Week of September 17, 2012

Elder and Sister Roeth at the MTC

Sunday evening we went to a Departure Devotional. It was amazing to sit in a very large room full of missionaries going to all parts of the world. The singing was awesome—it really filled the room. After that we went to the weekly fireside. The speaker was Richard Heaton who is the Administrative Director of the MTC. He called up two elders from Brisbane, Australia. They had been good friends and one had told the other about the church and he was fellowshipped and baptized. Now they were both in the MTC together.

Monday we started our CES training. We had several sections based on a method of teaching the scriptures. It was amazing—I wish I had been taught this much earlier in my life so I could have better understanding of the scriptures. The church is so concerned about the 18 – 30 age group they devote a great deal of resources to them. Our class included those going to military installations, SYSAP (Stake Young Single Adult Program, formerly Centers for Young Adults), and Seminary and Institute missionaries.

Tuesday we continued our CES training. It was fantastic. I really wish I knew more about teaching, but I guess that is something I can learn. The instructors talked to us about methods for teaching once the “what” is decided upon. There was a long discussion on Questions and the types of questions to use for different steps in the process. I really felt like I learned some things, but I also felt like there is much to learn and so many skills I need to develop.

Ted called our mission office to find out more information about when they expect us and where we are supposed to go. He also called and talked to Pres. Batt. He is expecting us on Monday, so we won’t leave home until Monday morning. We will go to the mission home for dinner that evening then drive down to our apartment. I feel much more comfortable about this now that he has talked to the president.

After classes finished for the day we went back to our room and packed everything we could. I thought we’d be short of room, but it looks like we’ll have enough room to comfortably carry stuff. (I tend to be a bit more optimistic than I should be about space in luggage.) We then went over to the devotional. We heard Elder Carlson of the Seventy. He and his wife both spoke about the impact of 9/11 on them and on us. Elder Carlson was a general at the time and was assigned to the Pentagon. It was very interesting to hear how moved his wife was by the tragedy of the day. His talk was also really good and I took lots of notes. I’m really going on information overload at this point. When we got back to the room I went right to bed but I had a lot of trouble sleeping—too much going on in my head.

Wednesday morning we finished packing then went to class. Our classes today were more on the reality of our call, working with local leaders, and how our calls are made. It is really a very interesting process.

When we got to Las Vegas the traffic out of the airport was closed due to Obama being in town so it took us a while to get home. We picked up some dinner and went to Leedom’s to eat and visit. It was really fun.

Thursday we spent the day packing and organizing things for the trip to New Mexico. Almost everything was already done, but we finished up a few things.
Friday we spent some time with Emily, Landon, and Cason. We spent a couple of hours at their house then took the boys to lunch and to see a movie. We had a good time then headed for home. When we were nearly home Heather called to invite us to get dinner visit at the park. We turned the car around and headed to the park. We had a good time. We commented that this was really the first time since I retired that we did just fun stuff—it felt really good.

Saturday we put nearly final touches on our packing. I was getting nervous about waiting until Sunday to pack the car so we did a start on the trunk to see what we could get in. It was amazing what all we got in. We then piled up the remaining boxes in the house to simulate the back seat. I began to feel more confident about getting it all in. In the late afternoon we picked up a pizza and went to stay with Leedom’s children while Scott took Heather to see Wicked for her birthday. It was sort of a trade off—Ted wanted to see the BYU-Utah game on TV and we haven’t had any internet while we’ve been home.

Sunday Ted fixed a birthday breakfast that we enjoyed. Heather was teaching in Young Women’s so I stayed with her. She did an amazing job of relating to the girls and teaching them. They were really connecting with her. After church I ran into Emily and Steven and said goodbyes again. We went to Leedom’s to have lunch. We had a good visit, then we said our goodbyes. It was really sad for me to say goodbye today. I will really miss being so close to these families.

At home we organized a few things, changed our clothes, and started loading up the backseat. It didn’t work quite the way it had in the living room because of seat contours, but we got almost everything in. Ted checked the air in the tires. Our biggest concern is the weight of everything—it is quite a load. We will need to be very careful in our driving. I am glad to finally going and anxious to know what we will be doing. Ted talked with our supervisor on Saturday and it appears the program is not quite as developed and in place as I had thought. I guess that means we get the opportunity to get it going.