We got home this afternoon after spending a wonderful week at the MTC. We left Provo about 4 p.m.yesterday (Fri) and really wanted to get to our mission area before stopping for the night, which we did. We stayed in Monticello at the Wayside Inn, a very nice place that is owned and operated by members of the church who gave us a "temple worker" discount. Elder Hunt took advantage of their continental breakfast this morning, but I walked across the street to "PJ's" to see if they had something like hashbrowns that I could take with me. The lady there brought me a large container filled with yummy fried potatoes and onions and told me that there wouldn't be any charge as she always takes care of the missionaries! Monticello was a good place to begin our mission experiences. The wind blew us to Holbrook -- It took us about four and a half hours. Here are a few highlights from our week:
Sunday: We attended meetings with Aunt Letha, it was fast day for their ward as they had stake conference the previous week. All of the meetings were exceptionally good and Aunt Letha asked us to invite Cherise and Cami to dinner afterwards and she invited her granddaughter and her husband as well. It was a jolly group and she pulled out her dominoes for traditional Sunday evening game. We loved having more time with our girls!
Monday: We checked into the MTC at 10. We stayed in the new building with senior missionary housing on the third floor. Our room was VERY nice with a queen size bed (the old rooms had cot-size single beds) and we had our own private bathroom. On the walls there were two gospel art LARGE pictures. As we picked up our missionary packet at the orientation meeting the first thing we did was pull out our name tags and clip them on. That was truly a defining moment, the impact of our decision to serve a mission penetrated my heart with such force that tears came to my eyes. We were divided into districts and there were four couples in our district who in the course of our week became dear friends. Many of the missionaries in our group were headed to Nauvoo, including 10 single sisters. We were told that was a record for single senior sisters at one time.
Tuesday: The highlight for the day was the evening devotional. Elder Hunt and I chose to sing in the MTC choir for the occasion so we went to the 1 hour rehearsal after dinner. We sang Mack Wilburg's arrangement of "Lead Kindly Light" and it was a great experience to join the young, enthusiastic voices of that choir. Elder Craig Cardon of the 70 and his wife Louise were the guest speakers and they both gave impressive talks. His message centered around D&C 4 -- our greatest joy will be found in devoting our heart, mind, and strength to the Lord.
Wednesday: We prepared and taught lessons to investigators (service missionary volunteers). It really helped us realize that we are on a mission to teach people, not lessons and it was a good experience. We were especially glad that we got to see Elder Luke DeWitt from Joseph City at breakfast, lunch, and dinner on his first day at the MTC. I also met Elder Hazlett, my cousin Nicki's son from Moab. (We stopped in Moab on our way thru yesterday and visited with the Hazletts).
Thursday: I played the piano for the large group senior devotional and we had more teaching opportunities with investigators. We also enjoyed a presentation given by Brother and Sister Tree who have served four missions. They looked well into their 80s and recently returned from a mission in the south seas.
Friday: There is a statue of Samuel Smith, the first missionary, in the middle of the buildings and Elder Hunt always liked to walk down that particular sidewalk so we could see him. I was able to get a picture of them together. Friday was my last day to enjoy breakfast with my friend Maren Hale. Maren cooked buckwheat for me and made me a berry smoothies and had it ready when we presented ourselves at their door at 6:30 each morning. It was a 4 minute drive from the MTC to their house (see attached picture). That gave us time for Elder Hunt to have his traditional breakfast at the cafeteria before classes started. By Friday we were tired of cafeteria food. The food was really good, we just ate too much at each meal. At our closing session we were asked to write a brief summary of our MTC experience and I will share what I wrote:
"The MTC experience helped me understand that to effectively teach the gospel, I need to be worthy to have the spirit guide me in any given hour or moment. I have felt richly blessed to be at the side of my eternal companion who is making it possible for me to serve a mission."
We left the MTC with increased testimonies, increased appreciation for each other, and increased love for our family. We will attend Allen's Camp Ward meetings tomorrow and then head to Farmington Monday morning singing "O Fair New Mexico! We send our love, Elder and Sister Hunt
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