Empty Sea (AKA MTC)

Why do we send our young missionaries to the MTC (Empty Sea) to become fishers of men? (teehee!)

No better way to celebrate my mom's birthday than going to tour the new additions to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT! Heather and I and six of our kids joined us on the tour. 

 We learned that the Provo MTC is one of fifteen centers around the world. We got to see the cafeteria, gym, dorms, classrooms, and study areas around the campus.

 The new building has many beautiful murals portraying scenes from the scriptures. Here's two hopeful future sister missionaries! It was also fun to imagine their cousin, Sister Amanda Severson, now serving in Perth, Australia, walking these halls just a couple months ago.

 Two more missionary hopefuls.  These boys are halfway to missionary age (my goodness, where does the time go??) and they loved exploring the maze of halls and rooms throughout the MTC.

 Xochitl's favorite area was this calm studying area. She loved the decor on the walls and the scriptures on the squares--kind of like a treasure hunt for the scriptures. We waited here for a short film in one of the classrooms.

Heather had many great memories of the MTC to share with us. Here she learned Spanish and many principles of gospel teaching for her mission in New Jersey.  I didn't spend time in the MTC before my mission. Our training involved many hours of rehearsal time with the Nauvoo Brass Band.  However, I did spend many hours in the MTC as a BYU student. My upper level Spanish classes required us to volunteer using our language skills, so I decided to go to the Training Resource Center at the MTC and pose as an investigator for the missionaries learning Spanish to practice with. There were some comical moments in the TRC, but more than anything, no matter the reason, the MTC is always filled with the spirit inviting you to try to preach the word to all the world. I know the missionaries that are trained here are called by Heavenly Father to serve His children all around the world. It's a wonderful place!