Our New Home

 After a gruelling ride from Prague to Nitra, I am genuinely glad to be here. 

We are in a 1-bedroom apartment on the 6th floor of a 7-story building just off a very busy street.  

The place seems to have been recently remodeled, with new floors and cabinets. There is a little washing machine, a tiny dishwasher, and a modest fridge/freezer behind the cabinet doors near the sink. It's lovely, but it occurred to me suddenly: Where do we put the food? The trusty dresser by the front door is just the place. 

The bed is a king, very large, comfy. The bedroom closet is the full width of the bedroom, plenty of storage. And there is a 5x5x11 storage unit down the hall. 

The views are pretty and the area is quiet. The place reminds me of Zach and Julie's apartments in Seoul on a less-grand scale. 

MTC at Last!

 We arrived late, an inconvenience to staff. They handled it with kindness and took care of everything nicely.

Lunch was next and the food was good, with the ambiance being similar to a clean high school lunchroom, for 2,000 lively students. Loud! 

 Our room is clean and lovely , like a self-serve hotel room. 

The campus here is open, beautiful, and perfect for completing an assignment. Below is Allan finishing a 2-hour project on Heavenly Father's love. 

The Provo Temple is across the street. We walked over last Thursday for a session. 

These are all the Senior Missionaries who entered the Missionary Training Center (MTC) with us last week, 87 in all. Some have already left for their assignments!

Snowy Morning (Many Years Ago)

When things are not all going well, I tend to turn inward and stop journaling and communicating with people. Things are not all going well, but at the same time many things are going right.

I love Christmas time, the lights glowing in the long dark nights, especially here in the great Northwest. The past two years I have been working virtually full-time in Seattle, and the city experience at holiday time was marvelous. This year I am at home in Kitsap County and enjoying a quieter, more slow-paced season. Unless, of course, I head to Silverdale and am within a mile of our mall.

We had our first snow of the season last night, and the grass, trees, and rooftops are blanketed. Snow lightens up the nights and silences the neighborhood. There is something of a reverence in the air when we have a snowy morning. I love it!