It is Day two on our mission - and I was taught a very good lesson by a born-again Christian!

To catch up on my blog - Friday, we flew out from Salt Lake at midnight, after a full day that began at 4:30 a.m.!  We spent Friday in Salt Lake at the Church Office Building, learning more about the military side of our mission - a lot to take in!  Then we went to Temple Square, loving the flowers, the buildings, and the Spirit of those around us.  Ben picked us up at 3:30 and took us to his place to change clothes and get our luggage packed right.  Then we went to a Greek Restaurant!  Mmmmm- good!!!  He dropped us off at the Salt Lake airport later that night.  We got to the Charlotte Airport at 6 a.m., with a 6 hour layover there.  Since we couldn't sleep on the cramped plane, or in the airport, we were exhausted when Joe picked us up at the Lynchburg Airport at around 3 p.m.  We went to a fund-raiser spaghetti dinner that Mychelle and her Young Women's group were having at their church - that helped keep us awake till bedtime.  Saturday night we slept for 12 hours!!!  Sunday we went to the Gretna Branch for Church to see all our wonderful friends that we had made over the winter!  We were greeted with open arms and a lot of love.  Sunday night, we had dinner with Joe and Mychelle and boys, then Jenny and her kids came back home from Kentucky, so we visited quite a bit that night, saying good-bye to Joe's family.  We got up at 6:30, to leave for Richmond, Virginia at 7:30, saying good-bye to the last of our families!

Now for Day one on our mission - yesterday.  We had a very wonderful meeting with our Mission President, only to find out that we won't be able to get into our apartment until next monday!  So they are letting us stay here in Richmond at a very nice apartment that is empty at the moment.  We asked what we were supposed to do for a week, and he suggested we get some sightseeing in - Richmond is very rich in Historical sights and museums.  So we got ourselves settled into this apartment and bought groceries, and collapsed for the night.

This morning I was super gung-ho to go do some research at the Library of Virginia while Brad went to see battlefields, museums, etc.  I honestly felt that the Lord had blessed us with this "week off" of our mission so that I could get some genealogy done - I have a few lines that end here in Virginia and I want so much to find the parents of these ancestors.  The Library is wonderful!  And I did get to see a very old (1700's) document of one of my ancestors, but no parentage listed.  After that I found some wonderful books that I found land records in, but no break throughs.  As I was going through the books, a man next to me kept talking to me about his ancestors and the area around here.  He was interesting, but I really wanted him to quit talking so I could get some work done.  He kept grumbling that he didn't like doing genealogy - it was a waste of time, but people kept asking him to look up so-and-so for them, since he lived right there near the Library.  Finally, he got real frustrated and said, "There is something very wrong with sitting in a Library looking for dead people!  I'm a born-again Christian, and I could be out there doing something useful, like teaching people how to find happiness through knowing Jesus!"  He packed up his papers and left......left me with a heart and brain bursting with his message - I'm supposed to be on a mission for the living right now - I'm not supposed to be finding records for people who have already had their work done - it is not the season for that right now.  I went back to search through another book, and it was like I hit a brick wall in my head -"NO!  Go about your mission, Karen!"

So I called Brad, who was driving around trying to figure out where to go next.  We both feel like we need to be serving the Lord, not our own self-interests!  So we got back to the apartment, called the Mission Office and told them we're ready to work and to serve.  Wow!  I feel so much better - not so confused!!!

Wow - we're almost done here!  I can't believe that we'll be flying out to our mission in two days!  This week (after a wonderful Sunday of worship and devotionals), we had Monday and Tuesday all day classes on teaching Gospel classes - it was a lot in two days and I learned sooooo much!!!!  Today and tomorrow is our military relations training - there's a lot to learn here, but I'm afraid my brain isn't going to fully make it through tomorrow night - I can hear it sizzling and sputtering as I sit through these classes!
Friday, we go to the Church Office Building to learn about paperwork and records (will my brain be available by then - I don't think so!  I'll have to take good notes!)  Then a "luncheon" to finish it all off.

We've been trained by such excellent instructors (they are the young men in white shirts and ties).  This was the group we trained with last week - the other Senior Missionaries in training are such wonderful and humble people - it's a joy to be with them.

P.S.  The food here is out of this world - but Jenny warned me about it ahead of time, so I've done real good picking out the healthy stuff, while everyone is groaning about how much weight they most likely have gained this week.  Not bragging - just proud of myself for eating healthy.  I knew I'd need good health and energy to make it through these two weeks!

P.S.  Okay, maybe I'm bragging a little bit.....

Yesterday, Friday, was our last day of "Preach My Gospel" training.  Can I just say "WOW"?  Double WOW"?  I wish everyone could take that one week training.  My whole spiritual being has been enlightened and edified and I am so ready to share the gospel!

Today, Brad is in the laundry room (OH YEAH!) and I am catching up on some emailing, etc.  We have to go into a mini lobby on our floor to get the internet, or pay $10 a day to get it in our room.  We're going to the Provo Temple this afternoon - I can't wait.

The Boston Massacre bombing is such a sobering thing to watch.  My heart weeps for those who were innocently slain and maimed.  There is so much evil in this world, but there is also soooo much good - I saw the pictures of videos of those who didn't run away, but ran toward the danger to help and assist.  "If ye have done unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me."

Next week we have two days of CES training, which is instruction on teaching scriptural and gospel classes.  Then we have three days of military relations training.  On Friday, Ben will pick us up (LOOKS LIKE WE END UP IN SALT LAKE ON FRIDAY, BEN - I'LL CALL YOU!) and he will take us to the airport Friday night to fly to Lynchburg, Virginia (WE'LL EMAIL YOU THAT INFO, JEN)

I'm sitting in the laundry room at the hotel, while Brad sits in the hot tub.  We've had another full day, practice teaching - can I just say that the Spirit is so strong I could just bust!  This has been our 4th day here and I don't feel weary or worn out.  I'm so disappointed when our classes are over -

I'm starting my Couch to 5K program tonight.  I've been walking on the treadmill every evening, but I'm so full of energy that I'm going to start incorporating spurts of running - it's a great 9 week program.  Oh knee-ees - testing, testing, one, two, three!!!

       GOD'S WHOLE PURPOSE - HIS WORK AND HIS GLORY-IS TO ENABLE EACH OF US TO ENJOY ALL HIS BLESSINGS.
        Agency, or the ability to choose, is one of God's greatest gifts to His children.  Our eternal progression depends on how we use this gift.

Teaching practice today.  I made a lot of teaching mistakes, until I quit trying to control the lesson and let the Spirit do all the talking.  It's hard to explain how that happens, but when you're teaching things of God, you really need to let God do the teaching - it's amazing how many pure truths you learn as you are teaching with the Spirit.
By the way, Brad is an awesome teacher - I love being his partner.  Oh, he can still be irritating, but I'm just as irritating, so it evens out.  We really are having fun together.

700 new young missionaries entered the Missionary Training Center today - it was like a wave of energy and excitement and a blast of spiritual oxygen!  I couldn't get enough of them!

Has this been only the second day?  I feel like I've been here for at least a week with all of the wonderful stuff I have learned!  I thought I knew so much already, but I've found that what I thought I already knew was just a shadow of what there is concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ!  The Spirit is so strong here and my ability to learn has been heightened beyond belief!  Not only am I learning, but I'm feeling confident about remembering what I've learned - no kidding!!

Another revelation:  Brad is awesome at teaching the gospel.  I was expecting me to be a big mouth, blathering all the wonderful wisdom that I thought I had, while he would be timid about saying anything (after all, I am more learned....aren't I?)  But I'm finding I don't say much because my mouth is dropped open with wonder at what is being taught, and Brad is raising his hand and contributing great insights about what we are learning.  It's a side of him I didn't know about!

We had a Devotional tonight with Apostle Richard G. Scott teaching us about prayer - talking with God.  He gave a wonderful talk, then we sang a hymn, then before the closing prayer could be said, he got up once more and said he had more to say (like an encore - although we couldn't clap our hands, he must have felt that we wanted more!!!)  He said that we missionaries were called to succeed, not to fail.  He said that we will discover things about ourselves that we never knew:  strengths, an unlimited capacity to love and serve, gifts of patience, faith, and the gift of prayer.  The Lord will fit our ability to the task - we need to have faith in this.
There were thousands of missionaries in the auditorium with more in an overflow area.  When I saw all those missionaries in training all in one room, I couldn't help weep with gratitude for such youth.  I was wishing I could recognize someone from Rexburg, when I looked in the row in front of me, and there was a young man from my Ward!  I didn't even know he was leaving on a mission - Andrew Johnson!  We were so glad to see each other!  The fact that in that huge Auditorium stuffed with people, Elder Johnson and I were sitting so close to each other!  Meant to be!!!

A full 12 hours of learning - and I'm not even tired or brain fried!  This is awesome!!!

Yesterday we went to church, then we drove to Sandy, Utah, where Anna dropped us off at Ben and Jennilyn's house for the night.  We had a wonderful visit there, then this morning Ben took us out for the traditional "before MTC" breakfast, then on to the Missionary Training Center, where he dropped us off for two weeks of training.

We have our meals at the MTC Cafeteria with all of the wonderful young missionaries - what a powerful sight that is - all these clean-cut young men and women (they almost look too young!), and the spirit is so very strong, even in the cafeteria!  What a privilege it is to mingle with these choice youth that have dedicated a very large chunk of their young lives to teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Our classes are held in a chapel building next to the MTC campus - there are so many youth being trained for missions, that we have to have our classes elsewhere.
And because of the many youth, we are being housed in the Marriott in downtown Provo, being shuttled back and forth every morning and evening - talk about POSH! Ben, Fred, Joe and Jen - don't be too envious!

Tonight we were set apart and given personal blessings by our Stake President as Full-time Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It seems so surreal - it's something I've wanted to do all my life and now it is happening.  We said our good-byes to some of our children and grandchildren tonight - will say some more good-byes tomorrow.  Then Monday morning we will go to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah for 11 days.  After which we will fly to Virginia to get our car and belongings, say good-bye to more children and grandchildren, then drive the rest of the way to our Mission in Norfolk, Virginia, where we will serve and teach the gospel to men and women who are serving our country in the Navy.  I'm so excited I could bust!