Ancient Anderton Wenatchians: MTC 3

MTC 3 - Preach My Gospel

Our first five days in the MTC consisted of learning Preach My Gospel, the basic teaching curriculum for every member of the church, but especially for full-time missionaries. All of the senior missionary training classes took place in a ward chapel next door to the MTC, as the latter was crowded with younger missionaries. Several times each day we enjoyed a short walk to the chapel in the brisk, autumn sunshine, while enjoying a spectacular view of the Provo Temple and Mt. Timpanogos. The foyer of the chapel served as the portable offices of the senior part of the MTC and they were constantly moving things around to accommodate the wards that met there.

We were immediately assigned to a district which consisted of four couples with whom we would spend the next five days. Our group is pictured below and we love them all! Our teachers were personable, young, BYU students who had returned from their own missions excited and skilled in sharing the gospel. Our morning teacher, Sister Lystrup, welcomed us to class every morning with a Bible joke like, “What do you call an ocean full of noodles?” Answer: A pasta sea (A-posta-sy). Bro. Herman taught us in the afternoons. We had two sessions at the TRC (Training Resource Center), which is affectionately nicknamed the place to (Torture Retired Couples). Here, volunteers from the community (some LDS, some not) came to act as investigators and we taught them. This was unnerving for some of the couples, but after Honduras, nothing seems to scare us. Our training lasted from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., with an hour for lunch. We were served in the cultural hall with food brought over from the MTC cafeteria (you could also eat in the MTC cafeteria, at your option). Our breakfasts and dinners were shared in the "big room" with the younger missionaries. We were tired at the end of each day.

Our group of senior missionaries was the largest group on record at the MTC and December’s group will be even bigger. When it came time to say goodbye, there were emotional hugs and well-wishes. Our entire senior group posed for a photograph and four or five shots were taken, before the photographer told us to make a funny pose. We were chagrined to discover when we got the follow-up email that the only attached picture was the funny one (see below), which features KR doing some weird dance. Apparently, she was the only one who follows directions!

Among the places where members of our group were called to serve: Singapore, Russia, Kansas, Samoa, Tahiti, COLOMBIA, Croatia, Chile, Cape Verde, Kenya, Georgia, Hawaii and more. One country abbreviation on the couple's list was ADRTC. We couldn't remember what country that stood for, so we googled it. "Arctic Dog Rescue & Training Center" came up, but we don't think that's where they're going!