We made it to Georgia!

We made it to Georgia! It was a whirlwind packing up, saying goodbye to friends and family, and preparing/training for our mission. So many thoughtful, supportive people wished us well, wrote us cards, gathered to say goodbye, and have offered prayers on our behalf, and we feel so grateful! The night before we left, a steady stream of well wishers poured in and it was hard to say goodbye for 3 years...it was really sad. The support and prayers are definitely carrying us through. Monday morning at 5:45am, we left our house for the last time. We have loved our time there so much...sigh. We were a scene at the airport with all 7 of us (3 in missionary tags),10 bags and 2 cellos! What a circus :) We would have had Ollie with us, but Delta isn’t flying pets, so he’s waiting out the pet embargo at Grandma and Grandpa Harris’s.

We spent the flight with our masks on the whole time - something we're all trying to get used to, but I don't know if it will ever feel comfortable or normal...When we arrived, President and Sister Marsh picked us up and drove us back to the mission home, about 45 minutes away. On the drive, we kept saying how green and tree-filled it is! Who knew Georgia is so green? I sure didn't. It’s beautiful. It’s also hot and humid, like everyone said!

After dropping our bags and eating some lunch, we headed over to the mission office to meet some of the missionaries. They were all so excited to meet us and so welcoming. We got talking to them and at a certain point looked around and wondered where the Marshes had gone...well, they were just gone. We're grateful to them for their service. What an amazing labor of love they've completed. We wish them well as they head back home. And now, we were officially on our own and in charge - here we go!

We spent the first week meeting with the APs and Senior Sister Training Leaders (they're amazing - hard working, humble, enthusiastic - we love them already!), meeting with our area authority, getting to know our senior couples and familiarizing ourselves with the mission. Mark counseled with lots of missionaries, met with Stake Presidents, and is keeping very full days already. I split my time between meetings until 2 or 3:00 and then came home and tried to settle in. Our boxes came on Thursday so we started unpacking this week, and our cars were delivered Saturday, so that was really helpful. Our new bishop in the Lilburn 1st ward invited us over for a 4th of July BBQ, which was so nice. I was impressed that they had extension cords attached to fans out in the backyard, shade tents up, and have figured out how to stay as cool as possible outside. Sunday, we went to church in masks and it was great to meet some people. Our ward is small - I think they said it has about 100 members. They're so welcoming, and have already come to welcome Natalie to primary in chalk on our driveway, have dropped off treats, and come by to visit and say hello.

This last week, we had meetings with all our zones and introduced our family and some foundations for this mission we hope for. The girls were troopers - they gave messages and traveled around with us. It has been amazing to watch Mark be guided by the Spirit as he meets with people or leads these meetings. He knows what to say and how to say it. It has been my favorite part of this so far. I know he has experienced little miracles like talking to the parent of a certain missionary (on his first full day here) and needing to talk to that missionary, but not knowing when he would be able to get in touch with him, and as he opened the door after that call, there was a group of missionaries in the office and one of them was the very missionary he needed to talk to. In that same vein, I was a little worried about getting everything I needed ready for our meet the missionary meetings this week - I had kids to get going, our house is a disorganized mess, etc, etc, and I needed certain items for an object lesson we were using as a visual for our message. I said a quick prayer because I was dangerously close to being 100% overwhelmed, and then I found the exact size and number of Tupperwares I needed (I have no idea what all is in this house yet), found the perfect rocks outside, and had the exact exact (like down to the number of grains) amount of rice I needed and had just happened to buy at the store the other day. Honestly, it was a little miracle. I know your prayers for us are sustaining us, and that we're being supported and guided all the time. It's been amazing to experience that.

One of the low lights of the week was our pediatrician appointment to get the Georgia Health form filled out for school and sports physicals. It took over 3 hours and they had no idea what "Missionary Medical" insurance was...a rather grumpy office employee made a somewhat loud and uncomfortable scene about that - haha! Several shots later, we were ready to go finally with forms in hand. Phew! This is all balanced out, however, by the friendly people, the beauty here, the fireflies (so awesome!), and gardenias and magnolias (heaven!) We're grateful to be here. We're being stretched in ways we never imagined, and are feeling humble and grateful. Lots of love to everyone at home! We love and miss you all!!!