Monday, March 27, 2017

The Madrid MTC {missionaryMum.2}

the MTC

The first lot of photos are in from Spain. After 33 hours of travelling, Mum made it safely with a layover in Dubai which she said was "wet and dark and a hot chocolate and a bottle of water cost 10 Euros". Mum and her companion Sister Lin Snowden (who Mum met in the Salt Lake mission),  are at the MTC in Madrid for one week, learning the procedure for how to digitise the old records. Im not sure what type of cameras they will be using but I reckon Mum will be very proficient by the end of it.

Sister Snowden 

I've included some excerpts of Mum's weekly email which I will do each post so she has a photo journal at the end of her mission that can be made into a book.


"The MTC has the top three floors of this building and the bottom three are used as an hostel for the Temple Patrons. The Temple is on the same grounds and also a stake centre which is about the same height as ours and houses three stakes".

 the Madrid MTC building 

  
The Madrid Spain temple and beautiful gardens.


On Saturday Mum and Sister Snowden did a tour of Retiro Park.



 Their tour guides around the park.






This is a memorial to all those lost in the Madrid train bombing in 2004.





This tree was planted in 1633 by Napoleon.


Avenue of statues of ancient Kings and Queens. Oh what a history compared to our 200-odd years.





A conservatory when the land was owned by the Monarchy. I really must get up on my Spanish history.


Inside the conservatory.


"Wow...every Saturday the missionaries go for two hours and talk to people in the park. After that everyone stands at the fountain and sings"


On Sunday the missionaries sang "Called to Serve" on the steps of the temple. They sang in English, Russian and Spanish.


Mum's schedule at the MTC -

"Breakfast at 7 am and then classes all day till 5 pm, then an hour of physical activity, quiet time to change for dinner which is at 7 pm. After dinner more classes and or workshops, bed at 9 pm. Sister Snowden and I are in a class alone and we have three different teachers throughout the day. We do a little of Preach My Gospel but mostly we do Spanish as they gave us the choice. We are only here one week, everyone else is here for six weeks. There are 35 missionaries here at the moment, the number varies. They go to Russia, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France and other Spanish speaking countries. We often have meetings together and everyone sings in the language they are studying,  gives you goose bumps. Prayers are said in different languages too".

Churros!! The real deal... with pure chocolate.



Mum says the architecture is amazing.




On Tuesday they head off to Valencia which is 357 kms away from Madrid over on the south-east coast looking out on the Mediterranean Sea.


Friday, March 24, 2017

Spain!! {missionaryMum.1}

On Monday, Mum finally left for her mission to the SPAIN, BARCELONA MISSION. (Records Preservation, Valencia). We arrived home from the USA last year at the end of July, after picking Mum up from her mission in Salt Lake City and spending 5 weeks touring around. Since then it has taken 8 months for Mum's visa to be sorted out after applying for it in August. But that's all behind her now as she embarks on her new adventure.

Before Mum left, we went out for lunch at the Tasmanian Food and Wine Conservatory. It was a beautiful sunny day and we enjoyed some yummy local Tasmanian produce.


Collette had already said goodbye to Mum when Mum visited her back in February in Adelaide.



Then the night before Mum left, President Walters set her apart as a missionary for the next 18 months and gave her a special blessing. She will be spending 18 months, digitising government records. Many of the records are kept in  Catholic monasteries so the "office" will be pretty amazing with a history we can only dream of.


The boys didn't want to feel left out so brought their "babies".
😉


We worked out that at 8 weeks old, Emerson will be 20 months when she returns home.


I gave Mum a hug and left as her plane was delayed an hour, but halfway through the airport, the tears flowed harder and I ran back for a second hug. We both cried a bit harder. As much as I would love to go to Spain and visit her, with an extra growing family, it just doesn't seem possible this time round but you never know!!


Jonty getting an extra big hug as last time, he thought Nan would be back in 2 weeks instead of 2 years and so didn't give her a hug. He knew better this time and gave her a great big one.


Eve will be 2 1/2 when Mum gets back.


We can't wait to hear about the many adventures Mum will have over in Spain.