Getting ready to "catch of wave" of missionary work

AND OFF WE GO

Elder Foote trying to get all the suitcases to the magic 50 lbs.

Farewell family dinner

Early morning airport drop off. Thanks Jason and Lisa and Jane :)

Trying to get all of our bags into the airport!

Keeping our fingers crossed that no one else will sit in our row of five seats on the airplane...and no one did and we were able to take turns lying down to sleep!! :):)

We made it! We are in Germany. We ate a picnic lunch here yesterday with this view one direction and the Rhine river the other direction. We will go to the office for the first time tomorrow. Now there's nothing left but the work! We are ready and excited to get started!

Singing in the choir with Kim and other MTC experiences

Sister Foote and Sister Foote singing together in the MTC choir at the Marriott Center for the Tuesday devotional. It was an amazing experience to be part of a 1500+ voice choir








 and to be a part of a huge wave of missionaries walking to and from the Marriott Center.

We had so much fun we did it again the next week.

 There are a record number of missionaries at the MTC right now. The numbers will go down a bit in the next few weeks. So for only the third time in MTC history they took a group photo of all the missionaries. In case it is ever printed somewhere you can find Kim and I on the very top row of the sisters all the way to the left. Dave is sitting right in the middle on the second or third row from the front. Here's what it looked like from where we were sitting. 

It has been such a thrill to be here with all the  young missionaries and to feel the power of their testimonies and just the out pouring of the Spirit at the MTC. It was amazing. We learned so many great teaching skills and other things that will help us be good missionaries. It would be worth going on a mission just to be able to go to the MTC. 
  We loved every minute of it. 

Our First Week in the MTC

We have been at the MTC for one week now. We weren't sure we were actually going to make it out of town but we did it! It has been such a wonderful experience, full of 'tender mercies' from heaven, like being able to stop in the middle of the desert and visit with our dear friends Dave and Julie Robertson and family on our way to the MTC.

We got to the MTC about 10pm and were given our name badges. What an honor to wear the name of the Savior over my heart. I've wanted one of these for a long time! We then  got a quick picture in front of the famous MTC map.  It looks like I'm going to Germany but Dave is going to Greece or something. 

We were able to see Sister Kimberly Foote for the first time the next day at lunch.  We were obviously all very happy to see each other again. She had shown the other 13 missionaries in her district a picture of us and told them to be on the lookout for us. It was really fun when they started spotting us waiting for her outside the cafeteria. They were all so excited for her. Finally we spotted her walking up the hall. You can probably see the tears in my eyes. 

We  loved the MTC experience. This is a picture of our district with one of our teachers. They are all now dear friends. About 40 senior couples came in the same day as us, as well as 6 single sisters called to missions all over the world. It was such a sweet thrill the first morning we met together and sang Called to Serve. That hymn has never meant more to me.  A few of words that really hit me:

Called to serve Him, heav'nly King of glory...
Far and wide his love proclaim...
God our strength will be; press forward ever,
Called to serve our King.

July 7, 2013: Set Apart to Serve the Lord

We were set apart as missionaries this morning by President Peterson and will be checking into the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT to begin our 18 month mission in Europe! We are so excited! 

Thanks to our dear friends and family who came to support us.