Jan 23, 2016. This is a post after our first week at the MTC or Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. We have had a fantastic week, learning how to teach and overcome many of our fears. We have been pleasantly surprised by many things, in some ways even by ourselves. The first picture is Deb and Lynn at the famous world map, pointing to our mission location in Moldova. No visit to the MTC is complete without a picture of where one's mission is. In the MTC, we were divided into districts to facilitate small group teaching. There were 43 senior couples who arrived together at the MTC on January 18. The middle picture is of our district. From the right, the Gierkes, from Las Vegas, who will be serving in Morristown, New Jersey; the Hights, from Midway, Utah who will serve in Denver,Colorado , the Henrys from Tri-Cities, Washington, who will serve in Omaha,Nebraska and finally us. [Hey, kids, see your mom is actually in the pictures!]We grew in a few days to love those couples in that district. The last picture is of us with 2 other couples, from right, the Pughs from Wales who will serve in the Phillipines, the Alstons from Loomis, California, who will serve in Birmingham, England and then us. It has been most interesting to see how quickly friendships develop. We met the Alstons on Sunday and we hit it off right away, becoming friends almost instantly. They are wonderful gifted people who will be a great blessing to England. His sense of humor is almost as bizarre as Lynn's . We feel greatly blessed by being here and cannot explain the spirit of the MTC. Our comfort zone has been battered and we re better for it. We greatly anticipate the remainder of our stay. Our flight plan has changed and we now fly out on Jan 28 and will arrive in Chisinau on Jan 29. It has been great. A highlight for us was hearing Janice Kapp Perry, a famous LDS composer. She was brilliant and funny and wonderful to listen to. In a word, fabulous.