[Provo]

This was a beautiful day. The Utah sun was shining in its full glory. The snow is melting all over the place—a thaw. The MTC bustled with our first full day of our experience here. Two of the meetings—morning and evening—were assembly types, but we also attended group language classes and met our instructors. Elder Lucero was morning, Elder Calder afternoon. Both great and sharp young men. This is going to be great. They started our group, consisting of us and the Chapman's, with the basics—alphabet, prayer, some phrases. They described the country, the people, the food and shelter and transportation. It all sounds great and I think we're going to love it here, and in Portugal. Our teachers really are a cadre of 4-5 elders and a Sister who teach the Portuguese—one couple is just finishing up and headed for Brazil. One couple—the Parker's, who are friends of Trudy Lamb—are into this program 4 weeks. So the four couples of us form a large group and have prayer and a song each time we meet. Then the small groups. The Elders tell me they'll take me into a group with the Parker's part of the time for advanced training. Marian is having a very difficult time with her arthritis—the increased walking, stair-climbing, etc. My cold is getting better.