Max in the MTC

We dropped Max off at the Provo MTC on Wednesday, September 20. We have been happy to talk to him each Wednesday since then as he has been learning Spanish and how to preach the gospel. 

He is scheduled to leave the MTC on October 26. As he waits for his Bolivian Visa, he has been temporarily reassigned to the New Mexico Albuquerque Mission. His whole district seems to be heading to various stateside assignments for the time being. This will be good, he will learn more Spanish and we can mail him things and he won't have to handwash his clothes in a bucket for a little while longer!

Any time these goodbye pictures come up again, I get a little choked up. I wish things could go super easy for him and he would be spared hard things, or that we didn't miss him so so much  -- but then were would the sacrifice be? Where would the learning be? And the coming closer to the Savior? 

We went to In-N-Out for lunch that Wednesday, then stopped at the Provo City Center Temple to walk on the grounds for a little bit.

Then we went to the Provo MTC. They direct all the cars down the ramp into the parking garage and where to line up. A missionary ran up to greet us and took this picture.

Then we all got a last hug.

This is the poloroid picture we took on the grounds.

And the poloroid of the brothers the night before he left.

Max was able to find his best friend Andy in the MTC, they overlapped by a couple of days. He also found a few more friends there. It's packed with missionaries right now.

On the evening of Tuesday, October 3, the Young Women General President gave the MTC devotional. Because I am assigned to cover the women leaders in the Church News, I got to go to write about it. I found Max right away and got the biggest hug. I met his whole district.

He joined the choir and they sounded incredible. This is the photographer's picture that we put in the Church News about when Sister Freeman was sharing the sign in ASL for repentance. 

Out of the thousand missionaries there, I also met the son of one of the women I interviewed while I was on Maui. That was such a tender moment -- I kept feeling drawn to that area of the floor after the devotional and drawn to that young man. I was able to send his smiling picture to his grateful mother. I don't believe it was a coincidence!

We pray for Max that he will be helped along his way right now and that his visa will come in due time.