Oh Ye That Embark In The Service of God.....

 

The day we've looked toward for years has arrived!!

We're so excited!!

We met our trainers and the rest of our group in the

Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

From there we went to the Salt Lake Temple, where we spent the day in training.

There were nine couples in our group. Four couples were going to the Washington DC Temple, one couple to the Nauvoo IL Temple, one couple to the Manhattan, NY Temple, one couple to the Kona, HI temple, one couple to the Helsinki Finland Temple and then us to the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Temple.

 

 We received our badges, we're now "official" missionaries!
(I remember on my first mission, sometimes missionaries would call one another by their first name instead of sister or elder. Elder Angulo would always respond, That is ELDER ANGULO, my parents are paying big money to have me called that. This is because we pay for our missions ourselves, so it is not without cost that we are blessed to serve the Lord.) Odd the things that we remember......

 

We are so grateful for the opportunity of serving our Savior, Jesus Christ in His house here on earth;

the Holy Temple.....

 

This is the temple we trained in..... soon we'll be in the Halifax Nova Scotia temple where we will be privileged to serve for the next 18 months! We are so humbled that we have been given this opportunity to serve.

 

There's Nothing Like Family and Friends......

 

In addition to missionary shopping, Laurence and I took advantage of the week between RootsTech and reporting for our mission to visit with family and friends. We are so grateful for those that took the time to invite us to visit and worked with our crazy schedule.

Me, Uncle Eldon & Aunt Nina ~ Uncle Eldon is my dad's youngest brother.
We stayed a few days at their home.
Thanks so much!!



Uncle Eldon relaxing and telling us about his life.
What a fun time we had!!





We visited Aunt Rhea and Frank. Unfortunately Frank is behind the camera.
Aunt Rhea is the next sister younger than my mother.

 




Me, Laurence and Annette DeLattre ~ Annette has been
one of my dearest friends in Colstrip. She now lives in Utah.







Teague, Laurence, Kenley, Sidney, Connie & Brandon
Connie is my niece ~ Teague and Brandon are her sons
Kenley is Teague's daughter
What a fun time we had!




Sidney & Fae



Kaleena, Sidney, Bill




Linda, Sidney, Kaleena

 

 

Jessica, Keltic, Sidney, Norman, Laurence




Linda, Sidney, Kaleena, Laurence & Bill

Sidney & Karen
Karen and I have been friends since we served our missions together in Ireland.
We stayed with her a couple of different times while we were in Utah.



Sidney, Karen & Leanna
We met as missionaries in the
Ireland Dublin Mission

 

 

 

Friday the 13th was better than Thursday the 12th!!

  RootsTech continues.....

This day was a busy day, simply because Laurence had to spend a lot of time on the phone with insurance, police and the company that put in our new pickup window.

We still had time to attend RootsTech

 

We are so grateful that we attended RootsTech with Dave and Viv. Not only are they great to hang out with, I can't imagine anyone I'd prefer to have helping us get through all of this, running around etc. They were definitely part of the tender mercies that we experienced!

 

Viv and I really had a fun time at RootsTech and doing some of our last minute Mission Shopping too!

There Must Needs Be Opposition in All Things....

RootsTech!! The conference that we came to Utah early for!! To learn more about Family History (Genealogy) and as an added bonus, to get to do it with our dear friends and cousins Viv and Dave.  

Viv and I played hooky Thursday afternoon and had manicures! What a fun time we had!

We returned to our pickup to find this.....

Yes, this would be the window of the pickup. Vandals broke out the off-drivers side window and took what they could reach and ran.

 

 

Glass all over the ground outside the pickup....



Damage to the door that will have to be fixed



Yes, they did thoughtfully leave my Dr. Pepper...




Parked in a large parking lot in the middle of the day....

We lost many things..... my computer, kindle, makeup, jewelry, cameras, Garmin, books, and junk food. They had no idea what they got, just took bags.... It is maddening, but we know that it could be much worse. I think it is just to help me learn that things are truly just that..... things.

We feel so blessed! They did not take our passports or any other paperwork that will prohibit us continuing on our mission. We are so grateful for the many prayers in our behalf.

 

 

 

 

We're On Our Way!

 

Let me begin for apologizing for the lack of pictures in this post. I will do better....

After leaving Colstrip, we went to Billings to spend Sunday evening with our daughter Aisling. Monday morning after doing a bit of last minute "stuff" we headed out. First stop,

 Bozeman to visit William. We got no pictures there. (sorry Glenda) From there we went to Idaho Falls. In Idaho Falls we got together with a college roommate and her family for breakfast on Tuesday. It was so fun to spend time with Sherie Johnson Cole, her husband Keven and her son Dallen. Unfortunately once again I have no pictures. I have no pictures because Sherie does not want them posted and I will honor her wishes. Sherie is such a wonderful person and I am grateful to be able to have her in my life again.

Off to Ogden, Utah. We stayed with a friend from the mission field in Ireland, Karen Robinson.

Let the Marathon Shopping Begin...

Laurence got 3 suits with 2 pair of pants each, along with 2 pair of much needed shoes, several white shirts and a couple of ties. He didn't need the ties, but how can you have a new suit without a tie??

I might have purchased an item or two for myself as well. <grin>

 

 

The Reason Behind Our Choices.....

 

 

When Laurence and I were engaged, one of our long term goals was to go on a mission as a couple. This has been part of our plan since we got married.

We have both been asked many times, why are we going on a mission?

The answer is simple. We know that Jesus Christ lived and died and now lives again for each of us. We want more than anything to help others know that same joy. We hope to do all we can to serve Our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ.

 

The time finally arrived.... time for us to depart!

In the LDS Church it is traditional for the departing missionary(ies) to speak in church before they leave. Sunday February 8 was our time to speak. Aisling came out from Billings and my dear friend Minda came up from Lovell on Saturday. They both came to help get us packed up so we could leave after church, heading for Utah. How grateful we are for their help and the help of dear friends in Colstrip who helped us make this happen. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of most of the angels that helped us!

 

We arrived at church that morning to a most delightful surprise. My brother Von and his wife Pam had gotten up early and made the trip to Colstrip so they could support us. How thoughtful is that?!

 

Laurence and I both talked about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We used the above document for a portion of our talks. I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and the gift of Eternal Life that we receive through Him. I know He lives! I know He loves us and wants us to return.