The first step - Provo

Newly set apart missionaries
August 22, 1989

Missionary grandparents
Jessica (with Grandma) - Lacey - Matthew - Louis III

23 August 1989 – We awoke early on this special day, told everybody goodbye, and started for Provo. We got out on I-15 when I realized we had not given Lou the keys to the trailer. He was going to get the things out of the refrigerator and check on it for us. So we had to go back to the house and start again!

Leona - Lou
Missionary Training Center, Provo

We are living in the Jacob Hamblin building at the MTC – the best building, because we have our own bathroom. It is really a nice room and very comfortable, even though it has twin beds! We got our meal ticket and learned that seniors, that’s us, get to go to the front of the chow line! We just walk up to the front of the line and cut in front of the younger elders and sisters. After telling kids that they could not cut in on the cafeteria line [while working as an elementary principal], it goes against the grain for me to go to the front of the line and step in front of some of those hungry young Elders. Where else in the world would you dare do that? And if we get in the line behind the Elders, they tell us to move on up, that we are supposed to do that. If we object, they say, “Aren’t you going to obey President Pinegar who said for you to go to the front of the line?” So now we try to get there early enough to get at the front of the line before the young missionaries come.

Elder Rex Pinegar is the president of the Mission Training Center, and he is really great. He almost made me feel like I wished I was going on a proselyting mission – almost!

We met our instructor, a young girl named Sister Smith. We will be in a class of two! How is that for a good pupil-student ratio?

Lou and Leona with Sister Smith, instructor

Over 500 missionaries checked in today. There are over 2600 missionaries here now preparing to go on missions. That is a record, the most they have ever had here at one time.