine in these teaching experiences--it is so amazing!  The Book of Mormon is the word of God--there is no way that Joseph Smith could have thought it up.  Oh, how we love the Book of Mormon! 

We were sad when we got here and learned that we would be staying at the Marriott because we wanted the total MTC experience.  But it was a really hot week here, and the other couples told us that their rooms here were so hot they couldn't sleep.  We didn't have that problem, but we do miss being here at night.

First day at the MTC

Oh my goodness, we're going on our mission for real!!  Here we are arriving at the MTC! We're so excited--and a little nervous.  We didn't know what to expect, but here we are!

The famous world map at the MTC.  We found out that there are 49 senior couples and four senior sisters here this week.  They are all pretty amazing people!  It has been fun to talk to them.  We met a couple from Layton and found out that I was in the same student ward as the elder, Elder Jennings, 39 years ago at BYU! What a small, small world.

We were eating lunch at the cafeteria when Brandon, our son-in-law came over to our table!  He teaches at the MTC and it was so fun to see him on our first day here! 

We were welcomed and oriented to the MTC as to what would happen here and then found out that there were so many couples that there wasn't room for all of us--so we were assigned to stay at the Marriott Hotel.  It was a tough assignment, but hey, someone had to do it! 

Getting ready to leave

We have been unbelievably busy getting things ready for us to leave!  It has been CRAZY!  Adam and Lisa consented to live in our home while we were gone, which is awesome for us, but a ton of work for them.  Thank you Adam and Lisa (that hardly seems adequate!)   We had to pack a lot of things up, which I was so happy about, because it forced us to get rid of unnecessary and old things that I never seemed to get around to doing before.  It took a lot of time, more than I ever thought it would.

The Woodward family (my siblings) gave us a little going away party, which was so so nice.  Our wonderful neighbors also gave us a going away party, which was also so nice!  It was wonderful to see so many of our friends and neighbors that we love so much. They were so kind with so many well wishes.  Glen commented that it was great to go on a mission because of the nice things that people have said--kind of like a funeral, only we don't have to die.  I wish I had taken pictures! 

Yesterday we spoke in church.  It was a great meeting.  It was so kind of our families and Glen's office staff to come to the meeting.  Our friend, John Marriott, also spoke because he is also entering the MTC this week, and it was fun to speak with him.  Our ward has been so supportive and many told us that we are the first senior couple to leave from our ward and they expect that many will follow.  Okay, we're not really a senior couple--we're a middle aged couple. :)