Our hearts were fluttering as we walked down the concourse in the Louisville airport and around the corner adjacent to the security screening area. It was there that we caught our first glimpse of the Assistants, Elder Norton and Elder Thompson easy to spot not only becasue of the missionary attire, but becaseu of their heights and big smiles on their faces. President and Sister Glende met us as they were cmoing up the escalator, and the six of us went down to baggage claim. The Assistants left after helping us with the bags, adn the Glende took over from there. We made a visit to the Mission Office then "checked in" to our digs for the next three years: the Mission Home on the corner of Newburg Road and Tartan Way. After showing us around, the Glende's spent an hour and half talking to us about the mission, then we left and went to dinner on Bardstown Road, the more or less hot spot of the area for restaurants and little shops. President and Sister Glende gave us our cell phones and the keys to "the kingdom," meaning the house, the office, all the churches in the area, and Rick's car, and that was it; it was all ours. I couldn't tell whether the Glendes were crying or breathing a sigh of relief as they drove away.
Crawling into bed late that night I sobbed into Rick's arms. What were we doing here? And if we went to sleep, would we somehow wake up back at home in our own beds? In the morning, things looked a lot better, so we girded up our loins, so to speak, got dressed and charged forward. There was no time to waste; we had to hit the ground running.
After some basics were unpacked, we left to meet with the office staff and have lunch, followed by our first “Meet the President” meeting at the church next door.
As we found out is customary, all the missionaries stood as we entered the chapel, shook hands and greeted everyone. It was exciting to finally meet the actual people corresponding to the pictures and names we had memorized before arriving, and find that they were even better-looking and more dynamic than we had imagined. The Assistants conducted the meeting, where after the song and prayer, the time was turned over to us to introduce ourselves and our family back home, and speak of our testimonies and vision for the mission. I told them it was kind of like being a groupie for a movie star or rock band. They had become very familiar to us from their pictures and from the letters most of them wrote to us welcoming us to the mission and telling a little about themselves, and now I felt giddy to finally meet them. I also spoke about the song, "Come, Come Ye Saints” and my desire that like the pioneers, we could feel “all is well” regarding our lives and our service as missionaries, and the hope that we could “with joy wend [our] way.” President Woodbury told about how we were called and the witness we received that this was the time for us to serve. He also told about receiving our assignment to the Kentucky Louisville Mission and how it was confirmed to us that it was inspired. Both, he said, resulted in the theme, “Now is the time, and the GLKM is the place!” He additionally told about his passion for and desire to emphasize the Book of Mormon in our missionary work, how he had read it as a teenager and how it had changed his life forever and formed the anchor for his testimony of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. After we finished speaking, the Assistants led training while we went in to smaller rooms to meet with each companionship, President Woodbury interviewing once companion while I was visiting with the other, then switching.
The above scenario recurred seven times over five days, starting with the Louisville Central Zone, followed the next day by the Evansville Zone, the New Albany Zone ome morning and the Elizabethtown Zone that afternoon, the Crestwood Zone, and the Lexington North Zone another morning with the Lexington Zone that afternoon. At the end of the process we were tired, but also thrilled and grateful for the wonderful, dedicated, hard-working and valiant Elders and Sisters we were privileged to serve alongside in this green and beautiful (and hot and humid!) corner of the Lord’s vineyard.
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