January 9, 2022

 Here we go again!  We just finished our first week in person at the Provo MTC (Missionary Training Center).  There was a Covid outbreak here the previous week so we are all being extra cautious.

We will be serving in the Canada Montreal Mission, assigned as MLS (Member Leader Support) missionaries.  It is French speaking, but I'm pretty sure John will be the only one of us speaking French.  We will be living in Chateauguay, across the Saint Lawrence River and south of Montreal.  We feel very blessed to be able to serve another mission.

Our MTC group has 32 senior couples and one single senior sister.  We are divided into districts of four couples for classroom activities.  John was asked to be our district leader, so had to behave himself all week.

This photo is one third of the large group.  The couple seated next to us were our teaching partners (more about them later).  The couple fourth from the right are Tom and Sue Spackman, originally from southern Alberta.  Sue and John grew up together; her father was the school principal and John's father was his assistant principal.  They had a grand time reminiscing about old times all week.  They served in the Accra Ghana Temple after we did.  We had fun remembering the people and our experiences there.

Part of our training is to partner with another senior couple, get acquainted and teach each other a lesson on something we are impressed that they might benefit from.  After spending most of Wednesday with our partners, we learned that he tested positive for Covid that evening.  They returned home to Draper to isolate.  We have been very nervous since then but neither of us have had any symptoms so we are assuming we are Covid free.  We know that isn't an accurate assumption, but we're moving forward with it.  We need to get across the Canadian border before we can get sick!

This mural is outside our classroom.  It is Moses and the children of Israel escaping the Pharaoh and the Egyptians through the Red Sea.  The scripture posted with it is Exodus 3:11 "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?"  There is also a question for viewers to ponder: Do I have enough faith in Jesus Christ to accomplish anything He wants me to do?

That reminds me of the missionary purpose that is posted in every building and every room on campus.  Our purpose is to

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.

This is the view out our dormitory window.  If memory serves us we are in the very same room we occupied while at the MTC before going to Ghana.  The rooms are quite small and there is no place for all the books, laptops and papers we use every day, but we are comfortable.

Each Tuesday evening a general authority of the Church comes to speak to the missionaries.  This week Elder William K Jackson and his wife Ann were the speakers.

There is usually a missionary choir at the devotionals but because of the Covid issues, no choir this week.  The auditorium wasn't very full - only a few districts of young missionaries were permitted to attend in person.  The others listened via zoom in classrooms in other buildings.

We are anxious for the second week of training to be over so we can be on our way.