Another Day in the Mission

It snowed all day yesterday. I don't think I have ever seen such big snowflakes in my entire life. It was beautiful. More snow today. Tonight it will get really cold again. Last night we went to a couple's apt. two buildings east of us. We put our grippers on and walked just fine. They are little rubber things with cleats that snap right on to the bottoms of your shoes and keep you from slipping and falling in ice and snow. Very cool. Then we went to a fireside for our missionary group's first social downstairs in the same apt. bldg. It was so interesting. Elder Kuchar, a zone leader here and retired chemistry professor and Egyptologist from BYU, spoke and showed us his slides from Egypt. He had been assigned to analyze fabrics and materials from the ancient pyramids and participate in the DNA studies on the mummies. He said that all the DNA tests on King Tut that have been repeated and verified prove positively that King Tut was not black, not even a little bit. He showed us pictures of the hair of several of the mummies. Many were blonde and redhaired naturally with no dye. He worked with Dr. Hugh Nibley. I wish you could have seen what he showed us. He had slides showing the ceremonial religious clothing from some of the mummies that had great similarities to our Temple ordinance clothing and drawings, etc. of our very same Temple sacred symbols, etc. How amazing that the Temple ordinances that we have were known and practiced by Father Abraham's children even before the Savior was born.

We had a wonderful devotional this morning. President Nielson of the mission presidency (from our ward in Mesa) spoke. When you read about Ammon in the Book of Mormon, read the story with the perspective that it is a type and a shadow of the Savior: Ammon being a type of Jesus, the scattered sheep being a symbol of all of us, the wicked servants symbolizing the adversary and his followers who would destroy and scatter the Savior's sheep or us, and his taking the arms that he chopped off to the king as a symbol of the Savior overcoming the arm of flesh. I love all the stories in the scriptures that are types and shadows of the Savior. He also had us read from the Book of Ruth. Boaz was a type of the Savior who became Ruth's literal savior when she chose not to return to the world but to stay with Naomi and follow the only true God. It was through Ruth and Boaz's lineage that the Jesus was born.

We sat sleepily through more computer classes today on vital records and library catalogs. Tonight we had a great potluck dinner party for our US/Canada Zone in the Relief Society room in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (JSMB). The food was terrific, the company great, and the entertainment out of this world. The Utah Oldtimers Fiddlers Band played for about an hour. They were about 12 - 15 strong playing fiddles, zephyr, piano, singers, mandolin, harmonica, etc. They were outstanding. All very accomplished, both musically and professionally. Their star player was a 93 yr. old woman, very dignified, attractive, articulate, and savvy, who has played the violin/fiddle for 85 years. She was amazing. She could play anything. Never missed a note or beat. How those 93 yr. old hands could do what she did was unbelievable. Afterward it was sure nice to walk back through the tunnel to our apartment. We are spoiled!

Rain, Rest, Review

We finally were able to sleep and get up when we were rested (although I think I could have slept all day). Much needed rain fell most of the day, clearing out the inversion and terrible pollution that have been blanketing the city for so many days. The humidity is healing my dry, cracked hands, thankfully. After laundry and walking outside in the not-too-cold fresh air to get mail from the old apt. and practicing not getting lost in the tunnel again, I'm feeling mostly caught up with chores and errands. It felt so good to sit down and review training manuals and try to feel a little more prepared for Monday's continued training. I feel like I'm back in college! There is so much to read, study, review, etc. We're looking forward to another good night's sleep. This apartment is so quiet and peaceful and so very comfortable. Tomorrow we will be participating in a family fast for our grandson, Danny Branch, who will finally be undergoing surgery next Thursday to remove the tumor that has caused him to suffer with Cushing's Disease. We know there is power in fasting and prayer.

What's Happening

Today we begin two more weeks of training specific to this zone. This is the largest mission in the Church with 28 zones. It is the only mission that reports directly to the First Presidency rather than to the Missionary Department.

The people here are just wonderful. It is so much fun to meet many other senior missionaries all from diverse backgrounds. Some are attorneys, educators, Ph.D.'s, and some are farmers and just hard-working people who have never even turned on a computer. This mission is short 110 missionaries, so put the word out to your friends, senior family members, and ward members.

Our first apartment was very cute and quaint but with absolutely NO parking. (The landlady misrepresented that aspect just a tad.) After playing the parking meter shuffle for two weeks, we have moved into another apartment with parking, a stove that cooks on all four burners, kitchen drawers that open, and a shower that can get you wet all over all at the same time. It is beautiful, and we love it. It seems a little fancy for missionaries, but alas, we can handle it. We do NOT want to move for a long, long time.

We are hoping that now that we are moved again and our computer is up and going, that the dust will settle, and we can get a little more rest. The schedule is busy and begins EARLY! I am enjoying singing with the Women's Choir that practices at 6:15 a.m. on Thursdays. The director is just excellent. For all of you that haven't yet had an opportunity to work on your family history in PAF, you are missing a real adventure. I can't believe how much there is to do in that amazing program. If you do it, you will love it. To my family, I discovered that my first husband, my children's father, and his brother are my 9th counsins, 3 times removed and just where the ancestral lines connect. There is just so much to learn and nothing more exciting that finding enough information on a person to get him or her Temple ready.

Assignment

We received our assignment this morning. We will be working in the U.S./Canada zone in the Family History Library on the top two floors and in Special Collections on the bottom level. (5 levels). We will begin training specific to that zone next Tuesday, so we get a three day weekend which we NEED! We are moving. There is actually a little parking lot for you to park in right across the street on First Ave. The apartment is wonderful. I hope we can finally get settled.

Moving Again

We will start moving again tomorrow. This will solve our parking problem, but now we need our microwave, throw rugs, vacuum, etc. Ha! Our new address is:
Elder Glenn and Sister Nancy Smith
109 East South Temple St., Apt. 7N
Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Rebecca Patterson is on the second floor. That will be fun. Tomorrow is our last day in the PAF and New.FamilySearch training zone. We will have our Go Forth meeting where we receive our assignments and new zones, get a pep talk from our mission president, President Halverson, all go to the Temple together and have lunch in the cafeteria together, then all go to our separate zones. Our group will stay together for socials for the duration of our missions. The people are just wonderful here, and we are loving it.
One senior Elder missionary was talking to Dr. Romney, an internist in SLC who also works in the Church Office Building part of the time. The Elder referred to some work he was doing at the "COB". Dr. Romney asked, "Do you actually call this building the "COB"? The Elder was embarrassed, thinking that perhaps that was an irreverent term to call the building, and said meekly, "Well, yes, that is what we call it." Dr. Romney replied, "We would never call this building such a name. We call it THE MOTHERSHIP!" There is a lot of laughter and fun here.

The First Week

The first week of our mission has gone by so quickly. We arrived at our apartment on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. It was bitter cold. Rebecca Patterson had arranged for two Elders from our branch to meet us there to help unload the car. The apartment is really nice. Everything is new and clean. Well, the kitchen is clean but not new. Drawers stick, a burner on the stove doesn't work, and the water pressure is low. But it is so pretty. The bathroom is remodeled. The bedroom is big, the new bed is comfortable, the three big windows in the living room and window in the kitchen give us great views of the city and mountains. A new sofa was delivered Wednesday, and we finally gave up on the "free" high speed internet in the building and subscribed to comcast for basic cable TV and internet since we have found out from the neighbors that the signal doesn't go beyond the third floor here. The building is very quaint and pretty with a big lobby all done in marble and glass with chandeliers. Even the elevators are all mirrored which is great to make sure we look good when we head out in the mornings.
Parking has been a nightmare. The landlady wasn't forthcoming about parking. Turns out we are 5th on a list to get into the multi-level parking garage behind us that will cost $50 a month. The mission office has been working tirelessly to help us find parking, unsuccessfully. So we are playing the parking meter shuffle. We wouldn't have signed the lease if we had known, but oh well, there wasn't anywhere else for us to go anyway.
We began Monday, Jan. 5th, with a luncheon on the mezanine level of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It was beautiful and delicious! We got to meet lots of people, were introduced, and the mission presidency spoke. We began our orientation and training. We had to have our pictures taken, a group picture, and then individual pictures for our security badges.
All the new missionaries in this mission receive the same two-week training on the computer in PAF and New.Familysearch. It is really fun. I can't believe how much I am learning. Each one of us has an individual trainer one-on-one for the entire day. We have snack breaks in the morning. Lunch is fun. We can go through the underground parking garage/tunnel to the Church Office Building (called the COB as in Corn on the...) cafeteria for a huge array of food lines including grill, salad, entree, pasta, taco, dessert, etc. etc. and the food is VERY cheap! There is also a new Nauvoo Cafe off the lobby of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (called the JSMB) which has delicious soups, pot pies, sandwiches, salads, and desserts. It's NOT cheap.

Nancy is singing in the Women's Choir which meets at 6:15 a.m. (yes, A.M.) on Thursdays and Mondays when we sing for devotionals. We meet on the stand in the choir seats in the beautiful chapel in the JSMB. The director is exceptional. Maybe my singing voice can come back.

Yesterday Jason and Hy-eine (Sorry, I can never remember how to spell her name.) came to see us after taking Uncle Mike and Aunt Kathy to the airport for their trip to their mission in Vanuatu. We went to lunch at the Macaroni Grill and just had a great visit. Hy-eine is being sworn in as an American citizen on Tuesday! We are so proud of her.

I made my first outing to venture into parts of Salt Lake unknown. I went to a super-Target in Fort Union for some groceries, coat hangers, universal remote, etc. Got a little lost, but lost is good because then I learn new places. Today we will go to Church for the first time in our new Branch. Time to quit playing and go do my hair and get dressed.

Are we in the party branch?

Monday evening we braved the snowstorm for the first time and went to our Salt Lake Second Branch ( more like a stake conference in attendance!) for their Hail and Farewell party. The branch is made up of all missionaries, mostly senior missionaries and some young Elders and sisters. Every few months they have this party to hail the new missionaries and pay farewell to those going home within the next two months. It had a cowboy theme and was lots of fun. It was a potluck, so I had an hour to throw together what I called missionary first day surprise. I made beef rice-a-roni and added black beans, tomatoes, and cheese. I baked it and took it, but not many people ate it. Ha! I ran into CJ Shults from Mesa, a single woman whom I have known for about twenty years who is also serving a mission there. We sang lots of cowboy songs, had a crazy auction with funny money, two young elders sang and played the guitar, and a counselor in the mission presidency recited cowboy story poems in his cowboy hat and angora chaps. All the new ones had to introduce ourselves, and the ones leaving had to speak briefly. One Elder had a big brass gong for anyone who spoke too long or said something really funny or crazy. We think we will really like our branch.

Missionary First Day Surprise

All of the new missionary couples had a pot luck. Here's the recipe for what I whipped together!

beef rice r roni

black beans

tomatoes and cheese

MMMMMMMmmmmmm! Tasty!