Wednesday, October 7, 2009

MTC Curbside Drop-off


[Whitney] Today we dropped Carson - err, Elder Coleman, off at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. The car ride there was quiet, and a bit surreal. Mom drove with the new Elder sitting in the front seat. Me, baby Luke, and Connor were in the middle, and Dad and Trey were in the back. We stopped at Wendy's for a quick lunch and met two boys and their families who were also headed to the MTC. One was from California and had been called to serve in Wisconsin, the other was from Iowa and was going to serve in St. Petersburg, Russia.

We drove through Provo and came upon the BYU campus and soon, our destination. We knew we were there because we saw a group of dark suited young men walking towards the temple which is nestled perfectly at the foot of the canyon. Mom drove right on past the MTC... claimed she wanted a picture of the temple... but maybe just wasn't quite ready to drop off her boy. We took a quick picture of the temple, it was a pretty sight. Then turned around back towards the MTC.


We wanted to take a picture in front of the entrance, but Elder Coleman just wanted to get in and get on with it. So I snapped a picture as we drove past...

We pulled in and it was like Disneyland traffic control for missionaries. We were directed and guided by elders through the entrance and right up to the curb. Cars were lined up and young men and women were unloading. It was weird pulling up to the curb and saying our quick goodbyes that we've been prolonging for the last 5 weeks. Elder Coleman unloaded his luggage, advised us all to "Stay Sweet" and was on his way... We hope he gets settled in quickly. And hopefully he updates us often!