Missionary Moments #1 September 3, 2014

Dear Family and Friends!  We have been at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) for two days now.  It has been a wonderful experience so far!  Tomorrow we have our first TRC (Torturing Senior Couples) experience.  Which means that we will be meeting with volunteer investigators and we have to actually teach them something about the gospel after we have spent 15 minutes with them so that we can get to know a little about them and then decide what message we will share.  Dad will do fine but I am definitely worried about my actual knowledge of where scriptures are when I teach.  I will be very glad we are doing record preservation once this is done.  We are staying in an area by the campus which is also part married student housing.  It is nice and very comfortable.  We eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the MTC and the food is yummy.  Today was Navajo tacos so you know that I was happy.  It is so wonderful to see a large large room full of young men and young women dressed their best eating with us.  A field of white is an apt description.  Now that missionaries go out at 18 and the girls at 19 they seem so young to us.  They are very friendly and all seemed to be enjoying the experience as much as we are.  By the way Perry I drank the chocolate milk in your honor!!!  You are right--it is very good.  Tonight we have a devotional at 7:00 and plan to hit the creamery afterwards.  Food is a highlight as you probably noticed!  We are learning from the Preach My Gospel this week and then on Monday we are going to Salt Lake City and will work with record preservation.  We saw some of the equipment that we need to use and it looks a little frightening.  But don't worry--we will prevail.  We received permission to see Ben and Becky and family on our way so we are excited about that.  I could keep writing many more adventures we are having but must close so we can have dinner before we head back to the MTC for our special devotional.  Elder Clark will be speaking to us.  We hope you are all doing well.  We love you and think of you often.  I will write again next week.  Love, Elder and Sister Duncan or Mom and Dad or Granpa and Grandma (depending on who is reading this)

Missionary Training Center

How can I describe the Missionary Training Center experience?  It is like being invited to a huge feast and you stand there amazed at everything that is being offered yet overwhelmed because you don't know if you can eat it all.  When we drove into the gates of the MTC we were directed to park our car in a certain area.  As we got out of the car a handsome young missionary came over and welcomed us to the MTC.  He then walked with us into the lobby where people were waiting with our name tags, envelopes with information, and big smiles on their faces.  It was a little overwhelming at how close I was to crying because I knew right then that we were going to have an amazing experience--and we did.  For five days we were busy from sun up to sun down.  We met many wonderful people, attended a fireside at the MTC in which we were overcome with emotion when we looked behind us to see stripling warriors surrounding us in their suits, ties, and smiles.  And saw pops of colors throughout as beautiful young women came prepared to preach the gospel along side those wonderful young men.  We ate breakfast and lunch each day in a sea of white shirts and ties.  There was tons of food consumed every day and yet the lines were never long because you were able to visit with such wonderful people while you waited.  We met incredible people and were continually amazed at how small the world is when you are a member of the church.  Senior couples were going all over the world doing various assignments and except for the ones who had been on missions before they seemed just as nervous as we were.  Our day began at 7 a.m. in the MTC cafeteria for breakfast and then we headed over to a nearby chapel for classes that went from 8 a.m. to around 4:00-4:30 p.m.  We always started together in the chapel where we received instruction from various leaders and teachers.  After the first day we were put into districts with a district leader and then we worked the remainder of the morning in individual classes.  After lunch we again went into the chapel for more training before finishing with our district learning information and getting instruction about the Preach My Gospel.  It was pretty amazing that we all kept coming back!  But honestly how could you not?  I learned so much during those days that I hope will stay with me for a long long time.

This is only our district.  There were over 50 couples.  Our afternoon teacher was Sister Pace.  She had served in Russia on her mission and was from Thousand Oaks, California.  Her younger brother in now in our mission.  In the morning we had a great Elder who had served in South America.  He was also an international folk dancer so one day we all had to get up and learn a dance.  No pictures will ever be seen of that!

The Journey Begins

We were very excited to celebrate Caleb's birthday before leaving California.  As you know my Angela is an incredible party giver and she outdid herself for her cute little 3 year old.  When it got time to leave I think it finally hit me that there was no turning back so what else could we do but look forward.  Forward to a new adventure!  Of course we couldn't get into the swing of things until we stopped by and visited with Amy and Christian and the grandkids.  We were also able to celebrate Ruth's birthday.  She and Caleb were born on the same day.  I told Amy I had time for one project in her new house before we headed to Utah.  She decided that since school had begun a backpack drop-off space would be good.  Three days later everything was finished up and all she needed to do was some decorating of the area.  Fun times!  I wonder what we will work on when we get back?  After a beautiful drive up through Flagstaff and Kanab we arrived in Lehi and enjoyed some time with Bill and Cathy and the kids.  A special treat was having lunch at Rachel's new place of employment--Zupas, a soup and sandwich place.
               That evening Bill and Cathy had a dinner to attend and so we enjoyed some fun time with the kids at Trafalga Miniature Golf Center.  Grandpa and I watched and the kids played.  We also had a chance to have a sweet visit with our Rachel.  On Sunday evening we had a nice dinner with their family.  The kids made a big poster signed by each of them and decorated with balloons and crepe paper (I'm sorry I didn't take pictures).  Then it was time to say goodbye.  We stayed in Provo Sunday evening so we would be ready to report to the MTC the next morning and also so I wouldn't be crying when we arrived.  It worked!

Check That Off

I have made a to-do list so we are sure to get everything done before the big day.  The list has included utilities, pedigree charts, new drivers licenses, current temple recommends, new shoes, clothes, supplies, technology plans, and what to bring when we go into the Missionary Training Center.  Today was the completion of our check-list with the exception of packing, loading, visiting kids, and reporting to the MTC.  Unfortunately for our budget we had to have shingles shots which cost over $500.00 for the two of us. Apparently insurance doesn't consider shingles a major problem! But that is done as well as our Dtap shot and we are both feeling proud of ourselves because we didn't cry!!.  Let the mission begin...

We are going to New Hampshire!!!

This is a little late because we got our mission call almost two weeks ago but I wanted to talk about our upcoming experience!  We had asked to serve a foreign mission and assumed that we would so when we opened our mission call and it said New Hampshire Manchester Mission we were a little caught off guard.  That being said we know that every assignment we are given in the church is important and when we do what the Lord requires we will receive rich blessings as a result.  I saw that in my Cub Scout assignment as I grew to love some of the sweetest boys you can imagine and hopefully I played a part in giving them a solid foundation of love for Scouting.  If we had requested a states mission I would have been ecstatic to be called to serve in the northeast United States.  As we begin gathering up everything that we need for our mission and find our what we are going to be doing I am so excited and can definitely see that New Hampshire is exactly where we are suppose to be.  I'm so excited, nervous, and touched by what has happened to us since receiving our call.  I love our young missionaries.  They have been so encouraging to Scott and me about how important it is to know that we are going to our mission for a specific purpose and I realized as I have spent time with them that they are such an excellent example of that truth.  Our children have also been excited that we are not going to be quite so far away.

Our mission encompasses New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont.  Can you imagine a more beautiful area.  How lucky we are to arrive just as the fall begins.  Scott and I are assigned to records preservation and after a week in the MTC in Provo we will spend a second week at the Church office building learning about digital cameras and what we will need to do.  When that is complete we will drive to our mission which makes it possible for us to stop and see our children and grandchildren on the way!

So, New Hampshire Manchester Mission here we come!  We plan to do our best and hopefully help other people as we preserve the records of ancestors who are gone but should never be forgotten!

Waiting

In the early fall Scott and I attended a meeting at the Sunset Hills ward.  The speakers were Bob and Barbara Casady and they were talking about the mission they had just completed in Albania.  When it was over both Scott and I were so impressed and inspired by their message that we decided that it was time to make a commitment and serve a mission.  For us that meant that Scott would need to retire.  Thrown into the mix was Amy's pregnancy which created complications requiring her bed rest until early January.  From October until Christmas I spent the week in Gilbert and then would come home on the weekend to see Scott.  That was fine because we didn't plan to start the official process until January because we wanted to go out at the end of August or the first of September.  The paperwork required from the missionary department was very doable and exciting and Scott and I spent several evenings getting everything typed in and ready to submit.  We applied and received our passports.  We visited our doctor, dentist, and optometrist.  We also experienced the colonoscopy required with me going one day and Scott the next.  Once that was done we submitted everything and anticipated a call soon.  We did get a call soon but from the Bishop who said there were some things that needed to be fixed.  We got that done and then took it over to Kent Christensen who was putting everything into the computer.  Unfortunately for us Kent and Emiko had left for Japan for two weeks.  Bishop Harris told us to take it instead to Brother Curry.  Fortunately, he was home and he was able to submit the paperwork for us.  The final hurdle was meeting with President Garrick which happened at the end of May.  He promised to submit his part the next morning so we got so excited that the process was almost complete.

It is now July and we are still excitedly waiting.  Not always patiently waiting!  Ed Hamlin teased us one Sunday that we were having buyers remorse and in some ways that was true.  Scott and I both want to serve and have anticipated our calling for months but the wait is wearing us both down.  I have begun to wonder if we really can do this.  Maybe the mission department doesn't want us.  How will I be without our grandkids for 18 months?  Can we really afford to do this?  Is Scott's memory getting worse?  Alright--I am dramatic.  Not knowing is hard and once we know where we are going all the doubts will be silenced and anticipation will replace the worry.  Fortunately my special friend Barb Walker and my brother Bill have been the voice of reason for me.

Where will we go?  I have no idea, but I am trying hard to remember how excited Scott and I were as we left the Tuscola building that fall Sunday with a desire in our heart to be missionaries.  We will go and we will be able to have a great adventure and even more important we get to do it together.  What more could I ask for?

Abby's Baptism

Scott and I had a wonderful time in Utah where we were able to see our granddaughter baptized by her dad.  It was a spiritual feast for us as we heard an older sister and brother participate in the program with exceptional and heart felt talks.  Our Abby is such a sweet girl and I am proud of her for making such a good choice to be baptized.