We arrived!

After an incredible 11-day stay in the MTC and saying “Goodbye” to our beautiful family (who have become our dear friends) and our dear friends (who have become our family), we boarded the plane and headed for France. After an all-night flight, we arrived safely on Saturday and were greeted by our new best friends, Boyd and Terry Sillito, who will train us and whose shoes we will try for 18 months to fill. They helped us to the car with our 200+ pounds of luggage and treated us to French pastries (croissants and pain au chocolat) and fresh pears. Such a welcome and yummy treat! We drove an hour or so to the mission bureau (office) and met our other new best friends whom we will serve with in the bureau. We checked into a hotel and then went to dinner with the senior couples who are in the area. Fun and delicious!

Sunday at Church was a wonderful experience. Thankfully, the missionaries translate for us non-French speakers. But the most touching moment of the meeting was when the beautiful little French children sang to their fathers for Father’s Day and ended their song enthusiastically with the words, “une grande bise” (a great big kiss). So incredibly cute. Oh how I love the fathers and grandfathers in my life and wish I could give them une grande bise.

On Monday, we met President and Sister Babin—what wonderful people! They welcomed us warmly (they had been out of the country the weekend we arrived) and then we got to work.

This is what jet lag looks like (yikes!):

Jet-lagged Barnes with beautifully French Babins

Saying "Goodbye," Why Is It Sad?

One of my favorite philosophers, composers and singers, Kermit the Frog, once sang these words:

Saying goodbye, going away
Seems like goodbye's such a hard thing to say!
Touching a hand, wondering why
It's time for saying goodbye.
Saying goodbye, why is it sad?
Makes us remember the good times we've had!
Much more to say, foolish to try
It's time for saying goodbye
Don't want to leave, but we both know
Sometimes it's better to go
Somehow I know we'll meet again
Not sure quite where, and I don't know just when
You're in my heart, so until then
Wanna smile, wanna cry
Saying goodbye
La la la la la la la la
It's time for saying goodbye

Without a doubt, the hardest thing about leaving for 18 months is leaving the grandkids. Just look at these faces! How we love them! Stay strong and amazing, Little Ones. And keep smiling. You are in our hearts and prayers. We love you forever and ever and always.

The MTC: What an Experience!

• It’s impossible to share all of the wonderful experiences and feelings of the MTC. We so enjoyed our time there—it was exhilarating, exhausting, enlightening, enveloping, and incredibly spiritually uplifting. We met wonderful people who were making enormous sacrifices to serve in the twilight years of their lives. We met committed young elders and sisters from all over the world who were filled with the energy and enthusiasm of youth and the ability to lift everyone around them. They truly are youth of a noble birthright and they will “Carry On!”

•  In addition to our peers and the 1400 or so young missionaries who surrounded us and brought light to our lives, we were inspired by wonderful speakers and teachers. One of the highlights of our time at the MTC was having Elder David Bednar speak to us at a devotional. He reminded and taught us through scriptural references such as the Prodigal Son, the Lost Sheep, and the Savior’s visit on the American continent that every person is important and deserves our attention and love. Elder Bednar talked about the Savior inviting people “one by one” to come to Him and then invited us to do the same. He arranged for two of his little granddaughters and three other children (along with a choir of the 1400+ missionaries) to sing a song that he wrote. What an experience! The song is titled “One By One” and will be published in the July 2016 New Era.

• Since I don’t have the words or capacity to really share our MTC experience, I would like to share a few of my favorite thoughts from our time there:

• Thoughts from Elder Bednar:

o       You might ask how do I tell if my thoughts or promptings are inspiration from the Holy Ghost or if they are just me? Answer: Quit worrying about it!

o       Listen to the Spirit and you will always be where you should be doing what you should do.

o       After telling of an experience where he was in the right place at the right time, Elder Bednar said, “I could not have told you at the time that it was a spiritual impression.” (I really related to this as I have reflected so often the past three months on my decision to have a mammogram before our mission, even though I’d had one six months before. I could not have told you at the time that it was a spiritual impression either, but as I see how things unfolded with the early detection of breast cancer, successful surgery, and a clean bill of health before leaving on time for France, I have no doubt that it was a spiritual impression and I’m so grateful for it!).

o       There is no such thing as a coincidence when you are on the Lord’s errand.

o       God will take you to where you should be and tell you what you should do if you are being a good boy or girl.

•  Other tidbits from other sources:

o       Read Elder Packer’s talk “The 20-note Mark”

o       Read Elder Eyring’s talk from the October 2002 General Conference, “Rise to Your Call”

o       President Monson in the November 2008 Ensign, “The Lord will shape the back to bear the burden placed upon it.”

o       We don’t move up in the Church, we just move around.

o       And SO much more!

We made it through the first week!

Have you ever tried drinking through a fire hose? That's the best way to describe how we felt this week. Wow! What a week this has been. We're so grateful for this experience and for our wonderful district and teachers. They were all amazing. We finished our study of Preach My Gospel, will have office training next week (M-Th), and then leave for France on Friday!

We are HERE (at the MTC) and going THERE (Paris, France)!

Eight of our children and three of our grandchildren (so far) have stood and pointed at their special assignment on this map. Now, it's OUR turn and we couldn't be more excited!

In the beginning...