The MTC

  But great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea; wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren. 

2 Nephi 10:21

We had a wonderful first week at the MTC.  What an amazing place. The first day we were just struck by the great numbers of the Lord's missionary force.  We kept thinking of Daniel's prophecy that the kingdom of God would go forth upon the earth and that we were just one tiny speck on that stone.   The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth.  D&C 65:2 

            ... go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  Mark 16:15

We were walking down the hall and we suddenly heard, "Mr. Tait!"  We were surprised to see one of Mike's former 6th grade students (Elder Eliason) at the MTC.  We were so excited to see him.

               

After the Tuesday night devotional we ran into Elder Brandon Guthrie.  He was so happy and excited about missionary work.

All the senior missionaries in our group.  There were 26 couples going all over the world.  Some of the places were: Ghana;  Beirut, Lebanon (they are the first proseliting missionaries to Lebanon); Poland; Switzerland; Ukraine; Norway; South America; Singapore; Japan; Australia; U.S.A; and of course FIJI!

Our district: The Warners, The Hobbs, Brother Hepworth (our teacher), Elder and Sister Tait.

We met so many wonderful people.  Our teachers were great!  We met a missionary who had come from Brazil to serve a mission in Canada.  One day we were walking around and an Elder came up to us and said, "I don't have a companion."  He looked sort of lost.  He could speak some English, but Mike learned some Portuguese on his mission and could communicate with him.  I'm sure the Lord sent him to us.  He said he had come in the day before and had been with a group of Elders, but all the other Elder's companions came but his did not.  We took him to the information desk and visited with him until his zone leaders came. 

  Not only are missionaries being sent to all the world, but they come from all over the globe.  There were even missionaries from Iran and Pakistan.  The work is truly worldwide.  We also met a missionary who had just come in from Bora Bora.  They have a place at the MTC, funded by contributions made to the General Missionary Fund, where missionaries who would not be able to get appropriate clothes can get suits, shoes, etc.  He was trying on his first pair of shoes (that were not sandals).  We told him we would be trading our shoes for sandals soon. 

The spirit is so strong.  We had some wonderful practice teaching experiences. The MTC has rooms and you knock on the door, and a pretend investigator opens the door and invites you in to a living room.  I was so nervous at first, but once we started teaching it was so great.  We came out feeling such happiness and joy from teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Tuesday night devotionals are wonderful.  They treat the senior couples sort of like royalty at the MTC.  It makes us feel very loved and appreciated.  They save the first 4 or 5 rows at the devotionals for the senior missionaries.  One of the things I liked the best was the singing.  15 minutes before the meeting starts we all sing hymns, and the missionaries sing with great spirit.  Then the opening hymn is always, "Called to Serve".  It is an amazing sight to turn around and see the hundreds of misionaries singing with all their heart.  It brings tears to your eyes.