Brooke Enters the MTC

It is official. Brooke is in the MTC! My dad and I had the opportunity to take her up to Utah this week for a little last minute shopping and goodbyes with friends and family.  We left on a couple of early flights Monday morning (September 8th). The weather in Utah was rainy and cold. My dad and I thought it felt nice to get out of the South Texas heat, but, admittedly, the two of us have quite a bit more insulation than little ol' Brooke. She was freezing! With all of her warm weather gear packed away, finding Brooke a sweater that would be useable on her mission became priority one. It took a while, but we did eventually succeed. We also bought her a few other things before Brooke met with a couple of friends for hot chocolate (the original plan included ice cream, but it was much too cold for that).

After she and her friends finished, we made the trip down to Bountiful to have dinner and spend the night with our Aunt Rosie. We had quite a dinner party as a bunch of family turned up to say goodbye to Brooke!

 

It was a lot of fun spending time with our family and friends. I think it was the perfect send-off for Brooke the night before entering the MTC. We had a lazy morning the following day and finally set off for Provo around 11AM.  We stopped by University Mall to set Brooke up with a nice box of See's Chocolate which she subtly claimed would be used to bribe her companion and roommates into liking her, "I will be the most popular new missionary at the MTC!" 

After that brief stop we grabbed some lunch at SmashBurger. Brooke was really feeling the nerves by then. She had done a good job of keeping her composure thus far and, though she never lost it, she started to complain of nausea and could only stomach half of her salad. Don't worry, we didn't waste it! Dad and I were happy to polish it off for her! She made a phone call to her mom to say goodbye, then we were off to the MTC for her 1:30 report time. 

Brooke took strength as we approached the MTC. While waiting at the guard gate a group of sister missionaries walked past. The group was positively giddy as they peered into car after car of reporting missionaries. When they were level with our, one of the girls exclaimed, "this is so exciting!" Though they couldn't hear her, Brooke replied, "yeah, it is!". We were directed to a parking spot where a young lady (missionary or MTC worker) greeted Brooke as my dad unloaded her bags. Brooke was beaming! All of the nervousness and worry were gone as she stood on the cusp of her greatest adventure to date. We were allowed one last hug a piece, then Brooke waved us off. 

 

Brooke will be in the MTC until the end of October. If you want to write her during that time, please refer to my previous post including her contact information.