Letter to grandkids ( To others- Yes, We are doing well! :)

We are having an amazing time here at the MTC.  There are 2500 missionaries here right now.  It's so fun to watch all the young missionaries getting their mail every day.  They get so excited.  And if they get a box, they are really excited.  Their mail boxes are in our building on the first floor.  It's right next to the elevator that we use to get to our room on the 3rd floor.  As I watch them I think about Deric & that he was standing right there just a few days before we came here getting his mail.  We can see his mail box.  It's really cool!!

The MTC is such an amazing place.  The spirit is SOOooo strong here.  We had a wonderful fireside last night.  The firesides and the devotionals are so awesome.  Stephen Allen, a member of the Seventy spoke to us last night.  He is also the person responsible for the Preach My Gospel manual, and he is the managing director over the missionary dept.  What a wonderful fireside it was.   

Tomorrow night we will have another devotional.  I don't know who the general authority will be that will be talking to us.  I know it will be wonderful no matter who it is.

We have been studying really hard.  There is so much to learn in such a short period of time.  Last week we were working from the Preach My Gospel manual and this week we are learning all the different things that we will need to know for working in the mission office.  It's a lot of computer stuff.  They are teaching us all the computer programs that we will be using in the mission office.  All the couples that are going to be working in various mission offices all over the world are in our class.  And all the couples that are going to work in various temples around the world, they are in their special classes learning the things that they need to know for their missions.  Each type of mission has
their own special classes.    Grandpa & I have been learning so much since we arrived here at the MTC.  It's been great.

Last Friday evening after dinner we went to the Provo temple.  What a beautiful temple!  Then on Saturday morning we went to the mall here in Prove.  After walking around the mall for a while, we went to P.F. Changs for lunch.  That was good!  Then went to the last quarter of the BYU football game.  That was a lot of fun.  After the  game we walked around the BYU campus and went to the book store.  Then we called the MTC shuttle to pick us up and bring us back to the MTC.  On the way back, we realized that we wouldn't make it back in time before the cafeteria closed for dinner, so the shuttle driver suggested that he drop us off at the BYU Creamery & just call him when were done and he would pick us up.  So that's what we did.  It was really busy at the Creamery.  A lot of people go there after the games they said.  We had a really nice day.  It was good to just go out for a while after having such a busy week.  Senior couples are permitted to leave the MTC.
We just have to sign out and let them know where we are and when we will return.  The shuttle takes us where ever we want to go here in Provo.  It's great!!
We've go to close for now and get to bed.  Our day starts very early.  We'll see you in a couple of days.
WE LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH.  Have a good week.

Hugs & kisses,

Elder Pop pop & Sister Nana

Devotional at The Lorenzo Snow Auditorium

Good Morning!! Well here it is 6:00 AM I am up and showered. Last night (10/18/11) was the weekly Devotional at the MTC. 

Elder Richard G Scott

It was very, very good. Elder Richard G Scott (one of the Twelve Apostles) was the main speaker. It was amazing to see an auditorium filled with Missionaries, both young and not so young (us Seniors got preferred seating up front). Needless to say the enthusiasm of the Missionaries was evident from the opening hymn. After the opening prayer and welcome we sang "Called to Serve", WOW was that emotional. You could feel the Spirit so strong.. As you looked around there were several misty eyes and kleenex.   Elder Scott's talk was very unusual. He asked if any of the missionaries would like to answer some questions and/or read some scriptures. There were two microphones set up in the auditorium. The Sister and Elder missionaries quickly volunteered not knowing what question was going to be presented to them. It was really neat to hear their responses. There poise and knowledge was amazing.It was a great evening and we look forward to next weeks devotional.

Well we made in through two days and they have not called us into the "Office" to send us home. We are enjoying it, but they are definitely challenging us. We have a "Role Play" teaching session this morning that they are going to video and provide feedback to us. So there is a little stress prior to this session. But, we prayed about it and studied the best we could. We will let you know how it went.

Yesterday morning we had an MTC fire drill. They made us all leave the building and go across the main street to the off campus parking area. Seeing all those missionaries in one traveling heard was amazing. We took some pictures with our phones and will send them later.

Take Care and we will drop you all a line when ever we can

Love Elder and Sister Lambdin

Here we are!

10/17/11  We are at the MTC MAP!!

Sister Lambdin pointing to their mission.  HOUSTON, TX!!

My mom asked me to post this picture and letter because they had a lot of reading to do tonight! (10/17- their first full day in the MTC!)

Here is the letter from 10/16/11:

Well we're finally getting started with our missionary experience.  I can't tell you how excited we are to get started.  It feels like we have been waiting for such a long time.  We flew to Salt Lake today, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011.  We took a shuttle to the MTC, ( Missionary Training Center).  After getting checked in, we went to the cafeteria for dinner.  It was an amazing experience.  Here we are in this huge room with hundreds of missionaries.  Everyone there learning all that they need to be a wonderful missionary.  Many are there learning about the country they will be serving in and learning the language.  When they need to learn a language, they are here at the MTC for 2 to 3 months. 

Every where we went, if we looked like we were lost or if it looked like we needed help with anything at all, (like our luggage), these amazing polite young missionaries would stop us and ask if they could help us.  One of the young missionaries that was sitting next to us at dinner even took our tray with all our dishes  and trash and disposed of it for us.  We tried to tell him that we would take care of it, but he insisted.  He just really wanted to do that for us.  

We are all here at the MTC to learn to be of service to others, and it's truly amazing to see how wonderful it is when your surrounded by people who genuinely want to do for others weather they know you or not.  They do it because the Lord has taught us by His example how we should treat one another.  It won't always be easy, but it will be worth it.     

There are a lot of senior missionaries here going on missions all over the world.  Several of the couples that we spoke with tonight have been on multiple missions.  They have had such wonderful experiences.   Everyone we have spoken with has told us that we are in for an amazing experience.  We are ready and anxious  to get started.

Well I need to get to bed because the day starts very early here.

With Love,
Elder & Sister Lambdin