June/July Missionaries at the MTC

This past week we received our new group of missionaries to the Madrid MTC.  48 in all.  Most of them are from the United States.  Three are from England, two from France and one from Ukraine.  The 3 Brits are all going to serve in Spain, the 2 from France are going back to France and the 1 from Ukraine is going to one of the missions in Russia. 
They are a very good, diligent group of missionaries.  Each group seems to acquire a particular personality, a sort of amalgam of all of their personalities.  This last Sunday, their first, we ask for a show of hands on how many had completed their memorization of assigned scriptures in Spanish and we had a very large number.  I mentioned to President Sitterud that this group seems ahead of any other groups in that area.  And yet we have no native Spanish speakers and no advanced districts.  They are all just very diligent.
Our Russion missionary, Elder Boboshko, is a convert and the only active member in his family.  He is 26 years old, the upper limit that can still serve.  He has completed his university studies, and is a registered and practicing veterinarian, with the most contagious smile you ever saw.  He makes everyone happy.  He also speaks no English and has been assigned a North American Elder as companion that speaks no Russian.  They get along spledidly.  This past Saturday when all the missionaries went to Retiro Park for the first time for contacting Elder Boboshko amazingly found the only Russians in the park.  No one else contacted or ran into Russians.  He found 2 different groups.  And placed a copy of the Book of Mormon in Russian.  He's really an awesome Elder.
As you know, each Sunday afternoon we go out on the Temple steps and sing to the people passing by and in the apartments across the street.  Here's some pictures of this latest group.

The MTC is directly in the background

Our 2 French missionaries are a senior couple: The Allanics.  She is standing directly behind Vivienne

In this group, unlike the last, most of the missionaries are Elders.  Last group was reversed, for the first time.  Of the Sisters in this group, about 3/4 of them are 19 years old.

I love this shot of the Temple in the background.  It is currently closed for 2 weeks, so this group has not yet been inside