So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye

I leave and heave a sigh and say "Goodbye", goodbye...to the MTC!

Elder and Sister Miskin

Another wonderful week at the MTC. This week we had our Member and Leader Support training. It was hard to think they could put anymore into our heads, but they did. On Monday, we started the morning with our MLS training from the mentors we had before our MTC experience. This was their first week teaching at the MTC. We were the only couple they had mentored in our class so they were very happy to see us. They did a GREAT job and expanded on what they had taught us in our pre-MTC training. That class was 3 1/2 hours. We did several activities with 3 other couples to discuss and learn ways to interact with leaders, young missionaries, and of course, investigators. We learned a lot.

After lunch we started our specific MLS training with the young returned missionaries as our teachers. They are so good with the Senior Couples. They told us that teaching the seniors is the covenanted job. We did lots of role playing in their classes. We also had several actual teaching experiences. The first one we could choose to do on either Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday evening. We chose Monday. Part of our lesson on Monday was to help us prepare the lesson we were going to present that evening. I think it turned out pretty good.

Djeryd and Eva

Tuesday morning we had a different Senior Couple. They taught us about how to encourage young people to enroll in Institute and attend Seminary if they are still in High School. They also taught us ways to interact and relate to young adults better. They gave us some fascinating statistics about Generation Z.

Eva and Baby Ruth

In the afternoon we capitalized on morning training and went into greater detail. We did more role playing. One of the exercises we did was to practice team teaching by going back and forth on a subject. We had to change every 10 seconds. It was a lot of fun and we nailed it. Of course, when teaching we won't change that often. Lol. We were also asked to schedule a "getting to know you/teaching" appointment with a young adult outside of our classes. It needed to be done before Thursday. We did ours Tuesday night after our MTC Devotional. We chose to interview Djeryd and Eva. That way we could see baby Ruth too. Lol. We shared with them things about Institute and asked what they thought about it and if they thought they might like to go again. They indicated they think they may be able to make it work, so they are going to explore going to Institute again.

Our District with Sister Gimenez

The Tuesday MTC Devotional was really good. Elder William K. Jackson of the Seventy and his wife were our speakers. I very much enjoyed their talk. They spoke together in a way similar to our activity this afternoon, only they didn't change every 10 seconds.  

Wednesday morning was another new Senior Couple teaching us. Their topic was how to share the Gospel using the Family History apps. They showed us several different things we could do. People are naturally curious about where they come from and who their ancestors are. There are so many cool ways to share that, and we had a lot of fun learning about them.

Ljiljana with us at Costco

In our afternoon class we again piggy backed on the morning topic. We explored in more detail the Family Search apps. We then did a teaching assignment by going outside and finding some young missionaries to teach. Much of our mission will be working with them. We will get to put on our grandparent hats and be a support for them. I'm really looking forward to that. We met with a trio of young sisters. They were GREAT. Two of them are going to Ecuador and the third is going to Boise. All three are doing Spanish speaking. We spent about 15 minutes getting to know them as we talked about what they expect or hope for on their missions. 

After dinner we had Ljiljana pick us up so we could go to Costco and cash in our Costco Cash Rewards certificate. Even though New Zealand has a Costco, we can't use the certificate there. So, to avoid losing it, we had to cash it in. Since we don't have a car here, we took advantage of Ljiljana asking if she to take us anywhere. We had such a fun evening with her and her husband.

Our District with Sister Zeidner

On Thursday we learned about how to utilize all the wonderful resources for Welfare and Self-Reliance. We won't necessarily be doing anything in those areas, however, we do need to know about them so we can direct leaders as well as individuals to the resources they may need.

Our afternoon class was combined with another class because the other class teacher couldn't make it. We knew most of the people in the other class so that was fun. We got to do our pairing off activities with a different couple. We also did our biggest training activity. We had to choose someone to teach during the day and share with them one of the 4 Divinely Appointed Responsibilities of the Church. We chose to interview MyLiege Hawkins, and Elle joined her. We had a nice time doing our interview and visit a bit. We finished our day with some more Facebook tips and then recapping our experience that we had with our Young Adult interview. Then it was time to take pictures and give hugs to our teachers. We didn't have an afternoon class on Friday.

The Old Team is Together Again

Friday was our last official day of training. We only had the morning class. We had our Mentors back to finish up the MLS training. We focused mostly on how we can support our leaders. We held a mock Ward Council meeting and Elder Wilcox was selected to be the Bishop. He did a great job. After class ended at noon, we said good-bye to all of our district and several other senior couples we have met and fallen in love with. We also hugged our mentors and said good-bye to them too. I think both Sister Miskin and I had tears in our eyes. They have been so great to us. We all vowed to keep in touch so we can share in each other's missions. Facebook will be a big help in that department.

George with us on Zoom

After lunch we had a zoom meeting with one of Steve's high school friends who responded to one of my posts about the Family History apps. He wanted to know more so we connected on Zoom and got him all set up. Hopefully he will have hours of fun exploring his family tree.

We finished the evening with laundry, some HawkSoft work, and visiting the 12 murals we saw last week. They light them up at night. It is breathtaking.

Aaron and Roshelle from our Team

Saturday was a FUN day. Ljiljana arranged for a lunch with most of our team from our Interpretation mission. She picked us up and we met everyone else at Olive Garden. I think we spent close to three hours together. It was so great to see them one last time before we head to New Zealand. After a couple of hours back at the MTC, Ken and Leanne Jenson picked us up and we went to dinner. They are serving a mission at SLC Headquarters and are currently living in our old apartment. How Fun! We had a wonderful time with them. We ended the evening with Ken taking a short video of us talking to our FHE group. They continue to host FHE. We told them it comes with the apartment. Hahaha.

Elder and Sister Jenson

Sacrament meeting and Relief Society were awesome today. After lunch we spent most of the day organizing and packing. We also had to take care of some online documentation before we fly tomorrow. We can't do it more than 24 hours before we fly. After dinner we showered, packed some last minute things in our big suitcases and took them to the front desk so we don't have to wrestle them at 7:00 AM tomorrow morning. We still have our carry-on luggage so we can pack the things we need tonight and in the morning. 

I am reminded of what is says in Matthew 10 when Jesus sent his Apostles out to preach, minister, and heal the sick. In verses 19 & 20 it says, "...take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."

We are going into the world with the power of God. We are ready to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all we meet.  Our mission president called today to give us our assignment. He is not going to be in Auckland when we arrive because he has to organize a new district in the Cook Islands. The District leader moved. He has assigned us to the Whangarei New Zealand Stake which is further north than Auckland. Apparently the Stake President has been asking for a Senior Couple. We are anxious to get started.

The Team with the Rest of Their Families

All our Love and Prayers,

Elder and Sister Wilcox

Classes, Devotionals, More Classes, NO Sleep!

The MTC is FABULOUS! I have enjoyed every minute of it. We were originally going to arrive on Monday morning but were told they preferred Seniors to arrive before Monday morning so we flew in on Sunday night. They made our travel arrangements, but the left had didn't know what the right hand was doing. When we arrived late Sunday evening they had no clue we were coming. They were very gracious and scrambled to get our room ready so we could have a place to sleep. We didn't have any keys at that point. The next morning someone had to let us into the main building so we could get officially checked in and get our keys and access badges. 

This is our District with Sister Worthington.
Elder Taylor (Sister Taylor was sick), Ricks,
Sister Worthington, Us, and Stallards

Monday was filled with Check-in and orientation, lunch, welcome to MTC with the Presidency, workshop, divide into districts and meet our teacher. Then we went to a short first lesson on Preach My Gospel. After dinner we had a Meet your Branch Presidency meeting and were assigned our District leader. We were also given our assignments for Sunday meetings. Whew!

Tuesday, we met our morning teacher, Brother Price and had class from 8:00 to 4:00. We covered more Preach My Gospel and some technology. We also met another couple that we were assigned to work with throughout the week. We practiced our lessons on each other. It was fun. After lunch we were with our afternoon teacher again, Sister Worthington. Both of our teachers were wonderful. They made classes fun as well as instructional. We got very close to our teachers as well as our district throughout the week.

This is our District with Brother Price. 
Taylors, Stallards, Bro Price, Ricks, and Us

Tuesday evening was a special treat. We attended the MTC Devotional with Elder Christofferson. We have seen the monthly MTC Devotional with a General Authority for two and a half years as we worked with interpreters. They were all great. However, being there in person was a completely different experience. There were HUNDREDS of missionaries. The choir was fantastic. We couldn't even get through the opening song of "Called to Serve". We were both so choked up. The devotional was wonderful, and the Spirit was strong.

Wednesday started off with a trip to the T4 building where there are 12 beautiful murals that are painted to specifically use light in the pictures. We were to analyze them and see how the light was used and how we could relate it to the Light of Christ. It was a special experience to really ponder each picture. We did some more class work and then went to lunch. After lunch we broke off with our assigned couple to teach a lesson we had prepared and then they taught us their lesson. It was very enlightening. After dinner that night we attended a Workshop called the "Character of Christ." It was an incredible experience. While we were waiting for it to start, I noticed one of our Cantonese interpreters who now works for the MTC. I hadn't seen her in well over a year since she took the job. I went up to her and surprised her. That was a fun connection!

This is Elder and Sister Ashby. They are the 
couple we worked with to do our assignments.

Thursday, we did some technology training using Facebook. We also did a follow-up with our assigned couple to see if they fulfilled the invitation we had given them the day before. Our class time was shortened because we attended a workshop entitled "Adjusting to Missionary Life Senior Style" presented by a delightful missionary couple with Senior Mission experience as well as several master's degrees in counseling. They are currently serving a mission in counseling young missionaries. They gave a very fun and educational presentation. 

After lunch we had our last class with Sister Worthington. She is a wonderful teacher, and it was hard to say good-bye. She will get a new set of missionaries next week and we will get new teachers next week as we start on our Member and Leader Support (MLS) training.

Most of our District at
the Temple.

Thursday night we were able to attend the Provo Temple. I think most of the session was filled with Senior Missionaries. It was nice to be in the House of the Lord and to attend with our new friends. They will be tearing the Temple down after next week and doing a complete rebuild. I'm glad we were able to attend the original. It is iconic.

Friday morning was our last class with Brother Price. It was also hard to say good-bye. We learned so much from both teachers and they also made it so fun. It was very enjoyable to be with them each day. We had an early lunch so we could attend a Senior Missionary Safety and Security Training Workshop. We had two presenters who were GREAT. They kind of played off each other so it made it fun. Again, we learned a LOT. One thing I hadn't really thought about is the fact that Missionaries kind of stand out and that can make them an easy target for bad guys. They gave us tips to avoid getting into trouble. Very, very helpful. Class ended at 3:00

We ran into the Burnetts several times.
They are headed to Japan for their mission.

We had signed up to help some young sister missionaries who will be giving tours in San Diego for the Mormon Battalion exabit. That will be the first part of their mission before they go to there other assignment in various parts of the US. They gave us a tour of the MTC campus and the statues and buildings around the campus. They did a great job.

After that we did laundry!!! While there, Hayran (she was the interpreter we saw on Wednesday evening), called and wanted to visit with us. We told her where we were and she came. We had a wonderful visit catching up on old times. 

Saturday was P-Day. We slept in. YAY!!! We decided to catch up on all the emails we hadn't read yet. We received an email about a training course we are going to have next Thursday. It had seven attachments. It took us several hours to read all that information! Later, after dinner and showers, we watched some Safety Zone videos. There are 12 we are supposed to see. Most are pretty short so we were able to watch 6 on Friday night and the other 6 on Saturday night. I think we are all caught up until next week. hahaha

We met Elder Sitaki and his wife. His brother
used to work with us on our other mission.

Sunday was incredible. We had Sacrament meeting, and a wonderful Relief Society meeting where we shared many experiences we have had. After lunch, we did a "Go and Do" exercise that was designed to bring us closer to Jesus Christ. It also brought Elder Wilcox and I closer together. I loved it. After dinner we had a Mission Devotional that finished up on the theme for the day. Every meeting on Sunday was about Deeping My Conversion to Jesus Christ and His Atonement. The devotional was the culminating event and really made a huge impression. Needless to say it has been a very spiritual and emotional week. We love it!

All our Love and Prayers,

Elder and Sister Wilcox

The Adventure Begins

We are about to embark on a new adventure. We have been home for about three months since we left our last mission last November. However, we have been very busy preparing for our new mission to Auckland, New Zealand. Here is a brief recap of the last three months.

Since we didn’t want to boot out our granddaughter, Laila and her husband, from our home as they are living there while we serve our missions, MyLiege and Sean graciously made us a cozy little home in their very spacious basement. We have been quite comfortable. We had our own space for all our studies and yet we were able to join the family for meals, family home evening, and any other time we just wanted to enjoy their company. We have been very blessed. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Shortly after we got home, we headed to Seattle to see a “Panel Doctor” so we could get our VISAs for New Zealand. There are only about a dozen “panel doctors” in the entire country and New Zealand requires that you see one to get your VISA. We had already done this four years ago before our first mission, since we thought we were going to New Zealand then. The visit went well, and we had a nice day traveling. When we got home, we filled out our VISA application, sent it off and waited. New Zealand is VERY strict on their VISAs so we were praying everything would be all right. Near the end of December, we received a request from the NZ VISA office requesting some additional clarification on some medical findings in our application. We contacted our doctor in Utah, and she immediately sent the required information. We went into waiting mode again. We were just a little more apprehensive. A week or two later, we got another request for more detailed information. Again, we contacted our Utah doctor. She added the additional information and sent it off again. Near the end of January, we got another email saying they were still waiting for our additional information! At that point we were beginning to panic. Our doctor reassured us that she did indeed send the information and said she would send it again. She copied us on that email with all the information, so we also sent it to the NZ VISA office. I asked to be notified that they did indeed receive the information. We heard nothing! At this point re recognized that there was a very real possibility that we would not get our VISAS and would be reassigned. We prayed about that and felt peace that it would all work out as it should, even if we were to be reassigned. We knew we would go where we are supposed to go, just as we were supposed to go to the SLC Headquarters mission the first time. On January 30^th, we received the email WITH our VISAs. We are going to New Zealand!!!

We spent much of the time between our missions studying and preparing for our next mission. We did take opportunities to visit family and friends, but we did not travel very far. We have very much enjoyed our time home but are feeling anxious to begin our new adventure.

On February 8^th, our family gathered together at Sean and MyLiege’s house so we could be set apart for our new mission. President Pederson came to take care of that blessing. He talked with our family before the setting apart and shared how originally all missionaries were set apart by the President of the Church. Of course, with a worldwide Church, that is impossible now. President Nelson gives a one-time authorization to the Stake President to pronounce the setting apart. The Stake President can also give a one-time authorization to one of his counselors if needed. So, President Pederson was acting under the authority of President Nelson and President Leptich, which he stated in the blessings. He shared other interesting things that I didn’t not know. Then it was time for our blessings. I wish we could have recorded them, but that is not appropriate. I wrote down as much as I could remember in my journal. He pronounced the blessings and counsel the Lord has for us. It was very personal and very sacred for both of us. We are going out to serve the people of New Zealand, armed with all we will need to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to do His work to build up the Kingdom of God. We are very excited.

Let the Adventure Begin!!!

All our Love and Prayers,
Mom and Dad
Grandma and Grandpa
Great Grandma and Great Grandpa
Steve and Leslee
Elder and Sister Wilcox

Final phase of packing.
We leave in 2 days!