Carlos Mission--Philippines MTC

Every three weeks we have a sullen day here at the MTC. We say goodbye to missionaries that we love. We are sad and yet we are thrilled with the progress they have made and know they are ready now to fulfill their commission--to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in their assigned areas. Here are a few shots we've taken during our departure days.                                              Our first departure and the Trasks last departure. Every three weeks we have a joyful, exciting day here at the MTC. We say hello to brand new missionaries who have accepted their call to serve as ambassadors of Jesus Christ. We see lots of tears shed as they say goodbye to loving parents and friends, leaving behind their old lives to focus solely on their work for the next 18 months (young women) and 2 years for the young men. We LOVE intake day! Here are a few shots we've ta...

You may notice that I am writing this almost six months late. Since arriving here at the MTC in mid-January we have been running. While our 3 year mission in the Philippines Cauayan Mission was a three year marathon of activity this experience has been a 6-month sprint! I have a feeling it will be like that until the end. When we were called we asked why this calling was a 2 year calling compared with the 3 year calling of a Mission President. Our trainer at the MTC said, "I'm not going to tell you, you will figure it out." Here we live and eat and breathe with missionaries 24/7. And it's taken me this long to finally download photos we've taken and get them organized. My hope is that in the next few weeks I will be able to go through the photos and get them organized. This is the view when we left for the MTC. Snow was everywhere and dreams of living in Summer for the next two years sounded good to us! I jumped into our flight and arrival but feel like I ...

We had a busy Christmas season and soon it was time to leave for the Provo MTC and then the Philippines. Luckily Rudy had lots of frequent flyer miles and so we were able to travel in business class, complete with seats that turned into beds. Going home we most likely won't have that amenity, so we enjoyed it all the more. Even the food it better in business class!  President Carlos had his headphones and was able to sleep some on the way.  President and Sister Trask surprised us with the most beautiful welcome bouquet!  We arrived late at night but were excited to see the apartment where we would be living. Just like before--in Cauayan, we feel to sleep quickly but woke up in the middle of the night. That lasted for about a week and we finally got acclimated.  President Trask and Elder Villanueva, the MTC manager and already a friend of ours showed us around.  Imagine seeing the temple outside your window every day and night! We...