Jody is at the MTC!

Hello friends and family... I am very proud to report the successful dropoff of Sister Jody Jean Comte at the Missionary Training Center on July 16th, 2008. I am sorry for the delayed blog and of course pictures but someone was so nervous about leaving that they accidentally wrote down the wrong email and password. Jody does leave the MTC on August 4th, so get your letters and packages to her there soon. Her location will change along with her experiences.



In her last letter she informed us of her companions. She is currently with two other sisters, both of whom won't be serving in Tampa with Jody. She is the only Sister in her District as of right now, along with 5 Elders. She loves the food there and she is staying healthy with exercise. Jody has been preparing for this mission for quite sometime by taking Missionary Prep at BYU, also at Church, and teaching the Missionary Prep course on Sundays before she left. She feels very grateful she had so much time to prepare and has had an easier time adjusting than others. I am really excited for her but can't wait to hear stories from the field. Everytime Ryan and I drive by the MTC we yell, "SISTER COMTE" out the window. I hope one day she hears us. Thanks for all your warm wishes and prayers for her. She's doing great!

Remember to write:
Sister Comte
MTC Mailbox #182
FL-TAM 0804
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, Ut 84604-1783

Embarrassing but True

This is really embarrassing for me to say, but when I was little I never learned to ride a bike. Most missionaries ride bikes. So when my mission president said that I needed to buy a bike, I decided I better learn. It has taken awhile for me to get out there, but I rode for the first time by myself last night. I have taken a few falls and still can't steer very well. As you can tell in the video the neighbor kids were right beside me the whole time. One of them was right in front of me in probably not the safest place. Thanks to all the neighbors that have been so supportive and especially my family and the Barnums. It has been a lot of fun with tons of laughter!

New Camera!

So I needed a new camera for my mission because my old one was not working properly. My mother's technician, Sheri Thane, bought me a new one for my mission. I am so excited to have it and can't wait to leave on Wednesday! The first picture is of Sheri! The second is of my wonderful neighbor, Norma Barnum. The last is of the Barnum Three: Cruz, Jaden, and Alexis! I am so thankful for all my friends and family that will be supporting me on my mission!

Jordan River Temple

Ryan, Sam, Dad, and Mother all went to the Salt Lake Temple early this morning only to find out that it was closed for cleaning. After the initial disappointment, we went back to the Jordan River Temple. It was wonderful to be there together. It was a beautiful day to be there.
Afterwards we went to Mimi's Cafe to eat. It is a very nice place to eat with a great French atmosphere. We ate some really tasty things, boxed up the left-overs, and headed home. This isn't the correct temple--it's actually the St George, but it's all we have right now until we find the camera.

Mission Pictures

About a week and a half ago I went and had my pictures taken for my mission. I didn't know that they would turn out so well. It has been really hard to decide which ones my mom and I liked the best. I would love to hear which ones are your favorites, just leave a comment! These pictures were taken by Marlayne Harward. They were taken behind the temple and at a waterfall on BYU campus.

Vacation

I wanted to do something really fun with my best friend before I left on my mission. Mom and I decided that we wanted to go to Tuacahn which is an outdoor amphitheater in St. George, UT. We saw Les Miserables, which was amazing!! We had really good seats and have not stopped singing the music every since. The pre-show was also amazing and we got to meet the man that played Javert in the play. Mom and I have decided to make this a yearly tradition, of course we won't be going next year. It was really warm, at midnight it was still 90 degrees. On our way down we stopped into see Cove Fort. My Mom really wanted to see it because there was a fire last year and she wanted to hear the story about it. It was amazing that the fire didn't touch the fort. It came within 150 feet of the barn. It went right around the missionaries trailer park. We had many great tour guides that were all missionaries. We also meet the head gardener who was nice enough to pick me some peas. The garden and the peas reminded me a lot of my Grandpa Bowen. We also went to the St. George Temple. It was beautiful and we felt an amazing spirit there. After the temple we went to the visitors center, where I recognized the sister missionaries that were there. We talked to them for along time. It was neat because that will be me in less than two weeks. The St. George temple is where a lot of prominent people have been baptized. Abraham Lincoln, Marie Antoinette, and many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were baptized there. And of course we did a lot of SHOPPING!!! We bought some things for my mission, and of course a lot for Hunter.