Mission update 1/5/2025

 Happy 2025! We actually have some snow on the ground finally so it really is feeling like winter, sort of. Of course we're also complaining a bit about the cold and the ice on the sidewalks so apparently the world will never be perfect. Oh well.

We had a lot of students to interview this week and we were able to keep the missionaries who help us stocked with students as well. Classes start tomorrow and there are still many students who need their interviews but fortunately for everyone, the endorsement holds have been lifted from student accounts for now. That means that students will be able to register for and get in to class even if we haven't gotten to them yet for their interview. However, next term the hold will be there so they'll need to get the interview done soon. This also means that if students are having trouble registering, it is not our fault. It's always nice to pass the blame somewhere else :)

I had a major (for me) victory this week when a student I was helping actually was able to get her endorsement request submitted correctly and we were able to get her cleared. There are many ways that students can mess up their request and helping them get that fixed is something we try to do a lot of. We've decided that agency is very over rated when it comes to students filling out their paperwork!

We went to the Taylorsville Temple this week with the Smiths and loved spending time with them there. We've had trouble getting our schedules to work lately so we've missed our trips together.

Taylorsville Temple with the Smiths

We had a great New Year's Even party in Logan where we called it midnight at 8:00 pm, made tons of noise and then went to bed early. Best kind of party and fortunately none of the grandkids minded the early hour. New Year's Day was pretty quiet and a great start to 2025.

Happy New Year 2025!

 The best event of this week was the arrival of our 21st grandchild on Friday. Her name is Artemis and she was born to Blaine and Deanna. She took it fairly easy on her mom as far as the delivery went for which everyone was quite grateful. We love her long black hair! As far as we can tell so far, her two older brothers have mostly accepted her into the family.

Grandpa with Artemis at 8 hours old

We're looking forward to a week of meeting the new batch of senior missionaries coming into our mission, planning a devotional or two and talking to many more students.

From Gary: There is absolutely nothing more miraculous on the earth than the birth of a new baby.  The hand of God in the process to create and bring new life on this earth is obvious and incredible.  We were witnesses again to this marvelous and amazing moment with beautiful Artemis being born!  Nothing can open the veil to heaven more than when someone arrives on the earth as a newborn baby!  I feel so blessed to have been a witness to this miracle on so many occasions!

Just finished puzzle!

We got a puzzle for Christmas that Adam had somebody put together of one of our really old family pictures!  We just finished this today!  Oh my we were young!  Now all of these amazing kids have families of their own!  

Have a wonderful week!

We love you all!

Elder and Sister Pack