Classes, Devotionals, More Classes, NO Sleep!

The MTC is FABULOUS! I have enjoyed every minute of it. We were originally going to arrive on Monday morning but were told they preferred Seniors to arrive before Monday morning so we flew in on Sunday night. They made our travel arrangements, but the left had didn't know what the right hand was doing. When we arrived late Sunday evening they had no clue we were coming. They were very gracious and scrambled to get our room ready so we could have a place to sleep. We didn't have any keys at that point. The next morning someone had to let us into the main building so we could get officially checked in and get our keys and access badges. 

This is our District with Sister Worthington.
Elder Taylor (Sister Taylor was sick), Ricks,
Sister Worthington, Us, and Stallards

Monday was filled with Check-in and orientation, lunch, welcome to MTC with the Presidency, workshop, divide into districts and meet our teacher. Then we went to a short first lesson on Preach My Gospel. After dinner we had a Meet your Branch Presidency meeting and were assigned our District leader. We were also given our assignments for Sunday meetings. Whew!

Tuesday, we met our morning teacher, Brother Price and had class from 8:00 to 4:00. We covered more Preach My Gospel and some technology. We also met another couple that we were assigned to work with throughout the week. We practiced our lessons on each other. It was fun. After lunch we were with our afternoon teacher again, Sister Worthington. Both of our teachers were wonderful. They made classes fun as well as instructional. We got very close to our teachers as well as our district throughout the week.

This is our District with Brother Price. 
Taylors, Stallards, Bro Price, Ricks, and Us

Tuesday evening was a special treat. We attended the MTC Devotional with Elder Christofferson. We have seen the monthly MTC Devotional with a General Authority for two and a half years as we worked with interpreters. They were all great. However, being there in person was a completely different experience. There were HUNDREDS of missionaries. The choir was fantastic. We couldn't even get through the opening song of "Called to Serve". We were both so choked up. The devotional was wonderful, and the Spirit was strong.

Wednesday started off with a trip to the T4 building where there are 12 beautiful murals that are painted to specifically use light in the pictures. We were to analyze them and see how the light was used and how we could relate it to the Light of Christ. It was a special experience to really ponder each picture. We did some more class work and then went to lunch. After lunch we broke off with our assigned couple to teach a lesson we had prepared and then they taught us their lesson. It was very enlightening. After dinner that night we attended a Workshop called the "Character of Christ." It was an incredible experience. While we were waiting for it to start, I noticed one of our Cantonese interpreters who now works for the MTC. I hadn't seen her in well over a year since she took the job. I went up to her and surprised her. That was a fun connection!

This is Elder and Sister Ashby. They are the 
couple we worked with to do our assignments.

Thursday, we did some technology training using Facebook. We also did a follow-up with our assigned couple to see if they fulfilled the invitation we had given them the day before. Our class time was shortened because we attended a workshop entitled "Adjusting to Missionary Life Senior Style" presented by a delightful missionary couple with Senior Mission experience as well as several master's degrees in counseling. They are currently serving a mission in counseling young missionaries. They gave a very fun and educational presentation. 

After lunch we had our last class with Sister Worthington. She is a wonderful teacher, and it was hard to say good-bye. She will get a new set of missionaries next week and we will get new teachers next week as we start on our Member and Leader Support (MLS) training.

Most of our District at
the Temple.

Thursday night we were able to attend the Provo Temple. I think most of the session was filled with Senior Missionaries. It was nice to be in the House of the Lord and to attend with our new friends. They will be tearing the Temple down after next week and doing a complete rebuild. I'm glad we were able to attend the original. It is iconic.

Friday morning was our last class with Brother Price. It was also hard to say good-bye. We learned so much from both teachers and they also made it so fun. It was very enjoyable to be with them each day. We had an early lunch so we could attend a Senior Missionary Safety and Security Training Workshop. We had two presenters who were GREAT. They kind of played off each other so it made it fun. Again, we learned a LOT. One thing I hadn't really thought about is the fact that Missionaries kind of stand out and that can make them an easy target for bad guys. They gave us tips to avoid getting into trouble. Very, very helpful. Class ended at 3:00

We ran into the Burnetts several times.
They are headed to Japan for their mission.

We had signed up to help some young sister missionaries who will be giving tours in San Diego for the Mormon Battalion exabit. That will be the first part of their mission before they go to there other assignment in various parts of the US. They gave us a tour of the MTC campus and the statues and buildings around the campus. They did a great job.

After that we did laundry!!! While there, Hayran (she was the interpreter we saw on Wednesday evening), called and wanted to visit with us. We told her where we were and she came. We had a wonderful visit catching up on old times. 

Saturday was P-Day. We slept in. YAY!!! We decided to catch up on all the emails we hadn't read yet. We received an email about a training course we are going to have next Thursday. It had seven attachments. It took us several hours to read all that information! Later, after dinner and showers, we watched some Safety Zone videos. There are 12 we are supposed to see. Most are pretty short so we were able to watch 6 on Friday night and the other 6 on Saturday night. I think we are all caught up until next week. hahaha

We met Elder Sitaki and his wife. His brother
used to work with us on our other mission.

Sunday was incredible. We had Sacrament meeting, and a wonderful Relief Society meeting where we shared many experiences we have had. After lunch, we did a "Go and Do" exercise that was designed to bring us closer to Jesus Christ. It also brought Elder Wilcox and I closer together. I loved it. After dinner we had a Mission Devotional that finished up on the theme for the day. Every meeting on Sunday was about Deeping My Conversion to Jesus Christ and His Atonement. The devotional was the culminating event and really made a huge impression. Needless to say it has been a very spiritual and emotional week. We love it!

All our Love and Prayers,

Elder and Sister Wilcox