Catching Up

We need a post to catch up on our mission activities/experiences for the past four months since we began our mission.  We spent the first week, the week of July 19th, in at-home virtual MTC (Mission Training Center) based in Provo. 

In between our week of virtual MTC and August 5th, we went to New York and Palmyra with Toby/April and their family.  This was a trip we had been planning for two years and it was wonderful.

After our trip to New York, we began visiting the 13 Spanish-speaking wards in the mission, from Roy to North Salt Lake. After our visits, we chose to settle for a time in two wards, the Parkway Ward in North Salt Lake, and the Mt. Ensign Ward in Centerville.

Soon after we began our mission, Elder Wilcox and his wife, who are the senior couple supervising the construction of the Layton Temple, asked us to come to a lunch for the construction workers. They arrange for lunch to be provided each Friday at the temple site for the construction workers, who are mostly Hispanic and only a few are members of the church. The Wilcoxes invited us to go and mingle with the workers since we speak Spanish.  We have been going each Friday since and thoroughly enjoy it.  Many of the workers know us now and we love being with them.

In addition to meeting with the construction workers each Friday for lunch, the Wilcoxes asked us to help with a short devotional they have each Tuesday morning at 7:00 am for the workers. We take turns giving a short message and a prayer in Spanish. It is very special for us to be able to go inside the temple for a few minutes, even though it is just in the construction stage.

Another opportunity we have is to give tours of the Layton Temple construction site. The history and miracles of this site are amazing. There is such a special spirit there, even though the temple is still under construction. We were able to have our entire family, minus our two missionary grandsons, join us for a tour. That was awesome!

We have been able to attend several Hispanic festivals which are always a treat. No one can throw a party better than the Latinos! Unbelievable food, lots of color, dancing, and celebrating. They are so proud of their culture and traditions, and are so eager to share it all.

Visiting members of the wards in their homes keeps us busy during the week. We try to visit two evenings each week and the people are so welcoming and friendly. We have been to two baptisms and have also gone with the young missionaries to visit people they are teaching. 

We have had districts of 8-12 missionaries in our home a few times for lunch and District Council, P-Day activities, or to watch General Conference. One of the highlights of our mission is the association we have with the young missionaries. 

I love pictures of missionaries walking down the street.

We attend zone activities and conferences; we participated in a mission activity/service project of gathering pumpkins; we have picked up new missionaries from the airport and the Frontrunner train station; and we hope to have some join us for Thanksgiving. Our mission is what we make it and we are loving it.