FIRST WEEK @ MTC

BILL & ELLEN IN THE TRADITIONAL

MTC MAP PICTURE

We graduated from the first week's course! Now if we can get past the second week's course we will be on our way for real!
Of course we had to do the traditional "where we are going picture in front of the world map at the MTC. This is one of the things we have always pictured ourselves doing and it was surreal.
We have just thoroughly enjoyed ourselves but it was very hard. Up at 6:30 am to 8pm. We sit in classes 7 hours a day with no college credit :) We are amazed with 21 to 24 year olds that do at least half of the training of mostly 60+ year olds with 3x's the experience. They are so sure of themselves and do a very excellent job. Everything is very choregraphed and precisely timed,
The MTC houses 4000 mostly 19 year olds.
We start at 7:30 am class tomorrow for two hours and then genreal conference all weekend. What could be a better way to start yhour mission than with General Conference.

FAITH PROMOTING STORY

I have RLS. We failed to get the prescription refilled before we left and so I ran out Tuesday night. I couldn't sleep and neither could Ellen. Needless to say we were pretty tired. If slept Ellen would sleep on the cement floor in order for her to escape the shaking bed from my kicking. I took so many different sleep aids and other RLS meds that use to work that I was so wired I couldn't balance well and my speech was slurred. Tuesday I called to get a copy of the prescription faxed down here from our pharmacy in Castle Rock. They said they would take care of it and fax it right away. Then Jill Rodeback (her dad owns the pharmacy) called me and asked if it would be OK if she delivered the refill. I reminded her we were in Utah. Of course she knew that. She reported to me that on the spur of the moment they decided to go to Utah to visit family and they would be here any way! I had the pills the next day and we had a good night's sleep the first time in two days. Without this delivery we might have been another day or two before we got them down here. We probably would have been so worn out by then it might have taken another two days to get the meds to work right. I know the Lord knew we needed this help quickly. I am just sure that Jill must have been on the Lord's errand.






This one of our training groups. The couple on the left are going to Katmando, Nepal at the base of Mt Everest, also humanitarian. He was a well known baseball player for years.

Learn a little about the Missionary Training Center

At the Church's Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah, young men and women as well as retired men and women from around the world come together to prepare to serve the Lord. The purpose of the MTC is to provide an atmosphere of peace, love, trust, confidence, and respect in which missionaries can prepare for missionary service.

Missionaries dedicate 18 months to two years to missionary service. Approximately 52,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are currently serving as full-time missionaries. They are called to serve in one of 334 missions in approximately 120 different countries around the world. Missionaries begin their service at a Missionary Training Center, where they prepare to become messengers of the Lord, bringing glad tidings to families around the world. As representatives of the Church, missionaries believe that people throughout the world can obtain life's greatest happiness from following the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Each Wednesday several hundred missionaries enter the Provo MTC. Families accompany them to an orientation, and then bid them farewell. The eager missionaries then enter an exciting world of learning. The MTC curriculum consists of up to 12 weeks of studying doctrine, learning to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively, and developing excellent communication skills. When missionaries are called to serve in foreign lands, their training also includes learning a new language. The Provo MTC is well known for its language teaching program. Approximately 50 languages are taught at the Provo MTC. The teaching staff is composed largely of former missionaries, who are well acquainted with missionary life. Using state-of-the-art language training technology, the Provo MTC fulfills the prophecy that "every man shall hear the fullness of the gospel in his own tongue . . . through those who are ordained unto this power" (D&C 90:10).

The Provo MTC is a beautiful campus designed to accommodate up to 4,000 missionaries. The facility includes a large gymnasium, cafeterias, a medical clinic, a bookstore, a mail center, laundry facilities, classrooms, meetinghouses, and residence halls. A day at the MTC can involve many different activities, including visiting the cafeteria, enjoying some exercise in the gym, and engaging in personal study. Missionaries spend much of their time in the classroom.

Although the MTC has excellent facilities and an outstanding training curriculum, missionaries feel that the spirit of the MTC is their best learning and teaching aid. The MTC experience is the fulfillment of a life-long dream for many missionaries, and yet they anxiously await the day when they will depart to their assigned missions. After weeks of training, missionaries leave prepared to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people around the world.

For more information about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or to request a visit from missionaries, visit the official Church "Learn More" site, or call toll-free at 1-888-LDS-7700 or 1-888-537-7700.

Here is a link if you would like to know more or see more about the MTC:

http://www.mtc.byu.edu/themtc-virtualtour.htm