Our First Week in the MTC

There are fifteen Missionary Training Centers around the world, including South and Central America, Africa, Europe, and New Zealand. We reported to the Provo, Utah MTC and had an intensive five days of training from the Preach My Gospel manual.

Our group of fifty couples were divided into "Districts" of four couples. Our eight men and women ranged in age from 58 to 79, and have been to or are going to Samoa, China, Nauvoo, Central Oregon, the Marshall Islands, Lebanon, and Chile Concepcion. We got to know and love each other very well, and plan to keep track of each other all over the world.

The Robertsons, Beckers, Kenningtons and Gyslers, with our morning trainer Sis. Brown.

We started out in the Marriott Hotel in downtown Provo, since there were so many senior missionaries. Eventually we were able to beg our way into an MTC room, since the lack of a car was very inconvenient! As soon as we moved in, Clint tried out the nap facilities.

 After our classes ended Friday afternoon, we took the shuttle to the Wilkinson Center with Werner and Lilly Gysler. I bought a CTR ring and a few lightweight clothes. We passed by the BYU library on campus.

The afternoon was brilliant. This is the BYU Administration Building.

I lived in Heritage Halls on the BYU campus when I was a 17-year-old freshman waaaaaay back in 1970. These buildings are now being torn down to make way for -- 

-- spectacular new Heritage Halls for men and women.

Walking back to the MTC with Werner and Lilly in view of the Wasatch Mountains. Lilly was afraid she wouldn't like the bookstore since she can't read English, but she found some beautiful art prints to buy.

Later in the evening my sister Linda and her husband Craig, who live not far away in Midway, picked us up for a dinner on the town. They are expecting their own mission call sometime next week! Good luck Robinsons! We talked as fast as we could nonstop to get everything in. They kindly took us to Dillard's afterward so I could buy some sensible and comfortable Clark shoes, since I could tell the new black flats I was wearing were not going to make it through the rigors of southern Chile.

I am hoping today (Saturday) that the junior missionaries will leave an hour or two of a washer and dryer free for me to do laundry, but alas the time has not yet come--they are camped out en masse in laundry room in the basement. There is a huge fan in the entrance to let cool air in there. I will wait until lunch time, when many of them are occupied with food, to see if there are some empty washing machines.