Some are Home for the Holidays

Felycia finished up her first semester on Friday. She worked on Friday afternoon and now she is home until Conrad's birthday. She got home Friday evening so the Christmas tree and the nativity went up first thing Saturday morning. I guess we are ready for Friday to come now.

It's hard to get excited about Christmas when I know Deric won't be here. He is doing what he should in Honduras, but I miss him more than I thought I would.

We will get to talk to Deric on Christmas Day so that will make up for him not being here. I know that he already has his Christmas package so he will at least get a present. Another package is already on its way to Honduras. He will probably get it before MLK Day. Now, its time to start thinking about his birthday package. We'll have to send it in February to make sure its there before March 10.

Grandma and Grandpa Flinders are still in Africa. We should have a time for Deric's call to let them know what time they have to be up so they can talk, too. My guess is that we will have a houseful of family for those calls. I should probably have plenty of snacks on hand.

Our Dixie Chick

Felycia is finishing up her first semester at Dixie State College. She has 1 final every day this week. She is ready to come home for a few weeks. We are ready to have her home for a little while.

Deric

Deric is working hard in Honduras. He and his companion are working with lots of investigators. They had one baptism on Saturday and there are 3 people who have committed but haven't set a date yet. At least there were no photos of spiders or other bugs.

Week of the Arachnid

How's this for a house pet. This tarantula was in Deric's house last Monday night. I'm beginning to re-think the plans to go and get him when his mission is completed. I really don't do bugs and this is a really major one.

This photo is almost as good as the ones we took in Africa. I guess I will just look at this as part of the wildlife in Honduras. It's about as ugly as the warthogs and the furry legs remind me of a lion's mane.

Okay, this trying to justify the creature isn't quite working. It's still scary.

This little character was on the wall in Deric's house on Friday night. That's his thumbnail next to it. This one isn't as scary as the tarantula, but I'm guessing it could probably do just about the same amount of damage.

Honduras

Deric sent us some pictures through e-mail while we were in Africa. Here they are.

This photo was taken at the Mission Office in San Pedro Sula. Elder Orozco was getting ready to go home. The Elders traded ties before he left. It looks like Deric is sporting a new hair cut. I can't decide if I like it or not. His forehead looks nearly as big as my dad's. HAHA!!

The roads in Pineda are not paved, so this is what happens when it rains. The boot on the right has already been cleaned. It's a good thing the boots are waterproof!!!

African Accommodations

These are pictures of our accommodations during our safari in Kenya. We had to stay in a tent at the camp. It was a decent size and it wasn't too bad.

The outside of the tent...the porch was great to sit and read or just watch the river go by.


Yes, that is a four poster bed and wood floors inside the tent. The bathroom was tiled. We had hot and cold running water and a flushing toilet. Totally 4-star!!!

Mildred Brunker Larkin

Grandma Larkin's funeral on Saturday, November 28, 2009, was wonderful celebration. Grandma has told us since Deric was born that she was ready to go on to the next life. Every reunion or family gathering has been her last one for nearly 20 years.

We are so happy that she is finally reunited with Grandpa Conrad and her daughter, Ruth. We will miss Grandma because we love her, but we know she is in a better place.

More Babies

Baby zebra following mom

Warthogs are ugly animals, but there is something cute about the baby

Baby hippo

Baby topi

Baby cape buffalo - it's called a water buffalo in the United States

Baby Animals

It is spring time in Africa. Baby animals are everywhere.

Lion cub

A giraffe family at the orphanage

A leopard with her baby

Egyptian geese

Black rhinoceros with her offspring

Home from Africa

The sunsets in Africa are absolutely amazing. This photo shows an acacia tree in the foreground. There are clouds near the horizon. It looks like mountains instead of clouds. There are some places north of the Serengeti where you can see for miles and miles. Nothing like the Las Vegas valley where we are surrounded by mountains.

The hippopotamus is an amazing animal. They are actually quite fast. They are able to run to protect themselves from their predators. Hippos stay in the water during the day. Their skin is very sensitive to the sun. At night, they come out of the water to graze. We saw hippos in the smallest water holes. We couldn't believe they were able to get in and out of some of them.

The cheetah is a beautiful animal. It is sleek and powerful. This cheetah was stalking prey. She saw a Thomson gazelle with two babies. We followed and watched for nearly an hour as she slowly approached the gazelles. As the cheetah made her move, she chased one of the babies over a small ridge and we lost sight of them. However, the cheetah brought her catch right back to within about 20 feet of the truck. She was so close, we could hear her panting. We also heard her break the gazelle's neck before beginning her breakfast.

We saw this leopard in a tree. Vincent, our guide, told us that she would be coming down from the tree to go back to her babies. Just then, she started her way down. We followed her for about 45 minutes. Just when we were ready to give up, she emerged from some trees with her two babies. Vincent had parked in the perfect place. In order to get to the next stand of trees, they had to cross the road near our vehicle. The mom went in front of the truck, about 6 feet from me. The babies crossed behind the truck, about 5 feet away from us. It was amazing. We didn't even mind that we were nearly an hour late for breakfast. We had to eat fast to make it to our next game drive.

Out of Africa Volume 3

Well, we are home from our Safari. We had a great time being pampered and seeing the beauty of nature. Africa is a beautiful place. The sunrises and sunsets are amazing. Our guide for the game drives was Vincent. He was amazing. He knew the animals and the birds and knew all the right places for seeing the best animals.

We saw all the animals. Elephants, zebras, hippos, crocs, impalas, elands, giraffes, lions, cheetahs, gazelles, leopards, etc, etc, etc. It was amazing. We knew we were seeing great things because our guide had his own camera out and was taking photos. We got lots of family pictures. It is spring in Kenya so all the animals have had babies recently. We will be putting pictures up when we get back to Las Vegas. The internet connection in Nairobi is too slow so it won't upload the photos. I will keep trying.

The tents we stayed in on our safari were something else. Hardwood floors, tile shower, flushing toilet, running water. The wake up calls were the best. Our room steward stood outside the tent and softly called to us that it was time to wake up. Then, he would come in with hot chocolate and cookies. He turned our bed down every night and put hot water bottles in it to keep us warm. We had so much fun. The food was delicious. We ate Kenyan gourmet for nearly every meal. Different choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Four course meals every time. They usually have a buffet set up for breakfast and lunch, but there were only about 10 people staying at the camp so we were extra pampered. Francis was our server for every meal and he did a great job taking care of us.

We are heading out for more sight seeing today so we will post again later.

Out of Africa Vol. 2

Today, we went to the Nairobi Animal Preserve. We saw so many animals!!!! It was great. We were there for nearly 5 hours just driving around and looking for things to take photos of. I took nearly 500 photos. This will just be a small sampling.

Well, the pictures won't upload. I will try again later. You were going to see a water buffalo, a giraffe, a zebra, ostriches, warthogs, etc. We saw one leopard in a tree really far away. Only with the binoculars and telephoto lenses on the cameras were we even able to tell what it was.

Tomorrow, we travel to Masaai Mara. We will be there until Thursday night. We get to go on game drives every day. I'm so excited to see some of the big cats and maybe some elephants. Mom says we will have to ride a camel before we come home. We'll see how that goes.

We are wishing all of our friends and family could be here with us. We miss you and love you.

Out of Africa - Volume 1

We made it all safe and sound to Kenya. We got in Thursday night about 9:30. It was a lllllloooooonnnnnnnggggggg trip. Wow! I didn't realize how far it was to Nairobi. It took about 27 hours from the time we left our house on Wednesday morning until we got here.

We stopped in Chicago and London on the way here. It is my first time out of the United States except for cruises to Mexico. The London airport is amazing. Terminal 5 is like an international shopping mall. We really enjoyed browsing through all the shops. We decided that it would be better to buy things there on the way home.

Today, we went to the Masaai Market. We had lunch at the Silver Spur. It was good food. I had chicken and cheese quesadillas. Conrad had the Brazilian style beef. The french fries were very crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. When you order drinks, you have to specifically ask for cold drinks. Nothing here is cold. The Kenyan people think that cold drinks will ruin your teeth. Besides, cold things hurt your teeth.

The Masaai Market was interesting. Everyone was set up in small 'booths' on top of a building. The booths were just areas on the ground. There were fabrics, shawls, wood carvings, bowls, baskets, paintings, beads, jewelry, etc. The list goes on and on and on. The handwork was beautiful, but we didn't buy anything. We will have time to go back next week if we don't find other things in the rest of our travels.

Pictures will be coming tomorrow. We love and miss all of you back home.

Africa

Tomorrow is the big day. The suitcases are packed and within the allowed weight. Just 29 hours until takeoff.

Africa Countdown

Only 9 days to go!!!!! We are so excited. One suitcase is packed with stuff for Mom and Dad. I just have to finish Christmas shopping for Deric and get his package in the mail before we leave so he will have it by Christmas.

Photos from Honduras

We got pictures from Honduras today.

Top Left - Deric and Elder Orozco at a baptism on October 31st.

Top Right - Deric finally got to golf. He said the course wasn't great and he didn't play well because of the clubs. I guess when everyone is 5'8", that's the size the clubs would be. Deric should have played on his knees.

Right - Deric's first baptism on his mission. Deric did say that the Honduran people are not generally happy. They only smile when they think something is funny.

Felycia's Photo

Felycia has been looking for more scholarship opportunities. She found one that required her to take a black and white photo and submit it. Here is what she did.

This is the spire of the St. George Temple. Felycia was standing near the Student Services Building on the Dixie State College Campus. She said that she did some cropping and manipulating on her computer before this was the final result. Not bad for a little digital camera.

Missionary Update

Well, just the same old stuff for Deric. Teaching, baptizing, interviews, a wedding, soccer, etc. I have just found out that Deric's companion is the District Leader so they do a lot of baptismal interviews.

There were 4 earthquakes in Honduras over about an 8 day period. Deric felt nothing. Maybe he is a little dizzy so it doesn't affect him. He did say that they need to be ready to evacuate from his area to San Pedro Sula in case of flooding. It rained for 23 hours straight one day.

New missionaries arrived in transfers in October. One was a greenie sister so Deric says he isn't the baby missionary anymore. I reminded him that the sister was 2 years older than him so he is still the baby.

Some members challenged the missionaries to a soccer match on Monday. Deric and his companion went to another area in their zone to help. They were able to beat the members.

The package I sent at the end of September finally arrived. It took about 3 weeks. Not too bad. Deric called me insane for all the stuff I crammed into the box. I wanted to make sure I got my money's worth on the shipping cost. It was about $42.00 to send $40.00 worth of stuff.

I told Deric all of our travel plans for the trip to Kenya. He reminded me that we will be going through the same airport where he called us on his way to Honduras. I thought he was in Houston when he called, but it was Dallas/Ft. Worth.

A few weeks ago, Honduras played in El Salvador for World Cup qualifying. They had to beat El Salvador and hope for at least a tie between the United States and Costa Rica. Well, the US tied the score in stoppage time so Honduras qualified for the World Cup next summer. Deric said that people were coming up to him on the street and thanking him for being an American. Quite a difference from when the US beat Honduras in San Pedro Sula. The Honduran people were slow to forgive on that one.

He loves his mission and can't believe he has been in Honduras for two months. He says the time is passing too quickly. I don't think it is TOO quickly, but it is going fast.

COUNTDOWN

The countdown is on!!!! 21 days until the Africa trip. Shots are done. Malaria pills are purchased. Now we just have to finish the shopping for Mom and Dad.

MTC Photos & Honduras News

Deric and Hermano Dela Cruz, a teacher from the MTC.

Deric and Hermana Gain, another teacher from the MTC.

Elder Larkin and Elder Stevenson in the MTC
the day before they left for the field.

Deric's district at the Provo Temple on his first Sunday.
Front: Goodwin, Wedemeyer, Durfee
Back: Stevenson, Bowers, Larkin, Peterson, Hunsaker, Sanford, Cook





It is so fun to be able to "chat" with Deric each week. We are still waiting for a real letter. He assures us that he sends one every week, but we haven't seen any yet. He's been in Honduras for 7 weeks now. Wow, time flies.

When I asked Deric if he knew that the United States Soccer Team had been in San Pedro Sula for a World Cup Qualifier, he replied that not only did he know that the US had won, but that Honduras has to win in El Salvador and the US has to beat Costa Rica so that Honduras can qualify. The United States has qualified already.

Deric told me that he has a baptism this week. There is an area that has been closed, but a baptism was already scheduled. Deric and Elder Orozco are the closest elders to the area so they will take care of it. There are a few investigators they are teaching who are getting close to baptism, but they haven't challenged anyone yet.

Honduras News

Deric has been in Honduras for a little over a month now. We have been able to "talk" to him through e-mail the last 3 weeks. It's fun but probably a little hectic for him. I am at home, Conrad is at work and Felycia is at school. Depending on the time, all three of us are sending e-mails with questions for him and he is trying to answer all of us. I got a taste of how he feels yesterday when Conrad and Felycia started sending me questions while I was trying to send notes to Deric.

Yesterday, Deric's important question was, "What can replace shortening in a recipe?" I told him that applesauce or butter would probably work. Last week, he said that the food is hard to get used to. He doesn't eat enough fruit and vegetables so he needs a way to get more fiber in his diet. He thinks the snacks are a little strange and has asked for better stuff. I gave him recipes for 1-2-3 Sugar Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookies. Besides the shortening and brown sugar, all the other ingredients are quite common. Deric and his companion have a cook. I think he was giving the recipes to her to let her try them. We'll see how that works. Conrad tried to have his cook in Chile make pancakes with his mom's recipe. It didn't come out so great.

Deric is enjoying his mission. He has celebrated a birthday for one of the Sister Missionaries. The zone had a group p-day and watched Charly. They play a lot of soccer. Next week, they are going to golf with the zone leaders at the 'country club'. I'm surprised that he hasn't asked for his cleats and shin guards yet.

There is political strife in Honduras right now. I think Deric is protecting his Mom. I asked if he knew anything and he told me he didn't. However, Conrad and Felycia got different responses. I probably know more than all of them because I keep up with a news feed from Honduras on the Internet. I check at least once a week. So far, the problems in the capital, Tegucigalpa, are not really causing problems in Deric's area. He is not too far from San Pedro Sula, but it is fairly rural in his area. Mostly, life is carrying on as usual. I don't worry about Deric in Honduras. He knows that if he follows the rules and the Spirit he will be fine.

Thanks for your support.

Best Vacation Ever

Conrad and I are going on our first real vacation ever. We are going to spend nearly two weeks in Kenya, Africa. It is really going to happen. We booked our plane reservations on Friday. We get to go on a three day-two night safari in the Masai Mara Game Reserve. We will have plenty of time to see the sights in Nairobi. We want to visit the National Museum and the August 7th Memorial Park. We are excited to shop at the City Market and tour the Kazuri Bead Factory. However, the most exciting part of our trip will be spending all that time with my parents on their mission. They have been there for about 6 months now. By the time we get back home, it will be close to their halfway mark. Lots of photos and updates will be coming in November.

College Stuff

I just got a text from Felycia. Her microwave started sparking when her roommate tried to heat something up. I guess it's a good thing we are going up this weekend. We'll just get a new one.

Felycia had her first math test yesterday. She was very concerned that she wouldn't do well. She ended up with a 90%. That's great because she said the class average was 60%.

Felycia and two of her roommates came down here for Labor Day weekend. We had lots to do. We went to a high school football game that was called after the 3rd quarter because of lightning. We drove down the strip so they could see all the people and the lights. Too bad that none of the attractions (Sirens at TI, volcano, Bellagio fountains) were going. We did see the cops arresting someone. That was a big deal. We went to a baptism on Saturday and church on Sunday. Monday, we went to a soccer game for Allyssa. It went 8 rounds in a shootout before Allyssa's team won. It was the championship game for a tournament. The girls spent some time doing homework before they headed back to school.

Felycia is working at Desert Edge Dance Company. She teaches a couple of tumbling classes on Friday afternoons. It seems to be going well and it gives her a little bit of spending money.

Felycia loves her ward and is having fun at all the ward and Institute activities. She is doing well in all her classes. I am still the proofreader for her papers. It just has to be done through e-mail now.

News from Honduras

ElDeric has been in Honduras for three weeks now. He is learning the language and sweating up a storm. Deric let us know that he taught about 30 lessons the first week he was there. On Saturday, he had three baptisms. He was the one who got to do the baptizing. He said he didn't even mess up the prayers. Pretty cool.

ElDeric sends his weekly e-mail to us at about the same time every week. We watch and are able to "talk" to him via e-mail. It was really fun yesterday. Conrad was at work, I was at home, and Felycia was done with class for the day. We spent about 2 hours. Poor Deric had to keep track of three different conversations. We printed them all and are putting everything in a binder to keep for when he gets home.

I have a list of things to buy and try to send. I hope a package will get to him.

Thank you to all of you who keep him in your prayers.

Fun Phone Call

Our phone rang a little before 8:00 am. There was a recording to accept charges for a collect call. It was our missionary. ElDeric was calling from the airport in Dallas/Ft. Worth. What a fun thing to talk to him for a little bit. He is traveling in a group of 18 missionaries. One sister and 17 elders. Four of the elders are heading to Nicaragua and the other 14 are going to the Honduras San Pedro Sula Mission. Last night, a group left the MTC to head to the Honduras Tegucigalpa Mission. The work must be going well in Central America.

ElDeric admitted that he is nervous but excited. He didn't get much sleep last night because of packing and then leaving the MTC at 3:00 this morning. He did sleep on the plane though and he has two more legs of his flight to sleep.

ElDeric told us that he loved the MTC. What a great time he had. One of his favorite things was working in the call center. He answered phones and did the live chat from Mormon.org. He was able to be a host a few times. He did say that he wishes he could see Dr. Sanders right now. The chairs at the MTC are not exactly ergonomic. Neither are the beds.

Well, his next adventure starts today. We are excited for him. I reminded him to follow the rules and he reminded me not to worry about him because he is in the Lord's hands. (That is how we always close letters to each other.)

Felycia texted me while we were talking to Deric so she got to ask questions and get in on the conversation. It was lots of fun.

Conrad already has a letter on its way to Honduras and mine goes in the mail this afternoon. Conrad used the pouch system and I'm going to see how long it takes to send things right to the mission office. I'm sure e-mail will be the best way to send things. I just have to figure out how to send posts from other blogs as attachments. That way, our missionary will be able to keep up with others in our family.

A Tangled Mess

This is the price of technology.

Felycia has to plug in her computer,

printer, microwave, cell phone

charger, network cable,

camera battery charger

and a small desk fan.

Next time we are there,

we will have to teach her

how to use twist ties

to organize all the wires.

Felycia's Dorm Room

This is Felycia's desk. She has her computer, printer and microwave.

Here is her bed. It's up on risers so she can store things underneath. Notice the pillow and blanket at the foot of the bed. Felycia picked out the fabric, I put it together, and my MiaMaids tied the blanket as a service project at Mutual. We had a great time.

The Cuckoo's Nest is Empty

Well, it's day one of an empty nest at the Larkin house. Conrad is gone to early meetings and I am by myself. Felycia is in her dorm. She is going to the broadcast of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication this afternoon. Deric is in the MTC for about 19 more hours. He leaves at 3:00 am. Yes, that is AM. In the morning. His flight leaves SLC at 6:00 am. We will be talking to him on the phone in just over 24 hours. I am very excited for that.

Felycia has taken pictures of her room and she is sending them to me today. I will post them tomorrow.

Happy Birthday

Today is a big day at out house. Felycia is 18 and Annalee is 42. Tomorrow is go to college day. Six days until school starts. Six days until Deric goes to Honduras. WOW!!!!!

College Life

Felycia checks in to the dorm at Dixie State College in one week. She is very excited. She has been getting all of her things together. Deric's room has become college central. All of her stuff is on the floor in there. We are making a quilt and pillow. They are almost done. Just a few more minutes worth of sewing. We'll post pictures next week.

What's up in Provo?

ElDeric is still doing well. He loves his mission. A few weeks ago, ElDeric had a pen explode in his pocket. Red ink all over his shirt, garments, and tie. He sent the stained things home and asked Mom to get the ink out. Well, I found a magic combination to remove set in ink. Clorox bleach and Spray and Wash Dual Power. Put both things on and let it dry overnight. It took 3 times of doing this, but then the ink was gone. I couldn't help the tie, but the other things are being sent back to him clean.

They have ugly tie days at the MTC. ElDeric finally got some ugly ties. He is really excited and sure he can win. Cristi found the ties at the Deseret Industries.

ElDeric has now been at the MTC for 7 weeks. Last week, he started a new planner. This time, it is in Spanish. He thinks that is so cool. He is supposed to leave the MTC for Honduras on August 24. Travel plans were given out today. We will know on Tuesday. Hopefully, we will be able to talk to him if he has a layover at a United States airport.

ElDeric got his new scriptures today. The Church is coming out with a new translation of the Bible to be released in September. ElDeric wanted to make sure he had the scriptures he wanted before he went to Honduras so I ordered them and had them delivered to the MTC.

MTC News

ElDeric's latest letter says it feels like there are only 30 hours in a day. At one time, it was 40 hours in a day and only 4 in a night. They are not allowed to teach in English anymore. All of the lessons have to be in Spanish. Deric has Spanish scriptures but they are indexed. He doesn't like the indexed ones.

Deric has been able to speak with two people from Honduras. One said to get a mosquito net and a fan as soon as he gets to Honduras. The other one told him about the exchange rates for money. There is 19 lempira in $1 US. 1 lempira buys about the same as $1.

Deric has heard a little bit about what is going on in Honduras with the government and asked for more information. We have hesitated to tell him about the coup because he needed to concentrate on studying and learning. He has been watching the newsroom page for the Church and is worried about being reassigned. I think he already loves the Honduran people and wonders if he will need to learn to love others. I have already sent the information I know. The church leaders will know what to do to keep the missionaries safe. I told Deric to stay close to the Spirit and follow the rules no matter what and he will be safe.

Preparing for Dorm Life

Felycia is excited to be living in the dorm this fall. We are working on her decorations. We bought storage boxes and fabric yesterday. In the afternoon, we made the cover for her cork board by the desk. We have enough fabric to do one for Ashley, her roommate, and then to make covers for both of the headboards. The rooms are quite dark with dark wood and dark carpet so all of the fabric is bright colors. We also bought fabric to make a blanket. Light denim on one side and a flannel print on the other. It will be a warm blanket. We have also made a couple of jewelry bags. They are basically a circle that is divided to put jewelry in separate pockets then it gathers to tie closed. I'll include a photo when it is completely done.

Deric's latest news

Deric's latest news is that he has managed to ruin a shirt and two ties. A red pen exploded in his pocket and then he dripped ice cream down his front. He wants new ties because the 8 he took are just boring. I found ties on the internet and had them shipped directly to the MTC. Six new ties should be okay for now.

Apparently, they have ugly tie days at the MTC. Deric is disappointed that he has been unable to participate because he only has nice ties. Aunt Cristi is going to Deseret Industries and to the Goodwill Superstore to see if she can find any ugly ties. We'll get them to Deric as soon as possible.

More Fun from the Reunion

Cooking hot dogs, marshmallows and breadsticks over the fire pit

Dakotta wanted her turn to drive the 4-wheelers

Looking for shells at the resevoir - swimming came later

Felycia and Sara with the .22's

Trailers with 4-wheelers, a canoe, and supplies

At the park in St. George - Reid and Jerrald showing the kids how to play

Water balloons

Felycia and Sara were in charge of filling all the water balloons

College Days are Coming

Felycia went to her Freshman Orientation on Monday. She met lots of people and got all registered for classes. She is taking a Math class from Uncle Paul Brooks, an education class, Music appreciation, and a freshman studies class. We went to the Institute and met Brother Campbell. We got to look at a dorm room so we know what to expect.

Felycia's roommate is Ashley Wainscott. She is from a small town in Kentucky. The suitemates are both from small towns in Utah. Felycia is the 'city girl' of the group. They already have a few things in common. They are texting and e-mailing back and forth and planning who is bringing what for their room.

While we were in St. George, we stopped at Staples to look at computers. Felycia bought a laptop. It is a really nice one. They were out of stock, so the store in Cedar City is sending it right to our house in Las Vegas.

Another thing Felycia did in St. George was go to a job interview. She got word last night that she got the job. She will be teaching a tumbling class at a dance studio in Washington. It's only a few hours a week, but it's a good start until she gets her schedule down. We will have to make a trip back to St. George to fill out paperwork and to learn the ropes for the studio.

New adventures await!!!!

Larkin Family Reunion

Last week we were at our Larkin Family Reunions at Little Creek Ranch outside of Paragonah, Utah. We had a great time. We played games, rode ATV's, did some skeet shooting, played with the water balloon launcher, went to the resevoir, and ate lots of good food.

Deric and Josh are both serving missions right now so they weren't at the reunion. We were able to remember them by drawing a picture of them and hanging it up. Josh is on the left and Deric is on the right. They even have their missionary name tags. Josh is wearing a long sleeve shirt and a paisley tie. He has a CTR ring. Deric is wearing short sleeves, an orange and blue tie, and an HLJ ring. Josh is in Calgary, Canada and Deric will be going to San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

Missionary News

Deric's latest letter lets us know that he had a little bit of a cold. (Probably thanks to Felycia because she was sick for a whole week before we dropped him off.) The bed is not so great so he isn't sleeping well. He says it feels like there are 40 hours in a day and only 4 hours in a night.

He is enjoying his studies. He can bear his testimony in Spanish and he prays in Spanish. Deric says that his prayers feel more powerful in Spanish. That's always what Great Grandma and Grandpa Brooks said, too.

There were two Devotionals in Deric's first week at the MTC. The first one was Elder Holland. More than half of the Quorum of the Twelve were there. On Sunday, June 28, there was a special Sacrament Meeting for the New Mission Presidents who are being trained right now. Fourteen of the fifteen member of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve attended.

Deric has let us know that the food at the MTC is okay going in but then strange things happen. He told us to read Jeremiah 4:19 for a glimpse at what he means. When we read it, Aunt Cristi and Conrad both remembered this as the cafeteria scripture during their time at the MTC.

Deric has had a chance to see some of his high school friends who are also at the MTC. Elder Greg Bayles is going to Ukraine. Elder Jeremy Anderson is going to Italy. Greg and Deric had honors and AP classes together. Jeremy and Deric were in orchestra and volleyball together.

Deric says he is doing fine and learning lots. He loves us and misses us. We miss him, too, but know he is doing the Lord's work.

A Letter from the MTC

ElDeric's first letter came on June 29th. He told us that his companion is from Ogden, UT and his name is Elder Stevenson. He has two instructors and they were interviewing the new elders while Deric was writing his letter. Deric said that as he walked through the doors as we drove away, all of his nervousness and anxiety went away and were replaced with peace. He bore his testimony that he is right where he is supposed to be and doing what the Lord wants him to do. What a relief to us here at home.

The news coming out of Honduras this past week has us a little bit concerned, but we know that the safety of the missionaries is important to the church. He won't go to a place that will be unsafe for him. We trust the Lord to direct things in the best way.

Dropping ElDeric at the MTC

On Wednesday, June 24th, we went to Provo to drop Deric off at the MTC. The new policy is curbside drop-off only. As we pulled into the parking lot, we were met by a gentleman who made sure that Deric was in good health and not exposed to anything prior to arrival. Then we drove around the building and were greeted by another elder who directed us to a parking spot along the curb. An elderly sister missionary was there. She welcomed us to the MTC and told us we could take a few photos in the shade near the building. While a young elder took our picture, another young elder unloaded Deric's luggage. Once the photos were done, the sister said, "Okay, Mom, hug your missionary." Then it was dad's turn. Deric turned to take his luggage and was told that it would be taken care of for him. We got back in the car and began to drive away as he turned and went into the building. Around the corner of the building, there was more luggage that I have even seen at an airport baggage claim area. Lots of elders and sisters reporting for duty that day.