When you arrive at the MTC, Missionary Training Center, you are given a card with your picture, name, and mission. It is the card that lets you get in each building and eat your meals. Promptly 5 minutes after I received my card I lost it. I didn't realize it was lost until an hour or so later. Frantically searching through my purse, the two bags of paperwork several times, it still wasn't appearing out of thin air. Craig just knew it was going to turn up.
We were able to enjoy our lunch around noon to be ready for our first training session by 1pm. I enjoyed a simple salad and yogurt. Craig enjoyed the potato bar. We met a couple of really sweet sister missionaries headed to Russian speaking in Washington State. Every sister was super friendly. On our way out of the cafeteria I was grabbed from behind by my own dear Jahayra Rodriguez. One of my young women, what a delight it was to see her. I just kept giving her hugs. It was so awesome. They say it is a small world here at the MTC and it is so true.
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| What a sweet encounter |
Craig and I sat down about 10 minutes early for the 1 pm training meeting and I was about to go through my bags again when I remember I hadn't asked Heavenly Father for help in locating my card. I bowed my head and said a quick prayer for "that which was lost would be found." Another quick look in my purse and I discovered the note I was to try to deliver to the Bledsoe's granddaughter, it had been missing for a few weeks and it was the first time I had seen it since I was given it. What was lost was found.
But that is not the end of the story. There are about 80 senior missionaries in our batch here at the MTC and we had spoken to about 10 of them. Two were some sister missionary friends traveling to Frankfurt Germany together to serve together. We also met a Samoan couple that will be serving as MLS - Member Leader Support Missionaries in their home stake in West Valley, Utah. Just minutes after my prayer, one of the sisters walked up and handed me my card, she had found it in the parking lot. It is not coincidentally that the one to find my card was one of missionary we had met. Prayers are answered, even if they are simple, Heavenly Father is aware of our needs.
June 18, 2016
Wow, what a whirl wind! Busy but a good busy.
Craig and I had a full week at the MTC. We had lots of experiences, good and challenging. We met so many good people; senior missionaries and young ones. And we even ran into friends from Fallbrook while we were eating ice cream at the BYU Creamery on Ninth. I had Graham Canyon and it is the best. I was also delighted to find out you can do half a scoop of one and half a scoop of another to enjoy more delicious flavors.
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| It's tradition - Italy |
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| Our District - Bro Swallow, Ashtons, Flemings, Halls |
Craig and I are specifically called to serve in Member Leader Support. So many different kinds of missions to fit the talents, skills, and gifts of each. Office support, member leader support, records digitizing, family history, Church Education System, Perpetual Education Fund, Young Single Adults, temple, and medical - nurses, doctors, mental health to name a few. There were some missionaries that would be living at home, some traveling across the United States to a new state location, and some like us traveling to a foreign country. They probably was about 20 missionaries altogether going foreign. Some already knew the language and some struggling like me. A cool thing is there is online Skype tutoring that you can start months ahead of your mission and continue infield for additional 6 months. I was only able to get 5 tutoring sessions in before we leave but they were so beneficial. I can already bear a simple testimony, slowly, but I can do it. Sorella Dall was so patience and helpful but she made me work and wasn't giving me an easy pass.
Io so che Gesu' Cristo vive
Io so che Thomas S. Monson e' il profeta
Io so che il Padre Celeste mi ama
Io so che il vangelo e' vero
Io so che il libro di mormon e' vero
Io so che il vangelo benedice la famiglia
Io so che tempio e' la casa di Signore
Io so che Dio e' il nostro Padre Celeste
Io so che la mia famiglia e' eterna
Nel nome di Gesu' Cristo, Amen
For some strange reason we thought we might have plenty of time in the evenings to just relax or write this blog/journal or go to the temple. I don't know what we were thinking. Evenings were full. Thank goodness we were able to go for a long walk each night, getting some down time as we walked, and talking over the day. Craig often spoke to me in Italian and I would look at him with a blank stare most of the time but there was the occasionally response of "si" from me or repeat or spelling of the words which allowed for some visualization in my mind.
Monday night was a video presentation of Elder Bednar's 2011 MTC Christmas Devotional on "The Character of Christ" - look outward! My quick notes were: forget myself, ask others, be interested, observe, take time, show my love for the Lord, study the life of Christ in the scriptures, and internalized His atonement blesses us beyond our own.
Tuesday night was Elder Ulisses Soares speaking at our missionary devotional. His sweet wife, Rosana, bore her testimony. He was translating, at the end she said in English "I love my husband" and Elder Soares continued right on translating and said "I love my husband." It was so funny. My thoughts were: I can't believe I am actually on a mission, by revelation at the very moment an apostle of God decided where I was to serve my mission and it was confirmed this is the right mission for us now, keep the mission rules, and memorize Doctrine and Covenants 4:2 in Italian.
Wednesday night after Italian tutoring, we went to see Aimee, Nate, and Colby. We enjoyed caramel brownies with ice cream and their company. It was a lovely evening outside. Colby was chasing the chickens and laughing. Craig and I shared about our district and some of our Preach My Gospel lessons. We talked a bit about TRC - teaching volunteers who come in weekly and play a role of being less active members of the church or non baptized members.
Thursday night we baked 6 dozen cookies at Bro Swallow's home because our brand new gas stove at Wyview apartments (that's where we stayed all week) was not hooked up to the gas line. Craig and I had met most of the Italian missionaries - 33 of them. 22 sisters and 11 elders, about 1/3 going to Milan and the rest coming to our mission in Rome. I can't wait to see them again! We grew to love them as we visited with them at lunch, at the devotional, at dinner, and a couple of times during their study time. They were so gracious and loving to us. Always saying "ciao, ciao" when we passed in the halls. So we baked them cookies. We knew they received plenty of candy and goodies from home, the only thing we could give them was fresh baked cookies. Two of the sweet sisters thanked us for the cookies because they felt like motherly love to them. They all leave for Italy the middle of July.
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| This sweet sisters can't wait to serve in the Rome Italy Mission and we can't wait to meet them again. |
Bro. Swallow was our morning instructor, we just love him. He was always so positive with us, encouraging, and bearing testimony while helping us learn how to teach the gospel as a missionary. When I asked Bro Swallow if we could come to his apartment to bake cookies, he so graciously said yes. We were glad to meet his sweet wife, she also teaches at the MTC. Bro. Swallow is a runner like Craig, so they enjoyed swapping running stories. He also gave us a small trivia quiz daily and a joke daily. My favorite:
A duck walks into a store and asks "got grapes?" to which the owner replies, "I don't have grapes". So the duck leaves.
The next day the duck walks into the same store and asks "got grapes?", and the owner says "I don't have grapes, this is that kind of store." The duck leaves again.
The next day the duck walks into the store again and asks "got grapes?", the frustrated store owner says "No!, I don't have grapes. If you come in again and asks for grapes, I am going to nail your bill to the floor." The duck walks out.
On the the 4th day, the duck walks into the store again but this time asks, "got nails?" the owner says "no, this isn't that kind of store." after which the duck promptly asks "got grapes?"
Our other teachers were Bro. VanLeeuwen and Bro. Wade. Both so kind and positive, always giving us time to sharing our thoughts. They always role played to demonstrate and explain. They asked us lots of involved questions to help us know how to teach with the spirit and what we could say.
We had to teach 3 times! during TRC. Our first teaching lesson was with an grumpy 84 year old man. I loved him immediately. Our second teaching lesson was with a grandma and her 18 year old granddaughter, who had invited the cute elders in and then got stuck with us teaching them. Our third teaching assignment was with another missionary couple pretending to be nonmember or less active friends. It was a bit rough each time; Craig and I have different teaching styles so we are learning to work together and smoother flow. You know you just got to remember to pray each time at the beginning and end, pray as a companionship before teaching, listen to the needs and thoughts of the person you are teaching, trust your companion, and listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Lots to remember, but mostly remember you are teaching a child of God, not a lesson.
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| Such a beautiful setting for the MTC |
The cafeteria food was good. Always plenty to eat and usually plenty of choices. I enjoyed fruit and yogurt, salads, wraps, potato bar, desserts like brownies and cookies and always ice cream. We had fajitas one night, meatloaf another, and chicken fried steak. Fruit and cereal was always there but I never had any cereal. It got a bit chaotic toward the last couple of days. The cafeteria was being transformed in preparation for the Mission Presidents coming next week, which took away a few serving areas, and the new missionaries, 300 plus of them, came in on Wednesday. Finally by Friday, I think the chaos slowed down.
The MTC is a great experience, I received a confirmation that I am in the right place at the right time. I am a missionary for my Savior, Jesus Christ. He knows me and He will uplift me and help me through all His grace. I love Him and my Padre Celeste with all my heart.
Am I ready to go forth and serve? Yes! Am I scared and nervous? A bit. Am I saddened to leave my family. Yes! But this is right. I know it.
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| My Italy cake from Heather |
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