In the MTC!

Here we are, finally in the MTC in Provo. We LOVE it here! We have met so many wonderful people, and the classes and meetings are so great! We have met a couple who are headed to Mexico. But they served 18 mos ago on Pohnpei...the island WE will be serving on. So they are telling us all about it. The WalMart we had been told about is NOT a WalMart, but a Wallmart....a very limited store and not connected in any way with the WalMarts we know here in the USA. Milk on Pohnpei is $10 a gal....IF you can find any! The water is not safe to drink. The new chapel has outdoor toilets. But the people are wonderful and we are excited to get there and work with them.

Elder and Sister Duncan

We were set apart on Saturday December 20, 2008 at 2:00 PM as full time missionaries to serve in the Micronesia Guam Mission.

With the help of Dave, Jenn and Tammy we got the house totally cleaned out Saturday night and all the rest of Tammy's stuff in the van and our stuff in her car. We drove down to Dave and Jenn's, attended the Thermopolis Christmas dinner and spent the night with them.

The road conditions were still good the next morning so we said a very teary goodbye to Dave, Jenn and Bethany and we left at 7:06 AM for Utah. The Lord blessed us with good dry roads 90% of the way and only snow packed for small stretches and slick in spots in other areas. We arrived at 2:56 in Tooele, Utah which is where Greg & Julie, our daughter, live.

It was nice to relax with them all evening. We slept well and enjoyed the day with them today. The only thing we have thought of that we left home was my dress coat, so we did do very well getting away. Our kids here have planned a Christmas Eve party and Sue and I are looking forward to spending Christmas with little kids again. As you can guess we are also very excited about our mission and going into the MTC on the 29th.

We finally know which island we are assigned to: Pohnpei. Known as the wettest place on earth. 300 inches of rain each year! 34,000 people. It is 7 degrees latitude and 150 degrees 15 min longitude. Warm and WET! But it actually has a WALMART!!
With winter storms headed our way, we are hoping to leave Worland sooner than planned. It appears that Sunday will be the only snow-free day to travel. So we are moving faster now, trying to wrap up all the loose ends quickly. The next time we post news we will probably be in Utah, or maybe in Pohnpei!!

We have returned from our California trip. We had a great time and got so much done! Even spent a day at Disneyland. Now that we are home, we must turn our undivided attention to cleaning out the house and moving out of here. We hope to be in Tooele, Utah to spend Christmas with our daughter, Julie and her family. Then on December 29th we will enter the MTC to begin our training for our mission. That date is getting very close and we are very excited.

Things are moving right along

Last Wednesday, Nov. 19th, our daugther, Tammy, returned from her mission in California. It is sooooo GOOD to have her back home! Two days after she arrived the company began arriving. Jon and Anna and family. Cyndi and her 3 girls. Charles arrived late Friday night. Saturday Tina arrived with her son Trenton. Ellen and her three were here too. Today, Wed the 26th, Steven and James arrived. Lisa was home for two days. The only one that won't make it home during this 10 day period is Julie. We will visit her at Christmastime.
We have worked hard and emptied out much of the house. Pictures are gone, furniture and beds are disappearing. The kids are taking the things they want, and we are putting the things we want to keep into storage. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Then Friday and Saturday we will work hard to pack up Tina's truck and Jon's truck. They leave Sat. or Sunday and then Tammy, Chuck and I will leave Monday morning for California.
In Calif we will tour Tammy's mission, visit my mother and my brother and his family, and then visit Chuck's sister and her family in Corona. Then we will go to Disneyland and then head back to Worland.
We will then have about a week to finish all our mission preparation and head down to Tooele Utah to spend Christmas with Julie and her family. Then, Dec 29 we enter the MTC in Provo for training. Time is just flying by so fast.

We got our passports!

The passports arrived, and so did the request for all the information needed to get visas. WOW! They really need to know a lot about you to get you a visa! But we finally put it all together and sent it off last Saturday. We're glad that is done!
We talked to Brother Kinjo, the CES director in Tokyo, a few days ago and he said we will definitely be preparing inservice lessons for seminary teachers. We might also be teaching seminary or institute classes. He spoke very good English. He called at 8:30 pm Wed. our time, but it was 11:30 Thursday morning in Tokyo.
We are still cleaning and dejunking. We are preparing the house for the company that is coming. Tammy flies home from her mission on Wed, Nov 19th at 8:30 pm. Two days later the company starts arriving. We will have a great time together.

The house is READY

It's been a huge job, but the house is ready to show. After raising 10 children, we just had too much stuff, so the house looked cluttered. We have dejunked and cleaned and piled and stored and divided and CONQUERED!! Now we return to filling out papers and forms for the mission. I think we are finally done getting shots. But still so much to do! We had a very successful day in Billings last weekend and purchased some of the things we will need on our mission. The time is passing so quickly. Tammy will be home in less than three weeks. Then the company comes. Then Thanksgiving! I feel like we are on a roller coaster that never stops or even slows down!! But we are hanging on tight!! We're gonna make it!

Preparations

After raising our ten children, it is now time for us to serve a mission. Oh, SO much to do! Getting immunizations, dejunking, getting passports, and studying up on the Northern Pacific Islands. We are still unsure just WHERE we will be serving, but we do know it is in Micronesia.