After 6,200 miles & 5 1/2 weeks we are finally here. It has been a great journey but we are ready to get to work.
Last week we got to Charlottesville, Va., on Wednesday morning & stayed with Rod's Dad until Friday morning. It was so good to see him again. We also went to see his Mom. She was having a bad day but it was good to see her & also the rest of the family.
We made it to Boston in 1 day. It was 600 miles. We were so tired but went straight to the Temple & saw it all lit up. It really was beautiful. Then we came to our house & met our landlords. They are so great & they had worked so hard on our apartment. The house is 110 years old. Our apt. is on the top floor & we have to go up 33 steps. It is hard to carry luggage up that many steps. We did enough to get us through the night & the next morning Rod woke up earlier than me & when I woke up he almost had the car emptied. I was more excited about that than just about anything he's ever done for me. We are unpacked & settled in which is a good feeling.
There is a huge oak tree in the back yard that we can see from our living room window. It reminds me of the movie, "Pollyanna" because we are so high up but her tree was a little closer to the house. There are woods & hiking trails behind our house so we don't feel like we are in the middle of the city. It is really nice. Some of the streets are so narrow. They say that they just paved the cow trails.
Our church is at 2:00 & everyone was so friendly. We heard that we may be assigned to one of the Wards in the Stake that needs more help, so we'll see.
We had dinner tonight at Pres. & Sis. Woods home with the Presidency & their wives & the other 2 couples that are full time missionaries. The Wilson's are from South Jordan & the Mitchell's are from Maine. They are all very good people & we are really going to enjoy working with them. It was nice for Rod to reminisce with the Wood's about old times & friends.
Tomorrow is our first day & we are anxious to get busy. I can't wait to see the inside of the Temple & feel the Spirit there. We feel so blessed to be able to serve in the Temple. I can't imagine that we ever thought that we might like to serve somewhere else. We'll close for this week & we send our love to everyone.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Our Last Week @ the MTC
We had the most wonderful week! Monday we spent the morning @ the Temple for training & that afternoon we had more training @ the MTC. Then on Tuesday & Wednesday we spent 8 hours each day in the Temple for more training. Thursday we were in the Temple again from 8 am - 1 pm. Our instructors this week were Rex D. Pinegar & his wife, Bonnie. When I saw their names on the schedule I wondered if it was "The" Pinegar's. Well, it was! They were so humble & amazing! For those of you who are too young to remember, he was in the First Quorum of Seventy about the time we were first married. Rod remembered him being the Mission President in Richmond, Virginia, when he was a teenager & listening to him speak at firesides. Anyway, they teach the Temple training once a month which is the only time they have Temple missionaries.
At the Temple we visited the laundry, Baptistry, youth center, Bride's room & went up to the 4th floor & walked on the catwalks to see some of the inner workings of the Temple. The Provo Temple is the busiest Temple in the world. They are able to perform sessions in over 80 languages. We heard from the Temple Recorder, the engineer & had a couple of special speakers. One of them was Bro. Walker. He is the head of the Temple Committee for the Church. We felt very privileged to be taught by him & the Pinegar's.
There were 9 couples in our group. Two of us are going to Boston, & the others are going to Sweden, Finland, England, Spain, Mexico, Germany & Washington D.C. We learned to love them but we are especially happy to be going to Boston with the Wilson's.
Tuesday night there was a fireside at the MTC & the speaker was Elder Glen L. Pace. It was so good. It was such a personal & spiritual subject that he requested that it not be recorded. We felt blessed to be there.
We were counseled during our time at the MTC & the Temple that we have to be very careful not to share spiritual things over the internet. Not because they are secret but because they are sacred.
We were able to spend time with Amy, Brad, Natalie & Kaylee on some of our evenings after classes & it was so nice to relax with them. The last night we were there, Jamie & Lacey were able to come to Amy's & we spent the afternoon with them too. It was so nice to see them again.
As good as it was to be in the MTC, the Temple & be able to spend time with Amy & Brad during some of our off times, we are glad to be on our way to Boston & on the last leg of our journey from Alaska.
Friday we drove from Provo to Denver. As I was driving through Vail, Rod said that my face was all red. I didn't think too much about it. Then later he was driving & I noticed that his face & neck were red. I looked & I was still red. Then just before we went through a tunnel I saw a sign that said we were at 11,600 ft. elevation. That is high & is over 2 miles. Mount Rainier is 14,000 + in elevation. Anyway, we wondered if it was the elevation that made our blood pressure rise or something. It was wierd.
Saturday we drove to Topeka, Kansas, where we went to church this morning. Then we drove to Liberty, Missouri, where we went through the Visitor's Center & saw the Liberty Jail where Joseph Smith & 4 others were imprisoned for 4 months. Some very important revelations were given to the Prophet during his time there & are found in D&C 121,122 & 123. We were glad we went out of our way to see it.
Tonight we are in Columbia, Missouri. Our thoughts & prayers have been with a couple of our family members and we hope all is well for them. We love you! We are excited for all that is to come, we are excited to serve & we send our love to all of you!!!
At the Temple we visited the laundry, Baptistry, youth center, Bride's room & went up to the 4th floor & walked on the catwalks to see some of the inner workings of the Temple. The Provo Temple is the busiest Temple in the world. They are able to perform sessions in over 80 languages. We heard from the Temple Recorder, the engineer & had a couple of special speakers. One of them was Bro. Walker. He is the head of the Temple Committee for the Church. We felt very privileged to be taught by him & the Pinegar's.
There were 9 couples in our group. Two of us are going to Boston, & the others are going to Sweden, Finland, England, Spain, Mexico, Germany & Washington D.C. We learned to love them but we are especially happy to be going to Boston with the Wilson's.
Tuesday night there was a fireside at the MTC & the speaker was Elder Glen L. Pace. It was so good. It was such a personal & spiritual subject that he requested that it not be recorded. We felt blessed to be there.
We were counseled during our time at the MTC & the Temple that we have to be very careful not to share spiritual things over the internet. Not because they are secret but because they are sacred.
We were able to spend time with Amy, Brad, Natalie & Kaylee on some of our evenings after classes & it was so nice to relax with them. The last night we were there, Jamie & Lacey were able to come to Amy's & we spent the afternoon with them too. It was so nice to see them again.
As good as it was to be in the MTC, the Temple & be able to spend time with Amy & Brad during some of our off times, we are glad to be on our way to Boston & on the last leg of our journey from Alaska.
Friday we drove from Provo to Denver. As I was driving through Vail, Rod said that my face was all red. I didn't think too much about it. Then later he was driving & I noticed that his face & neck were red. I looked & I was still red. Then just before we went through a tunnel I saw a sign that said we were at 11,600 ft. elevation. That is high & is over 2 miles. Mount Rainier is 14,000 + in elevation. Anyway, we wondered if it was the elevation that made our blood pressure rise or something. It was wierd.
Saturday we drove to Topeka, Kansas, where we went to church this morning. Then we drove to Liberty, Missouri, where we went through the Visitor's Center & saw the Liberty Jail where Joseph Smith & 4 others were imprisoned for 4 months. Some very important revelations were given to the Prophet during his time there & are found in D&C 121,122 & 123. We were glad we went out of our way to see it.
Tonight we are in Columbia, Missouri. Our thoughts & prayers have been with a couple of our family members and we hope all is well for them. We love you! We are excited for all that is to come, we are excited to serve & we send our love to all of you!!!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Our 1st Week at the MTC.
We have finished our 1st week at the MTC & it was amazing. I have a feeling that "amazing" is going to be the word of choice throughout our mission so if you get tired of hearing it you'll just have to forgive us.
I had been looking forward to the MTC but as Brad was helping us set up our blog the night before I was trying to learn how to do it & all of a sudden I just couldn't hold back the tears. Then as we went to bed I felt like a little girl on Christmas Eve. I was excited, anxious & my mind wouldn't turn off so needless to say I didn't get much sleep. The next morning I was excited but I could feel the Spirit & didn't dare talk much on the ride to the MTC for fear I would burst into tears.
Everyone was so kind as we had orientation. There are a total of 38 couples & 4 senior sisters in our group. It is the largest group of seniors in over a year. There are 5 couples in our district & there is one other couple going to the Boston Temple with us. We are staying at the Super 8 Motel since the housing for seniors is being expanded.
Along with our classes on Tuesday, they gave us about an hour to prepare a 45 min. discussion on the Restoration. Then we went to a church bldg. & had to teach a stranger who was to pretend to be an investigator. As we got to know her we found out that her husband passed away 5 years ago & she has been battling depression. We shared our experiences with Nathan & our testimony of the Plan of Salvation & it was a very sweet experience. We didn't exactly teach the lesson we were supposed to teach but the Spirit directed us to go a different route & instead of helping an investigator we were able to help a sister feel better. We all agreed that we were supposed to meet that day.
That night we went to the fireside given by Elder L. Lionel Kendrick & his wife. He is an emeritus Seventy. They remembered us from our cruise to Australia & New Zeeland & they also know Pres. & Sis. Wood, our Boston Temple President. It was amazing to see & hear about 2,000 missionaries file into the fireside & sing, "Called to Serve".
Tuesday we had more classes & taught another lesson about the Plan of Salvation. At lunch we saw my cousin, Terry Potter. I haven't seen him for about 17 years. I didn't even know he lived here or worked part time at the MTC. He invited us to go to his daughters wedding at the Salt Lake Temple this morning (Saturday).
On Wednesday we were in the lunch line & I saw an Elder & he said, "Oh, my goodness, I can't believe it. Hi, Sis. Metcalf, I'm Elder Metcalf." He was so excited. It was cute. We had more classes all day Wednesday & Thursday & taught more lessons, but what I got most out of those days were the relationships & friendships that we are building. The quality & dedication of these couples are amazing & they are literally going all over the world. Some of the places they are going are, Russia, Phillipines, Taiwan, Africa, Sweden, Mexico, Greece, Brazil, England, New Zeeland, Canada & several in the U.S. They are doing welfare & humanitarian, Temples, office, Visitor's Centers, proselyting & probably others I can't remember. Anyway, we are growing to love many of them.
This morning when we were in the waiting room for weddings, I heard, "Terry Metcalf?" I turned around & there was Cindy Hopper from Georgia. She was a dear friend in Alaska & they moved about 10 years ago. What are the odds of going to the Temple in a different city & running into someone from across the country who is there at exactly the same time & you knew them years ago? It was a very tearful reunion! Another thing that happened this morning was when the Sealer came in & he said, "Hi, Bro. Potter, I'm Bro. Potter". He told us some of his ancestors so I'm going to see if we are tied together. One thing that we are starting to realize is that nothing is a coincidence. I always knew that but it has been very evident this week. I know that we were supposed to meet all of these people here & have these experiences & it has been a very wonderful experience. It makes me wonder who else we will meet on our mission that we feel a connection to? Cindy said it best today when she said that it will probably be like this in the Celestial Kingdom as we meet our families & friends again.
We hope you are all well & happy. We love you!!! Rod & Terry.
I had been looking forward to the MTC but as Brad was helping us set up our blog the night before I was trying to learn how to do it & all of a sudden I just couldn't hold back the tears. Then as we went to bed I felt like a little girl on Christmas Eve. I was excited, anxious & my mind wouldn't turn off so needless to say I didn't get much sleep. The next morning I was excited but I could feel the Spirit & didn't dare talk much on the ride to the MTC for fear I would burst into tears.
Everyone was so kind as we had orientation. There are a total of 38 couples & 4 senior sisters in our group. It is the largest group of seniors in over a year. There are 5 couples in our district & there is one other couple going to the Boston Temple with us. We are staying at the Super 8 Motel since the housing for seniors is being expanded.
Along with our classes on Tuesday, they gave us about an hour to prepare a 45 min. discussion on the Restoration. Then we went to a church bldg. & had to teach a stranger who was to pretend to be an investigator. As we got to know her we found out that her husband passed away 5 years ago & she has been battling depression. We shared our experiences with Nathan & our testimony of the Plan of Salvation & it was a very sweet experience. We didn't exactly teach the lesson we were supposed to teach but the Spirit directed us to go a different route & instead of helping an investigator we were able to help a sister feel better. We all agreed that we were supposed to meet that day.
That night we went to the fireside given by Elder L. Lionel Kendrick & his wife. He is an emeritus Seventy. They remembered us from our cruise to Australia & New Zeeland & they also know Pres. & Sis. Wood, our Boston Temple President. It was amazing to see & hear about 2,000 missionaries file into the fireside & sing, "Called to Serve".
Tuesday we had more classes & taught another lesson about the Plan of Salvation. At lunch we saw my cousin, Terry Potter. I haven't seen him for about 17 years. I didn't even know he lived here or worked part time at the MTC. He invited us to go to his daughters wedding at the Salt Lake Temple this morning (Saturday).
On Wednesday we were in the lunch line & I saw an Elder & he said, "Oh, my goodness, I can't believe it. Hi, Sis. Metcalf, I'm Elder Metcalf." He was so excited. It was cute. We had more classes all day Wednesday & Thursday & taught more lessons, but what I got most out of those days were the relationships & friendships that we are building. The quality & dedication of these couples are amazing & they are literally going all over the world. Some of the places they are going are, Russia, Phillipines, Taiwan, Africa, Sweden, Mexico, Greece, Brazil, England, New Zeeland, Canada & several in the U.S. They are doing welfare & humanitarian, Temples, office, Visitor's Centers, proselyting & probably others I can't remember. Anyway, we are growing to love many of them.
This morning when we were in the waiting room for weddings, I heard, "Terry Metcalf?" I turned around & there was Cindy Hopper from Georgia. She was a dear friend in Alaska & they moved about 10 years ago. What are the odds of going to the Temple in a different city & running into someone from across the country who is there at exactly the same time & you knew them years ago? It was a very tearful reunion! Another thing that happened this morning was when the Sealer came in & he said, "Hi, Bro. Potter, I'm Bro. Potter". He told us some of his ancestors so I'm going to see if we are tied together. One thing that we are starting to realize is that nothing is a coincidence. I always knew that but it has been very evident this week. I know that we were supposed to meet all of these people here & have these experiences & it has been a very wonderful experience. It makes me wonder who else we will meet on our mission that we feel a connection to? Cindy said it best today when she said that it will probably be like this in the Celestial Kingdom as we meet our families & friends again.
We hope you are all well & happy. We love you!!! Rod & Terry.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Tomorrow's the BIG DAY!!!
Well, we've waited for tomorrow for a long time & it's finally here. We know there will be a lot of new experiences for us & we are so excited! We can't promise to make this blog very interesting. We aren't the best writers in the world. That talent escaped us, but we hope that as we grow & experience new things we will be able to share them with you as much as possible. We hope you will feel our love for the gospel, the Temple & our family & friends. This has been such an amazing journey thus far. We have said good-bye to our family & friends in Alaska, there was our trip down the Al-Can which was amazing, we said good-bye to some of our family in Seattle & Idaho, we have seen friends in Utah, & stayed with Amy & Brad in Provo as we prepared for the M.T.C. We have felt the Spirit as we listened to General Conference this weekend & were blessed to attend the Saturday afternoon session. Our hearts are full & we are ready to begin this journey. I bought some vinyl lettering to put in our home in Boston & it says, "Enjoy the Journey". That is what we plan to do.
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