Missionary Training Center (MTC)

As we drove to the MTC that first morning of May 13th, it finally hit us that we were really going on a mission.  We drove to Provo in morning traffic and eventually found our way to the entrance of the MTC.  The security guards pointed us to a parking spot and guides took us into the main office to sign in and get our parking and security pass.  Then we returned to the car and moved it to the designated area and followed the directions we were given to turn in our medical papers at the Health Office, pick up our name tags at the Bookstore, and stop in at the Travel Office to tell them we were driving to our mission.  One of our guides was Bill Sherwood's brother.  Then we walked over to the Stake Center next door for our first group meeting.  The chapel was filled with senior couples.  There were 35 couples and two single sisters from all around the United States called to missions throughout the world.  The majority were going on CES missions, the others included: health services, leadership development, military support, public affairs, family history, Kirtland Visitor Center, and mission office.

They started by asking each of us to stand and introduce ourselves, tell them where we were from and where we were serving.  All the couples seemed to have a lot of experience both professionally and in the Church; we were very impressed.

Following the introductions, the President of the MTC and his wife greeted us and spoke briefly.  Then we broke for lunch.

The senior couples are treated differently than the younger missionaries.  They aren't required to stay at the MTC during the two week training, so we drove there every day from Jon's house.  Seniors also get an hour and a half for lunch.  That turned out to be a bonus because it gave us a chance to see both Ethan Overbaugh and Catherine Whitney every day at lunch.  Both are going Spanish speaking, Ethan to Mexico and Catherine to Santa Rosa, CA.  It was fun to see how excited and enthusiastic they were about their missions and to hear how they were doing passing off the discussions in Spanish.

When we returned from lunch we had a training session based on the Preach My Gospel Manual with the head trainer for the MTC, Brother Peterson.  He was totally awesome!! He could make a living as a stand up comic, though his message was serious and to the point.  He taught us that our purpose was to help others come unto Christ.  At the end of that session, they divided us  into 12 Districts comprised of 3-4 couples.  Our District totally rocked!  It included Elder & Sister Clark [he had been a school teacher and coach in southern Utah and she was a nurse], who were going to Spain on a health services mission, and Elder Ford and Sister Arial Bybee [he was a college professor, she was a world renowned singer at the Metropolitan Opera for over 30 years], they were going CES to San Francisco.  For the rest of that day and the morning of the next we were given the assignment to prepare to teach "investigators" the first discussion the next afternoon.  We spent some time preparing and then practiced on each other.  When we got home that night we were totally exhausted.

The next afternoon they brought in people who acted as "investigators" for us to practice with.  We got an older couple who said they were concerned about what happens after death.  We explained the Plan of Salvation and the purpose and blessing of the resurrection.  They had lots of questions; it was an interesting experience.  Afterwards we found out they had gone on a mission to Toronto and our friend Ward Taylor was their Mission President.

That night we had a wonderful devotional with all the missionaries who were currently at the MTC; it was standing room only.  Sister Bybee performed a beautiful arrangement of "Where Can I Turn For Peace" that brought us to tears.  The main speaker was Elder Russell M. Nelson and his wife.  They spoke about how our ancestors from beyond the veil help us with our genealogy; it was a great meeting.

Over the next few days we continued our training and had another teaching opportunity.  Our "investigators" were really prepared for us  with all kinds of questions and push back.  Elder Bryant shared a touching testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ from his perspective as someone who had joined the Church as an adult and described the many blessings it had brought to him and his family.  It was a good experience.

On Friday after lunch we had a testimony meeting in our District to finish out the week.  

Our second week of training at the MTC was centered on each couple's specific mission assignment, so we were divided up again based on our callings.  There were eleven office specialists in our group going to assignments in South Korea, Fort Lauderdale, FL [Jake Whitney's mission], Las Vegas, Philadelphia, England, and Canada.  Some had computer and office experience, others didn't have much [that would be me].  Sometimes we were all trained together on the same topic, but sometimes we were divided up as secretaries, fleet/car managers or financial managers.  

We had a song/prayer/devotional thought every day.  The young elders/sisters who taught us also showed us some hilarious short videos from UTube to make us laugh.  It was a lot to learn in a short amount of time [only four days that week]; we both felt quite overwhelmed to say the least.  We had another testimony meeting on Thursday afternoon before we were all released to depart for our missions.

We planned to leave for Calgary early Monday morning, so we spent our last weekend packing our bags/boxes and the car and car-top carrier.  Sunday evening we went over to Lisa and John's for an informal supper and last goodbyes with Lisa and Karin's families; Jon and Carter came, too.