A great Five days...

Monday... We got back from the Seminar at 10 this morning and immediately got back to regular life. How strange that was! But that will be another post. Friday and Saturday were full of instruction on the programs that we will be using with the missionaries and practicing how to teach them. I loved it all. Each day was full of listening to General Authorities, taking notes, meeting new Mission Presidents and renewing friendships with those who we just met. Even though we have only known some of these people for five days, it's as if we've been friends forever.



One group that we tried to get to know better were the Presidents who would be working in Mexico. There were six other Presidents called and we became fast friends. We will see them at our training meetings while we serve.





On Friday we had a special wives breakout session which was very helpful. We discussed our different roles while serving... as a wife and mother, as a companion, as a teacher and as a leader. All of these were very helpful to all of us as we contemplated what we could do to make this mission the best.
That evening we had a devotional with Elder Bednar. He spoke about the requirements to become a Preach My Gospel Missionary... they are called by the Lord, they understand that they represent Jesus Christ, they are worthy, they treasure up the words of Eternal Life, they understand the Holy Ghost is the ultimate & true teacher and the understand that teaching is more than talking and telling. There is a link on the Church website that gives some highlights from the Seminar. It gives you a small glimpse of what we experienced in our meetings.


After the devotional we were able to meet four of the missionaries who will be coming into our mission in July and August. It was so fun to meet them and talk with them. These are some of the first missionaries who will be with us for the entire time of their mission.
This is Elder Peterson, Elder Wigington, Elder Shipley and Elder Painter






On Saturday night we were privileged to have dinner with Elder Bednar and his wife. She is so darling! We had a great time listening to stories of BYU Idaho. He is really passionate about the school.

These are the Mexico Presidents and wives with Elder Bednar and his wife.





















Elder Gonzalez also had dinner with our group. He set me apart earlier in the week.








On Sunday we were able to hear from Elder Holland, Elder Nelson and testimonies from others of the Twelve who had been there all week. We also had a Sacrament Meeting where President Erying spoke. His remarks were so positive and uplifting. I felt very encouraged with his thoughts. He is such a sweet, sensitive man and happy. I think he smiled the entire time he was on the stand!
This whole week has been so uplifting and I have a feeling that I can go to Mexico and do this. I know that the Lord wants us to succeed and I know He loves His missionaries and with His help, Robert and I will be able to serve the missionaries and the people of Puebla.

First day of instruction

Thursday... first official day of the Seminar and training. What an amazing day! We started out by hearing from President Monson. He instructed us on how to better motivate our missionaries and gave us many ways to positively encourage the missionaries in our missions. We also heard from Elder Nelson, Elder Hinckley, Elder Hallstrom, Elder Snow and Elder Christofferson. All the classes were highly motivational and uplifting. During lunch and dinner we had the opportunity to visit with other couples who have served as Mission Presidents and were able to ask questions of them. It was so helpful to us to feel like we can do this!



We also had the great pleasure of meeting President and Sister Martinez. They are going to be Benjamin's new Mission President in Chile. It was wonderful to visit with them and get to know them. Benjamin is very blessed to have them coming to Chile and taking over for the Swensens.











Our nephew, Ryan, is in the MTC and we found him and visited with him. He has received his Visa for Spain and will be leaving soon. We were glad that we were able to visit with him before he leaves.

New President's Seminar

We started out our day by going to breakfast with some dear friends of ours, Nick and Julie. Nick and Robert served together many years ago in the Spain Madrid Mission. It was all one mission then and they became great friends. I was also in the same ward with Nick and Julie after Nick's mission at BYU, so we've been friends for a long time! After breakfast and doing some serious catching up, they dropped us off at the MTC, just like a couple of regular missionaries! Matt Beecher met us at the security gate of the MTC and welcomed us with "Good morning President and Sister Reeves! Welcome to the MTC!" We had 128 Presidents and their wives at the seminar and those good brothers and sisters knew our names before we even arrived. The MTC is truly an amazing place.
The day was spent in verifying information, taking a new picture, getting lots of handouts, eating lunch and dinner and meeting lots of new people. The food was incredible, the meetings were informative and meeting all the new presidents and their wives was so fun and exciting. There are so many faithful, wonderful people who are going to be serving as Mission Presidents. I know our missionaries are in good hands!

Where to Begin...

Today Robert, Brian and I flew to Utah for the New Mission President's Seminar in preparation for our Mission in Puebla, Mexico. We immediately drove to the Mexican Consulate in Salt Lake City (I didn't know that there even WAS a Mexican Consulate in SLC...) to finish getting our Visas for Mexico. We had our pictures taken, we were fingerprinted and signed the papers. All ready to go!

Some of our children and their wives were able to come up for the day also, as we were going to be set apart for the Mission. Kelli & Adam, Richard, Larry & Melanie, Kimber & Ryan, Lindsay and Brian were there. Nickie had to stay home with their kids, and Darren surprised Lindsay by flying her out here for Van's first birthday and the setting apart. Darren had to stay in Georgia and work. We missed both of them! We all met for lunch at Tucano's after finishing at the Consulate. My mother and my sister, Cindy also met us for lunch. It was so yummy! I think my mom has a new favorite restaurant... After lunch we parked at the Church Offices and walked around the Conference Center and Temple square, then headed over to Elder Holland's office to be set apart. Elder Holland set Robert apart to be the Mission President and Elder Gonzalez of the Seventy set me apart as his companion and Mission mom. It was wonderful and the start of a great week.






Richard, Brian, Lindsay, Sister Sue, Grandma Heagle, Robert, Janet, Elder Holland, Melanie, Larry, Adam, Kelli, Kimber, Ryan











Richard getting some advice from Elder Holland. Doesn't get much better than this...




We stayed the night at the home of Robert's brother Dave, and his wife Vickie. I think they might be considering putting a nameplate on the room where we stay because we're there so often! We love them both and are grateful for their love and support.

June Already!

How the time flies when you're so busy! It is June already and we are that much closer to leaving for Mexico. We spent a few days in California last week visiting Robert's brother, Mel and his wife, Linda, in Riverside where they are presiding over the Riverside Mission. We had so much fun visiting with them and their sons, Eric and Ryan, and experiencing a small part of their mission with them. Mel & Linda were so gracious and always make us feel so welcome. We look forward to having them visit us in Mexico so we can return the favor. We were able to see Ryan off at the airport, also, as he prepares to enter the MTC on Wednesday of this week and then he will be off to Spain to serve a mission. We hope to see him when we attend our Mission President's Seminar in a few weeks.
Our home is getting emptier and emptier as we loan out our furniture and belongings to our children and pack up lots of boxes. We have rented our home and found homes for most of the animals, so we're getting close to being ready. It was very sad to finally give Dakota to a new family, but we think he will be very happy with his new owners. He has his own little brother, another Aussie, named Jet. I'm sure they will have lots of fun playing together!
We were able to find homes for all the kittens and even though I only had them for a few weeks, I miss them already. I look forward to seeing Sadie and her kitty, Chloe, all grown up, when we return.
These next two weeks will bring lots more packing, organizing, and finding a home for the rest of our stuff. Wish us good luck!