Missionary Training Center - Provo, UT

Our week at the Missionary Training Center in Provo was hectic – but fabulous. We flew to Salt Lake City from Phoenix on Halloween and stopped at the Bangerter’s home in Alpine for a quick visit with Sister Bangerter. President and Sister Bangerter presided over the Brazilian Mission when I served my first mission there in 1961-1963. We had a great visit with Sister Bangerter and she shared a lot of information about the history of missions in Brazil with us.

We arrived at the Missionary Training Center about 11 o'clock and were checked in with great efficiency and shown to our room. The accommodations for senior missionaries are wonderful with very new modern rooms.  After getting her missionary badges we met with volunteers who checked our paperwork and gave us a brief orientation as to the events for the week. Each day included to large sessions with all of the senior missionaries and several classes for smaller groups. There were more than 80 senior missionaries in our class who are assigned to various responsibilities in all parts of the world. For many this was not their first senior mission – as a matter fact one sister there was reporting for her eighth missionary assignment!

We were with three other couples during our small group training sessions and we quickly became good friends. The training was given by young recently returned missionaries and was excellent! The classes were focused on material in the Preach My Gospel handbook and included the preparation and giving of lessons from the handbook.

Our MTC District - Steffans, Tiffanys, Petries, Sherwoods

The five days were inspiring and motivational. It was wonderful being around the other senior missionaries and all of the young missionaries who were there as well. It felt like we had stepped out of the real world about halfway to Heaven.