Week 2

 Words can not describe how much we enjoyed the MTC! I wish we could bottle the enthusiasm we felt from the young missionaries. Our second week was devoted to Seminary and Institute instruction. I wish it had been longer than three days. We learned valuable tools to help us teach Institute and it calmed my worried mind, I think I can do this! Here is a picture of our district from the second week. These folks will all be teaching Institute throughout the US and Canada.

The walls in the main building at the MTC are lined with pictures taken from Elders and Sisters who have served their missions throughout the world. Two of these pictures really stood out to us. 

Can you imagine the faith required to get baptized in ice cold or crocodile infested water? Sometimes the Lord asks us to do hard things that require a great deal of faith.

We drove to Colorado on Thursday, the 21st. The original plan had been to come and visit my mom before driving to Ohio. The trip has now turned into a sorting of my mother's earthly possessions with my five siblings. I have been "obsessed" with putting certificates and documents on the memories of my parents on Family Search. Documents such as my dad's Navy induction papers, his honorable discharge, his two mission calls, his Priesthood certificates, Denver and Albuquerque Temple ordinance worker certificates, etc. For my mom it is her certificates from years of working with the Boy Scouts of America, a mission call, Temple ordinance worker, and a college graduation diploma at a time when a woman with four small children wouldn't think of going to college, much less graduating Magna Cum Laude. 

We found this "treasure box" - it literally contains every funeral program my father ever attended - he sang at most of them. There are hundreds of programs in here. 

I have been adding them to the "memories" of all these people using my Family Tree APP. It is easy, fast, and very rewarding. 

Elder Perona and I are so very grateful for the homes we grew up in. They weren't perfect, but the older we get the more we appreciate the efforts made by our dear parents. 

Week One

The Great Ohio Columbus Mission

We have been called to serve in the institute of religion program at The Ohio State University campus. The area is surrounded by over 20 colleges and campuses. There are two young single adult wards in the area that we will be attending.

We entered the missionary training center (MTC) in Provo, UT on Monday, 7/11/2022. There were 138 senior missionaries in our group. This is the largest senior couples group since the COVID closures. Overall there are over 1,100 missionaries here at the MTC this week. The majority of them are 18 year old young men who will be serving for two years and 19 year old young women who will serve for 18 months. 

This is a picture of our MTC senior missionaries district and one of our instructors, (he’s the young, tall one!) Classes were centered around the missionary Preach My Gospel manual. These people became an integral part of our lives. We grew to love them and enjoyed out time together. We are so impressed with all of the senior missionaries! A lot of work and effort takes place for a senior couple to go on a mission and many couples sold homes, cars, etc., and will start "fresh" when their mission is over. Three of these couples will be serving in the military relations program of the church and two of us are CES (Church Education System) missionaries. 

You meet some of the best people at the MTC!  

We ran into Sister Perona’s young cousin, Sister Jarvis.  Her great, great grandmother and Sister Perona’s grandmother are sisters. 

We also saw two young people from our church in Concord the first day they arrived at the MTC.  Elder Xia 

and Sister Bell were so excited to begin their missions. 

Another couple, the Cranes, used to live near us in Clayton,

and Melanee Sainsbury, with her husband, is Sister Perona’s cousin and past BYU college roommate. Both of these couples serve here at the MTC.  

We are going to put this scripture on our fridge when we get to Ohio. This is Mormon speaking in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ:

Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life. 3 Nephi 5:13

We have loved our MTC experience so far, and look forward to more training next week.