As we begin our second mission, we also experienced the MTC (Mission Training Center) for a second time. BYU-Hawaii is our CES (Church Education System) mission assignment. Craig will be teaching on the Religion Faculty and I have yet to receive my assignment. I was told it could be Academic Library Advisor or EIL (English as an International Language).
We entered the MTC on December 2, 2013.....along with 152 other senior couples. They had never had 153 couples in one week..THAT WAS HISTORIC! This picture only shows about one-fifth of the couples training that week. We are the 8th from the right in this picture.
We were divided into districts of about four couples for training.
Our district is made up of a divergent group…three other couples. One man was in law enforcement at the county level, another an accountant,
and another a tech guy. The tech guy-“friar Tuck” and his wife served in Cambodia last year. We are growing closer and developing real respect for each other. It is great!
We were divided into districts of about four couples for training.
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| District #3 - Our teacher trainers are seated in front. |
Our district is made up of a divergent group…three other couples. One man was in law enforcement at the county level, another an accountant,
Journal entry - Yesterday at the MTC we role played a teaching scenario with a volunteer man who was about 82 years old. He claimed to be a non-member who retired from the Navy and settled near his children and so wondered about the church. He said he was told that if he wanted to learn, the best place was the MTC. We still don’t know if he was legitimate or just playing a part. Our experience was wonderful. We worried and prayed for help to work together. It was so wonderful to switch so naturally back and forth. I couldn’t help but notice that when Janny spoke, the spirit visibly moved this man. At one point I testified to him that in spite of his negative experience with his father that his experience AS a father was what his Father in Heaven wanted him to feel from Him. Your Father in Heaven loves you and is involved in the details of your life. Janny likewise testified… as we did so his eyes filled with tears…he was deeply moved. He was so anxious to accept our invitation to commit to reading the Joseph Smith pamphlet and accept an appointment for today to talk about the Book of Mormon…. But we are told we can’t have an appointment with him. We will be teaching someone else the Plan of Salvation.
Our second teaching day was to a woman who sweetly resisted our invitations with what she thought would be difficult questions… She commented, "It is troubling to be reading in what I thought was God’s word only to find the story hero and author beheading a man called Laban." Interestingly, Janny and I had role-played that very question and discussed the answer. Our discussion was thoughtful and confirming. The woman, near the end of our discussion, broke out of her role and said, “You must be a seminary teacher or stake president or both???” We laughed and went on with the role to the end.
Little did we know that many more faith promoting experiences would be ours while training in Preach My Gospel. We also attended two evening firesides with speakers, Brother Bruce Hafen and Elder Quinton L. Cook. Inspiring!!
Our second teaching day was to a woman who sweetly resisted our invitations with what she thought would be difficult questions… She commented, "It is troubling to be reading in what I thought was God’s word only to find the story hero and author beheading a man called Laban." Interestingly, Janny and I had role-played that very question and discussed the answer. Our discussion was thoughtful and confirming. The woman, near the end of our discussion, broke out of her role and said, “You must be a seminary teacher or stake president or both???” We laughed and went on with the role to the end.
Little did we know that many more faith promoting experiences would be ours while training in Preach My Gospel. We also attended two evening firesides with speakers, Brother Bruce Hafen and Elder Quinton L. Cook. Inspiring!!
Dec. 7, 13 -We are home and finished with the first week of our MTC experience. They have so improved the MTC experience… we felt so engaged and so empowered from our experience and training. Though there was little that was new to us, the manner in which it was organized and presented was so beneficial. We are ready to teach investigators and less-actives…not just by knowing the missionary lessons but also by principle and experience.
Our second week at the MTC was training as a Church Education missionary. Within the MTC there are specified trainings for different types of missions, such as....Military, Proselyting, Member-Leadership Support, Humanitarian, Public Affairs, Accounting, Farming, Construction, Temple, Real Estate, Medical and many, many more! 
Training included....
Our Purpose: Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.
-Truth: "To be known, the truth must be stated and the clearer and more complete the statement is, the better the opportunity will the Holy Spirit have for testifying to the souls of men that the work is true.’" B.H.Roberts
-Teaching in a classroom setting. The worth of each soul.
- Prodigal Son: And thus we see that God's thoughts and ways concerning mercy are higher than our thoughts and ways...in as much as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my merciful ways higher than yours. One of the most effective ways to help students invite the influence of the Spirit into their hearts and prepare them to act on the principle they have learned is to encourage them to reflect on personal experiences related to that principle. This helps students recognize the impact the principle has had in their lives or in the lives of others. (Fundamentals of Gospel Teaching and Learning)
-Evidence...(scripture, past experience) + Assurance (must feel through the spirit-help them feel) + Action (commit to action)
Our Purpose: Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.
-Truth: "To be known, the truth must be stated and the clearer and more complete the statement is, the better the opportunity will the Holy Spirit have for testifying to the souls of men that the work is true.’" B.H.Roberts
-Teaching in a classroom setting. The worth of each soul.
- Prodigal Son: And thus we see that God's thoughts and ways concerning mercy are higher than our thoughts and ways...in as much as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my merciful ways higher than yours. One of the most effective ways to help students invite the influence of the Spirit into their hearts and prepare them to act on the principle they have learned is to encourage them to reflect on personal experiences related to that principle. This helps students recognize the impact the principle has had in their lives or in the lives of others. (Fundamentals of Gospel Teaching and Learning)
-Evidence...(scripture, past experience) + Assurance (must feel through the spirit-help them feel) + Action (commit to action)
-Priesthood Keys
-Administration and priesthood relationships.
"THE LORD IS PREPARING MORE THAN WE ARE INVITING." Pres. Thomas S. Monson
We had studied identifying purpose, preparing and teaching skills, principle statements, the power of the spirit, and faith to believe that we are called and sustained by God.
It was gratifying to see the enthusiasm as everyone was anxious to start their service in their missions. What a blessing to meet and connect with such wonderful people who love their Savior and are willing to serve Him throughout the earth. We also are anxious to share our testimonies of our Savior and Redeemer and his gospel!
We are so grateful for this preparatory experience!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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