MTC

Day One of the MTC was a whirlwind of orientations and meetings (with a few breaks in between). My favorite part was finally getting to put on a missionary name tag. I love the reminder to keep Christ’s name on my heart and remember who we represent.

And the next favorite thing was standing in front of the big map where every missionary (including a few of our children) have stood and pointed to the area where they’ll be serving.

Europe North Area/London, here we come!

“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)

We've now finished our week at the MTC (Missionary Training Center) and the best way to describe it is to say that we have been truly filled. Our schedule was literally filled from 8 in the morning until 8 at night (with meals and breaks in between). But more importantly, we've been filled with goodness, light, faith, strength, love, and friendship. We went into the MTC knowing we'd receive lots of training in how we can help others feel the Savior's light and love and help them have faith in Him. We did that for sure, but what we didn't expect was to make friendships and connections with those we came in contact with along the way.

On our first day, we found out there were around 130 senior missionaries (50+ couples and a handful of single sisters), which is a big group!

(So great to be surrounded by these good people. You can find us in the front row, just to the right of middle.)

They divide everyone into small "districts" for the week for the training. We were in a group of 4 couples and assigned to a morning teacher and an afternoon teacher, who are all recently returned missionaries. We were so excited and happy to find out that our afternoon teacher was someone we knew! She's the granddaughter of dear friends of ours and we hadn't seen her since she was young. What a joy it was to learn from her and see what an amazing woman and inspiring teacher she has become.

We also had a fantastic morning teacher who blessed us with his testimony, insights and enthusiasm.

We love these new friends!

As we walked around the MTC, we were surrounded by hundreds of young missionaries who had left everything behind to go throughout the world and teach about Jesus Christ. It was inspiring to watch them and hear a few of their stories. We were equally inspired by the senior missionaries who had left possibly even more behind than the young ones--grandchildren! They were headed to areas all throughout the world--Australia, Peru, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Japan, Nigeria, and everywhere throughout the United States. There were four senior missionaries who had served together in Japan as young missionaries. Unbeknownst to any of them, they all ended up at the MTC this week together!

We met four young missionaries headed to Denmark and told them they're so lucky and they'll be really lucky if they end up in the ward where our son and family attend.

I met a young sister missionary who approached me out of the blue, gave me a sweet compliment, and then I came to find out that she's going to serve in my hometown in Tri-Cities, Washington. And the next day I was chatting with a senior sister missionary. She said she thought I looked familiar. It turns out her husband was from my hometown as well, and her father-in-law was the Bishop of my ward when I was a child.

In addition to the wonderful connection we felt with the 3 other couples in our district, we were paired up with another couple for some teaching exercises. We immediately felt a heart and soul connection with them based on some similar experiences. As we got to know them, we became fast friends and were so grateful for their kindness. We look forward to following their experiences as they serve in Brisbane, Australia.

On Tuesday night, I had the opportunity to sing in the MTC choir for the weekly devotional meeting for all the missionaries. I wish I could have recorded it! To say I felt surrounded by a chorus of angels is an understatement. I hope I can carry that sweet feeling with me.

We sang "I Stand All Amazed". So beautiful!

It would be easy to pass off all of these experiences, coincidences and connections as mere chance or circumstance, but I know differently. I know God walks with us in all of our experiences and He puts people in our path to answer our spoken and unspoken prayers and remind us of His love. I hope that as we serve, not only will we continue to have those experiences for ourselves, but that we can be God’s hands and hearts to lift and love those we come in contact with.