Missionary Training

On our travels to Salt Lake City, we took the opportunity to get a picture with the American flag. We will be leaving for Chile on July 4th and will miss the USA. After a busy week of moving and packing, we enjoyed resting during the long flight.

 

Sunday night we arrived at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah at 11 pm. Our goal to serve a mission is now a reality. We could feel the Spirit of the Lord and are excited to be serving a mission.
 

The MTC housing was booked, so our lodging for the week will be at the Marriott - a 3 minute shuttle from the MTC. Our hotel is for overflow at the MTC and several Stake Presidents are also staying here. Monday morning we were eager to check-in at the MTC and waited in the lobby for an early morning shuttle.

On the world map, we point to Santiago, Chile in South America where we will be serving our mission. The MTC is getting us prepared for home teaching the gospel to investigators. We have been practicing the lessons with other senior missionaries in our training group. Today, we role played with a volunteer - a young man from the area - in a classroom decorated as a living room.

 The MTC grounds are very well kept and we enjoy studying Spanish in the garden during our free time. I have an evening Spanish tutor at the MTC and continue to improve my Spanish daily. Our meals are cafeteria style with all the other young missionaries. We are so grateful to be among fellow missionaries that are also preparing to serve the Lord.

Heading to Salt Lake City MTC

Yesterday was a memorable day for the Eulitt family. After a busy day trying to take care of so many details, our family met for dinner at Cheddars. We have been blessed with four beautiful children and nine precious grandchildren. Our large group was seated in the restaurant's party room, so we could enjoy a relaxed meal with plenty of room for the children to play.

At 7:30 pm, we arrived at the Clear Lake Chapel where we were set apart by our Stake President as full time missionaries to the Santiago North Mission.It was a spiritual experience to feel the love of our Heavenly Father, and special blessings were bestowed upon us as representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.We could feel the love from our family and our dear friends who were in attendance. We have great love and appreciation for our family and those who have blessed our family during the last 33 years.

We returned to our home . At 1:30 am, we knelt in prayer for the last time in our home. We drove to our daughter Jenny and son-in-law John's home in Huffman where they were up waiting for us.

Today is another great day for our family.. Another spiritual experience to see our son bless his infant daughter.

After pictures, hugs, and tears, Jenny and John took us to the airport. Jenny prepared a fabulous lunch that we enjoyed en route to Bush Intercontinental Airport. We were also grateful that Jolene was able to get us an alarm clock and other travel and personal essentials.

Now we are waiting at the airport for our flight to Salt Lake City for our one-week stay at the missionary training center. Four large suitcases and four carry-on bags packed to the max. We were surprised that we made it through security quickly without much delay.

We know that this is the beginning of an exciting chapter in our life. This is the realization of a life long goal of ours to serve a mission. We've both recently retired and look forward to enjoying our golden years. After eighteen months on our Chilean mission, we will return home to Texas to be full time grandparents.

2 More Days in Texas

After several weeks of packing and a few days of extreme chaos, Wednesday we loaded a portable storage unit with the help of the South Shore Ward moving crew and our daughters Kathy and Jolene. It's hard to believe that all our treasures fit into a 8 ft x 8 ft x 16 ft space. We are so grateful for all the help and the love that our church family has shown us.

Last night, Bishop Butler and his family had us over for a fabulous farewell dinner. Dessert was an amazing homemade raspberry ice cream. Good thing for the invite, since everything is packed and gone.

Now, we are on the final days with suitcases packed. Our house is still for sale if anyone is interested.

Getting Things Ready

Today I am setting up this blog. I hope to write here frequently, sharing my thoughts, experiences, and expectations of things to come during our mission in Santiago, Chile for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

This morning, we gave our farewell talks in Sacrament Meeeting.  It was nice to see some of our friends from other wards.  Some dear friends ordered fresh orchid leis from Hawaii to make our farewell extra special and unforgettable. We love and appreciate our church family.

Josie, my wife, and I have recently retired and will be leaving Houston, Texas next Sunday. We have put up our house for sale. We have lived here for 33 years, and raised our 4 children within.

We will miss our Shady Springs Home

Yesterday, we met with two of our daughters and their families.