Mindy in the MTC :)

Life has been amazing!!!! :D

Guess where Mindy is RIGHT NOW? :D OK. I'm not going to tell you until the end of this post. The rest of this post can give you a big hint. But don't be too hasty in your guess, you may be wrong! ;)

On May 8th, Mindy spontaneously called friends to meet her and her family at a local park and hear her read her mission call letter... She hoped to go to Japan for years, but decided to just put the idea out of her mind and just be happy to go where ever the Lord wanted her. It would be fun to find out where she was going with friends and family present! :)

Mindy reading her mission call letter - GOING TO TOKYO JAPAN! Oh my gosh, it's a DREAM COME TRUE! :D

In June, Mindy went to the temple to make sacred covenants to serve the lord and keep his commandments. What an amazing experience! :) 

This is Mindy in front of the Spokane Temple right after she received her Endowments (made sacred covenants to keep the Lord's commandments and remain faithful to the end! :D) What a BEAUTIFUL time we had! Miles and I were with her, and a couple missionaries also joined us. She just wanted us there her first time, so we didn't invite people to come. It was a truly sacred experience and Mindy was SO HAPPY! :)

On July first, Mindy got on a plane (for the first time ever) and headed to the Mission Training Center in Provo Utah. There, she has been making new friends, building good memories, and learning the Japanese language very rapidly (though not as fast as she would like - but probably faster than she realizes ;o). She is having the time of her life among a group of very valiant young saints (like herself)! It is simply Awesome!!! :D

The first letter from Mindy came with a request to gather her friend's email addresses so she could write them on her mission. I did that. Then they gave her an IPad and the recommendation that she write only family. So... It REALLY would have been nice if I had made a nice blog for her to post her letters on. But I didn't. :o (Like I had time for that! ;O) I decided today is a good day to get on the ball and at least share photos of her adventure at the Provo Mission Training Center. :)

So... Here are photos of Mindy and her new friends. She is SO HAPPY to be a missionary!!! :D

Fourth of July in the MTC was AMAZING! Mindy wrote a lot about the wonderful devotional they had in which they talked about how religious freedom brought about by this country gaining independence, laid the foundation for a free nation in which the gospel of Jesus Christ could be restored upon the earth again. Independence Day is TRULY a BLESSED day! :)

I sent a few packages to Mindy in the MTC. In this package I sent my own water bottle. It is insulated and nice, and I loved it and took it with me everywhere! But I thought of Mindy in Japan and thought an insulated water bottle would keep her water cooler on hot days, so I sent it to her. She cried when she saw it. Isn't that sweet? :) I love my emotional, sweet, and very thankful daughter! :D

Mindy had made SO MANY FRIENDS in the MTC. She has two companions, who are also going to Tokyo Japan, and after a few weeks, she also gained two more room mates! :) These girls seem to be having a LOT of fun! Mindy has sent photos of them doing EVERYTHING together... even photos of them cleaning on service days! :)

Notice this name tag has her name in both English, and Japanese.

One of Mindy's self made flash cards to help her learn the language. 

Mindy and her companions!

Mindy and a new friend.

Mindy with companions, again.

The next two photos are of Mindy and her room mates. Do you think they are having any fun? ;o

LOL - Oh yeah! :D

Mindy sent zillions of photos, but I just randomly grabbed a few to share here. And with this goodbye kiss (I really don't know what they are doing in this photo, but that's what it looks like) - I will say good bye and end this post. But first I need to tell you WHERE Mindy is, RIGHT NOW. Did you guess?

Mindy and her companions are on an airplane ON THE WAY TO TOKYO JAPAN!!! :D

I am so excited to read her next letter WRITTEN FROM JAPAN! :O   :D

Corine :D