MTC, Provo, Utah, July 10-14, 2017

Our week at the MTC began by attending the MTC International Branch which consists of the young missionaries from all over the world who have languages other than English as their first language.  It is a thrill to be in the MTC and to feel the love of these young missionaries.  The senior missionaries were beginning to check in over the weekend and we had a group of about 6 couples who met for Sunday School after the joint Sacrament Meeting with the junior missionaries.  Larry and Wendy Braithwaite are our group leaders.  The Sunday School discussion was on the Tender Mercies of the Lord and several people shared their tender mercies that led to their coming on their mission.  We could write a book on the ones we have experienced ourselves!  We feel so blessed and recognize the hand of the Lord in our lives every single day.  Take a minute and write down some of the ways the Lord has blessed your life today!

Sunday night we had dinner at Cindi and Jeff Ingersoll's house with their son Aaron,  along with Eric, Jake, Hannah and Chase. So fun to be with them! I forgot to take a picture but it was a great evening.  We did some singing and piano playing and I caught this picture of Hannah singing, Memory, from Cats.

Monday morning, July 10, we got started with our MTC training!  It was a week of working hard and really learning how to invite and help others to come to Christ.  We had wonderful teachers and our group was amazing!

 Larry and Wendy Braithwaite do a fantastic job of coordinating all the senior couples that come through the MTC each week! 

 Each couple was assigned to another couple to get to know.  We got to know and love immediately Ralene and Don Bills.  They are heading to New Zealand.  We had the opportunity to practice our teaching skills with the Bills and we all came away very enriched.

We were lucky senior missionaries who got treats in our mailbox!  My sweet sister, Nancy, sent us these fun treats on three of our days there:

Our district was happy we got the donuts because they got to share them with us!

Mike was our district leader, and our district consisted of the Meldrums from Alberta, Canada, and they were heading to Thailand (humanitarian), the Tanabes from Maui, Hawaii, heading for Detroit Michigan (office), and the Pitchers from Bremerton, Washington, heading to Samoa as Dental Advisors.  Our teachers were Sister McCulley and Sister Richins (not pictured).

Here is a sampling of our huge senior missionary group!  There were around 130 of us there altogether.  Mostly couples along with three senior sisters.  These great people are headed all over the world to serve in many different types of mission capacities.

On Friday afternoon, we got to watch our granddaughter, Bess, dance in a recital at a BYU camp!  It was such a nice thing that it just happened to be at the end of our training.  She's a darling girl and a good dancer!

Friday night, we had dinner at Pizza Factory, love their bread twists, with Hannah and Chase and then said our goodbyes to our Addie girl!  She's in very good hands!

On Saturday, we took an MTC shuttle from Provo to Salt Lake City where we checked into the Hyatt House where we will have our training for mental health next week.

We met our dear friend Faye Wade for lunch at Crown Burger and caught up with her busy life.  Saturday night, our good friends, Janice and Cal Simmons took us to the Pioneer Concert at the Conference Center by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Orchestra at Temple Square and special guest, Alex Boye.  It was a fantastic concert and we thoroughly enjoyed it!

On Sunday morning, David and Viera, (Mike's brother and sister-in-law) picked us up to go back to the conference center to watch the live broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word by the MoTab choir and Alex Boye.  Another beautiful performance.  We had a wonderful chance to catch up with them and enjoyed a church service and lunch.

Tonight (Sunday, July 16) we had dinner with the Simmons, Gerilyn Brown, and the Rosenhans, at the Simmons home in Bountiful, all friends we knew in Longmont.  We will miss our family and friends and love them all so very much!  One more week of training and a family reunion to go and a week from tomorrow, we are off to Brazil!