Our Adventure Begins - September 6, 2010

Friday, September 24, 2010



We spent 2 wonderful weeks at the missionary training center in Provo before leaving for our mission to Belize. This is our large MTC group of 40 couples and 1 single sister. We are learning 10 different languages and going to missions all over the world. At the end of the week, those of  us learning languages (about 25) were able to bear a simple testimony using our newly acquired skills.

Our district made is up of 5 couples.
The first week of our training was all about how to teach using Preach My Gospel. We did lots of role playing. The second week we were trained in CES, and we spent the last two days in Salt Lake City learning about the Perpetual Education Fund. The last day we had to have security clearances to go up to the 10th floor of the Church Office Building. We will be blogging more about PEF later. It is some program. A non-member was so impressed with the way it helped people that when he passed away recently,  he left PEF 6.5 million dollars. 

This past Monday Daniel Larsen drove us and our luggage to the MTC at 5 am. (Daniel and Alexa are house sitting for us while we are away.) Then we took a bus with lots of young elders (and one sister) to the airport in Salt Lake City. We had a good flight to Dallas, and then later to San Salvador, El Salvador. 

After getting our luggage loaded up on a cart, we went outside the airport thinking someone would surely be there to meet us.  No one was there for us.  We had no phone, no local currency, and no phone numbers to call.  So we waited.  After what seemed a very long time, though it was only 15 or 20 minutes our mission president, President Lopez came dashing across the waiting area.  He was very apologetic about getting caught in traffic.  We were very relieved to see him.  Though he doesn't speak English fluently, he tried his best, and we were able to commuicate.   (We tried some of our newly acquired Spanish on him, too.)

President Lopez and us at mission office in San Salvadore

He drove us to his home, about 45 minutes away.  It was dark  by this time, so we couldn't see much.  The mission home is lovely and well kept.  We got to meet Sister Lopez and their four childen, Alejandro, Crystal, Carolita, and Pablo.