Leaving the MTC

We leave the MTC with mixed emotions.  This has been the closest thing to Heaven we have ever known, but we are ready to get to the DR Congo and actually begin to serve our mission.  This is a view of the MTC auditorium where we have the Sunday Firesides and the Tuesday Devotionals.  Church priesthood and auxiliary leaders are the primary speakers, but very wonderful talks are also given by the young Sister Missionaries and Elders. These meetings are extremely powerful, most especially when we are singing.  The Senior Missionaries sit toward the front and it is impossible to describe what it is like to join with over 2,000 voices (mostly strong-voiced young Elders) as we all sing "Called to Serve".  

We woke up for our last full day at the MTC to find three inches of snow covering the ground and our little 3rd floor interior courtyard.  Without telling me in advance, George made a snowman on one of the tables.  I had him go to take a picture of it and watched through the window.  A few minutes later, another Senior Couple, sharing the elevator to go down to breakfast, had their camera in hand & told us they'd just taken a picture of a snowman in the courtyard.  We got a big kick out of that.

Saturday we were able to be with portions of both George's family and mine.  First we took part in sealing sessions at the Provo temple with Chris Smith, his wife Becky and her parents Dan & Pat Knudsen.  Later we welcomed three of my children...my son, Jim Hudgins with his wife Wendy and their son, Tyler; Jennifer England with her husband Nate and their children, Hunter, Jackson, McKay and Jordyn; and my daughter, Joanne Hudgins.  We went out to dinner at Olive Garden and then said tearful goodbyes.

One of the paintings hanging in our MTC living quarters...the young boy, Joseph Smith, receiving an answer to his sincere prayer based on the promise in James 1:5,6.

A beautiful, rainbow-colored hot air balloon which we saw on Saturday morning.  It was a happy omen!

A close up map of our "home" for the next two years...The Democratic Republic of the Congo with just a bit of Rwanda, Uganda & Tanzania showing on the eastern border and Angola to the south.  Our mission boundaries include Republic of the Congo and Cameroon to the north.

The MTC is filled with uplifting and inspiring messages, whether through soft instrumental hymns as you enter the main building, pieces of framed art taken from scenes in the scriptures, photos of missionary activities all over the world, or sculptures like this, depicting two missionaries on their bikes.

Here is Elder Smith diligently studying. Oh, wait... that's a John Grisham novel.

Our last class with Brother Blake Mason.  After I met with him three times a week for the past four months and George and I with him for two hour sessions, four nights a week @ the MTC, our French is sufficient to say a prayer in Church, bear our testimony and ask a variety of "coping" or "becoming acquainted" phrases.  The only problem with the latter is that we may or may not understand the answers!

Online Tracking of Our Flight

This sounds like fun! Anyone can track our flight in real time (at least until we get over international waters), by entering our flight information on Google's flightaware.com    Let us know if you are able to do it....

CHURCH TRAVEL CWT                          DATE 10FEBRUARY12

50 EAST NORTH TEMPLE ST                    AGENT 4J/AM BOOKING REF 3TF24F

SALT LAKE CITY UT 84150

TELEPHONE: 801 240-5111                    SMITH/GEORGE ERNEST 258385-I

FAX      : 801-240-5115                    SMITH/JOAN ANGELA  258386-I

  MISSIONARY TRAVEL

  D.R. CONGO KINSHASA MISSION

SERVICE               DATE  FROM           TO             DEPART  ARRIVE

_____________________ _____ ______________ ______________ _______ ______

UNITED AIRLINES       20FEB SALT LAKE C UT CHICAGO IL     711A    1120A

UA 5506              MONDAY SALT LAKE CITY O'HARE INTL

B ECONOMY                   TERMINAL 1     TERMINAL 2

                                                          NON STOP

                            RESERVATION CONFIRMED         3:09 DURATION

                            FLIGHT OPERATED BY UNITED EXPRESS/SKYWEST

                  AIRCRAFT: CANADAIR REGIONAL JET 700

UNITED AIRLINES       20FEB CHICAGO IL     BRUSSELS       601P    920A

UA 972               MONDAY O'HARE INTL    BRUSSELS AIRPO         21FEB    

B ECONOMY                   TERMINAL 1

           NON SMOKING      DINNER/SNACK                  NON STOP

                            RESERVATION CONFIRMED         8:19 DURATION

                  AIRCRAFT: BOEING 767-300/300ER

                            SEATS 34A/34B NO SMOKING CONFIRMED

UNITED AIRLINES       21FEB BRUSSELS       KINSHASA       1055A   820P

UA 9991             TUESDAY BRUSSELS AIRPO N'DJILI INTL

B ECONOMY

                            LUNCH/SNACK                   1 STOP

                            RESERVATION CONFIRMED         9:25 DURATION

          BRUSSELS - YAOUNDE

          YAOUNDE - KINSHASA

    0353                    FLIGHT OPERATED BY         SN BRUSSELS AIRLIN

            AIRCRAFT OWNER: SN  BRUSSELS AIRLINES

              COCKPIT CREW: SN  BRUSSELS AIRLINES

                CABIN CREW: SN  BRUSSELS AIRLINES

                  AIRCRAFT: AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A330-300

                            NO SMOKING SEAT REQUESTED FOR SMITH/GEORGE ER

                            NO SMOKING SEAT REQUESTED FOR SMITH/JOAN ANGE

Where in the World Are the Smiths?

MTC: Week 1

It is tradition for missionaries to have their picture taken at the “Go Ye Into All the World” map, which is at the MTC, so here we are!  At this time, we are the only couple assigned to go to the DR Congo and we know that all six couples who are currently serving there will be coming home by August.  So, for those who read this, will you please join us in a fervent prayer that Heavenly Father will touch the hearts of ALL couples who COULD serve a Senior Mission and especially for couples who will be willing to serve the Lord in the DR Congo Kinshasa Mission.

It is hard to describe our first week in the MTC.  Maybe “Spiritual Boot Camp with Angel DI’s” would begin to give you an idea.  For an overview of the MTC, click HERE

(or go to http://www.mtc.byu.edu/?x=0&y=0)

Senior Missionaries are honored and made to feel special at every meeting, whether small or large. We also hear some funny (but loving) comments that we can all relate to and appreciate.  For instance, in a combined meeting one night, the 2,000 young Elders and Sister Missionaries were asked to look over at our Senior Missionary area.  They were given examples of some of the types of sacrifices that older couples make and were told that we are “Silver-Haired Energizer Bunnies”. By the end of the day, most of us are not feeling all that energetic and some of us are even more tired because we are taking an additional (optional) 2-hours of language after dinner.  So, my day begins with wake-up at 5:30am and we get back home at 8:15pm.  Then we answer our emails, do our assigned homework, shower, say our family prayer and collapse into bed… after which George reads a chapter from the scriptures out loud and I listen attentively. J

We are in a group of 30 new couples who entered the MTC February 6.  Some stay for one week, but we’ll be here two weeks for office training.  When the next batch comes in tomorrow, we’ll be the old pros. In this week’s group, we had all sorts of destinations and all types of assignments.  Just a small sampling: Jakarta, Indonesia; various cities in Russia & former USSR countries; Mongolia; Australia; Dominican Republic; Canada; various Polynesian islands; a Navajo Reservation in Arizona; Philippines; London, England (to work with a Slovak ward); India; The Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Brother Tom Peterson, the MTC Director of Training, has been a very dynamic and humorous instructor.  After he greeted us the first day, he began to ask the couples about their different destinations by saying “Where is the couple who are going to (then he would name a location)?”  The couples who answered to “Russia” were told, in serious tones…“Be sure you have a VERY thick coat and do enjoy this beautiful weather we are having here!” (It was 20 degrees!)  To the couples going to India “Be sure to have a hamburger before you go!”  Finally, he asked about the couple going to the DR Congo (just us) and when we raised our hand, he said (leaning forward and speaking in an ominous voice which trailed off without completing the sentence) “We know we can GET you there……!”  It reminds me of an LDS video which I think was called “Saints in Africa”.  The video gave so much credit to the early Protestant and Catholic missionaries who were responsible for converting large numbers of Africans to Christianity.  (95% of the DR Congo is Christian, mostly Catholic) Those brave missionaries were only given one-way tickets to Africa because it was assumed they would die while on their mission.

Today we have enjoyed a full Sabbath Day.  The class rooms of the MTC Administration Building became the locations for numerous Sacrament Meetings staggered throughout the morning.  We went to our assigned room and found it filled with young men and women from around the world.  One of the speakers that most impressed me was a strapping, handsome Samoan who spoke of the day that he felt the earth tremble just before boarding a school bus.  Moments later, the students on the bus saw the nearby ocean suddenly withdraw and then come back with a tsunami which hit the bus.  He spoke of the calmness he felt as he heard the screams of so many people who were crying out for God’s help.  Now he is going out to serve the people whom God has prepared to hear His message.

Tonight, we had a Sunday “Fireside” with Richard I. Heaton, the Administrative Director of the Provo MTC.   He was followed by a video of the talk which Elder David A. Bednar, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, gave on Christmas Day Sunday 2011. He spoke of the need for us to not just have a testimony, but to be fully converted to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Simply put, we use our testimonies and the Grace of Christ to grow more like him.  To the extent we do this, we are converted.  That is why Christ said to Peter, who already had given a powerful testimony, “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”  

Good Neighbors, Good Friends

How loved we have felt as our good neighbors have come, one by one, over the past couple weeks to say, "Goodbye".  This wonderful trio came to give us hugs just moments before we left our home for the MTC. Cleve & Beth Wright live across the street (if you look closely, you can see the big "Y" in his window, lest anyone doubt his loyalty to BYU).  On the right is the loquacious half of a great father & son Home Teaching team, Dana & Josh Johnson, who come faithfully to visit us every month and are always there to support us.  

"Farewell" Sunday

With one week to go before we enter the Missionary Training Center, George and I gave our "farewell" talks in Sacrament Meeting (Jan. 29) and after the three-hour meeting block, hosted a small luncheon for family and a few friends. This picture includes the three of my six children who live in Utah.  From left, Jennifer (daughter) and Nate England at left with their four little ones Jordyn, Hunter, McKay and Jackson; Joanne Hudgins (daughter) with her best friend Jeremy Dailami; Jim (son) & Wendy Hudgins with their son Tyler (another son, Kyle, is currently serving in the Neuquen Argentina Mission.)

 

This is George's son, Chris Smith with his wife, Becky, and two of their three children, Jaden & Clarissa, along with Becky's parents, Patricia & Dan Knudsen.  George's other five children live from coast to coast.

Last year, our ward boundaries were changed.  These are friends from our current ward (Rick & Cheryl Duerden) and our former ward (Shanna Bryant & good friend, Bob)

It made us so happy to look out at the congregation & see the number of people who had made a special effort to come to our ward "farewell" (we later figured out that the number was 55) .  Many of them had responsibilities in their home wards and had to leave after Sacrament Meeting, but it meant so much to us to have them there.  Later, at our home, I was so glad that Jim suggested this picture with my wonderful friends, Michelle Blake (who worked with me at Middlebury Interactive Languages) and Trudy Dowling, (who became a life-long friend when we met as young Army officer's wives at Ft. Benning, GA in 1970).

Christmas 2011

Despite the fact that it was taken before all the gifts were placed underneath, this picture will serve as a reminder of Christmas 2011 & will also help us remember what an evergreen Christmas tree looks like...  It's not beyond the realm of possibility that we will only have a small palm tree to decorate for the next two years.  But, one thing I am sure of, our hearts will be with our family.

In the meantime, we are hoping that the election difficulties in Kinshasa will abate in time for us to leave the MTC and fly there on our scheduled February 20th date.  The Mission President & his wife, as well as the six pair of Senior Missionary couples were evacuated almost four weeks ago and flown down to Johannesburg, South Africa.  They have been trying to coordinate as much of the work as possible from afar, but it is not easy to do and they are very anxious to return to Kinshasa.

Regardless of the situation at this time, there is not the slightest doubt in my mind that there will be slow and steady progress in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  God's hand is over Africa and we believe that He has prepared the people of the DR Congo in a very special way to receive His most precious blessings.  We can't wait to finally get there and be part of that exciting experience.


As we consider the little baby, born in humble circumstances, though He was the son of God, we pray that we may all feel the love which our Savior, Jesus Christ has for us.  We hope that all who read this will feel the peace & joy of Christmas truly celebrated & keep those blessings throughout the year.

  

My Grandson, the Missionary

Today (November 23, 2011), I got to spend a few precious minutes with my very wonderful, very tall grandson, Kyle Hudgins.  He has been in the Missionary Training Center for almost two months, learning Spanish and preparing to serve the people of Neuquen, Argentina for two years.

I am currently going to the MTC three times a week to be tutored by Brother Blake Mason, a returned missionary who served in France and Switzerland.  This is preparation for the two year mission to DR Congo which my husband, George, and I will serve beginning in February.  Last week, I had emailed Kyle that I would come early for my lesson and try to be "in the vicinity" of the building where he has a 12:15 pm class.  (Missionaries say goodbye to their family when they arrive at the MTC and do not receive visitors after that, but since I have a valid reason to be at the MTC, I hoped that we might increase the chances of a "chance meeting".)    Unfortunately, I got sick last Friday and had to cancel my class.

Two days ago, I tried again.  Monday was a cold, wet and windy day.  I arrived early and stayed outside waiting until 12:25 pm, only to finally give up and walk sadly to my class, cold and disappointed.

Today, I arrived early once more.  When my watch told me that it was a moment or two past 12:15 pm and the traffic of elders and sister missionaries seemed to have stopped entering the building, I was sure I'd missed him yet again.  It was a very sad feeling to know that Friday would be my last chance to see him before he left the MTC to fly to Argentina on Monday (Nov. 28) and to realize that any number of circumstances could thwart even that last opportunity.

Just as I was considering giving up, I heard a shout and looked up to see someone running toward me.  It was Kyle.  He had a grin from ear to ear and his face radiated with sheer delight.  He was calling out to his companion, "There's my Nana!"  I got up quickly from the bench to go to him and he gave me the biggest hug ever!   Neither one of us was holding back & neither of us was anxious to stop that hug.  We both expressed the love that we have for each other.  It was such an incredible blessing to see him and he expressed the same feeling.  I know that Kyle loves me, but I also know that for that short time we had together, I was representing, in his mind, ALL the people he loves... his father and mother and his brother, Tyler... as well as his other grandparents, among many others.  I told him that his mom and dad were going to be so excited to hear that we had the chance to meet.  Knowing how much his family loves him, he understood and agreed.

He looked more mature, a bit slimmer (quite fit, trim and healthy)... and very, very happy!!  He quickly introduced me to his companion, Elder Kimball, whom I asked to take our picture.  Since they were on the verge of being late for class, he couldn't linger long, but he hugged me again and expressed how extremely happy he was to have seen me; how much it meant to him;  how happy he is that George & I will also soon be experiencing the blessings of a mission; how wonderful his own experiences in the MTC have been; and how anxious he is to begin actually serving as a missionary in Argentina.

We agreed that we can't wait to exchange our very unique stories from Argentina and the DR Congo.  Then we again spoke of our love for each other and had one last, very heartfelt hug and said goodbye.  As we parted, I turned and said "Au revoir" and he laughed and answered, "Ciao"!

Kyle will be an outstanding missionary and will help many people learn about and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ.  That knowledge will give them an understanding of The Plan of Salvation which our Heavenly Father established to prepare His children for eternal life.  And the happiness that Kyle will see come into the lives of those people, as they commit to obey God's commandments, will give him the deepest and most profound joy of his life.

Joan Girvin Smith (aka Nana)