Mission status updates?

[Rain]

Ok, take this for what it is worth from the missionary mom's group about the MTC:

Quote

I have a friend who has a husband who works for the missionary department. They said they are hoping to open by September

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by Rain

[Scott Lloyd]

On 5/18/2021 at 5:58 PM, Rain said:

Ok, take this for what it is worth from the missionary mom's group about the MTC:

 

Yeah? Well take this for what it’s worth: I have a very close relation who heard about someone whose child received a mission call that indicated he/she will enter the MTC in June!

Edited May 21, 2021 by Scott Lloyd

[Rain]

35 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

Yeah? Well take this for what it’s worth: I have a very close relation whose child received a mission call that indicated he/she will enter the MTC in June!

That's every call right now and has been that way since about when they closed them. Later they tell the missionary it will be home MTC.  Sometimes they don't tell them the change till a few days before.

 

Edited May 21, 2021 by Rain

[Scott Lloyd]

4 hours ago, Rain said:

That's every call right now and has been that way since about when they closed them. Later they tell the missionary it will be home MTC.  Sometimes they don't tell them the change till a few days before.

 

That’s very reassuring to me, actually. I had been looking forward to not having to fund the first couple of months of my boy’s mission. And I’m expecting it will seem very wholesome to have a full-time missionary-in-training in the house. 

[Rain]

2 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said:

That’s very reassuring to me, actually. I had been looking forward to not having to fund the first couple of months of my boy’s mission. And I’m expecting it will seem very wholesome to have a full-time missionary-in-training in the house. 

There were many that were worried, but they have found it a very sweet experience.  Many different experiences with it of course.

The devotionals you asked about are prerecorded and sent out once a week.  Family are allowed to watch.

Some have made sure to do all the cooking and have everything ready with class breaks.  Others have made it a time to teach more cooking skills.

Some have found companions or others in their districts live close by (good chance where you are) and done some of the training together or p-days. 

Some of that will depend on the rules your stake president sets up - some have had almost no contact with their SP or contact only when they pursued it. Other SP have really been involved with the HMTC missionaries in their stakes. (SP are their mission presidents in some way.)

Edited May 21, 2021 by Rain

[Amulek]

56 minutes ago, Rain said:

Some have made sure to do all the cooking and have everything ready with class breaks. 

Even chicken cordon bleu Sunday? Sign me up! 

 

[Rain]

41 minutes ago, Amulek said:

Even chicken cordon bleu Sunday? Sign me up! 

 

I hope you realize that means you and/your wife would be cooking. 

My daughter cooks on Sunday.  I may have to put in a request this week.

[Scott Lloyd]

5 hours ago, Rain said:

There were many that were worried, but they have found it a very sweet experience.  Many different experiences with it of course.

The devotionals you asked about are prerecorded and sent out once a week.  Family are allowed to watch.

Some have made sure to do all the cooking and have everything ready with class breaks.  Others have made it a time to teach more cooking skills.

Some have found companions or others in their districts live close by (good chance where you are) and done some of the training together or p-days. 

Some of that will depend on the rules your stake president sets up - some have had almost no contact with their SP or contact only when they pursued it. Other SP have really been involved with the HMTC missionaries in their stakes. (SP are their mission presidents in some way.)

Our son’s submission process is stalled at the stake level right now; he has been waiting three weeks to be called in for an interview. It’s not like our SP to delay like this. I hope it doesn’t portend something unfavorable. 

[rongo]

5 hours ago, Rain said:

There were many that were worried, but they have found it a very sweet experience.  Many different experiences with it of course.

Many have hated it as well. We currently have a sister in our ward originally called to Japan, but now in her 13th month (unlikely to go to her mission). She really didn't like the Zoom companionship study, Zoom lessons, and everything else with the home MTC experience. 

[Hamba Tuhan]

5 hours ago, rongo said:

We currently have a sister in our ward originally called to Japan, but now in her 13th month (unlikely to go to her mission).

Isn't your ward her mission?

[Rain]

Three of the Church’s 10 MTCs will welcome missionaries in June

"Beginning in late June 2021, the Provo, Ghana, and New Zealand Missionary Training Centers are scheduled to invite a small number of missionaries to train on location. These opening dates will be evaluated weekly and may be adjusted based on local circumstances and guidelines from local health officials."

Edited May 24, 2021 by Rain

[bluebell]

On 5/21/2021 at 1:37 PM, rongo said:

Many have hated it as well. We currently have a sister in our ward originally called to Japan, but now in her 13th month (unlikely to go to her mission). She really didn't like the Zoom companionship study, Zoom lessons, and everything else with the home MTC experience. 

I know of many return missionaries from years past who absolutely HATED the MTC.  And they went on to be great missionaries who were very faithful, so that wasn't the issue.  The MTC just wasn't for them. 

There is obviously no one-size-fits-all approach for missionary training that every missionary is going to love.  Even the MTC's were not a perfect fit for many.  I'm really glad though that they are opening back up again.

[Rain]

15 minutes ago, bluebell said:

I know of many return missionaries from years past who absolutely HATED the MTC.  And they went on to be great missionaries who were very faithful, so that wasn't the issue.  The MTC just wasn't for them. 

There is obviously no one-size-fits-all approach for missionary training that every missionary is going to love.  Even the MTC's were not a perfect fit for many.  I'm really glad though that they are opening back up again.

Yes.  I loved the MTC.  My husband thought it was just ok.  He didn't like the food.  He is a big time introvert so that went into it.  He LOVES working from home.  I've gone a little nuts this past year.

It may also depend on family life.  I was the oldest of 5.  He the youngest of 5.  HMTC would have been very different for us.  

Edited May 26, 2021 by Rain

[bluebell]

16 minutes ago, Rain said:

Yes.  I loved the MTC.  My husband thought it was just ok.  He didn't like the food.  He is a big time introvert so that went into it.  He LOVES working from home.  I've gone a little nuts this past year.

It may also depend on family life.  I was the oldest of 5.  He the youngest of 5.  HMTC would have been very different for us.  

I really liked the MTC, though I'm introverted but enjoy being part of a small group, which my district was for me.  But my husband did not like it at all.  He hated being so cooped up for so long.

[JamesBYoung]

1 hour ago, bluebell said:

I really liked the MTC, though I'm introverted but enjoy being part of a small group, which my district was for me.  But my husband did not like it at all.  He hated being so cooped up for so long.

You are both ready for Basic Combat Training.

[Hamba Tuhan]

Add me to the list of people who hated the MTC. I still can't reconcile my experience there with every other experience I've ever had with the Church. It felt like I'd been dropped into a different faith altogether, one with completely different values and ways of doing things. I worried that maybe the church I thought I knew so well was a lie. Thankfully, once I left the MTC, everything immediately went back to normal. 

Edited May 27, 2021 by Hamba Tuhan

[Tacenda]

3 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

Add me to the list of people who hated the MTC. I still can't reconcile my experience there with every other experience I've ever had with the Church. It felt like I'd been dropped into a different faith altogether, one with completely different values and ways of doing things. I worried that maybe the church I thought I knew so well was a lie. Thankfully, once I left the MTC, everything immediately went back to normal. 

My brother in law escaped the MTC, I wonder how many missionaries do that. He was dating my sister at the time and came to our house. He said he felt like something was dark in there. Bad feeling or he was missing my sister.  He did turn around and go back on his mission though, but a different mission. 

Edited May 27, 2021 by Tacenda

[Hamba Tuhan]

9 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

He said he felt like something was dark in there. Bad feeling or he was missing my sister.

In my case, I wasn't missing anyone; I'd been living on my own hundreds of kilometres from home prior to starting my mission. What I was missing was nearly everything I had come to associate with the Church: warmth, the Spirit, kindness, patience, mercy, inspiration, etc. The words and concepts sounded familiar. Nothing felt familiar.

If my mission president had run our mission in a way that replicated my MTC experience, I'm not sure I would have survived, and I highly doubt I would be a Church member now.

[Rain]

3 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

In my case, I wasn't missing anyone; I'd been living on my own hundreds of kilometres from home prior to starting my mission. What I was missing was nearly everything I had come to associate with the Church: warmth, the Spirit, kindness, patience, mercy, inspiration, etc. The words and concepts sounded familiar. Nothing felt familiar.

 

 

How interesting.  I found all those things there - except in my companion.  We had a close district with some varied circumstances in the missionaries so maybe that made a difference.  There was only 2 19 year elders, one of which didn't have his endowment yet so we did it with him.  The rest of the elders were scattered from ages 20-25.  So very different, but it was wonderful how we all came together.  

3 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

 

If my mission president had run our mission in a way that replicated my MTC experience, I'm not sure I would have survived, and I highly doubt I would be a Church member now.

 

[Hamba Tuhan]

3 hours ago, Rain said:

How interesting.  I found all those things there - except in my companion.  We had a close district with some varied circumstances in the missionaries so maybe that made a difference.

I'm glad that you had a much different experience! My companion and district were all reasonably fine. It was everything else around me that was so damaging. As I wrote, I've never experienced anything else like it. My impression is that leadership in the Church is very important.

[Amulek]

21 hours ago, Rain said:

21 hours ago, bluebell said:

I know of many return missionaries from years past who absolutely HATED the MTC.  [...]

Yes.  I loved the MTC.  My husband thought it was just ok. [...]

I thought the MTC was largely a waste of time. I wished there had been a way to clep out of it.

 

[Scott Lloyd]

8 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

In my case, I wasn't missing anyone; I'd been living on my own hundreds of kilometres from home prior to starting my mission. What I was missing was nearly everything I had come to associate with the Church: warmth, the Spirit, kindness, patience, mercy, inspiration, etc. The words and concepts sounded familiar. Nothing felt familiar.

If my mission president had run our mission in a way that replicated my MTC experience, I'm not sure I would have survived, and I highly doubt I would be a Church member now.

If you were to sum up the problem in a word or two, what would it be? Excessive regimentation, perhaps? Unrighteous dominion?

Also, from what you know or have observed (I know you’ve spoken of working closely with missionaries), would you say the overall MTC experience has changed (hopefully for the better) since you were a missionary?

[Scott Lloyd]

2 minutes ago, Amulek said:

I thought the MTC was largely a waste of time. I wished there had been a way to clep out of it.

 

Utterly a waste of time? Did you learn a language while there? If so, how would you have learned it otherwise? 

[Amulek]

8 hours ago, Tacenda said:

My brother in law escaped the MTC, I wonder how many missionaries do that.

When I arrived in my mission, I attended my very first transfer meeting. A portion of that meeting consisted of exiting missionaries being given an opportunity to share their testimony.

One of the elders shared a story about how he, at one point earlier in his mission, had packed all of his things into a U-Haul truck and then called the mission president at 2 AM to let him know that he was going to be leaving.

He was thought the MP was going to be upset, or disappointed, or that he would try and talk him into staying.

Instead, our mission president told him simply and sincerely, "It's not a prison elder. I hope you have a wonderful life." [and then just hung up]

That's always kind of stuck with me. While it may not the best answer for every single missionary who's having difficulty, it's certainly a true statement.

The MTC isn't a prison one needs to "escape" from. You are free to leave at any time, for any reason.

 

[Scott Lloyd]

14 minutes ago, Amulek said:

When I arrived in my mission, I attended my very first transfer meeting. A portion of that meeting consisted of exiting missionaries being given an opportunity to share their testimony.

One of the elders shared a story about how he, at one point earlier in his mission, had packed all of his things into a U-Haul truck and then called the mission president at 2 AM to let him know that he was going to be leaving.

He was thought the MP was going to be upset, or disappointed, or that he would try and talk him into staying.

Instead, our mission president told him simply and sincerely, "It's not a prison elder. I hope you have a wonderful life." [and then just hung up]

That's always kind of stuck with me. While it may not the best answer for every single missionary who's having difficulty, it's certainly a true statement.

The MTC isn't a prison one needs to "escape" from. You are free to leave at any time, for any reason.

 

The question occurs to me*: How in the world did he accumulate enough stuff on his mission that he needed a U-Haul to move it? Transfers must have been a real challenge for him! 
 

*Notice I didn’t say, “This begs the question.”