Hinckley Blog

I actually submitted recommendations for two missionaries last week: Sam Close and Logan Keller (son of Cindy Norton in Yalecrest 1). Logan's call came on Wednesday, but his family held it for him until he came up last night from school at SUU in Cedar City. He called me this morning with the amazing news that he, too, has been called to the Spain Barcelona Mission! He enters the MTC with Sam the last week June - will we meet both of them at El Prat in August!

So far I am 2-0 for missionaries recommended this month who received calls to Spain Barcelona. Should we rename it Bonneville East?

Better sit down for this one.

Sam Close received his mission call today - to the Spain Barcelona Mission! I am not making this up. He goes into the Provo MTC on June 24 (the same day we go), spends three weeks in Provo, then 6 weeks in the Madrid MTC, and we meet him at the Barcelona Airport ("El Prat") the end of August. It's a small world after all.

So tonight we had our weekly planning session. Tomorrow I set apart Amy Joe Miller (Jolene Brasher's daughter going to Argentina Cordoba), then we head down to the MTC for the Tuesday night devotional, staying over for a full day of language training on Wednesday. Thursday night we have the Nelson wedding dinner; Friday is the wedding and reception; and Saturday is free for study and errands (after a 12 mile run).

Next Sunday is my last stake PEC. Tuesday Kathleen goes to the MTC and I set apart my last missionary. Friday we both go to the MTC. Saturday is a 14 mile run, after which I prepare my last stake conference talks.

Then things heat up - more MTC study, and an intense stake conference weekend that begins at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday and ends about 1:00 p.m. on Sunday (March 15) as I hand over the building keys. After that it's off to D.C. for the Marathon and a week of visiting grandchildren, followed by General Conference, followed by packing up items to be shipped, 12 classes on Preach My Gospel, additional language study, preparing 10 talks in Spanish, getting outfitted, closing up our affairs, packing our bags, and heading to the MTC for the final intense immersion before boarding the plane.

And somewhere in between we have to release first quarter earnings, have the annual meeting of shareholders, and file our personal income tax return.

But hey, we're learning how to plan!

Welcome to the world of The Babies. This is a pretty typical peek into the life of Benjamin and Kate:

1. It is the second largest city in Spain.
2. It is the largest city on the Mediterranean.
3. It has a metro area population of about 4 million.
4. The official languages are Catalan and Spanish.
5. There are three daily newspapers and several television stations in Catalan only.
6. It was the home of Atoni Guadi and the birth of modernismo.
7. It hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics.
8. Legend has it that the city was founded by Hercules 400 years before the founding of Rome.
9. It is the headquarters of the Spain Barcelona Mission.
10. It will be our home for the next three years.

As we immerse ourselves in such Spanish language tasks as "Interview a Missionary," "Discussing Missionary Transfers," "Help Resolve Concerns," and even such simple things as "Give Directions," it seems to us that being a mission president in an English-speaking mission would be a relatively simple thing. Not that it is ever simple to be a mission president, but imagine trying to run an entire mission in a foreign language! And that includes training local leaders, conducting temple recommend interviews, working with missionaries to resolve serious problems, meeting with Area Authority Seventies. Even my counselors are unlikely to speak English.

Then last night in the "lounge" at the MTC I met a couple from Davis County who are also going out in July - to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He will have 180 missionaries, all of them from Cambodia or surrounding countries, none of whom will speak English! He served his mission in Thailand, so he has some familiarity with the general geography (i.e., he can find Cambodia on a map), but neither he nor his wife speak the language. After talkling with this couple, Barcelona seemed like an especially wonderful assignment!

As Einstein reminded us, everything is relative.

Hi Grammie and Pops! Hope you had a good Valentine's Day.

That's the "Centro de Capacitacion Misional," better known to most of you as the M.T.C. We spent the full day on Thursday "en clase" with our respective tutors, then took the evening off to attend the annual Marjorie P. Hinckley Lecture over at the Hinckley Alumni Center. The lecture was by William Dougherty from the University of Minnesota. He was very interesting, talking about research on the problems of overscheduling in our families and the loss of regular family dinner time, and what the implications are for both families and societies.

I headed for home after the lecture; but I dropped Kathleen off at her lodgings at the MTC (which could best be described as simple but adequate). I have a day of meetings at the office, but hope to be back in Provo by 3:00 for more immersion. Tonight we will spend the night at the M.T.C. and continue our studies through noon on Saturday. Can you even imagine a more romantic Valentine's Day?

The Official Announcement:

Clark Bryant Hinckley, 61, and Kathleen Hansen Hinckley, six children, Yale Ward, Salt Lake Bonne-ville Stake. Brother Hinckley is a stake president and is a former counselor in a stake presidency, high councilor, bishop and counselor and missionary in the North Argentine and France Paris Missions. Senior vice president, Zions Bancorporation. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Gordon Bitner and Marjorie Pay Hinckley. Sister Hinckley is a volunteer in the temple and is a former counselor in a stake Relief Society presidency, ward Young Women president, counselor and adviser and ward Relief Society teacher. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Evan Owen and Darlene Maye Housley Hansen.