MTC Experience

MTC Breezeway

Well we made it through our first week of the Missionary Training Center (MTC). We learned being a missionary is all about bringing people to Christ. Regardless what other responsibilities we have to serve others the greatest service we can do is help others come closer to Christ.

Elder Van  Leeuwen
(Instructor)

Sister Luke & Sister Ritchie

Who taught these classes? Young men and women who returned from LDS missions, serving part-time at the MTC, and students at BYU. Their courage and boldness were exemplary and their teaching styles are excellent. I so much appreciated their talents teaching us older seniors missionaries how to be directed by the spirit.


We are one of thirty-six senior missionary couples who arrived on Monday, May 15, 2017. We were divided into districts of eight people or four couples and Greg was asked to be our District Leader. We are also one of six couples serving humanitarian missions. Locations our group are called to serve in: Argentina, Mongolia, Samoa, Dominican Republic, Australia, Chile, West Indies, Germany, Portugal, New Zealand, Czech-Slovakia, Nepal, Italy, and various United States locations. More senior missionaries will arrive tomorrow on Monday.

Slovakia  missionaries

Czech missionaries

The first time we showed up at the cafeteria we were surprised by the large amount of missionaries. There were hundreds of missionaries and a large percentage were female “sisters” who had volunteered to serve a mission. This was so exciting to see so many young men and women here at the MTC choosing to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The hallways were filled with excitement as young missionaries headed off to lunch or dinner, or maybe a study group. Some missionaries would stop a senior couple and ask them to listen to a discussion they were practicing.


 For Sunday worship we attended a small branch of about twenty international missionaries. They were all from outside the United States. One from Ukraine and another from the Marshall Islands was asked to address the congregation. Others from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, and other far-away places. I am so impressed with these young missionaries and their choice to serve the Lord.

At the entrance of the MTC hangs this large picture... "Become as He is" the invite to all the world.