Generation May 17, 2010.

That day we had the distinct privilege of going to Mexico City to be in meetings with Elder Bednar, Bishop McMullin of the Presiding Bishops Office, the Area Presidency, and their wives. Elder Bednar first spoke to the missionaries of the Mexico MTC and the Mexico East Mission. That was a 3 hour session. We lunched and then had an additional 4 hours together. It was amazing, as you might guess. The training he did was largely about being in touch with and responding to the Spirit. He did not give a talk. It was an open discussion. Very nice. Lots of pages of notes which I need to wade through.

Because that same Monday was also the day we received new missionaries, we were concerned that we would not be able to greet them at the airport. So, we arranged for them to fly late into Veracruz and on the same plane with us. That was really fun. We sat around the airport and got to know them. As the time drew near, some got very quiet and others became very chatty. Almost none of the 11 had never flown before. We were on a little jet exactly like the Skywest small jets, two seats on the right, one on the left. Most of the 11 missionaries were assigned to single seats on the left. We could see the backs of their heads, their noses pasted against the windows looking out in wonder and maybe with a little bit of anxiety.

As we started to land in Veracruz I looked over my shoulder at a tiny little missionary with big glasses named Elder Vargas, a declared first-time flyer. He was sitting there with his glasses askew, hand clutching his heart, his eyes big, rolled and fixed on me, and his mouth hanging open almost drooling, as his head listed to the right, "Preach My Gospel" open on his lap. I did a double-take and then he started laughing. He was playing dead. Very funny. Like we don't have enough to worry about.

The missionaries are Elders Parker from Orem (his dad, Todd, taught Book of Mormon to our daughter, Jane, when she was a freshman at BYU), Ruiz, Rivera, Castañon, Camacho, De La Rosa, Valencia, Olivares, Zaragoza, Gutierrez, and the little trickster, Elder Vargas.

The next day, six of the eleven were assigned to the new Villahermosa Mission and five to stay in Veracruz. The emotions were running in all directions.