Our mission to South Africa begins.

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So, we are now entering our second week at the Mission Training Center (MTC) here in Provo, Utah. The original plan called for us to fly out on Monday, November 14. But even the best laid plans are subject to delay from power-hungry government bureaucrats. Our visa to South Africa has not yet come, so we will enjoy the MTC until our visa and passports arrive. In October we made a special day trip to Washington, D.C. to submit our visa applications in person. For every other couple sent to South Africa this has worked splendidly. But apparently all the dotting of the i’s and crossing of the t’s on our application were subject to more strenuous scrutiny. So we wait.

The good news, though, is that we get to revisit our last week’s training with a new and improved version this week.  They are updating the training this next week, so that should be fun.  I’m trying to persuade the MTC that getting this extra training should count towards our next mission, thus saving the church the expense of bringing us back to Provo. That idea hasn’t gained a lot of traction, though.