Of the Missionary Training Center, Moonshine, Zoo-fun, Prison and Rain: Weeks One

Note: Throughout the mission, we had trouble adding captions in Blogger. Sometimes, we didn't have time to labor over and perfect our blog posts. Feel free to smile at our frailties and failings!

Week One -- March 7, 2022

Sister and Elder Holm, President Ren and Sister Lara Leigh Hansen. We have known and loved them for many years! Setting apart March 4, 2022.

It was great to be surrounded by family: Ella, Marco, Debbie, Norm with Beau in front, Steele, Lara, Jacob, Axel, and Alissa with Lyla.

Friday night, Norm and I were set apart as missionaries to the Washington D. C. North Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by our Stake President Ren Hansen. To be set apart means that a special prayer is pronounced on your head, and blessings are given to help you in your assignment. Among other things, Norm was blessed that “armies of angels” would help him in his work as a Vehicle Coordinator for the mission, and I was blessed with revelation to know what to do when situations come up in my work as a mission office secretary. I was blessed to be able to sleep well—take that, insomnia! We appreciate those blessings! We are now “Elder and Sister Holm” and will get used to not hearing “Norm and Debbie” for awhile.:) [So on March Fourth, we received our marching orders to March Forth!]

Last night we came to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. It is a large campus dedicated to training missionaries to go into the world and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. We attended a devotional with hundreds of young, energetic men and women aged 18-24 ish, and quite a few seniors like ourselves. We will work with young missionaries like them in Washington D.C. Everyone has been kind, and we have a nice room and good food. (Very important to Elder and Sister Holm!)

What we are learning: the hardest thing is letting go of grandchildren for a year. We get teary-eyed thinking about them. (Mostly Debbie does :) There is a statue here of Peter, Andrew, James and John when Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” I love their response: “They straightway left their nets and followed him.” (Matthew 4:18-19 KJV) We will try to do the same, trusting our family to the loving hands of God.

This photo was taken at the MTC on March 17, 2022, just before we "hit the road" for D.C.

Week Two --March 13, 2022.

In our first week here at the Missionary Training Center, we’ve had classes all day and spiritual meetings during the evenings, and we've learned so much. There are about 50 senior people training with us here, and they say there will be more in a new crop tomorrow. There are many more young missionaries— the only way we have to judge is by the crowds in the cafeteria—maybe 200-300 young men and women. (We’ll take a photo this week for the next email.) They are young, energetic, and they desire to serve God and their fellow man. It has been fun because the mask mandate here was just lifted and we’ve enjoyed socializing with both young and old, face to face.

Here’s a story about some young missionaries: Last Sunday, one of the leaders at the MTC noticed a crowd of young missionaries coming out of a chapel room at an odd time of day. Their group had been called to Ukraine and Russia, but were being assigned to other places for their safety. She asked what they’d been doing and they said they had fasted [gone without food for a spiritual purpose] for the people of the affected countries, and they wanted to end their fast in a prayer together. Today she saw a group of sister missionaries happily taking photos next to the world map and she asked what the excitement was about. They said they had been called to Ukraine, but that now they were being assigned to Poland to do humanitarian work with Ukrainian refugees, specifically. We love working with these people!

Our district with our trainers at the MTC in the second, more technical week of training.

On the evening of March 17, we drove through Heber Valley up to I 80 and into Wyoming, chasing a beautiful full moon. The next day we drove through Wyoming and most of Nebraska, arriving at Spencer’s and Rachel‘s new home. It felt like home! We’re happy for their new job and home. We’ve missed them since they moved from Boise six weeks ago. At five Sylvie is a busy pixie who’s always willing to play a game, and at two, Freddie loves cars, trucks, and birdies—he would love to catch his own cinnamon teal, I think. It’s his favorite on my Merlin Bird app.

Rachel, Spencer, Sylvie and Freddie at the monument to Winters Quarters pioneers in Florence, NE.

Saturday went to the Lincoln Zoo where the kids fed lettuce to the giraffes and camels. We tasted unique Nebraska sandwiches: “runzas”—they’re good! Sunday, through the miracle of zoom technology, we heard Jake Roetto’s talk given in Nampa as he prepares to serve in Paraguay, Ascunsion North mission starting April 4. Then we attended church with the Lincoln Holms. Rachel made wonderful fajitas and bulgur salad for us. Monday morning, we visited the Mormon Trail Visitors Center near Omaha. We learned of the heart-breaking sacrifices made by early pioneers and visited the cemetery where many were buried in 1846-48.

Sylvie at the pioneer Visitors Center.

Freddie and Sylvie at the Visitors Center.

Too soon, it was time to say goodbye. We were as sad as Sylvie and Freddie. The bond between grandkids and “Gamma and Pampa” (as Freddie would say) is strong. As we drove off thinking of them and our other children (including those who were brave enough to marry into our clan) and grandkids, we almost questioned why we are leaving them for a year.

Those thoughts were put into perspective after we drove a few hours and toured the Liberty Jail replica in Liberty, MO. There, Joseph Smith and four others were incarcerated for four winter months, mistreated, and fed terrible food. Yet he wrote, “. . . That still small voice, which has so often whispered consolation to my soul, in the depths of sorrow and distress, bade me be of good cheer, and promised deliverance, which gave me great comfort. And although the heathen raged, and the people imagined vain things, yet the Lord of Hosts, the God of Jacob was my refuge; and when I cried unto Him in the day of trouble, He delivered me [see Psalms 46:7; 50:15]; for which I call upon my soul, and all that is within me, to bless and praise His holy name. For although I was ‘troubled on every side, yet [I was] not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.’ [2 Corinthians 4:8–9.]”

Liberty Jail in Missouri-- may we always remember the lessons taught and learned here!

We felt privileged to be reminded of the sacrifices of our Mormon pioneers, David, the Apostle Paul and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Ours is a small price to pay for the chance we will soon have to testify of the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Today we drove through Missouri and Illinois. It was raining so hard, it felt like we crossed the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers without benefit of bridges! Norm did speedway driving in drenching rain like jumping into a washing machine spin cycle with semis! We’re spending the night in Indianapolis. Stay tuned for further adventures—more wonderful family to see, and we will arrive in our mission Friday!