Crump Crew in Nauvoo: And we're off!

What a whirlwind of a day! We arrived this morning at the MTC, checked in, received our name tags and room keys, had a small orientation, ate lunch, met with all of the senior missionaries, received some training and instruction from the MTC Presidency, were divided into districts, ate dinner and then listened to a talk by Elder Bednar about the "Character of Christ." Whew!

I can say that, even though this has been a busy day, this go round is so much easier than the first time I came to the MTC as a young missionary. I love my companion, I know the language, I don't feel as clueless and I'm not nervous. There are things that haven't changed, however. The spirit of missionary work is still powerful and I feel like I am inadequate and have so much to learn.

It has been fun to meet so many senior couples serving in places all over the world. We haven't had the chance to take a picture of our district yet but we are with three other couples; the Johnsons going to serve in Mexico City, the Roberts heading to Cincinnati and the Hansens are going to India. It will be interesting to meet more couples as the week goes on.

Tonight we had the chance to listen to a talk by Elder Bednar that he gave at the MTC in 2011 on Christmas Day entitled, "The Character of Christ." It is definitely a classic. What I took away from his talk was that for us to BECOME like the Savior we have to learn OF Him and follow His example of turning ourselves outward instead of inward. That's what Christ was all about. Nothing he did was ever self-serving, even in His most trying times. When Elder Bednar concluded with his testimony I could feel the spirit bear witness that what he was saying was true and that Christ does live. My job is to focus on BECOMING like the Savior.

The adventure begins...