Week One at the MTC

 We flew to Salt Lake City on Sunday 7/10 and spent the night with Lisa (Shanna's sister), Mark and Jonny in Orem. At about 10:30 on July 11th we checked in at the Missionary Training Center in Provo. We said our last of many "Good-byes" outside of our dorm on the MTC campus.

Speaking of which, this is home for at least the next two weeks. It is very much like a college dorm but roomier. We have plenty of storage, a good bathroom, very comfy queen bed and secure internet access.

We are here with about 2500 other missionaries in training. On Tuesday evening we all attended the same devotional. This is the traffic jam going back to the dorms. There are over 100 "senior couples" like us. As you walk the halls to class or a meeting you are likely to hear any of dozens of languages being spoken as we all struggle to "SYL" -  speak your language.

On Wednesday after a long day of classes we were guests of the young missionaries who are studying Norwegian. We have the same tutor. Two were online via Skype with a local Norwegian but the rest were still at it at almost nine PM.

This is our "district" and another one of our instructors - Bro. Pike. The couple on the far right are headed for Durban, South Africa, the couple in the middle are headed for Frankfurt, Germany.

Here is our version of the point to your country picture. If this week is any kind of an indicator we are in for a fantastic time. Our group of 32 senior couples represented a cross section of states, professions and careers - both blue and white collar, with destinations on every continent. We had a great time together. Next week we will learn how the Church Education System operates and how they want us to teach our Institute class to the young adults in our group in Bergen. We hope to get word on the status of our visa to Norway. It hasn't come through yet.