Half Way Finished at the MTC?

Hello!!!!

 

Another week has come and gone in what seems to have been the blink of an eye.

 

I'm not sure who sent me packages - but I just found out I have two waiting which is MUCHO appreciated because this week I have received a total of 3 dear elder messages - two of them from my Mom and one from my dear friend Adrienne. The rest of you have some catching up to do :)

 

We got a new teacher this week because Hermano Wood ditched us to teach workshops apparently. Not even the workshops that we get to go to. Needless to say, he's heartbroken about having left our amazing district, but he did come by and visit yesterday. We miss him! He's so cheesey and makes lots of sound effects when he's trying to act out a word so that it will stick in our brains more. He NEVER just gave us a word - he made us work for it. Usually we had to look it up and then he might help us find it. It was really good for us and we miss that.

 

Our new teacher is Hermano VanVleit and he's super nice, but he babies us a little. He translates what he's saying a lot. He's gotten better as this last week has gone by at not translating everything, but he still does it a lot. It kind of gives a disadvantage - we don't have to work to understand and the only way we're going to get better is if we work. The thing I do really like about him is that he has SO much enthusiasm and is very specific about what he expects from us. Also, he's really good at sticking to a schedule which helps us have more learning opportunities. He introduced a fun concept - verb ball. He got us two plastic toy balls (the kind from the big bin at walmart where you have to pull back the strechy chords to get a ball out - the kind of ball that used to get me in trouble when I would go to the grocery store with my mom). Anyway, we wrote down as many common verbs as we could think of all over the ball. Then we throw the ball at someone, they say the first verb that they see and the person who threw the ball gets to choose a tense that they have to conjugate the verb in. For example "Preterit Usted form" which is actually past 3rd person singular. It's actually pretty fun and it's a good way for us to use our time productively when we're kind of shooting the breeze and not doing anything useful.

 

I am SO excited for General Conference tomorrow and Sunday!!! At the MTC it means that our classes are cancled and we just get to go to general conference, eat, and study! I'm really excited to do some learning for myself (I'll still keep my investigators in mind - but I need to do some learning for myself once in a while and this will be a good opportunity to do that). Also, we get to catch the Relief Society meeting - they'll rebroadcast it for us during the preisthood session. I've heard lots of really good things about it from the wives of our branch presidency. I'm excited to hear President Uchtdorf speak!

 

With one of our investigators we've had some really good experiences this last week. Last Friday we found out why he wasn't getting any answers to his prayers - he reads the Book of Mormon and then gets busy drinking with his neighbors and then tries to pray. Shockingly enough, he hasn't been feeling the Spirit very much. We were SO glad that this came up. We had been planning to talk about the priesthood and a couple other things when he brought the Word of Wisdom and so we had to COMPLETELY shift gears - we didn't talk about ANYTHING that we had planned, but it went really well and we all felt the Spirit really strong which is what this whole teaching thing is all about. So, the next time we met him, he had gone and gotten drunk with his buddies again. We were devastated, but we stuck with it and really helped him to see how not drinking can really help him and bless the lives of him and his family. When we met with him yesterday he had been sober since the last time we had met! We were SOOOO Excited!!! He said he feels really good when he prays - "mas mejor" or much better. Hopefully that means good things to come.

 

While I was doing TALL (our computer-led language study thing...kind of like Rosetta Stone I guess) a few days ago, I was watching a couple of Mormon Messages and one came up that was based on a talk by Dallin H. Oaks called "Giving Thanks in All Things." The video was just a video of random people on the streets of New York telling what they are thankful for. I felt the Spirit so strong when I watched that video! It made me realize that I have more that I can be grateful for. I shouldn't take anything for granted like I do sometimes. I haven't had a chance to read the whole talk yet, but the video is worth finding and watching.

 

I had my first honest to goodness study session this last week. It was actually on Wednesday. We had about 30 minutes before our language study time and my companions and I were going to study in our classroom. They ended up reading in Spanish out loud (a popular thing to do apparently) and I decided to really try to find some scriptures that might help my investigators. I was looking for scriptures about faith and about how keeping the commandments would bring blessings. It seems like most of the time when I'm studying in our classroom I get next to nothing done. Mostly because I have such a difficult time focusing with so many external stimuli - the elders having companionship study, Elder Cottam telling a story or everyone getting involved in a really "deep" gospel discussion that seems to just go in circles. But I said a very fervent prayer that I would be able to focus and try hard to find some scriptures that can help me understand to help my investigators better. Well, soon the class was full of people reading out loud in Spanish, clearing their throats a million times, and making small talk, but I was absorbed in my study. It felt SO good! I learned a lot and have been able to apply it. Yay for small victories!

 

One day this week, I forget which, I woke up reciting to myself "My Missionary Purpose" in Spanish! It was kind of amusing - I'd memorized it the day before and apparently It was on my mind as I was sleeping.

 

Elder Gardner is gone! I got to see him on Sunday night before he had to leave at 3:00 in the morning on Monday. He was so excited to go and it's been really good to see him around the MTC, but I know he has a lot of work to do out in the field. Also, I saw Elder Watkins (Levi) and he left for the Dominican Republic on Wednesday after I saw him on Tuesday. So exciting! All these people leaving to go to the work! Sadly, the other Hermanas in our room are leaving as well! They leave a week from Monday!! I don't know what we will do without them.

 

Well, I guess I only have time for a couple funny stories to leave off on. We were teaching in the TRC (volunteers come and let us practice a spiritual message with them). While we were in the waiting room, Hermana McGrath asked Hermano Barrio something about a vocab word. Hermano Barrio goes up to the board and proceeds to copy the arabic symbols that somebody obviously had put up as they were teaching something before. He just kept writing symbols and as we were laughing he went on for a while, turned to us and said, "yep, that's it - Esfuerza" We all laughed SO hard!!

 

Last story - and the best. Hno Van Vleit was trying to remember our names and Elder Cottam said that he could just remember Cotton with an m. Hno VanVleit thought he heard Bottom. So Elder Cottam just said, "Yeah, you can just remember cotton-bottom" It was pretty funny :)

 

I love you all!!!

 

Hermana Palmer

September 23, 2011

Wow, I don't know if I've said this before, but no creo hoy es dia de preparacion! I cannot believe that today is preparation day! It really seems like just yesterday we had a p-day. Pues, I'll just jump right in

Last week, soon after I wrote my last email to you, I went to the temple with my companions. It was really hot outside when we left. We were hoping to go as a district - we met Elder Richardson and Elder Walker in the chapel at the temple but didn't know where Elder Cottam and Elder Pitcher were, so we went ahead and ended up meeting up with them later. We all ate at the cafeteria in the temple afterward just for a change of scenery (the food really wasn't all that different from the stuff here, but it was a nice atmosphere). We go to leave the temple - and it's raining! It was more than a little trickle but less than a drizzle. So, we got a little wet because none of us thought to bring our rain gear :) That almost happened to us the week before too - it started raining just after we got back to our residence. So, moral of the story, don't go to the temple without an umbrella.

Our district is really awesome. During one of our 'planning sessions' we broke out our water bottles and had a water bottle concert. We were in the middle of trying to figure out a song we could learn so we could try out to do a special musical number for one of our big meetings - we didn't get that far though. It was great fun! I really like that our district can have a lot of fun together - however, sometimes it hinders our ability to make good progress during times that are supposed to be personal study.

I got to see Shelly (Sister Hadlock) the night before she left (Monday). She was super excited to get going and meet some real people who need her help. She didn't really even seem that nervous (I would be!). She said it was going to take her 2 days of travel to get to South Africa - it makes me very grateful to live so much closer to my mission.

Also, I saw Aunt Rachelle's parents! Elder and Sister London got here this week and I saw them as they were getting what looked like a tour of the campus. I see them all the time and have gotten a chance to talk to them a couple of times. Elder London seems pretty gung-ho and Sister London is too, although her Finish tutor is pretty hard on her, she says :) It's so great to see smiling familiar faces!

Speaking of familiar faces - Elder Gardner is leaving on Monday! I haven't had a chance to talk to him lately, but in the cafeteria this morning he told me that he's leaving! I'm excited for him, but I'm a little sad to see him go

I'm realizing just why everyone says it's hard to be in a three-some companionship. It's really hard to balance our teaching time when there are three of us. Also, it's harder to plan and to be really united. I love both of my companions dearly, but sometimes I feel like they've got their own thing going on and I'm just an imposition. Also I have a hard time getting a word in during the lessons we teach because they just both have so much to say. I feel like, this week, I've made somewhat of a breakthrough with my problem - I have found that if I just STOP comparing myself, follow the Spirit, and work really hard, we can be more unified.

For instance, we taught a new investigator this week. Hermano Pollock was playing 'Pablo' and we didn't even know about him until an hour before we were supposed to teach. So, we took an hour, came up with some ideas of how we wanted it to go, wrote down some bullet points and tried to just follow the spirit in the lesson. In the past, most of our lessons have been VERY scripted. But the best lessons for me have been ones that I don't do that. I work so much better if I can concentrate on what the investigator is trying to communicate with us and how I can help him/her. Entonces, when we went into the lesson, both of my companions froze! I had been praying to feel the spirit to know what to say, and guess what, I did! I had to ask my companions how to say some words, but by being okay with maybe some broken sentences, I just really tried to communicate with Pablo that God loves him and we can talk to him through prayer. It was a super big breakthrough for me. I've realized that I really need to rely on the Spirit even more. He can do so much through us. It reminds me of a scripture that someone shared in one of our classes this week - Alma 26:12. I love that scripture. Look it up. Es una muy buena escritura!

On Tuesday we had ANOTHER apostle come to talk to us. Elder Russell M. Nelson came to talk to us about the Book of Mormon. All the missionaries got a copy of this month's Ensign all about the Book of Mormon. We were asked to read it by Tuesday and to bring our scriptures and the Ensign. So, we did. Everyone I talked to just felt like we were at his feet, learning and coming closer to Christ by what he was teaching. As soon as he walked in the room, the Spirit washed over everyone there. It was almost tangible and it was impossible to deny his being an apostle of the Lord. He talked a lot about the history of the Book of Mormon and gave us extra footnotes for our scriptures and showed us lots of really cool things about the scriptures. I wish I had time to be more specific.

Hermano Wood, one of our Spanish teachers, has left us! He got a promotion and now he's working over at the TRC (Training Resource Center). We're all really nervous to find out who our new teacher is going to be. We'll find out tomorrow!

Speaking of teachers, Hermano Barrio is just my favorite. He always knows just what to say to make me want to work 1000x harder! He sees when I'm struggling with something and really honestly wants to help. There are so many people here that are like that - it's good to know that we're all watched out for.

It's so good to hear about all the fun things going on at home. Keep me informed :)

I love you all mucho, mucho, MUCHO!!

Mucho Amor!!!

Hermana Palmer

September 16, 2011

It seems like it was just yesterday that I was typing a ramble-y email to you and now it's Preparation day again - CRAZY!! 

 

 

I guess it's true what everyone says here: The days a really long, but the weeks are really short. I thought everyone was a little strange for saying that, but it's completely true. They jam-pack so much in a day for us that they feel really long. At nine o-clock in the morning - a time when, previously, I would have only gotten up, taken a shower and taken care of email and facebook, we have worked out for a half an hour, gotten ready, had personal or companionship study for an hour and a half and eaten breakfast. That makes me feel like I'm getting something done when I look at it that way - but I still feel like there is ALWAYS more to do. Probably because there is always more to do :) So, we've established days are long, but we all are really enjoying being here and with so much to do it seems like the weeks are just too short. And I totally believe you dad, it seems like we'll be leaving in no time! We've been replaced as the youngest district already.

So - I have a lot to say this week. Mostly just because I took the time to write down a list of all the things I wanted to say so there are a lot. First: Mom - MUCHAS GRACIAS for the package :) It was very 'sweet' of you to send me such a gift on my preparation day. Also, thanks for forwarding those two letters/notes.

Second: I want to share some things I've learned this week that have impacted the way that I view missionary work. First was in one of our classes with Hermano Barrio (p.s. we have the BEST teachers ever! They really actually care about what we know and what we need help with. Also, they enjoy having a good time with us too which we TOTALLY need sometimes). He taught us that the order in which we do things when we're teaching needs to be analyzed carefully. He said that the best way to be an effective teacher and to teach for specific individuals through the Holy Ghost is to:

1. Hacer Preguntas (ask questions)
2. Escuchar (listen)
3. Discernir (discern - Español es facil, no?)
4. Ensñar (teach)

The very last thing on the list is teaching. That struck me - it goes along with something that Elder Ballard (Yes, the apostle Elder Ballard) said on Tuesday when he came for the Tuesday night Devotional. He talked about how feelings are the most important part of a conversion process. He has asked hundreds of people who have been 'converted' to the church and almost every single person he asked said that the reason they knew what they were taught was true was through feelings - through the Holy Ghost. It gave me a little hope to think that as long as I can help, along with my companion/s, invite the spirit into a lesson or an experience with an investigator, that will help more than if I speak perfect Spanish. Of course - I still need to work on my Spanish all the time, but it should only be a priority because I need it to help to connect with people. 

Hopefully that all made as much sense as it did in my head - I don't have time to proof read :)

I'll try to answer some questions that I've gotten:

Dad - They haven't had any culture classes for our class yet and I don't know that they will because we're state-side (our whole district is - which is really uncommon for spanish speaking districts. We're the only ones in our whole zone going stateside and everyone else is going to Mexico or South America). Although, I have heard that parts of our mission are like a mini Dominican Republic. I'm sure there will be some cultural things to learn once we get there.

We're pretty much restricted to the MTC campus except to go accross the street to the field or to the temple. So, I don't get to go to the creamery.

Also, for anyone who clings on to the past like nobody's business and has been here in the MTC, all the services are moving to a brand new building! So, the bookstore, the health clinic, the clothing store, the barber shop, the mail room, the drycleaning, and all that are in the newly (remodeled or built, I'm not sure) building - 2M on the North side of 1M (where the cafeteria and the info desks are). It's kind of a pain for us because they're moving it clear onto the other side of campus from where we are (17M - pretty much the most south you can get on the campus).

Also, Dad, you can totally have my strawberry milk. You'll just owe me some when I get back :) Just kidding - it's all yours. It's the least I could do for all the help you've given me.

I'm sorry I can't send pictures more periodically - apparently we can't attach pictures to our email here in the MTC. So, when I accumulate a few, I'll send you a memory card. Right now I really don't have that many because while I love taking pictures - we're just SO busy!

This week we had a workshop all about pondering. I had no idea that there could be such a thing - but it actually helped me learn how to study with revelation in mind much more effectively. 

Yesterday we had an English 'ayuno' (fast) and our whole district tried really hard to go the whole day without speaking any English. I had a really hard time with it and honestly just didn't talk all that much, but I did make some really good progress in changing my thought process to make it so I would try to think of whatever I wanted to say in Spanish first and try to adjust it so I could. It helped me do our "H.S.I." (Habla Su Idioma) or "S.Y.L." (Speak Your Language) if you're saying it in English.

On Monday, we were supposed to start teaching a new investigator, but there was a mix-up and we actually went to the TRC (Training Resource Center) and impromptu had to come up with 2 20 minute lessons/conversations to have with spanish speakers. I got really freaked out because one of our was with a wonderful native-speaker, but she was just SO fast (and she probably thought she was going slow) that it was really stressful. All I could really do was bear a little bit of a testimony and say a really short prayer. It was a good experience though. I think it will give me more confidence in the future.

I love music! When we are all in the GYM singing and the organist is busting out some amazing harmonies it just gives me chills. I love listening to musical numbers and most of all I love playing the piano! I finally got to play for our branch sacrament meeting this week and it was fabulous! I even got to play a song that is a Spanish-only hymn that was actually fun. I enjoyed the chance to do a little sight reading and learn a new song. 

We got to bust out of the MTC on Wednesday :) Hermana McGrath had to get a pin taken out of her finger that she broke a while back. So, we got to go on a cool shuttle to Central Utah Clinic - her friend works there and actually met us there - gasp! I was kind of glad she broke the rules because she brought us slurppees :) It was actually pretty fun and a good chance for me to study with a different surrounding. It can be really hard for me to focus with 6 other people around me studying and discussing in the same tiny classroom all the time. That reminds me - Dad, they can stuff up to 12 in a classroom. Our new district we got this week had 11. Ours is small and only has 7 though. We're lucky ducks because we get to teach a lot more that way. 

Well, I'm over my time so I really need to go. Love you all!!

Tenga un buen dia!!!

Mucho Amor!

Love,

Hermana Palmer

September 9, 2011

Well, I don't really know if I’ll be able to figure out this whole picture thing.  My computer isn't bringing it up when I ask to attach a file.  So, you may have to go another week without - sorry!  [I was hoping Kate would be able to send some pictures.  I have no doubt that she has taken as many photos as possible….oh well…maybe next time.]

I really appreciate all the letters and Dearelder messages from everyone and the emails from my family.  It is awesome to know that I’m so loved ;)  I feel so badly for all the elders in our district - most of them have only received one or two hand-written letters and a couple of dearelder messages. 

I wish I would have taken a couple minutes to collect my thoughts, but my companions really wanted to email before lunch so I have to hurry and write right now. 

Real Preparation Days are AWESOME!  We get lots of personal time to write letters and study.  Also, this afternoon I get to go to the temple!  I'm so excited!  I haven't been for a couple of weeks.

So, my companions and I aren't the greenest of the greenies anymore!  A new bunch of missionaries arrived a couple of days ago.  It was kind of fun to realize how nervous and lost they must be and realize that we were just like that a week ago. 

There's just so much to say, I don't even know where to start!  We are kept SO busy so I’ve had a LOT of experiences.  Last Sunday was Fast Sunday, so instead of or normal priesthood and relief society meetings; we had a mission conference with everyone in the whole mission.  We only got there 20 minutes early and we were LUCKY to find a seat!  People are so serious about sitting in the GYM and not the overflows.  The meeting was really great and we got to hear from the MTC presidency and some other district leaders.  We learned a lot about being obedient and serving with all our hearts.  Sometimes it's a drag, but obeying the rules can really bring us blessings if we do it with the right attitude. During the rest of the day, we had a district meeting, a zone sacrament meeting in which we new missionaries were encouraged to give our testimonies in Spanish and a fireside that evening.  Our sacrament meeting is so cool! There are only 40 or 50 people in our zone, but I didn't even get to bear my testimony because EVERYONE wanted a chance.  It’s cool to have that many people who are serious about sharing their testimonies.  There were some really strong ones too - even though some of them I couldn't even understand because they were speaking so quickly in Spanish.  I can't wait for that to be me! 

We learned that if you can make it to Sunday, Tuesday, and Preparation day (Friday), you can survive the week.  Sunday because we don't have to teach and just have the day to study and learn and to be uplifted, Tuesday because a general authority usually comes to speak at a devotional, and preparation day for obvious reasons - it's more restful than other days. 

This last Tuesday we got to hear from Elder Jay E. Jensen of one of the presidencies of the seventy.  His talk was mostly the history of the missionary program and all the different teaching methods they've used - I had no idea there were so many! But the thing I got most out of it was that feelings really are important and sometimes not so much our knowledge.  He told a wonderful story of a couple of missionaries teaching a family.  After the first couple of lessons, the mother wasn't too interested but let the missionaries keep coming to teach her children if they wanted and the children did want to be taught.  The mother would routinely leave once the missionaries started teaching.  Well, after not too long, her children who were of age to be baptized were baptized and as the missionaries were teaching follow up lessons, the mother came to the missionaries and said she was ready to be baptized too.  The missionaries were hesitant and said, "But you don't know enough!"  The woman was wiser and said that she felt the church was true - she had been listening to all the lessons they were teaching her children and the thing that struck her most was the power of the Spirit when those two elders would sing every time they came over.  She was ready to be baptized.  Sometimes I discount the importance of feelings - but they're real and they can be powerful. 

I played soccer for the very first time in a LONG time last night - it was so much fun!  I was panting so hard because I’m not used to running so hard and then stopping all the time.  Super fun though! 

I wish I could say more - know that you're all in my prayers and I would love to hear from you more!  

Mucho Amor!!

 P.S.  We finished teaching our "investigator" Hector this week - we felt the spirit really strong and we even "committed him to be baptized!" 

First Letter

Here is our first letter from Kate:

So, I guess I'll just tell you the whole story of what's been going down since Wednesday. You dropped me off and those two very nice elders that took my suitcases for me guided me to a sister who was my "host" for a half an hour or so. I got to through a bunch of lines to get my ID card, get a bunch of orientation stuff and receive all my Espanol study materials. We got a TON of stuff - we got 4 Spanish books, a very nice set of large spanish scriptures, and a couple other random things. Then we went to meet our district! I LOVE them already! Upon meeting my district I found out that I have two companions! So, I'm in a threesome. I've heard some dreadful stories about being in a threesome, but my companions, Hermana McGrath and Hermana Hildenbrand are WONDERFUL!!! I absolutely adore them! I feel like we really balance each other out. Hermana Hildenbrand has lots of really good comments and personal stories that relate to gospel principles, Hermana McGrath picks up Spanish vocabulary like nobody's business (it helps that she had 3 years in High School) and I am pretty good at Spanish grammar (considering my very limited experience). Our teacher, Hermano Wood, started speaking to us in very fast spanish as soon as we walked in. It was like being in Spanish 1010 all over again, except for the fact that Hermano Wood was much more willing to draw pictures and help us understand words. He finally started speaking a little bit of English half way through our first class and now when he's trying to explain something effectively he speaks in English.

 

We got lost SO many times on the first day! But now we really know our way around. It helped that we finally had a tour on Thursday evening. Our Zone seems really cool! I've only met our zone leaders (as of four days ago - they're awesome!) and a few other elders and the Hermanas in our room are also in our zone. I LOVE our roommates! They're so spiritual and have such wonderful enthusiasm and sunshine about them all the time. Hermana Hart is the coordinating sister (kind of like our branch relief society president) and always has such wonderful encouraging words for us.

 

The first night we were allowed our first teaching experience! Luckily it was all in English and it was with all the brand new missionaries (there were SO many new missionaries that got here on Wednesday - it's crazy to think that the MTC has so many new missionaries each week!) but we had three investigators come in the room at different times and we watched a couple of seasoned companions (all of eight weeks in the MTC) teach them. Then we got a chance to be asked questions at random by the investigator and teach if we felt so inclined. Needless to say, I was rather quiet. I discussed with my companions some really interesting things during the experience. The spirit was really strong there and it was amazing to me that so many brand new missionaries were so prepared to teach already.

 

This is starting to feel a little scattered - sorry! I don't know how Courtney keeps her emails home so organized and well thought out :)

 

Our first full day was spent learning a lot about our purpose as missionaries. I hadn't really stopped to think much about our purpose, but I realized on that first day that our purpose isn't to look cool - we're not trying to impress people with our great knowledge. Our purpose is to relate the gospel to each precious individual that we teach. Que es MUY IMPORTANTE!!!

 

We met our branch president on that first full day in the evening - President Studdert is our branch president and he is an amazing person! People in our branch (and even some in others) joke that he was one of the three Nephites because he's just so great. Everyone in our district got a chance to have a personal interview with him and he was so kind. He even knows where Maeser is! He knew just what to say to calm my fears about learning Espanol :) I left with so much hope and encouragement!

 

Yesterday did not start off as encouraging. We were faced with the prospect of teaching our first real investigator! We taught Hermano Hector Bello last night. In class we were able to learn a few things about his situation and then we had to go teach him like he was a real investigator (of course, he isn't, but really supposed to think that he is). We spent all of our personal, companion, and language study yesterday preparing for our meeting with Hector. Of the three sets of companions in our district, I think ours went the best, but it was only because we had prepared so much and we had Hermana McGrath's innate ability to improv the Espanol. As soon as he started asking questions, all Spanish vocabulary flew out of my brain. It turned out really well and we learned a lot about what we need to do better next time.

 

Elder Pitcher and Elder Cottam had some HILARIOUS stories to tell about their first lesson. Elder Cottam said some really funny things. They only taught for 5 or 10 minutes and then spent 45 minutes being quizzed by Hector because they didn't know what to say in order to be able to leave! :) Hector asked them if they ate dog and they both replied with a resounding "Si!" but then realized what he asked and said no. Then Elder Cottam piped up and said "Gato!" which is cat. He basically said he didn't eat dog, he ate cat :) He also said he had been here "tres Dios" which, for any of you who know spanish, is not "three days" We were laughing SOOO hard!!! It was very needed :)

 

Today is a half p-day but next week we start our regular schedule and our p-days will be on Fridays. I'll probably still get to write emails about this time though.

 

I really appreciate the letters, cards, and the dearelders too :) (please send me more! They're free and they get delivered same day or next day when you write them.)

 

Familia - you are the best! I love you SOOOO much!! I hope you know that I am happy and VERY busy.

 

I would love more than anything to keep writing, but I must go.

 

So, Hasta Luego!

 

Mucho amor!

Hermana Palmer

The Drop-Off

What an exciting day for Kate.  She was busy cramming items into her suitcase (which her dad later re-packed so everything would actually fit), having excited butterflies and imagining what the next 18 months might bring.

Last Minute Packing

 We left for Provo around 8:30 a.m. so we would have time for construction delays, last minute shopping at ShopKo and lunch at Good Wood Barbecue.  Allison met us in Heber so she could spend a little extra time with her big "seester."  Funny thing...after Allison got in the van with us, we started driving to Provo and Katie asked, "What are we doing with Allie?"  I replied, "Taking her with us to Provo."  Katie was obviously a little anxious and didn't realize Allison was going to go to Provo with us.  I guess she thought Allie had come to Heber to say "goodbye," then get back in her car and return to Logan.  It hadn't dawned on her that Allie was going to spend the next few hours with us.  Silly Kate!

After a delicious lunch at Good Wood, we headed to the MTC.  You can see the excitement in her eyes when you look through the following photos.

She's Excited!

"Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters."

Aren't they beautiful?!

We deeply appreciate all of the love and support we have received from family and friends. 

We will miss our Krazy Kate! 

Bring on the "Grand Adventure!"