Something to Blog About

People have been telling us all along that this mission was going to be exciting and the first day has certainly proved that to be true.

We started out from Sandy this morning driving to the MTC with Dave and Shirley.  It had been snowing for a couple of hours and the roads were a bit dicey.  There were a lot of cars on the road as we proceeded to the freeway and on to Provo. About Orem the snow increased a lot and was accumulating on the road.  As Dave moved from the outside lane to an inside one we hit a slush strip and started sliding sideways toward a double tanker truck in the next lane.  Dave did a great job keeping the car from completely spinning around, but we hit the tanker truck with the front bumper. We bounced off him and then got plowed into on the rear by another semitruck which hit us so hard we were knocked clear over to the left side of the freeway.  The car engine kept going and we drove over to the left median barrier and stopped the car.  Everyone in the car was okay with no injuries.  The tanker truck pulled over to the right side of the road and we called 911 to ask for assistance.  All this time cars and trucks and semi's were continuing to whiz by as if there was no danger driving that fast on snow filled roads.  I was relieved when an ambulance happened on the scene and pulled up behind us with his lights on.  After about a 1/2 hour wait a policeman showed up, traffic was stopped (all 4 lanes of traffic), and we pulled over to the right side of the road.  I then got out and took these pictures.
Dave told the police we were headed to the MTC so she called another cop car.  Dixie and I loaded ourselves into his car and he drove us to the MTC.  We were only 5 minutes late for our check-in time.  Shirley and Dave came a few minutes later in a tow truck with their car up on the bed of the truck.  We unloaded our suit cases, checked in and went to our room.

Next was lunch, some orientation classes with the MTC presidency (He ask us to stand up and tell our experience).  So now we're known by everyone in the group as the ones that came to the MTC in a police car.

It's been exciting so far... can't wait until tomorrow.

John

Pictures from the Airport in Lewiston by Kurt

Photos by Kurt Bailey. Checking in to the flight at Lewiston Airport!

Christmas, Last day in Lewiston. Guest Post by Alison

We had a great last day before the mission with family in Lewiston! 

Christmas Update - Elder Larson

Today is Christmas.  After skyping with Troy and Nathan's family we went to Pete and Alison's for a late breakfast.  Looks like all of the grandchildren were well provided by the jolly ol' elf.  Mom and Dad in each instance made out pretty well also.  It's pretty neat to see the grandchildren excited about their gifts.
We stored some last minute items in the studio apartment, said a final good by to the McKenzies (family living in our house now) and started repacking our suit cases.  We will board Delta flight 4541 tomorrow morning at 5:20am for a non-stop flight to Salt Lake.  We will spend the weekend with Shirley, visit Mother a couple of times and check into the MTC on Monday morning.  The Monson's have invited us to dinner with them on Saturday evening.  Brother Monson has been one of the individuals with whom I have been studying Albanian for the past few months.  They said they would treat us to a typical Albanian dinner.  Brother and Sister Monson served as senior missionaries in Albania about 6 years ago.

Can hardly wait to experience the MTC.  We've heard some wonderful experiences from others who have been there.

Getting close.  We fly out of Lewiston in 12 days.  We have sold our car, found renters for our dear farmhouse, packed and stored most of our furniture and detritus, and completed our Pathway training. The amount of minute details is overwhelming.  Getting on the airplane is going to be such a relief, knowing that everything is finally done.  We leave Lewiston on December 26 and enter the MTC on December 29.  We will be there for one week and fly out of Salt Lake City on January 5.  We will be in transit for 22.5 hours, assuming all goes according to plan.
What an exciting adventure we are on!  So thrilled to be going to the Adriatic South Mission for 23 months.  Our mission includes Albania, Macedonia, and Kosovo.  It is located directly east across the Adriatic Sea from Italy.
I can hardly wait to actually get there and meet the people we with whom we will be serving.  Our specific assignment is called the Stake Young Single Adult Mission.  We will be working with members of the church who are 18-30 years of age.  We have taken initial training for Pathway, and the wonderful couple we are replacing will train us on-site for a week.  Pathway is a BYUI program which combines on-line classes with weekly group classes.  It helps those who cannot go to the BYUI campus to get a college degree.  We will also be doing whatever the mission president needs from us.  (I know - TMI - but I can't help myself.)
John has been studying very hard to learn the language.  It isn't easy for us old folks, but I know his efforts will be rewarded.  It will be a blessing to us for him to be able to at least recognize a few words and be able to express his feelings about the Savior in the Albanian language.
This mission has been and will be a tremendous experience for us.  Heavenly Father has blessed us in more ways than I would have imagined.

View of bay from Vlore

 

This picture is taken from the balcony of the apartment where we will be living.  Thank you, Elder and Sister for taking it for us.