Leaving for Singapore Feb 10 2014

Just about ready to leave for the airport with 5 check on bags, 2 carry on suitcases and 2 carry on hand bags.  Wow!

Next post will be from Singapore or Malaysia.

My Granddaughter, Evie, designed new badges and thought these would be better for us to wear.  I think I agree.  These  explain who we really are!!!

5 days and counting down!!

Hoping on some magic scale that my suitcases will hold all I want and still not weight 50lbs.

What do think????  Just take stuff out I know.

Today we went to the temple.  We were asked to be the witness couple.  Another great experience,
The new film is great.

Sunday we spent the day with a Seventy, Elder Sitati and his wife, from  Kenya. He spoke to us for three hours.  What a wise man.

Monday, we went to the Church Office Building.

Went through amazing security procedures and up to the third floor.

 We spent the whole day there with different speakers that work with the  PEF/Self-Reliance Program.  This program is administered directly under by the First Presidency.  I'm sure the staff working on this new form of the program spent many hours on their knees and going back to the drawing board many times until the First Presidency would say, yes, that's what the Lord has in mind.

I know these men have been inspired by the Lord.

We could feel the spirit of the Lord as they taught us the program and our responsibilities to go out and help the people lift themselves out of poverty and into spiritual and temporal self-reliance.

We are so excited to go and service the Lord in this capacity.

They are hurting for Senior Couples to say yes to go these international parts of the world that need our help.  Many couples say no, for whatever reason. I am not judging them.  You need to be in good health and adventuresome to do this. They would love for you to volunteer.

 Our extensive travel has prepared us for this.  We love people everywhere and their cultures.

We now have 5 days to finish packing and then we fly out on the 10th of February.

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This is a picture of our district at the MTC.

Back row: Elder Bateman (one of our teachers), Elder Przybyla, Me, Elder Cook., Elder Beste, and Elder Zundell (our other teacher.)

Front row: Sister Sawyer, Sister Cook, and Sister Beste

We named our district  The Warriors

The Cooks are staying at home and serving a Mission in their Stake.

The Beste's are going to Nebraska.

Sister Sawyer is going to the Philippines.

One day in our district meeting we took Marich candy for everyone. Oops! That delayed the lessons for a while, but everyone enjoyed it, even our teachers.

The last day I gave all the Sisters a covered notebook that I had stamped as a going away gift.

On the last general session meeting one of the young Sister Leaders sang the song "I go where you want me to go dear Lord."

It may not be on the mountain height
Or over the stormy seas
It may not be at the battle's front
My Lord will have need of me
But if by a still small voice He calls
To paths that I do not know
I'll answer dear Lord with my hand in thine
I"ll go where you want me to go
I'll go where you want  me to go dear Lord
Over mountain or plain or sea
I'll say what you want me to say dear Lord
I'll be what you want me to be.

Until then, I was always composed and felt I was in control.  I have sung this song a million times, but now I am in that situation. Nothings has moved me to tears as much as this song has. And now I am saying I am willing to walk paths I do not know, but only when my hand in is thine. I want to say the things he wants me to say and I want to be what he wants me to be. I have the desire do this. So now I walk by faith. And I pray I will not disappoint him.

This is a picture of the January 27, 2014 group of Senior Missionaries entering the MTC . Sister Sawyer was not present for the picture taking. She is also called to serve in the PEF program serving in the Philippines.  We may get to see her again if we are called to Hong Kong for Training.

We spent most of our  time learning how to Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.

 Each day would start at 8am with a general session of all of us.

Then we would divide up into districts.  Our district was Bro and Sis Cook, Bro and Sis Beste,(who was Uncle Mike's companion when he was in Japan), Us, and Sister Sawyer.

 In these sessions we were taught how to make lesson plans and then we would practice giving the lesson to people who volunteer to come to the MTC and pretend to be investigators, or sometimes they were real investigators, but we didn't know which was which.

We did this for two days  and on the next day we pretended to visit less active members of the church. We would spend time getting to know them and then extending an invitation to come to church.

Missionaries are using a Guide to help Missionary Service called " Preach My Gospel".
It is a inspired tool and guide.