Sunday 30 August 2015

Mindy in the Mission Training Center

Life has been amazing!!!! :D

Guess where Mindy is RIGHT NOW? :D OK. I'm not going to tell you until the end of this post. The rest of this post can give you a big hint. But don't be too hasty in your guess, you may be wrong! ;)

On May 8th, Mindy spontaneously called friends to meet her and her family at a local park and hear her read her mission call letter... She hoped to go to Japan for years, but decided to just put the idea out of her mind and just be happy to go where ever the Lord wanted her. It would be fun to find out where she was going with friends and family present! :)
Mindy reading her mission call letter - GOING TO TOKYO JAPAN! Oh my gosh, it's a DREAM COME TRUE! :D
In June, Mindy went to the temple to make sacred covenants to serve the lord and keep his commandments. What an amazing experience! :) 

This is Mindy in front of the Spokane Temple right after she received her Endowments (made sacred covenants to keep the Lord's commandments and remain faithful to the end! :D) What a BEAUTIFUL time we had! Miles and I were with her, and a couple missionaries also joined us. She just wanted us there her first time, so we didn't invite people to come. It was a truly sacred experience and Mindy was SO HAPPY! :)
On July first, Mindy got on a plane (for the first time ever) and headed to the Mission Training Center in Provo Utah. There, she has been making new friends, building good memories, and learning the Japanese language very rapidly (though not as fast as she would like - but probably faster than she realizes ;o). She is having the time of her life among a group of very valiant young saints (like herself)It is simply Awesome!!! :D

The first letter from Mindy came with a request to gather her friend's email addresses so she could write them on her mission. I did that. Then they gave her an IPad and the recommendation that she write only family. So... It REALLY would have been nice if I had made a nice blog for her to post her letters on. But I didn't. :o (Like I had time for that! ;O) I decided today is a good day to get on the ball and at least share photos of her adventure at the Provo Mission Training Center. :)

So... Here are photos of Mindy and her new friends. She is SO HAPPY to be a missionary!!! :D


Fourth of July in the MTC was AMAZING! Mindy wrote a lot about the wonderful devotional they had in which they talked about how religious freedom brought about by this country gaining independence, laid the foundation for a free nation in which the gospel of Jesus Christ could be restored upon the earth again. Independence Day is TRULY a BLESSED day! :)



I sent a few packages to Mindy in the MTC. In this package I sent my own water bottle. It is insulated and nice, and I loved it and took it with me everywhere! But I thought of Mindy in Japan and thought an insulated water bottle would keep her water cooler on hot days, so I sent it to her. She cried when she saw it. Isn't that sweet? :) I love my emotional, sweet, and very thankful daughter! :D




Mindy had made SO MANY FRIENDS in the MTC. She has two companions, who are also going to Tokyo Japan, and after a few weeks, she also gained two more room mates! :) These girls seem to be having a LOT of fun! Mindy has sent photos of them doing EVERYTHING together... even photos of them cleaning on service days! :)


Notice this name tag has her name in both English, and Japanese.

One of Mindy's self made flash cards to help her learn the language. 



Mindy and her companions!

Mindy and a new friend.


Mindy with companions, again.

The next photos are of Mindy and her room mates. Do you think they are having any fun? ;o





LOL - Oh yeah! :D

Mindy sent zillions of photos, but I just randomly grabbed a few to share here. And with this goodbye kiss (I really don't know what they are doing in this photo, but that's what it looks like) - I will say good bye and end this post. But first I need to tell you WHERE Mindy is, RIGHT NOW. Did you guess?

Mindy and her companions are on an airplane ON THE WAY TO TOKYO JAPAN!!! :D

I am so excited to read her next letter WRITTEN FROM JAPAN! :O   :D

Corine :D



Monday 24 August 2015

Mini Missionary Adventure! :D

(Re-posted from Joy in the Journey blog)

Hi all. :) Levi has had a very busy schedule this past couple of weeks! He had a river rafting trip with other Priests (16-17 year old Mormon boys preparing for missions). Followed by a week long mini-mission in Cheny Washington with his good old buddy Elder Keppner. :D ...and his companion Elder Bowring. These guys are great, let me assure you of that! It was fun to hang with them when we met up to hand off and then pick up Levi. :D


Almost matching ties, as Levi and Elder Keppner both have the SAME favorite colors! Red and Black! Imagine that!
Hi Elder Bowring! Your tie is nice, too! :D Even though it isn't red and black, we think you're pretty OK! ;)
Miles and I had a good time picking Levi up to bring him home. "The gang" (as Elder Keppner called us) had a party in the parking lot during hand off! ;)



Levi had a great time and learned a lot. This should help him to know what to expect when he does his full time mission around a year from now (though he said it is just as he imagined it - I suppose lots of interactions with Elders over the years has helped with that). More importantly, I think the experience probably inspired him to start studying and preparing more fervently. ;P Am I right Levi?  Levi? :o LOL - Don't worry Levi, I know you're gong to do great at accelerating your preparations for the real deal! ;D


Levi got to go to Cheny Washington for the mini-mission. AND then he got to go camping with the family for the weekend. Despite loving it all, he is SO READY to be HOME! And I am so ready to work him some more! ;D Let the slave driving begin! :) (JK. Well, maybe not! Maybe I will wait a week and let him rest a bit, cause I'm really nice that way. ;0 he he)





Well, enough of that. I'm just so happy to have Levi for a son. I'm thankful for ALL my sons. Each is so great in his own way and I am SO proud of them all! :)

TTFN! And I'm excited to tell you a bit about Mindy in the MTC soon!
Corine :D

Thursday 13 August 2015

Just a Little News, From Before June 7th - Closer to Current! Getting Closer! ;o

Hi! :) I have been a terribly inconsistent blogger (I know, nothing new as of the last couple years! :o). I have some catching up to do... My mom moved in with me the last day of February, and being consigned to a bed, my job as care taker was consistent. Oh how BLESSED I was to be able to do it! Mama passed away, and now that the funeral is behind me, I am TRYING to get back into the swing of a new life! (I DO still need to go through her belongings though, and give the bedroom up to the kids! :o). 

Anyhow... I love my mom SO MUCH, and can not begin to tell you how THANKFUL I am that I got to have her here with me! :) Nevertheless, time was VERY LIMITED. So much has happened that I could not make time to write about! (Or I wrote in my personal journal about but failed to share it here). So I decided to post a journal entry to get started on "catching up" ;o After that, I'm going to write about my mom some more! ;o You can read it or not, but I just really need to pay tribute to that great woman who gave me life. :) Talk to you again soon. Corine :D

June/07/2015

"So much GOOD has gone on around here!!!! :D

Devry has been visiting our family again and is now talking about staying for a while – yeah and wow! WE LOVE HAVING HIM HERE! :D He has gotten his brothers on an exercise program and helped them to improve their eating habits. He has grown in so many ways since he moved out 10 months ago and it is so great to see how well he is progressing and maturing. I love that he is still the same helpful person he always was… taking care of friends and family when sad or in need of any kind of emotional support. Mom (aka. Grandma) also now calls on Devry regularly when she needs assistance. What a sweet young man he is! :) By the way, Devry is also helping Mindy with an exercise program that she can use while on her mission... :D I love that kid!!! :D
Speaking of which... Mindy got her mission call!!!! :D

Mindy will be serving the people of Tokyo Japan! :D ~


Mindy loves the people there, and I am SO HAPPY FOR her to get to go and serve the Lord and his children there!!! :D She sent for her passport and eagerly awaited the day when she would hold it in her hands. And how fast it came!!! Every day she prepares for her mission in several ways from one of her lists of things to do to prepare for her mission. What fun to watch! :)
And even better than going on a mission, Mindy has done something even bigger… she has gone to the temple of the Lord and made sacred covenants with the Lord there. This is a very big step in one’s spiritual progression. :)

Miles and I are SO pleased that Mindy has prepared herself spiritually for this big step in her life! We went with her when she made her covenants, and what a great experience it was! :D 


With our girl in front of the Spokane Temple :)

A couple missionaries who have been friends of our family were also there with us… Elders Keppner and Molder - Both served in our ward at different times and became great friends of the family, and are now companions together in SpokaneHow cool is that? :D It was SO GREAT to have them there with us! :D