The Missionary Training Center - Week II

The second week was specialized training for the role we would be filling in our mission.  The training was pretty technical and covered finance, vehicles (the Church owns a fleet of 20,000 cars), housing, Word, Excel, newsletters, and records for baptisms and referrals.

There were 11 companionships who will be in Mission Offices.  They will be serving in South Africa; the Congo; Ghana; London South; New York City North; Washington D.C. South: Vancouver, Washington; Portland, OR; Bakersfield and San Jose, CA in addition to our assignment to Rochester, NY.  (The Truitts have promised to look after Elder Jones in San Jose.)  Several couples has served previous missions including to the Philippines and Poland.  The Hansons were from Evansville and may have overlapped there with Bump and Teresa.

Here we are, behind our monitors, eager to enter in the service of the Lord. 

 These are our instructors; Brother Hewlett, Brother Barham, Sister Clard, and Brother Carney.  All are valiant returned missionaries and BYU students.  They were informative and inspiring.

A highlight of the week was the Tuesday evening devotional by Emeritus Seventy and past Church Historian Marlin Jensen.  He spoke about staying motivated as a missionary and overcoming discouragement.   During his talk, he invited a young missionary to join him.  She told of her conversion of which the initial steps were taken entirely on the internet researching and talking to missionaries on Mormon. org.   Her first physical contact with members was going to church and telling the missionaries there that she was ready to be baptised.

There were two sets of guest instructors.  The Bolligers were returned Senior Missionaries who shared ideas on how to support the young missionaries and how to find missionary opportunities while working in the office.   Brothers Sechler and Foutin work in Global Fleet Management helping manage the church's 20,000 vehicles.  They had lots of insights on being good stewards of the church's significant investment in vehicles.

Wednesdays see new missionaries arriving.  This week, there were 800.  The spirituality and attitude of the young people is awesome.  In our homes, we feel the spirit when the missionaries visit us.  Imagine being with 2,800 of them.

These two weeks have been a mountaintop experience,  the best time in our lives.

Alma 26:37 "Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen."