M-Minus 33 - 15 June 16

As we prepare for international travel, Marsha and I have occasion to recall that we first met on a tour of Europe in the summer of 1967. Marsha was a dancer in the BYU Folk Dancers and had been selected for the tour. 

Andy was convinced by a banjo-playing friend, John Simmons, to try out for the live western band that would play for the dancers. After some resistance, he tried out and was signed up. (I think they were desperate at that point.) If you can believe it, the whole cost of the tour to us was $1,000 each.

The tour wound its way through Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, England, Ireland, and Scotland. We saw what were then to us wonders - famous places we had read about but never imagined we would see. We performed American dances from the Contra to the Jitterbug.

We had wonderful leaders like Mary Bee Jensen, Roy (m’boy) Jensen, and Dr. and Sister Crofts. We had Ken, an Indian dancer, who fascinated Europeans with hoop and snake dances. On one occasion the snakes escaped from their bag as we were riding on the bus. You never saw people move so fast as piling off the bus. Once we stopped in Holland to scour a wetland for fresh frogs to feed the snakes. 

The best memories were made when we met and got to know people.

It was a great way to spend a summer.

We anticipate many new and funny, and maybe trying experiences in the Ukraine. But here we go - on the road again. 

M-Minus 43 - 5 June 16

It's official! We have tickets. We report to the Missionary Training Center in Provo on 18 July and fly on 25 July, just one week later. Because we are close to the MTC, we can commute and return home in the evenings.

It seems like forever since we first decided to serve and received our call two months later. On the one hand, there has scarcely been enough time to cut the red tape connected with passports, visas, filling forms, and planning a departure. Marsha has been masterful and patient at doing this, which is her forte.

On the other, it is hard to remember all of those things happening, because our report date came so far after the call--six and a half months. We feel like we have been preparing and making lists forever. In the final analysis, the timing is probably just about right, but we are ready to get going.

We decided to learn Russian on the advice of our Mission President. This began with acquiring a boatload of self-study materials: books...

...web URLs...

 ...audio CDs...

...and even Russian radio station URLs. (They talk really fast.)


The MTC has also provided tutoring opportunities with some of the greatest and most helpful young people. We spend a few hours each week practicing our Russian on them. They have the patience of Job, all of them. How many times can rookies like us mispronounce "хорошо" and still draw a smile from the face on the other side of the Skype screen? It turns out, seventy times seven.

We have read reports from couples already in the field, exchanged emails, and had phone calls across several time zones. We are excited to meet the kind and helpful people we have met over the distance. But in the meantime, we will concentrate on learning how to pronounce "свидетедьствовать" and "Перевоначальное общество".