End of First Week at MTC
Greetings from Provo MTC,
We have finished our first full week at the MTC! What a week it has been--filled with SO much. I have sent texts to tell you of Monday evening and Tuesday evening happenings, so will try to start at Wednesday.
Wednesday classes started at 8 am where we met with all of the senior missionaries and were taught how to make sure we had the Doctrine of Christ in our teachings. We then split up into our districts to plan a lesson for our "others". Our "others" were a couple assigned to us to get to know. From our conversations we were to come up with something that they could use help on and teach a lesson that would help. This was really hard for Dad and me because these people were wonderful people who had great faith in the Lord and lived accordingly. They had shared that they were going to Mexico to work in the office. The wife had gone to Guatemala on a mission and Spoke Spanish, but had no computer experience. The husband worked in satellite technology with a Ph.D. in physics and capable with computers. She was quite concerned about her lack of knowledge of computers and he was concerned with his lack of Spanish and how hard he was finding it to learn. We decided to give a lesson on doing all they could to learn the skills they needed and then trust in the Lord to make up the difference. We gave them some practical ideas and went over some scriptures and then issued an invitation with a commitment. It went well and they were very pleased with the ideas and committed to do what we had invited them to do. They gave a lesson for us on increasing our faith and trusting the Lord. We had shared our WES story with them. Their invitation to us was to read Alma 17 and 18. We committed to do that. and found that these scriptures spoke to our hearts. We were so tired Wednesday night that we probably wouldn't have read the two chapters except for the commitment we had made with them and knowing that we would have to report back to them on Thursday. I found with that experience the importance of making specific commitments with a return and report.
Just before lunch we got our devices ready for our first Gospel App Training. Just after lunch we spent 45 minutes learning how to better use our devices to teach the gospel. The Church is really pushing the missionaries to be able to use their devices to teach the gospel.
We decided to give a lesson on doing all they could to learn the skills they needed and then trust in the Lord to make up the difference. We gave them some practical ideas and went over some scriptures and then issued an invitation with a commitment. It went well and they were very pleased with the ideas and committed to do what we had invited them to do. They gave a lesson for us on increasing our faith and trusting the Lord. We had shared our WES story with them. Their invitation to us was to read Alma 17 and 18. We committed to do that.
We were through at 4:30 and went to our room to regroup. We ate dinner and then went to the temple. What a pleasant surprise it was for me to walk up to the chapel door and see Lis sitting at the door directing people into the chapel. We got to visit just a minute before we went in and were grateful the the tender mercy of meeting up with each other. We were so tired when we got home that we probably wouldn't have read the two chapters except for the commitment we had made with the Esplin's and knowing that we would have to report back to them on Thursday. There really is something to the return and report when having people commit to changing.
Thursday came with more gospel training and using technology in missionary work. We went to our district class room and prepared for the follow up with our others. That went really well because both of us had found the things we had been asked to do was very helpful. We took pictures with our morning teachers because one of them had to go to tournament as a class assignment to network with people who might have internship/work possibilities.
Lunch time. It seems we just finish one meal and it is time for another one. After lunch we broke up into groups to plan our second lesson with our others. We were to plan a second lesson and prepare to see how each of our commitments worked out. We met with our others, checked up on the commitments and both of us found great value in doing what was asked. Then we gave our second lessons with invitations. We have really learned to love and admire our others, so their lessons for us come as loving help. We are learning that as we love the people we teach, we will know what they need help with and they will know of our love for them and be more willing to accept the invitations to come unto Christ (changing to be more like Him). We are really enjoying the teaching practice with new methods. We spent the evening preparing for our talks in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday.
Friday came so soon and yet we feel so much has been learned. Today we were going to teach a member who had volunteered to come in. It was different than in the past because these people don't pretend to be someone else like a nonmember. They are themselves and we were to get to know them and then teach a lesson on some aspect that we felt they needed help with. This was harder for me because we only had 15 minutes to get to know her and then 10 minutes to put together a 20-minute lesson. It worked out all right, but was just more stressful than talking with our others.
We went back to the classroom to talk through our experiences. Then off to lunch.
In the afternoon we had three segments on "Become as He is put on by our teachers. It was with the whole group instead of just our districts. We took pictures with our afternoon teachers and said good bye to our new friends who were not staying for more training. It was sad to see them go.
We spent the evening running errands, getting Dad's prescriptions filled because we can't find any of his medicine that he was sure he packed, getting gas, and cleaning the car. While we were in Orem, we dropped by Aunt Joyce's home and visited with her.
Saturday was our chore day. We did laundry. I don’t think that I have ever been in a larger laundromat before. The elders and sisters were so helpful in teaching us the idiosyncrasies of the washers/dryers and vending machines. We worked on our talks until time to go to Chelsea’s home and meet up with Keri and McKay and girls. Our accountants for WES met us at Chelsea’s to get a few questions answered and then they were off to the BYU football game.
Greetings from Provo MTC,
We have finished our first full week at the MTC! What a week it has been--filled with SO much. I have sent texts to tell you of Monday evening and Tuesday evening happenings, so will try to start at Wednesday.
Wednesday classes started at 8 am where we met with all of the senior missionaries and were taught how to make sure we had the Doctrine of Christ in our teachings. We then split up into our districts to plan a lesson for our "others". Our "others" were a couple assigned to us to get to know. From our conversations we were to come up with something that they could use help on and teach a lesson that would help. This was really hard for Dad and me because these people were wonderful people who had great faith in the Lord and lived accordingly. They had shared that they were going to Mexico to work in the office. The wife had gone to Guatemala on a mission and Spoke Spanish, but had no computer experience. The husband worked in satellite technology with a Ph.D. in physics and capable with computers. She was quite concerned about her lack of knowledge of computers and he was concerned with his lack of Spanish and how hard he was finding it to learn. We decided to give a lesson on doing all they could to learn the skills they needed and then trust in the Lord to make up the difference. We gave them some practical ideas and went over some scriptures and then issued an invitation with a commitment. It went well and they were very pleased with the ideas and committed to do what we had invited them to do. They gave a lesson for us on increasing our faith and trusting the Lord. We had shared our WES story with them. Their invitation to us was to read Alma 17 and 18. We committed to do that. and found that these scriptures spoke to our hearts. We were so tired Wednesday night that we probably wouldn't have read the two chapters except for the commitment we had made with them and knowing that we would have to report back to them on Thursday. I found with that experience the importance of making specific commitments with a return and report.
Just before lunch we got our devices ready for our first Gospel App Training. Just after lunch we spent 45 minutes learning how to better use our devices to teach the gospel. The Church is really pushing the missionaries to be able to use their devices to teach the gospel.
We decided to give a lesson on doing all they could to learn the skills they needed and then trust in the Lord to make up the difference. We gave them some practical ideas and went over some scriptures and then issued an invitation with a commitment. It went well and they were very pleased with the ideas and committed to do what we had invited them to do. They gave a lesson for us on increasing our faith and trusting the Lord. We had shared our WES story with them. Their invitation to us was to read Alma 17 and 18. We committed to do that.
We were through at 4:30 and went to our room to regroup. We ate dinner and then went to the temple. What a pleasant surprise it was for me to walk up to the chapel door and see Lis sitting at the door directing people into the chapel. We got to visit just a minute before we went in and were grateful the the tender mercy of meeting up with each other. We were so tired when we got home that we probably wouldn't have read the two chapters except for the commitment we had made with the Esplin's and knowing that we would have to report back to them on Thursday. There really is something to the return and report when having people commit to changing.
Thursday came with more gospel training and using technology in missionary work. We went to our district class room and prepared for the follow up with our others. That went really well because both of us had found the things we had been asked to do was very helpful. We took pictures with our morning teachers because one of them had to go to tournament as a class assignment to network with people who might have internship/work possibilities.
Lunch time. It seems we just finish one meal and it is time for another one. After lunch we broke up into groups to plan our second lesson with our others. We were to plan a second lesson and prepare to see how each of our commitments worked out. We met with our others, checked up on the commitments and both of us found great value in doing what was asked. Then we gave our second lessons with invitations. We have really learned to love and admire our others, so their lessons for us come as loving help. We are learning that as we love the people we teach, we will know what they need help with and they will know of our love for them and be more willing to accept the invitations to come unto Christ (changing to be more like Him). We are really enjoying the teaching practice with new methods. We spent the evening preparing for our talks in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday.
Friday came so soon and yet we feel so much has been learned. Today we were going to teach a member who had volunteered to come in. It was different than in the past because these people don't pretend to be someone else like a nonmember. They are themselves and we were to get to know them and then teach a lesson on some aspect that we felt they needed help with. This was harder for me because we only had 15 minutes to get to know her and then 10 minutes to put together a 20-minute lesson. It worked out all right, but was just more stressful than talking with our others.
We went back to the classroom to talk through our experiences. Then off to lunch.
In the afternoon we had three segments on "Become as He is put on by our teachers. It was with the whole group instead of just our districts. We took pictures with our afternoon teachers and said good bye to our new friends who were not staying for more training. It was sad to see them go.
We spent the evening running errands, getting Dad's prescriptions filled because we can't find any of his medicine that he was sure he packed, getting gas, and cleaning the car. While we were in Orem, we dropped by Aunt Joyce's home and visited with her.
Saturday was our chore day. We did laundry. I don’t think that I have ever been in a larger laundromat before. The elders and sisters were so helpful in teaching us the idiosyncrasies of the washers/dryers and vending machines. We worked on our talks until time to go to Chelsea’s home and meet up with Keri and McKay and girls. Our accountants for WES met us at Chelsea’s to get a few questions answered and then they were off to the BYU football game.
While Keri and Chelsea and Elizabeth and Maggie went shoe shopping for Maggie (shoes for her Aunt Ashley’s wedding day), I worked on my talk some more. The hard thing about this is that we don’t have our printer hooked up, so we will have to give our talks using our devices. I will get my notes all typed up and then email them to one of Dad’s devices. Hopefully I won’t lose the notes during the talk. It seems rather dare devilish to experiment with our devices giving a talk.
There was a wedding reception we went to at 6. Our dear friends the Pugmires were having a reception for their 3rd daughter at their home and we felt blessed to be in town and able to go. What made it even more fun was being able to see so many Santa Clara Ward members who had moved away. It was like old home week. While going through the line we were introduced to the groom’s mother and she noticed our missionary badges. She asked us if we knew other people at the MTC who were not in our small group. Her sister was at the MTC. They gave us her name and I asked them if she was the one going to Hawaii (Polynesian Cultural Center) on her mission and she said yes—small world. After going through the line, we went over and talked with her for a minute and discovered she would have to take Uber back to the MTC. We offered to take her back and were able to fit her into our packed car.
When we got back I had to finish up my talk because church started at 8:30 the next morning and there would be no time to work on it in the morning.
Sunday was a FULL day. We had our three-hour block meetings then went to an early lunch. We had a “Match His Message” meeting for the sisters and one for the elders teaching the young (and senior) missionaries how to act and dress so that they would not be a distraction to teaching the gospel. It was done with such love that no one could have been offended. Then it was time for dinner at 4 pm. It felt like it was too early to again, but if we didn’t eat then there would be no eating until breakfast.
We went to the Departure Devotional that all missionaries go to if it is their last Sunday in the MTC. They did such a good job talking about going out and teaching with the Spirit that I was about ready to go pack and get on an airplane and go right then. The MTC Mission Presidency and their wives are really good. We had about a half hour before we needed to go to the next devotional, so we went and looked at a couple more of the murals that are in the new teaching building of the MTC.
From this Devotional we went to the Evening Devotional. The devotionals that are for everyone are really fun to attend. For prelude the whole audience sings hymns and you can just feel the music—love it! The 1st counselor and his wife spoke on doing what is necessary to do to return to our Father in Heaven. The story of David was told and they demonstrated how tall Goliath was in comparison to their 11-year old grandson by having the grandson stand of the floor in front of the podium then having a 6 foot 3 inch man take a 3 foot ladder up on the podium and stand on the top step. He was over 9 feet taller than the grandson. To make the scene even more visual they put the grandfather’s suit coat on the boy and handed him a huge sword (Japanese warrior sword) that he could hardly hold by himself. President Gilbert used his grandson because President Hinkley had thought David was about deacon age. It was a good visual. They then went on to say that David had faith that the Lord would help him because he had helped David in the past. They had a pouch with 5 stones in it representing the 5 smooth stones that David had taken out of the stream. The first stone was faith. The next stone was repentance, the third was baptism, and the fourth was the Holy Ghost. Sister Gilbert said that David didn’t take out his 5th stone. He lived in a time when kings went out to battle with their soldiers, but David had stayed behind and was not where he was supposed to be. Because of that he was on the roof top one night when he couldn’t sleep. If he would have been where he was supposed to be, none of what caused his downfall would have happened. David didn’t use his 5th stone of enduring to the end. Of course, it was said much better than I have explained it here, but gave me food for thought.
After the devotional we were able to choose a video to watch. Dad and I went to hear Elder Holland speak. He can be really direct in a kind and humorous way and gets his points across so well. We really enjoyed the video. We were really ready to go home and go to bed after the end of our first week in the MTC.
Know that we love you and appreciate all of your love and support,
Dad and Mom
Picture #1 Us at the front of the MTC just before entering
Picture #2 Us at the traditional map
Picture #3 Dad contemplating all that we have learned so far
Picture #4 Our district with our morning teachers
Picture #5 Our district with our afternoon teachers
Picture #6 Dad helping with the laundry
Picture #7 Chelsea helping Elizabeth with craft
Picture #8 McKay, Keri, and Elizabeth and Maggie at Pugmire reception
When we got back I had to finish up my talk because church started at 8:30 the next morning and there would be no time to work on it in the morning.
Sunday was a FULL day. We had our three-hour block meetings then went to an early lunch. We had a “Match His Message” meeting for the sisters and one for the elders teaching the young (and senior) missionaries how to act and dress so that they would not be a distraction to teaching the gospel. It was done with such love that no one could have been offended. Then it was time for dinner at 4 pm. It felt like it was too early to again, but if we didn’t eat then there would be no eating until breakfast.
We went to the Departure Devotional that all missionaries go to if it is their last Sunday in the MTC. They did such a good job talking about going out and teaching with the Spirit that I was about ready to go pack and get on an airplane and go right then. The MTC Mission Presidency and their wives are really good. We had about a half hour before we needed to go to the next devotional, so we went and looked at a couple more of the murals that are in the new teaching building of the MTC.
From this Devotional we went to the Evening Devotional. The devotionals that are for everyone are really fun to attend. For prelude the whole audience sings hymns and you can just feel the music—love it! The 1st counselor and his wife spoke on doing what is necessary to do to return to our Father in Heaven. The story of David was told and they demonstrated how tall Goliath was in comparison to their 11-year old grandson by having the grandson stand of the floor in front of the podium then having a 6 foot 3 inch man take a 3 foot ladder up on the podium and stand on the top step. He was over 9 feet taller than the grandson. To make the scene even more visual they put the grandfather’s suit coat on the boy and handed him a huge sword (Japanese warrior sword) that he could hardly hold by himself. President Gilbert used his grandson because President Hinkley had thought David was about deacon age. It was a good visual. They then went on to say that David had faith that the Lord would help him because he had helped David in the past. They had a pouch with 5 stones in it representing the 5 smooth stones that David had taken out of the stream. The first stone was faith. The next stone was repentance, the third was baptism, and the fourth was the Holy Ghost. Sister Gilbert said that David didn’t take out his 5th stone. He lived in a time when kings went out to battle with their soldiers, but David had stayed behind and was not where he was supposed to be. Because of that he was on the roof top one night when he couldn’t sleep. If he would have been where he was supposed to be, none of what caused his downfall would have happened. David didn’t use his 5th stone of enduring to the end. Of course, it was said much better than I have explained it here, but gave me food for thought.
After the devotional we were able to choose a video to watch. Dad and I went to hear Elder Holland speak. He can be really direct in a kind and humorous way and gets his points across so well. We really enjoyed the video. We were really ready to go home and go to bed after the end of our first week in the MTC.
Know that we love you and appreciate all of your love and support,
Dad and Mom
Picture #1 Us at the front of the MTC just before entering
Picture #2 Us at the traditional map
Picture #3 Dad contemplating all that we have learned so far
Picture #4 Our district with our morning teachers
Picture #5 Our district with our afternoon teachers
Picture #6 Dad helping with the laundry
Picture #7 Chelsea helping Elizabeth with craft
Picture #8 McKay, Keri, and Elizabeth and Maggie at Pugmire reception
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