Today was the day Daniel has been waiting for, for the last 19 years! Dad and I dropped Benjamin and Caleb off at the Treuhafts and flew with Daniel to Utah.
We had a fun time trying to fit all his luggage into the rental car. It was amazing what he was able to fit in three suitcases and a backpack.
We arrived that night and spent an enjoyable evening with Grandma and Grandpa Davies. There was a beautiful sunset. The next morning, Daniel was up and ready to go almost before we got out of the shower. He was so anxious to get to the MTC he could hardly stand it! But he was patient with all our visiting, etc.
We enjoyed a wonderful endowment session in the Jordan River Temple Wednesday morning. Then drove down to Provo to have lunch with family members.
Greg, Janet, Josh, Jen, Linda, Lillie, Grandma and Grandpa Ostler were there to enjoy a Cafe' Rio lunch and send Daniel off.
The MTC was just "buzzing" with excitement! The sidewalks swarmed with missionaries and their families...and their suitcases!
We had to wait our turn to take a picture by the sign, but we got one!
Then, it was last hugs...
...and the welcome crew was ready to take him into the MTC.
Off he went...with one last wave and a smile. I don't think there has ever been a missionary more anxious to go than Daniel was.
Personal Note: It was hard to see him go, but we feel so very, very grateful to have been in his family for the past 19 years. He has an incredible adventure ahead of him. Knowing the Lord will bless him with all he needs to succeed in the work as long as he is humble and faithful, gives us the peace of heart to let him go. We were thrilled to come home and find an email from him waiting for us!
It's been a great day starting out here at the MTC! I'm now moved into to my little apartment here and looks like its going to be nice and cozy. We've been learning so much and we are already having great spiritual experiences. We had a bunch of new missionary orientation had a chance to meet the president of the MTC. We had dinner then headed to some classes where we had investigators come and talk to pairs of missionaries while we observed and took notes. It was a really neat experience to watch a discussion like this from this point of view. There was a clear difference between the elders who focused on the spirit in the room and those who focused on just teaching the lesson. Those who focused on the spirit made much more progress with the investigators. Well, i need to go but i cant wait to hear from you all. The Church is true!!
~Elder Ostler
