What missionaries do for fun. . .

We left for Provo and the MTC on Monday, March 14th. We arrived on the 15th and spent the next few days enjoying family and friends. One of the fun experiences we had was horseback riding with Connie on a friend's ranch in Erda. We had a great time meeting Waldo and riding well-trained and gaited horses.

Jerri on Waldo and Bruce on Beauty

Bruce (Beauty), Jerri (Dakota), and Connie (Waldo)

Jerri loved riding Dakota

Bruce and Beauty - a smooth ride!

Farewell to Family and Friends

We gave our "farewell" talks on Sunday, March 13th. Bruce spoke on service, and I spoke on studying the scriptures. President Wilding set us apart as missionaries after our Sacrament meeting and gave us beautiful blessings and promises. We are officially Elder and Sister Jones. We had a fun farewell dinner with our family and said tearful good-byes with the Joneses, Hatches, and Joneses.

Our family (minus Christopher and Karim) after being set apart as missionaries

Our beautiful Lindsey, Kallie, and Ashley
(and our two soon-to-be-born grandsons)

Our two precious and charming grand-daughters,
Emerson and Sydney (oh, how Pops and Grammy will miss them!!)

Open House at the Wildings'

Our good friends, President Mike and Leann Wilding, hosted a lovely open house for us on March 5th (little Collins' 2nd birthday). They invited many of our ward and stake friends. It was a memorable evening full of many kind friends, good conversations, and delicious food. We missed Christopher and Karim!

Our future Elder and Sister Jones

Two of our cute families - the Hatches and the Joneses

Josh, Kallie, and good friend, Ammon Butcher

The "From Texas to Brooklyn" cake

And we are going to...

In January (after anxiously waiting six weeks), Bruce called me (I was at lunch with friends) to say that we have received our letter in the mail. We assembled our family (Linds and Dane, Collins and Ashley, and Josh and Kallie, and our grandchildren), called Chris and Karim on the phone, and opened our letter from the First Presidency to see where we will be serving. Bruce is calm, Jerri is nervous, ... and we are called to serve in the New York New York South Mission with a special assignment to serve as CES missionaries in Brooklyn! To say we are stunned and surprised is an understatement. We are excited with all the possibilities and opportunities that await us. We report to the MTC in Provo on Monday, March 21st! Chris and Karim are pleased that we will be so much closer to them, and the others are planning their trips to see us. This is a day full of joy and anticipation.

The letter before opening...

... and we are going to New York New York South!