Our First Two Weeks, and our Zone Meeting, Pauls Valley, OK - November 10, 2014

    After getting settled in our home, meeting with the Bishop, making numerous trips to Wal-Mart, going on appointments with the Elders and Sisters,  driving them several places because their mileage was used up (end of the month), and eating dinner at member's homes, we felt pretty good our first week as missionaries in Ada.

    Our second week was spent visiting members who do not usually come out to church and inviting them to attend, visiting newly baptized members and single members of the Ward,  and accompanying the Sisters on missionary discussions.  Some days we find many people at home and some days we do not get to see many people. But we realize that in this Gospel, the focus is on the individual and it just takes time to get to visit them and get to know them.  We have experienced a great week and have met some wonderful people with loving hearts!

    

 Elders & Sisters in our Zone - Elder Reeder is far right. We met Elder & Sister Reeder who are serving in Pauls Valley. We spent time with them, went to dinner, and enjoyed good conversation.

 A selfie!

Ada Elders & Sisters:  Elder Gunderson, Fuller, Owen, Garner, & Lemmert 

Sister Rigby, Chandler & Lemmert

Unique Culture of Ada, OK

 War Memorial in front of the Courthouse. Veterans' names are engraved on granite markers.

 The moon at night as we were driving in the country.

Veterans Day flags on both sides of Main Street.  They make us proud!

WELCOME TO ADA, OKLAHOMA!

 We arrived in Ada Tuesday morning, October 28, 2014 around 10:30 a.m.  As soon as we got to town, we stopped at the tracks for a very long train going through the middle of town. It was kind of cool, actually. I reminisced about the trains I used to watch going by my Dad's steel company in Salt Lake City when I was a young girl.  It was fun driving through town, seeing the businesses. Our new home at 122 W. 16th St., Ada, OK 74820

We called the District Leader, Elder Owen, to come with our key and the four Elders (Elders Owen, Gunderson, Garner, and Fuller) and two Sisters (Sisters Rigby and Chandler)  helped us unpack our car and move all our belongings into the house.  They had come by earlier in the month and helped Elder & Sister Gatchell, the housing missionaries, move in our furniture.  The house was clean; we had  a bed, dressers, dining room table and chairs, living room tables and recliners, and all kinds of cleaning supplies; plus bathroom rugs, shower curtain, a desk and bookcase.  

Elder Owen

After we unloaded the car, we invited all the missionaries to lunch, so we headed off for the "Rib Crib."  If I have rediscovered one principle here, it is that missionaries are hungry!!

Elder Fuller

Elder Gunderson & Elder Garner

Sister Chandler & Sister Rigby

This is Elder Gatchell with his mission van and trailer that he hauls furniture for the missionary apartments. He and Sister Gatchell came by last week to bring us another desk, rugs, and take our sofa shopping. So we called the Elders (because they love to help and the Gatchells love them) and they carried in the desk, and we all went to the furniture store to sit on sofas!  We found a sofa while the Elders were teaching a lesson to a store employee!  They hauled it in the house for us, then we went with the Gatchells to Wal-Mart to finish shopping for the little things the Elders needed (can openers, shower nozzles, rugs....and a potato peeler and picture frame for us!)
Barb

Mission Home, Oklahoma City, OklahomaArrivin

Arriving at the Mission home Monday evening, we ate dinner with President and Sister Walkenhorst and slept upstairs where the new Elders sleep. We each took a lower bunk bed!  This is a picture of Elder Lemmert changing the sheets Tuesday morning before we left for Ada.

Colorado with the Sevy Family

We participated in the Ward Trunk or Treat in Peyton, Colorado, and the the next day spent time with Brad, Michelle, Doug, Elena, Andy, and Abby. We ate our traditional Sunday waffles, attended church, ate dinner, and played games together. It was great to see them again. I even let them open their Christmas gifts early! Though difficult to leave, we were off to Oklahoma City Monday morning!

On our Way to Colorado! The drive was beautiful and the weather was perfect, very sunny!

Selfie after crossing Utah/Colorado border

Colorado mountains, not much snow yet this year

MTC

     We loved the MTC (Missionary Training Center)!  Every day we began class at 8:00 a.m. We usually met as a group in the chapel and had a training session together. Then we would go to our District classes, our teachers being returned missionaries, and learn teaching principles, role play teaching discussions, and then try it all out on volunteers who came in as our guinea pigs.  We had 45 min. to become acquainted and teach them a lesson. Those were really great teaching experiences, although a bit nerve-racking preparing for them. We learned to depend on the Spirit when we taught. We'd break for lunch, then come back and with a different teacher in the afternoon (again, a returned missionary), learn and role play some more.  Tuesday evening was our devotional and Elder Godoy from the Seventy gave a wonderful talk. Wednesday and Thursday night we spent time with Howard and Pat.        
     The MTC is a city unto itself and I enjoyed the Spirit that was there. It was fun to watch all the Elders and Sisters in the cafeteria, or scurrying off to class, or in line early in the morning to get a sack lunch so they could on their service day, or on their way to the gym.  After dinnertime, there was always a large group of missionaries around the mailboxes picking up packages. We really loved the whole feeling there and getting to know so many wonderful people!  But on Friday afternoon, we packed up and drove away, headed toward Colorado.

We loved the fall leaves in Provo. We haven't really experienced Autumn for a couple of years. The weather was warm, sunny and beautiful.  The MTC was walking distance from the Temple and this was our view.  We attended the Temple with Howard and Pat Wed. night and went to dinner Thursday night. It was so great to see them.

All the senior missionaries that were in the MTC with us the week of October 20, 2014

These couples were in our MTC District, our teacher on the left