A whirlwind 3 days

It's 9:00 pm Friday evening and we have survived our first 72 hours. What a whirlwind! Tuesday, June 30th, we arrived in Chicago around 1:00 pm. We were picked up at the airport by the Stoddards, the out-going Mission President and his wife and their assistants, Elders Hansen and Gonzalez. We came to the Mission Home and enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared by Sister Stoddard and then dove in with a 3 hour orientation in hyperspeed with the Stoddards. We left directly after this meeting to attend a welcome dinner in our honor. It was held at a local restaurant and attended by many leaders in the 4 stakes comprising our mission. What a wonderful group of people! The Stoddards were amazingly organized in their transitioning of responsibilities to us, and the stake leadership of our mission were extremely warm in welcoming us. We came home around 9:00 pm, the Stoddard's drove away and we unlocked the door of our new home at 1911 Carlyle Place, realizing we were now "in charge." We looked at each other and said "What have we gotten ourselves into?" Shrugging our shoulders and grinning at each other we found our suitcases and hung up our clothes. I ironed the clothes we would need for Wednesday and we retired around midnight.

The alarm sounded at 6:00 am on Wednesday and we quickly showered and dressed to begin the day with our first of 3 scheduled "Meet and Greet" the new Mission President meetings scheduled for 8:00 am, 12:00 noon and and 4:00 pm. We spent about 2 hours at each of the locations meeting the missionaries in our mission. We were impressed with them and appreciative of them making us feel so welcome. Thursday was a repeat of Wednesday with the last two of our "Meet and Greet" meetings. By 4:00 pm we had officially met all 108 of our missionaries. We stopped at Burger King for dinner around 6:00 pm, went to the grocery store to buy the makings for the brunch and lunch I would need to have ready for the Zone Leaders Council Meeting we held today. I baked muffins, made a huge fruit salad bowl for the brunch, then baked brownies, arranged a deli meat platter, and a relish platter for the hoagie sandwiches, and poured chips into four large bowls. Made it to bed by around 11:00 pm. The alarm sounded again this morning at 6:00 am, we again showered and dressed quickly, grabbed the brunch foods and went to the chapel for our 8:30 am meeting. The meeting lasted until around 1:00, then all 24 of the meeting participants came to the mission home for lunch. I could not believe how fast all of the food disappeared! Note to self: when feeding twenty-four 19-21 year old boys, plan on doubling the quantity! One bun and one lettuce leaf was all that remained 20 minutes after the food was set out!

A comment about the meeting itself. President Doll (I have only slipped once in public and called him Sherman) was amazing today. He only had about 3 hours last night to pull together the agenda for a 5 hour meeting. Yet he was inspired and inspiring in the counsel he gave, the way he was able to get discussion going and encourage participation from all of the missionaries. I could truly see the mantle of the calling rest on him today as he led out in his new role of Mission President. It was a memorable moment for me as his wife and missionary companion.

So how are we feeling right now? Normally, a schedule like we have kept these past few days would have been suicidal at home. But we have felt energized and pumped as we have driven many miles, shaken many hands and spoken more times publicly in three days than we have in 3 months at home. We have also slept harder these past two nights than any we can remember in a very long time. The bonus in all of this is that we are able to do EVERYTHING together. We are never apart. In 33 years of marriage, this has been something that has never happened, and I am pleased to report that we both are loving it! It has been a spark in our marriage and I am seeing, again, why I fell in love with this man in the first place!

'Til We Meet Again ... The Seminar Ends

The accompanying photo is of the name tags we received the day we entered the MTC. This was an especially emotional moment for me since I haven't worn one for nearly 36 years. It's humbling to be counted among the full-time missionaries.

The experience at the MTC really can’t be described but must be experienced. The main building of the MTC is completely dedicated to the New Mission Presidents Seminar. All of the members of the Twelve and the First Presidency have been here and many have given talks. Most of the breakout group instruction is handled by members of the Seventy. It’s just so interesting to rub elbows with all of these brethren during and after our sessions, including eating with them. They’re all very gracious and kind, and they so much want us to be successful.

The term rubbing elbows is a reality since shaking hands has been prohibited due to a recent swine flu problem at the MTC. Many of the people here have adopted the custom of rubbing elbows as a substitute. We’ve been segregated from the missionaries as a consequence of the flu situation.

The amount of instruction and inspiration has been incredible. Elder Perry describes it as "feeding us with a fire hose." This is a very apt term.

An especially tender moment occurred in the Saturday morning portion of the conference as Elder Boyd K. Packer was ending his talk. He left us with an apostolic blessing that included a promise that those who had children who had strayed would not lose those children but would see them return as a consequence of our service and sacrifice. I noticed quite a few people with tears as he treated this tender subject. Ours were included.

The Sunday sacrament meeting was quite inspiring. All three members of the First Presidency and all of the Twelve (minus Elder Packer who was ordered by his doctor to rest) were in attendance. Elder Perry conducted the meeting and the sacrament was blessed and passed by missionaries from the MTC. Over 300 people were there to hear an inspirational talk by President Monson. It was loaded with advice and counsel for all of the 108 mission presidents and their wives.

The closing hymn of the sacrament meeting was especially difficult. We all sang together "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again." In the three and one half days we were at the MTC we quickly made friends with a number of the mission president couples. So many have had similar experiences as we have had in being called, preparing, and leaving jobs and families. And, of course we also share the daunting task of leading a mission. Sunday ended with tears, handshakes (OK, we broke the rules), and hugs. I expect some of these people will be lifelong friends. Others we may never see again.

We've been blessed, inspired, counseled, loved, and instructed. We leave with confidence and a little anxiety of the unknown.

-- Presidente Doll

Mission President's Seminar Check-In

Today we went to Provo, Utah to the Missionary Training Center to check-in for the Mission President's Seminar which begins tomorrow morning. As we drove into the parking lot, there were numerous young people posted in various positions to give directions on parking and registration. We rolled down our window, and the first parking lot attendant said the following: "Welcome President and Sister Doll . . .". . and proceeded to give us directions. It took us a minute to realize what had just transpired. This young man was a complete stranger, yet he had just called us by name. How did he know us? It kept us wondering, but it happened yet a second and third time by others who were giving directions. I later cornered the first young man and convinced him to tell me how he knew our names. It turns out, he not only knew our names, but also the names of the 130 other Mission Presidents who would be attending the seminar. For two months now, he has kept our application pictures in his pocket and practiced matching names with faces so that he could greet us personally upon arrival. VERY, VERY IMPRESSIVE!

After we completed the registration process, we were able to meet with, Fabrizio, one of the tutors we have had over the past few months, and take a picture of us in front of the world map, pointing to our ultimate destination - the foreign land of Chicago . . .

Finally, we drove to where we would be staying - the Provo Downtown Marriot - and were surprised to find this wonderful welcome basket waiting in our room. All of the kindness we were shown throughout the registration process was culminated in this thoughtful gesture from Church headquarters. We had doors opened for us, people waiting at every corner to greet and answer questions, and an overwhelming feeling of love and respect was shown to us just during the registration portion of todays activities alone.

But the icing on the cake were these beautiful flowers waiting for me on the desk of our hotel room. Tomorrow is our 33rd wedding anniversary, and in spite of how crazy-busy Sherman has been this last week, he still managed to remember to order flowers . . . any wonder that I would follow this man all the way to Chicago?

A Day Set Apart

Today was a day "set apart" from others. Many family members were able to join us as Elder Dallin H. Oaks set us apart as full-time missionaries. While that was a wonderful experience, the day was set apart in another way as well. It was plain to Sherman & I, how surrounded we are by amazingly supportive family. Both those present, and those who were not able to be there in person, have done much to encourage us when we have "wondered" if we are truly equal to our new assignment. Thank you to each of you! We love you all!

Some of life's sweetest moments

Sometimes in life we get to have these really sweet moments that go right to the top of favorite family memories. On June 4-6, Sherman and I were privileged to have 3 full days of those moments. All of our children gathered for one last family gathering before we depart for Chicago. It began on Friday as we attended the Temple together as a family and was followed by a fun-filled Saturday. Saturday morning Sherman began the day by shooting photos of children and grandchildren. Pictured below are some of those who held still long enough to photographed.

Once the entire group arrived, we were able to put the camera on a tripod a get a photo of our entire family. The first photo required bribes, the second photo was a natural. I'm not sure that an entire circus of clowns could have been successful in getting this group to look the same way and smile at the same time!

Very soon after the family photo was finished, the doorbell rang and two things happened simultaneously . . . the arrival of the inflatable waterslide and a delicious barbecued lunch catered by Kinder's. The grandkids and some of our other "bigger kids" had a great time on the waterslide. The rest of us kept entertained enjoying the food and watching the watersliders.

I had arranged for babysitters for that evening, and so on Saturday night we enjoyed an "adult only" dinner at Vic Stuarts Steakhouse in Walnut Creek. Dressed up, and without the distraction of small children, we all enjoyed delicious food and the pleasure of family being together.

On Sunday Jamison was the star of the show and we were able to participate in his blessing day at Church. What is more beautiful than a baby boy in a white tux?

After Church, the grandsons joined us for a photo of the "future missionary club" as evidenced by their nametags. (Thank you Kati and Suzi for making the nametags happen!) Sherman and I were jealous and wished we had ours!

I'm not sure if we stored up three full years of memories in those three days ... but I think we were close!

He is SO WICKED!

Last week Sherman told me that he had a "recognition dinner" with the reps from Charles Schwab and that I needed to check my calendar to see if I could attend with him. I have attended, on occasion, seminars/events such as this with guest speakers about financial advising, and I can honestly say it's not my favorite way to spend an evening. I usually enjoy the speakers, but it's the social part that I am not fond of. A stay at home mom who's chosen career has been to raise six children, and now spends are all of her time preparing for a 3 year mission for her Church, usually doesn't have much in common with the more career-driven personalities who usually attend these kind of events. After the usual social pleasantries are exchanged, the conversation usually dissipates. At any rate, Sherman arrived home last night at the planned time to pick me up. He said he wanted to skip the dinner with the Charles Schwab group and just join them at 8:00 pm for the recognition portion. He had booked us a reservation for dinner in San Francisco at a restaurant called the Daily Grill . . . a typical pricey S.F. restaurant with excellent food - and it was definitely both! As traffic had been heavy getting into the city, and we were 15 minutes late for our dinner reservation, Sherman said we would need to take a taxi rather than walk to the location of the Charles Schwab recognition. We were able to immediately hail down a taxi and drove the few blocks to . . . THE ORPHEUM THEATRE!! Oh you WICKED, WICKED man! I had been talking/hoping/wishing/hinting for six months that Sherman would buy tickets and take me see the stage play Wicked. And he did! He could not have surprised me more! I was SO PSYCHED for a dismal evening at the Schwab recognition. My response?? I burst into tears! How much do I love this man? Enough to spend 3 years in Chicago and probably anywhere else! Thank you, Sherman . . . the evening was PERFECT!

A Few of My Favorite Things

A recent trip to Washington to meet our new grandson, Jamison, found me enjoying a few of my favorite things:

• Reading stories with grandkids
• Inhaling a newborn freshly smothered in baby lotion after his bath
• Watching siblings delight in the care of their new brother

Priceless fun . . . priceless memories.