Missionary Training Center!

     We showed you our tutor who has patiently worked with us.  Now we will show you the two teachers we had in the MTC for our daily learning.  Bro. Murphy was with our group of four couples in the mornings and Sister Russon was with us in the afternoon.  Have to admit, we had a good time and both teachers survived the teasing.  She is engaged to another teacher there and he is at the "holding hands" stage with another teacher there.  Both were helpful and yet challenging.  They didn't mind taking us out of our comfort zones.  We learned about getting to know people and understand their lives and being able to share the message of Jesus Christ.

                                               

   We enjoyed getting to know the other couples in our group.  One will go to Nauvoo to take care of the animals there and drive the wagons with horses.  He is a vet from Canada.  Another couple will go to Arizona and the other will go to Chile with lots of adventure ahead.  (By the way, they are in jumbled order here, but I haven't quite mastered control of this blog yet.)
   The messages through the week were inspirational and motivational.  We heard some absolutely beautiful music.  The MTC presidency spoke the first day.  It was so fun to see the Hackings, who had been over our mission a few years ago.  She had wondered for a while where we were because she had seen our names on the list earlier this year.  Attending two devotionals in the Marriott center and being among 3400 missionaries was quite the experience!  These young people are enthusiastic, polite, sharp in appearance and eager to learn--at least most of the ones we talked to were.  We saw Tan Nguyen--some of you will know him--the first day we were there, which turned out to be the day he was leaving to go to Cambodia.  He said they told him after just over two weeks that he could speak the language well enough and didn't need to stay for the nine weeks it usually takes for that language!
     Here you will see a small chunk of the host of missionaries walking from the Marriott Center back to the MTC.

     Eating with all the missionaries in the cafeteria was fun.  We talked to many of the other couples and to some of the young ones--who were willing to follow the instruction to let the older people go ahead of them in line.  Can't even imagine fixing 10,000 meals  day or whatever it is!  It is efficiently done and the food was very good, I thought.  In fact too good!
     107 senior missionaries were there for the week.  One single sister was going to Hawaii.  Among the places people were going were Chile, Nauvoo, Arizona, Ohio, Nebraska, Liberia, London, Bulgaria, Peru, Washington, D.C., Texas--Houston, Oregon, and others I may remember later.
     I think my most emotional moment came at the Mission Conference on Sunday as we were sitting near the front in the auditorium and stood to sing the intermediate song.  Earl nudged me to turn and look in back of us.  A "sea" of about 2000 young people, young men in dark suits and ties and young women in modest, but colorful attire, were energetically singing the hymn and it was very impressive!  Tears came to my eyes.
    Earl is pointing out on the world map where we will be going-----

  The next post will tell about our week in Salt Lake learning about the cameras!