After October General Conference

October General Conference on "M1" Level of the Conference Center with the other 3 Senior Missionary Couples and our Interpreters was JOY beyond words.

                                Some of our Hindi-Fijian Interpreters! They are such kind and dedicated people.

Provo Mission Training Center Sept. 13-17th

Mission Training Center in Provo Utah

Our Senior Missionary group....(another groups arrived last week).

The best five days ever!

The 2,500 young missionaries that were there treated us 100 Senior Missionaries like royalty. I met up with three former grade one students of mine...Robby Olsen, Tayt Low and Alex Schow. Lots of hugs shared. Great and terrific young men who will make awesome missionaries. Another wonderful young man from a former ward of ours was Jeff Redd. He is the cutest red head!
The whole experience was so uplifting and such a learning experience that words cannot begin to  express our thoughts and feelings.

Elder Robby Olsen

Elder Alex Schow

Elder Tayt Low, cafeteria food is awesome!!

The classes, taught by young return missionaries, on learning how to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ were more of a testimony building experience for both of  US. We developed a deeper love for our Savior, his example and suffering and know we too can be better daily in our efforts to live the gospel and be a good example of what we stand for...a follower of our Savior.

Our small study group with our teacher Sister Grover in the red sweater.

Only with this heart warming knowledge can we truly be happy and find peace in this life. However, every day is a challenge and a learning curve. I hope our children and their families will always be active in the Gospel. Knowing where we came from, why we are here and where we are going is such a key in life. Knowing we are also being led by a true Prophet of God and his 12 disciples is such a comfort and patterned after the Savior and his 12 apostles. Truly, we are blessed in this knowledge. May our family be together forever...with no chair empty in the next life.


We made friends with several of the other Senior Missionaries that were in our classes. We hope to keep in contact with them.


Pictures at the MTC tells the story...in just a few years our grandsons will start their journeys to go on a  mission. Two of the Senior Couples had grandsons at the MTC. It was so awesome to see them greet each other in the cafeteria and bond even closer.


We love our mission at CHURCH HEADQUARTERS in the TRANSLATION DIVISION!!

May 19/2010: Day Three of Pre-Mission Training

Pictures: Top left: Elder and Sister Porter...they have been on their mission 8 months and are serving a two year mission.  Top Right: Elder and Sister Evans...going home the first week in June after serving 18 months (no couple to replace them yet);
 Bottom: Elder and Sister Jones...we are replacing them in the fall. They go home right after October Conference.


Day Three of Pre-Mission Training. Our last morning at the Radisson Hotel. We checked out, after having the bounteous breakfast buffet there. Yummers! Driving to the Church Office Building, and parking in the underground parkade was without problems or incidence in the busy traffic. Yeah!
As we walked across the main lobby at the Church Office Builidng,  we approached the security gates and for the very first time, we scanned our brand new ID security...wondering if they would really work. They did! Up we went to the 21st floor Translation Division, We quickly went to the morning devotional with the three Senior Missionary Couples, and two other ladies.

After the Devotional, we trained with Elder and Sister Porter. They showed us some of the computer technicalities for the Translation Dept. Tricky stuff...very new to us. They were very patient. Lots to learn.

At lunch time Phil McClain generously agreed for us to treat the Missionary Couples to lunch with the diner's card he had given us to use. However, unfortunately the Porters could not join us, as they were going to their ward temple event.
(Right after lunch we turned in the diner card and the receipts from the hotel and other eating receipts in to Brother MacClain. So generous!)

In the afternoon, we worked with Elder and Sister Jones. They are going to be released right after the October Conference. We are officially replacing them in October. For the next couple of hours we were introduced to the languages we would be in charge of. They told is about the teams of translators connected with those languages. ( I made notes that we will review. ) The Jones are so capable, and the love they feel for the translators they work with is very tangible. Sister Jones had a story for almost every person and she told them with admiration and compassion. These translators have all had humble lives and stories that have stemmed before and during their help in the Translation Division. Inspiring!

About three o'clock, we said our goodbyes and took pictures of the three Senior Missionary Couples. (Brad Lindsay our boss, was not in today as he had other commitments. He was so kind to us. We would have liked to have said goodbye in person, but an email will have to suffice.)
We asked Sister Porter if she would take us to the Brigham Apartments to check them out. That is where they live. We LIKED the apartments very much and were relieved that their prices are very comparable to the ones we saw yesterday. We took some forms to fill out and we are now on the waiting list.

We had a wonderful experience with all those we trained with the last three days.
We look forward to knowing and meeting the Brothers and Sisters of the languages we will be in charge of.

May 18, 2010, Day Two of Pre-Mission Training, SLC Headquarters

Rainy Day but a great and informative day.

We arrived at the Church Office Building at 8:00 am and got our guest badges for the 21st Division Floor floor from Security. 

Tuesday through Friday the three Senior Mission Couples have a short devotional, so we enjoyed the devotional with then this morning and the closeness of these missionaries. Their desires to serve the Lord by furthering his work through the languages needed throughout the world to hear the words of the Prophet and General Authorities and others is indeed humbling.

9:00 Planning Meeting with our Division Manager...Brad Lindsay and his secretary.

         The three senior couples, American Sign Language sister, and the three other language co-ordinators met and discussed the next two weeks of events. It was mind boggling to hear all the details that everyone is involved in. 

For example the Gila Arizona Temple dedication this weekend. The Stake President in that area requests the languages that are needed for the temple dedication broadcast. (five different ones). The talks from the speakers are submitted and then are to be translated by those five language teams. The interpreters are booked to broadcast from the CC (Conference Center) during the temple broadcast. 

The planning today even included plans on the Stake Conference Broadcast from Vancouver that even Cardston will hear. The Vancouver Stake President has requested a half dozen languages that are now being prepared and talks collected to be translated for this broadcast. Just incredible amount of work and people involved. It is these three Senior Missionary couples that HELP correlate those translators, interpreters and the broadcasts. We are in awe of ALL the people involved in these events and broadcasts...oh my we had no idea what goes on behind the scenes to facilitate this world wide church and all the languages involved!

Spent the rest of the morning getting trained by the Senior Mission Couple, the Joneses, whom we will be replacing in the fall. They were so patient with us and gave us an informative overview of our duties with the languages we will be in charge of...some of the languages we have never heard of. LOL At a later date we will list those languages for our family/friends. LOL

Lunched with just two of the Senior Missionary Couples Joneses and Evans, as the Porters worked through their lunchtime so they can attend the temple at 3:00 with their mission ward. Lunch was yummy and we saw a couple of the General Authorities from the Quorum of the Seventies there too. They were pointed out to us as we weren't that familiar with them. 

After lunch Philip McClain, who takes care of the three Senior Mission Couples, as the Personnel and Financial Division Head for the Translation Department, came in to say he had arranged for our names to be ACTIVATED NOW in the church personnel files, even though we were not yet officially on our mission. We went immediately to get our pictures taken and then they issued us the high security passes that get us in the Conference Center at all hours, as we need access to the studios there for all hours of the day. These passes get us in the tunnels to get to all the other church buildings also. Not only were WE stunned that we got these passes already, so were the other Senior Missionaries. (And now we get to park free of charge in the underground church parking lot.) Amazing! Now for sure we are coming back. LOL

We then spent the rest of the afternoon with the Evans and were introduced to the new church computer program called Clarity. They had us get right on their computers and went through many of the events and responsibilities on it. A bit mind boggling but exciting.

Tomorrow is our last day of training and we get to log on to our OWN computers as we are now REAL in the system. Hard to believe eh? Not having to wait until September to get introduced to all this is a HUGE plus. September is so so busy getting all the language teams ready and translating and prepping to interpret. This will help us to at least understand some of what is going on. 

We will book out of the Radisson Hotel in the morning before we go train some more Wednesday. We so appreciate being taken care of so well with the lodgings paid for and being given a diners card for meals. Brother McClain has been so good to us. He wishes we could stay right now too as we are so needed. Now that we have high security passes, tomorrow we can park close to the COB (trying to get use to the initials on the daily planning schedules). Church Office Building. 

We will head to Osenbachs Wed late afternoon and spend the night. 

Thursday we head back to Canada...so much to do at home as we are moving out and our renters are moving in just nine days!

Big day but so so enjoyable...tired brain!

May 18/2010: Day One of Pre-Mission Training, SLC Headquarters

Loved it! 

Day One of three days of 'pre-mission' training at Church Headquarters today. 

Amazing workers in the Translation Department...so looking forward to tomorrow!

Started our day at 8, meeting our several 'bosses'. Jeff Batesman is the Head of the whole Translation Division (married to a Taber girl). Jeff Johnson is the Department Head over us, however it is Brad Lindsay who is our Department Manager, whom we will report to and work very closely with and plan with weekly.

We then attended the Monday 8:30 weekly devotional where all the Translation Division staff meet. We were introduced at this time to all the Translation 21st Floor Staff. Special.

So friendly and helpful...they sure wish we could stay right now and start...they need us 

and one of the senior couples leaves June 1st with no replacement in sight yet. We met the three Senior Mission couples now working in the Translation Division. The Evans are leaving June 1st, and they are the ones we were originally suppose to replace, however due to the long wait for Visas, we aren't able to be there. So NO couple is replacing them at this time. (Not good as no other couple has been called.) Their duties will be divided up to the other couples. The Joneses leave right after October Conference...we will replace them. The Porters have another year to serve and we are SO glad!! 

We were taken on tour of the tunnels from Church Office Headquarters connecting to the Conference Center, Tabernacle, SLC Temple, and Administration Building. Walked them all today. The tunnels have major security at every door, are quick, and wide enough for golf carts to take the General Authorities safely. Inclement and too hot weather also makes the tunnels valuable. (We saw start of the private tunnel leading to the Apartment Building where the Prophet lives.)  Believe it or not, the Translation Senior Mission Couples have the security passes to swipe and get through all those secured doors. They need to use the Conference Center at all hours with their translation team. They need to get in the Joseph Smith Building via the tunnel as the Mission Office is there on level 3 and so on. What a responsibility to carry that high of security pass!

In the Conference Center we toured all the many recording studios, and translation booths and so on that are accessed only by one certain elevator that goes to that level M1. The large studio where the Stake Conferences are staged and broadcast, audio recording studios for all broadcasts and so on. Totally in awe and humbled by so much behind the scene talented staff.

Lunchtime: huge cafeteria at the COB (Church Office Building). Not open to the public but just for the missionaries of any age, and ALL church staff workers from garden staff, cleaners etc. and up. Saw two of the Quorum of the Seventy eating there too.  Yummy food...huge variety of buffets and such. Hundreds of missionaries eating there...amazing and humbling. We ate lunch with the three Senior Missionary Couples from the Translation Division (officially called Headquarter Missionaries). We brainstormed with these couples about housing, and so many other questions.

In the afternoon we met at the Mission Office in the Joseph Smith Building with some of the staff. President Simmons was not there, but we met his wife.  Sat down with some of the mission staff to check our file and then the mission housing sister took us on a walking tour of the four housing complexes that Senior Missionaries live in. She slipped on her walking runners as we left. We walked many blocks in and around the COB. We won't know where we will live until we get closer to the date of officially arriving, and seeing what apts. are available at that time.

We definitely got in our 1,000 steps...only wish we had on our running shoes. I even got a blister on my toe...lol.

We learned that we have a 60 mile radius for our mission where  we CAN travel without permission, when we have free time, and go visit anywhere in that area...

which means hello occasionally to Plain City (daughter Emily, hubby Mark, and five grandkids) and Ogden too (brother Gordon and sister Sharon and spouses) ...yeah! There is a map in our mission book that shows all 60 mile area.

So much to learn, but feel we so blessed and area absorbing as much as we can!

We are also grateful to Philip McClain, the Financial Manager, who is also in charge of the Headquarter Senior Missionaries and their well being. He arranged for our stay at the Radisson Hotel and Diner card as we train for these three days. He has a fun sense of humor too. He has been our liason by phone and email.

Looking forward to Day Two of training tomorrow!!

Mission Letter Arrives!!!

Thursday, April 22nd, I was playing with Jenna at a playground, glanced at my watch and saw that it was 2:00. Too early to check the mail, BUT was decidedly going to do so anyways! Waiting for our mission call letter to arrive was testing not only our nerves, but our families' as well...patience is a great lesson.
At the post office I hesitated, then peeked in the little window to see if there was any mail...oh my goodness, there was a large white envelope ! It had arrived. No kidding, I was so amazed to see that it really was there, that it was like slow motion...key inserted in the lock, door opens. Gayla slowly removes white envelope and reads in the corner..."Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". My heart was thudding, and yet I felt such calmness.

Drove home. Terry was in the driveway working on something and as he glanced up, I held up the white envelope and I smiled at him. His face was priceless and seemed to unspeakingly say, "Really?!" Without a moment's hesitation he got in the van and I handed him the envelope. He examined it and asked "You haven't opened it?" Incredulously, I laughed and said, "Of course not!" ( Just because I have a reputation of not being able to wait for things and opening presents early...well you get the picture.)

We had decided when we sent our mission papers off. that when our call came, we would open it in the temple parking lot. (No family gathering, just in case our mission destination turned out to be an area that might need to shed a few tears and pull ourselves together...didn't want to traumatize our grandsons and their future missions. Ha!)  We parked in the back temple parking lot as that is the entrance we use when we go to the temple. We then folded our arms and Terry gave a sincere and sweet prayer that we would be able to accept this mission call, where ever we were being asked to go and that we would serve with all our hearts. It felt comforting. We felt peaceful. I asked Terry to open the envelope package... as I cozied up and peered over his arm watching. And....

There it was, the letter from our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, right on top of the package of information, with his signature at the bottom of the letter, asking us to accept a mission call to The Translation Division in Salt Lake City, Utah, as translator co-ordinators. We are to report to the Provo, Utah Mission Training Center, September 13th.

 Surprised!  Humbled. Delighted! Grateful. Thrilled! Ready and willing to serve!!!

We hugged, and sealed this momentous event, with a sweet kiss of love and renewed commitment.

Then we turned to granddaughter Jenna (3) in the back seat (yes she was with us the whole time) and said, "Jenna, you are the first to hear it...Grandpa and I are going on a mission to Salt Lake City!" Jenna with her typical big sweet smile simply said,"Okay...and giggled."

Time to contact the rest of the unsuspecting but awaiting family... JOY!!