The MTC

February 12, 2017

On our way to the MTC!

We had a great week at the MTC last week. It was so fun to be on the campus with other senior missionaries and hundreds of young Elders and Sisters. Their energy sustained us! We loved the opportunities we had to engage in conversations with them. Some were so enthusiastic, some were very serious, and some were pretty lost. It matched my moods hour to hour!

Our group of senior missionaries consisted of 56 couples and one single sister. As we met together in our first meeting and sang “Called to Serve” I recalled the same spirit as I sat next to Zack in that very room 9 years earlier. It was much easier this time, but the same spirit was there. I will never sing that song again without feeling a profound feeling of humility.

As we studied Preach My Gospel, we once again drank from a fire hydrant full of information. Although the things we learned do not directly apply to Public Affairs, we can all benefit from in-depth study of that inspired book. The amazing part for me was that we were being instructed by young returned missionaries who were full of the spirit and full of the light of Christ. I kept thinking how proud their parents would be to watch them teach.

The famous MTC map!

We were divided into districts with three other couples; the Allreds, the Merrifields, and the Petersens. The Allreds and Merrifields are serving MLS missions, and the Petersens are serving with the YSA’s in Cache Valley. We became good friends quickly and will keep in touch. We were also paired with another “companion couple”, Elder and Sister Burgess for Vancouver, BC. We would be instructed by Brother VanLeeuven and Sister Lewis as a District, then we would role play and teach what we had learned with Elder and Sister Burgess. We grew to love them as well.

Our MTC District. So grateful for all we are learning with these great couples!

L to R: Allreds from Sandy, Petersen's from Cache Valley, Partridge, Merrifields from Blackfoot, ID.

A couple of my favorite quotes for the week:

“The healing power of the Atonement can remedy what we cannot repair.”

“Do not neglect the first gift God gave this dispensation . . . the Book of Mormon. “ Elder Holland

Funny story . . . Whitney Allen Mariscal (niece) who works at the MTC came to see us Thursday afternoon there. They had borrowed my 2 gallon hot chocolate pot for their wedding open house in Oregon in December, so she brought it back to me. Except, I had never thought of this before, but it was really a coffee pot! So here we are carrying this coffee pot around the MTC. We took some heat for it for sure . . .

Waiting to hear Elder Gerrit Gong, Presidency of the Seventy, speak to us this evening. While waiting, I met my second cousin, Brent Gines, who serves as the Executive Secretary here at the MTC. Brent's Grandpa is Parley Gines. Always fun to meet new family!

We broke out Thursday night... Cafe Rio! Yum!

The week was not without it’s challenges. One of my greatest challenges throughout the mission I’m sure will be the same challenge I have at home, and that is sleeping well. At the MTC we were in a bouncy queen sized bed where we could feel each other’s every move as we tossed and turned all night (especially me.) And no caffeine on campus to help me stay awake during the day! I had to smuggle a little in. Ron called it my contraband. Thursday morning, as I was standing and doing my hair, I moved a little and felt a pop. My back had snapped. So I tripled my usual dose of Naproxen, moved ever so carefully, and Ron carried my backpack around (bless him!). I made it through Thursday, attended the Provo City Center Temple Thursday night, but by the time I went to bed I knew that I was getting a cold. I was able to catch it early, take my trusty “snake oil” (as Ron calls it) and my Emergen-C and fight it off pretty well.

The MTC was a great experience. I was so glad to be home and sleep in my own bed.