And it's time for a five-minute break!

Some days it does seem a little intense at the MTC. Our teachers were always good about sensing when we needed a break or had to blow off a little steam.

I don't remember doing much in the way of arts and crafts in the MTC. That came later, in the field.
 

Sketchbook: Intensity

 

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I won’t let that stop me from repeating myself. After I got my call to Korea, I had time to take some language classes at BYU before I went into the MTC. I studied diligently, got an A. 

By day two in the MYC we surpassed everything I had learned in my six week course. 

Sketchbook: You make the call

These days it seems risky to go anywhere without first saying a prayer, if you know what I mean!
 

Made for missionaries

My thoughts inevitably turn to the Missionary Training Center each Thanksgiving. It was a special place to be at this time of the year when we (in the United States) turn our thoughts to gratitude. 

What made the day more special was knowing that while I was there eating Thanksgiving dinner in the MTC cafeteria, my family was about a mile away, enjoying a home cooked meal at my grandma's house.
 

A first time for everything

There's one way to guarantee your missionary will enter the MTC as fast as he possibly can!
 

You got the beat

There was a missionary I knew who did marching band in high school. Not only was a drum major, he also played the quads. He would drum on anything, all the time. In the MTC they taped him and his companion while they were teaching, and he saw just how much he was drumming and how distracting it was in the lesson. 

To his credit, he learned to control his drumming and became a focused and effective missionary. And he is still an awesome musician!
 

Sketchbook: In the mode

Had another experience of someone’s phone going off during the sacrament yesterday. There should be some sort of setting to prevent that. 
 

Like those little pine tree things

I'm told that this is true. They say that after I came home from serving as a missionary in Korea, I smelled like kimchi for about three months. The new missionaries who came out? They didn't.
 

Be still my sole

Editor's note: I'm taking a bit of a vacation, so I'll be running some reruns for the next little while.

You'll want to hold it a bit away from your nose, however.

 

Feasting upon the word

Few things motivate a missionary like the prospects of a meal. There was many a time when dinner was the highlight of the day — especially on fast Sunday! Even if we occasionally griped about the food, we were certainly thankful it was there!

Food for thought: I learned that we could fast for different amounts of time; we weren't limited to fasting for a full day. If we only had ten minutes to fast before giving a blessing, for example, it could be done. It's the spirit of the fast, not just the going without food.

 

Awakenings

Before I went into the Missionary Training Center, I didn't think getting up at 6:30 in the morning was that big of a deal. I'd had early morning seminary, before school practices, and a paper route. But the days are so full that morning comes a lot earlier in the MTC! 
 

On top of the world

My experience of sleeping on the top bunk in the MTC was more like Sis. Kerry Jo's than this elder.
 

Sing we now at parting

Have you ever been singing reverently in church and suddenly think, wouldn't it be funny if...? 

Taking care of our own

If we don't watch out for them, who will?
 

Sketchbook: I'll go where you want me to go

Remember all the building they had to do to accommodate the surge when all the sister missionaries went out? And all the extensive remodeling they did? And now there's hardly a missionary in sight?

Get ready for the sequel, coming soon: The Missionaries Strike Back. It's gonna be amazing!

Missionary Training Basement

We had a sister missionary who was just set apart — by a stake president wearing a mask. Only her parents could be there with her — with proper social distancing.

It's great to see how we can adapt!

Veterans

There is a time distortion vortex that hovers over the MTC. The concepts of hours, days and minutes disappear. The days are long, the nights are short, and the weeks never end — until suddenly it's Sunday. And afterward, the interminable weeks turn into a blink.

Mission sounds

This seems like one of those pranks they'd play on new elders.

Tranquility base

Despite all the practice and training, entering the mission field feels like landing on an alien world.  It takes a lot of faith — and includes at least a few minutes of terror!

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing. Celebrate wisely. Take an astronaut to lunch... or a space cadet!

Specially trained

I found that I could be fairly fluent talking with people (even girls) as long as we stayed in the arena of gospel topics. Wander too far from that, however, and it's a whole new world — and a completely different set of vocabulary words!