Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC)

A Week to Remember...Aug 7-11

We entered the MTC on Monday, August 7, 2017 at approximately 10:30 AM with great excitement and some anxiousness.  We were met by local volunteers who helped us get checked in and pointed in the right direction.  Part of the package was having our pictures taken as we came in.  Those of you who have either gone on missions or sent out your sons and daughters on their missions will recognize the locations and posing of these pictures...glad to be a part of the world-wide missionary force.

I remember dropping all of our sons at the MTC at the beginning of their missions with the exception of Mark.  Mark was our experimental child.  Before we knew we could go inside the MTC with them we said goodbye to Mark at the Oakland Airport and sent him on his way.

My Reflections

We started our mission off in the same place we said goodbye to our sons...whew that brought back a lot of memories, strong feelings of emotion and great happiness.  Now it was Vivian's and my turn to have the MTC experience.  We were not disappointed.  There were over 60 senior missionary couples plus three single sisters.  We quickly developed a love for them as we all learned the deeper meaning of full time service for Jesus Christ.  We were fed...spiritually from the first moment to our last.  We prayed, we sang, we were instructed, we laughed and we cried.  The Spirit was so strong in this place you could feel it; you could see it.  You could see it in the faces of those there.  We passed groups of missionaries, young elders and sisters, who freely came to serve at various missions throughout the world.  The are strong, they are vibrant and they are ready.  We took strength and courage just being around them... 2,800 strong.  At the end of the week Vivian and I did not want to leave...we knew it would be difficult to replicate this feeling outside the MTC.  However, we did, at the end of the week, feel prepared to understand the character of Christ, His Gospel, His Atonement and the Plan of Salvation and how it relates to taking His message throughout the world.  In other words we came to understand on a deeper level what our missionary purpose is and how to express it to others.

We appreciated the young returned sister missionaries who trained us and our district for the 5 days we were there.  They were outstanding and so knowledgeable and Christ-like.  We appreciated those senior couples in our district with whom we discussed and interacted as we were trained in Preach My Gospel.  We shared our concerns, excitement and anxiousness  We were given opportunities to explore our testimonies and come to understand the Spirit guides everything we do and without it we can do nothing.  We appreciated the scores of MTC employees whose sole purpose was to care for us and all our needs.  I'm still amazed how they could feed 28,000 of us three full meals a day within in a narrow 90 minute time frame and do it over and over again.  In the end, as I write this post, I realize the strength that comes in pondering on this experience and the solace it gives to me...to remind me of what my purpose is...to represent Jesus Christ as a missionary and invite others to come unto Him.

More pictures...

Lobby area in the MTC outside our room.  A great place to meet and mingle with other missionaries.

Our District for the week.  We spent most of our training with this wonderful group of missionaries.  From L to R: Sister Nelson - MTC Trainer; the Cummings - Washing Seattle Mission - Church Education/Young Single Adults; Arnoldsons - Australia Perth Mission - Self Reliance; Bairds - Arkansas Little Rock Mission - Mission Office Specialists.

There were many surprises as we met other senior couples.  In this photo the couple on the left are Kelly's.  They were called to the Sweden Stockholm Mission.  They are are from Fair Oaks, CA and in Scott and Linday's Ward.  Sister Kelly even taught our grandchildren in Primary - Ada and Ivy.  A very small world indeed.

A view of part of the MTC Campus from one of the new buildings just opened up.  They were doing tours all day long.  Provo Temple in the background.  

Look who we ran into...newly minted missionary Elder Dylan Heath (center).  Vivian taught Dylan in the Primary Sunbeam class in the Benicia Ward so many years ago.  It was fun searching him out in a sea of white shirts in the cafeteria

Vivian and I with our Russian Language Tutor, Elder Rickey Callister.  We took online tutoring with him each week since March..  We are continuing to study with him for another six months here in Ukraine.  He served his mission in the Ukraine Kyiv Mission.  A really delightful young man.