We were fortunate to have been placed with four wonderful couples. The McGovern's from Texas - called to serve in Moldova; Kellem's from Orem, called to serve in Kenya; the Wallenzine's from Spanish Fork -called to serve in Mozambique; and the Hambelton's from Idaho - called to serve in Scotland/Ireland. Wonderful group of people.
Things we learned these past two weeks:
1. The Lord has a hand in all this work and quietly goes about accomplishing his work. A quote from Ezra Taft Benson, 1985:
"The Lord works from the inside out. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people. And then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing the environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."
2. Senior couples gather from all walks of life all energetic and ready to serve. They all share feelings of how difficult it is to leave family, friends and grandchildren but they know the Lord will watch over them and bless during their absence. In 2010 there were 52,000 missionaries enter the MTC and to-date- there is 56,000. Couple missionaries increased by 20% over last year.
3. Never seen so many white shirts, ties and dark suites all in one place. Good thing we stayed at home because Elder Johnson stained a couple during our two week training.
4. FAITH is the key to this work. MTC Goal: " 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.
Monday, November 7, 2011, we arrived at the MTC to begin our journey of giving service to the people of Guatemala but first we have to be spiritually trained. The time has arrived and there is no turning back. Our feelings of leaving family, friends and those precious grandchildren for 18 months has been a tough decision. We've discussed what better example could we be than to be missionaries for our Heavenly Father by serving others.
Oops! Don't know how this happened. Please be patient because I have no clue how to post. Apparently this one is backwards so read from the bottom up. As time goes on, it may improve. Besides I am only a three weeks behind!
