It's official, we have left the MTC

Dear Family & Friends,


Our MTC District and afternoon teacher in 
the new building where the younger missionaries
study ... every floor have these murals
It’s my week to write to all of you.   Darleen and I finished up our stay at the Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC) this past week.    We had three days (Monday through Wednesday) of classwork focused specifically on our call as Seminary & Institute Educational Specialists.   The information provided over all three days offered valuable insights into upcoming expectations; however, the pace of instruction—particularly during Tuesday’s sessions—was notably rapid, to say the least!!!    I think it helped to give us a little something on the nature of our call; however, we do know that our specific assignment on the islands of Vanuatu is going to be fairly broader than what is happening in similar classrooms in the United States.   One thing we definitely learned was that Darleen and I have different teaching styles that we will get to hone over the next 18 months.    


Saratoga Spring LDS Temple right as
sun was going down.  Beautiful view!!!


Our official training was complete after 1 pm on Wednesday, which gave us time until our late Saturday flight to Sydney, Australia.  We spent time with my brother (David) & sister (Laurie), and Darleen’s brother (Tony) and his family (Amanda, Rebecca, and Mary Gail).   It was fun to catch up before we left and just spend time with them.  One thing about living far from one another is that we don’t get to do that enough.   On Thursday and Friday, we spent several hours in the Taylorsville and Saratoga Springs LDS Temple, respectively.   It was a very spiritual experience as we were able to do some family work.   We also had the opportunity to have some good walks around the BYU campus, where Darleen and I first met some 43 years ago.  We got to play the missionary game of “how do I get my suitcases down in weight?”, failing the game on one of the bags – which we ended up just paying the overage fee at the airport!!!!   I don’t like that game!!   
Saratoga Spring LDS Temple ... looking 
at the gardens that are at the side of the temple



As Darleen stated in last week's letter, the  MTC is a place where you are fed well in abundance of spiritual food.    We had a devotional this past Tuesday evening from one of our church leaders, Elder Kevin G. Brown.   He talked directly about the parable of the talents that the Savior taught in Matthew 25:14-29.   One of the things he highlighted was that talents being buried could be our talents given in the moment.   An example of this could be having someone cross our path that we don’t help, “in that moment”.    Elder Brown gave a great example in his life of how someone used her talents to transform his life at a time when he was struggling spiritually.    He stated, “This parable is about relationships of trust. Can He trust us to use our talents to further His work?”.   I left the devotional well-fed and reminded of ways I can do better in using my talents for good.  He also shared how Jesus Christ never buried his talents – our greatest example to follow.


In LAX waiting for flight to Sydney
Australia
On Saturday, we started our journey to Vanuatu Port Vila, as we flew out of SLC to LAX, then later that night to Sydney.    During the ~16-hour flight to Sydney, we were reminded of God’s plan for all of us, and how we never know when our day on this earth is up.    About 4 hours from landing in Sydney, there was a call from the flight attendants that they had a ‘small’ medical emergency and could use any doctor or nurse on board to ring their call button.   For the next hour, a few of those professionals were scrambling in one of the galleys in front of us to help a woman passenger.   Darleen and I both said silent prayers for her to have a miracle provided, but about 1 hour later, the pilot came on the intercom to let us all know that a passenger had passed away.    It was a somber moment for all, especially as we watched the flight attendants, who were very emotional.   It gave us time to reflect on our lives on this earth and how we live.


Darleen showing the Sydney
Harbor Bridge
Yesterday, Monday (we lost all of Sunday with the flight), we went downtown to Sydney Harbor to see the bay as well as visit the Sydney Opera House.   We enjoyed walking on the waterfront area for several hours, then later we were able to do a tour of the Sydney Opera House.   The young lady who took several of us around did a great job in explaining the history of the building and how it took some 16 years to complete.   We found out too late that it can get pretty cold at this time of year.  The temperature went from 70 to the high 40’s, rainy, and windy.   A nice way to walk back to the train, then off the train and back to our hotel in short-sleeved shirts.    Needless to say, today, when we went back exploring, we both wore long-sleeved windbreakers/sweatshirts (bought one for Darleen that evening).    We enjoyed doing a ferry ride around Sydney Bay, taking pictures of the Opera House, Sydney Harbor Bridge, and other sites around the bay.   We also spent some time walking through the beautiful botanical gardens close to the Opera House.    
Sydney Opera House


We were hugged by strangers multiple times on our metro train ride after introducing ourselves as Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ.  It is so wonderful to have people
asked us what our nametags are.  At the Chinese restaurant we ate at for lunch, we got a bow from our waiter after he asked about our nametags.  Along our walk, we were greeted as Elder and Sister.  At our stop for Gelato, a young man asked if we were from America and what our name tags were.  Everyone was so happy for us and grateful for our service. It was a nice, relaxing day before tomorrow morning’s flight to Vanuatu, Port Vila, and the start of our mission in the field.   We are excited for what lies ahead as we work with the people in Vanuatu.    Our next letter will tell you about our first full week there.   We wish all of you a blessed week.



Love Sista & Elda Lovelace

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Learning together ... another week in Port Vila

Image
Halo Family and Friends, Math class on Monday night Here’s an update from Vanuatu, Port Vila from your favorite missionary couple!  Elda Lovelace and I have been teaching a math class every Monday.  This past week our focus was on Number and Set Theory.  We LOVE the enthusiasm of our students; especially when they start to compete.  We ask a question and all of them start shouting out answers.  It is an absolute JOY to see them enjoy learning.  As part of the SIS (Succeed in School) program the  Math class on Monday night students are provided a snack.  I made Banana Bread, and they loved it so much they were begging me to bring it again.  We teach the Intermediate class which is 6-8 graders.  There is a  foundational class meeting the same hour being taught by another lady for 4-5 graders.  On Mondays we have Math and on Fridays they have Reading.  We have another Unit who are also functioning, and their classes are on We...
Read more

Time really does fly when you’re having fun & have miracles cease?

Image
Family and Friends!!!   Hello again from the beautiful Island of Vanuatu! We can’t believe we have only 5 days of October remaining, although, most of you have 6 who are living in North America!   Seeing as we are a day ahead of all our family and friends in the USA.   This week my grandson Tate asked me one of my favorite questions when he spoke to me via Marco Polo.   He said: “ how is tomorrow?” (flashing a big smile).   I loved Grants questions also, he said: “ how are you doing and what are you doing ?” Well, tomorrow is always a blessing.   It is another day to do what I love doing.   I love putting on my nametag every day.   It reminds me that I am representing the Lord and I have the wonderful privilege of ministering and loving in the Saviors name to the beautiful people of Vanuatu. Grant, you ask how are we doing?   So good!   What are we doing?   Well, that is the purpose of this letter.   Papa and I agreed th...
Read more

Vanuatu - the adventure continues!!!

Image
Hello Family & Friends coming to you from  our small paradise in the south pacific. The island we will most likely stay on  for most of our mission - Island of Efate (our apartment is close to the star on the map)  We hope you are all doing well.   We continue to love serving on Vanuatu Port Vila amongst the people of this island.  We haven't really given you a lot of information about the island we are living on, or the people we get to serve with.  So here is just a little bit of what we are learning. We are living on the island which is the Efate Island, part of Vanuatu cluster of islands, which is part of approximately 83 islands making up Vanuatu.  Efate is the 3rd largest of the islands, and is home to the capital city of Port Vila.  Efate is the most populated island with about 66,000 people, representing about 20% of the total population across Vanuatu.   Efate is about 347 sq. miles around, and supposedly you can drive ...
Read more

Amazed at the dedication!!!

Image
  Dear Family & Friends, We are learning our way around Port Vila and learning how to serve every day.    This past week was one where we found we were in a lot of meetings, whether that was a class meeting for SIS (Succeed in School) Math and English classes, YSA (Young Single Adults) convention preparation meetings, weekly Seminary & Institute meetings, or a monthly ministering meeting with the 5 different areas that make up the Vanuatu Seminary & Institute.  While meetings are necessary to coordinate efforts, we do look forward to expanding our ministering to the YSA in Port Vila. Sister Taravaki, young service missionary serving in Port Vila Stake We’ve been amazed by the dedication of many members in serving the Lord. One example that stands out this week is a young woman named Sister Kerolyne Taravaki. Sister Taravaki is serving as a service missionary for our church. While she had hoped to serve as a full-time proselyting missionary, some physica...
Read more

A cyclone doesn't make for a great road experience

Image
Hello to all our family and friends, It has been several weeks since we last wrote. During that time, we have been busy working to get the Seminary, Institute, and Succeed in School programs ramped back up here on the island. A few weeks ago, however, we were able to take a short break and travel to New Zealand. While there, we attended the temple and spent time seeing the beautiful sights around both the northern and southern parts of the country. One of the things we loved most about the trip was being in the temple. It reminded us how much we miss attending regularly. We are especially looking forward to the completion of the temple on the island of Efate, where we are currently serving, which is expected to be finished later this year. It will be such a blessing for the members here, who currently must travel to Fiji, New Zealand, or Australia to do their temple work. We could easily fill this entire letter describing the many places we visited in New Zealand, but we want to ke...
Read more

Ministering each day!!!

Image
Hello Family & Friends, We continue to learn and grow each day.   One of our main responsibilities is to minister to the youth and young single adults in our locations.   The Savior taught the importance of ministering to the one, which is what we are trying to do each day in the Vanuatu Port Vila mission.  Here's a few simple ways that we are finding to do this.  We had the opportunity to attend a seminary class taught in one of the units.  The class had some 16-18 students in this small room.  The teacher was a sister who does so much in the church, holding down many callings.   As she was teaching, Darleen and I were sitting at the back of the class observing.  At one point Darleen noticed that several of the young men were not actively participating in the discussion/message.  So she naturally just got up and sat right next to them and opened up her phone to let them read along with the scriptures that were being taught...
Read more