Now that you know what a day in life looks like, let`s talk about some tips and tricks to make the most of your time at Home MTC. Appendix 1: The Missionary Journey Manual is divided into seven sections: The online MTC helps relieve homesickness, creates strong ties with the district, strengthens families, and helps missionaries leave their homes. Today`s home training is the fulfillment of a statement made by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles less than a year ago, when he summarized in the April 2019 general conference the fundamental implications of greater progress in home-centered, Church-supported gospel learning: “The ultimate center of missionary training is in our homes; Secondary missionary training centers are located in Provo, Manila, Mexico City, and elsewhere. We are constantly looking for other ways to learn the gospel for our children. We regularly invite missionaries to our home to teach the examiners, visit and dine with our family. Our eldest sons seized opportunities to work with them. Here are some other ways to prepare your missionary`s place for the home MTC: For the original MTC, “districts consist of 8 to 12 missionaries, just like in a MTC. Missionaries are assigned an online guide and participate in teacher classes, hands-on activities, large group classes, ventilations, and small group camaraderie. The program includes daily personal study and companionship, as well as daily tasks to be performed, with a weekly preparation day and the opportunity to attend Sunday services in the missionary`s own home. (Church News article of April 2, 2020) There are no Sunday meetings scheduled during the MTC home experience, but missionaries are expected to attend church with their families and participate in other gospel studies with their families (as well as other missionary activities).
Sister Hannah Hargrave of San Tan Valley, Arizona, began her training on September 18. She was disappointed that her six-week preparation for service in the Madrid mission in Spain was not proceeding as planned in the Provo mission program. Disappointment and tears were comforted by a father`s prayers and blessing as his home-training began online. Kimber Young, a CWC teacher in Provo who has returned from the South New York Mission, teaches Mandarin Chinese to an online class of six new missionaries in six new missionaries who are staying with families in the United States and are scheduled to serve in Taiwan and U.S. missions. Sister Aubrey Arnold will be dropped off on March 25, 2020 at her “MFC”—her room in the Arnold House in Eagle Mountain, Utah—as a new missionary formation for the Nevada Mission in Las Vegas West. Photo by Hannah Arnold. Jim Hargrave expressed “how wonderful it is to still have your spirit and a missionary” when Sister Hargrave was trained at her home in the San Tan Valley. The study materials required for Home MTC are available online. Additional study materials (if required) will be provided upon arrival at the MTC (away from home).
Her first email to family and friends showed that she had found the joy and power of virtual MTC with a touch of humor. Sister Porter: “Everything! That`s what I really think. It`s amazing that the spirit is so strong within the walls of my house. To be a missionary abandoned with these blessings while I am with my family. I love the extra time I have to enjoy with my family! I loved connecting with my district and making unique friendships (if you can`t already say it, I really, really love them!!). I also like that it prepares me to be an online missionary and teach online. It was an amazing experience and I`m a little sad for anyone who can`t experience it! Oh also, the TCM food at home is amazing! In these days of restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home mandates, much of the Church`s missionary formation experience remains the same. In the case of our daughter Hannah, her mission letter stated that the start date of her mission would be and that she would have two weeks of homeschooling before going to Missionary Provo for four weeks.
So we knew from the moment she received her mission call that her mission would begin with a TCM experience at home. Then, 10 days before their mission began, Hannah and her parents received an email letter from the Provo Missionary Training Center. The letter included information about arrival times at the mission school, instructions for the missionary to follow during his online training at the MTC (see Appendix 1 below for more information), and a message to the missionaries` families. The message to missionary families included useful information about what to expect during home formation, how missionaries should always have a companion, what expectations they had to meet, follow all missionary standards, and what the family can do to create a good learning environment. For those who may not know, D-Day is a day when missionaries can “prepare” for the rest of the week. They do laundry, go shopping, write emails to family, and get much-needed rest/relaxation. Do they do this kind of thing while continuing to do online TCM training at home? “I believe this generation of missionaries will be the best we have ever seen, simply because now, from the comfort of their homes, they are learning what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and what they really need to change to live up to that standard.” Home MTC mimics standard MTC in many ways. Missionaries will serve in a district of eight to twelve missionaries. This district will go to the same MTC at home after the training, so they already have a connection with their group and teachers before going to the MTC. Our two eldest sons have now served a full-time mission. Words cannot describe the joy and excitement it has brought to our entire family.
I believe that as we prayerfully seek ways to make our homes centers of missionary formation, we will be inspired and blessed with ideas and opportunities to teach our children. It`s also important to talk to everyone in your household about how they can help make your home a place where the spirit will dwell. Avoiding questionable movies, shows, music, and media is a good place to start. You may also want to encourage them to be diligent in their daily prayers and to read the scriptures. As I watched enthusiastic young men and women receive their mission calls and enter the MTC after President Thomas S. Monson`s announcement, I thought, “You are so young! How can they be ready? The answer came in the words of an inspired local church leader: “Home is truly a TCM now. Now that traditional training in the Church`s 10 missionary training courses has been abandoned, new missionaries are being trained online by teachers working from home or in a MTC classroom. Invite your children to practice teaching the lessons in Sermon My Gospel chapter 3 (2004) at family home evening or in other settings. When missionaries were finally able to attend the MTC, the Church recognized the benefits of the MTC at home. If some of the CWC training takes place at home, the transition period can be eased as missionaries begin to learn and feel safe in their own homes.
At home, the MTC also helps missionaries build relationships with their districts before they leave home and enter the MTC, and (one of my favorite parts) allows us missionaries to share their experiences with their own families.