MTC Week 7

What an awesome week!

One of the most interesting events this week was the arrival of the international missionaries. As the Zone Leaders we spent all of Tuesday running back and forth with these new missionaries.

Here is my journal entry about the ensuing circus.

Our first new missionary is an Elder from Finland. He is 22 and he's so funny. The first thing he did when we walked by some Sisters was he dropped everything and talked to them. It was pretty funny and the Sisters were all laughing and taken aback. Then he pulled out a Confederate flag sticker and put it on his name tag. He said that a friend had given it to him and that it 'wasn't anything bad so he wants to always wear it on his tag'. Pretty funny. He was a plumber before his mission. He also has an iPhone in his suitcase. We told him that's no longer allowed. Just a lot to take in on both sides. He told us he likes to party. He wrote down the name of every Sister he met in a little notebook.

The next missionary we got was from England. We dropped those two off at their class and came back to 14 missionaries from literally all over the place. Two were from Taiwan so we had a great time speaking Chinese with them. Some were so tired and some were just confused. It was like herding sheep, we gathered them all together for dinner and then ushered them back to their room. They all wanted to go to choir and we convinced them it would be fun. So we walked to choir, having to stop every five seconds when Elder Finland would drop everything and talk to the next Sister he saw. I had to literally pull him away from these girls. And he had to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes. I did my best to reel him in and remind him that he's on a mission. He just kept saying 'I've never seen so many beautiful girls' and I finally got his mind off it by having him bear his testimony (which was interrupted when we walked by some more Sisters). I felt like a dad with 20 kids, they'd get distracted and wander off and so we had to surround them and just shepherd them to choir. Then we walk into choir and it's just a complete disaster. Before we know what's happening, 4 adults who work at the MTC immediately whisk away our new missionaries and send them out of the choir. We react as any mother would when her child is taken away. We're all getting defensive trying to keep our new missionaries safe and make sure they know what's going on. Then the guy who looks like Trump just tells us they're not allowed in the choir. A heated argument is developing just 3 rows behind the 800 missionaries singing 'More Holiness Give Me'. We can't understand why they can't stay with us and Trump can't understand why we don't understand. Then another guy shows up saying he needs us to help set up chairs and both parties turn on him. Then we tell a lady that we just really want the new missionaries to not be confused. She responds with 'they're already confused'. Amidst all the confusion the choir director is still waving his hands, and our newfound missionaries are being shipped out of sight. Finally we reach an agreement and we sit down in the back of the choir. The new missionaries we are responsible for are sitting across the whole gym and we can see them sitting there. Then just when we think the chaos is over, Elder Finland raises his hand. We (and the entire choir) can see this Elder raising his hand for a straight 5 minutes. No one seems to notice and then he starts waving it. Finally Trump goes over and addresses whatever need he had (probably the name of the girl sitting in the front row). It's been a circus and so funny.

So right when we get into the song and finally calm down a bit, we hear a jarring ELDERS! We turn around and our Sister Training Leaders are emphatically trying to get our attention. Apparently our phone wasn't ringing so they had been searching the MTC trying to find us because yet another shipment of new missionaries had arrived. We go to pick them up and now we have groups of missionaries all over the MTC. Really requires trusting that the Lord knows what's going on. My companions and I are just shaking our heads and laughing at what a fiasco this has become. 

We gather everyone back together at the devotional and the Taiwanese Elders have some headphones on. They are speaking Mandarin and they tell me that Trump has given them these things but didn't tell them what to do with it. I explain it will translate the devotional for them. Then we sit down next to all these new missionaries who are all either falling asleep or looking extremely lost. In the first 30 seconds of the devotional the Taiwanese Elders motioned to me that the translation wasn't working. With no other ideas, I told them to just listen to the Spirit. 

The devotional was about following promptings, and by the looks of it, most of the new missionaries got a prompting to sleep through the whole meeting. They each set a great example of immediate and unresisting obedience. They had a long flight.

So here we are, teeth brushed, prayers said, journals written. It's been a long day and we're turning off the lights. Past quiet time, past 10 PM, were ready to return report and retire. Our eyes are closed two seconds and the phone starts blaring. Elder Brenchley throws off his blanket and answers it. What do you know, a new missionary has arrived. We head over and pick him up and it's a nice Elder from Germany. Super humble. We take him back to the room only to find the Filipinos (who had been begging to go to sleep) having the time of their lives not in their room. I came in and put everyone back to bed, told them I'd be back in 8 hours and shut the door. Good night.

So overall, it was an amazing experience and so funny. 

A group of the new missionaries is in our Zone. They are the Taiwanese natives and it's been a blast practicing the language with them. Their stories are so inspiring- most of them are the only member in the family and were just baptized a couple years ago. Their spirit is strong and uplifting.

As a Zone Leader I do interviews with members of the Zone and it's been amazing to see what an impact I can have on these new missionaries. The opportunity to be a leader is so rewarding. I can tell they trust me and that I'm able to have an uplifting influence on them. I remember how overwhelmed I was the first night of the MTC, so I did my best to reassure them that first night. However, I did firmly let the Zone know that we will be exactly obedient. I explained how the only way to be a good missionary is to submit our will to the Lord. By being exactly obedient and doing as He asks, we have so much fun and feel so much joy on our missions. I feel a deep love for these new missionaries and strive to make them feel welcome and motivated.

Another thing we did this week was have an Army General come into our classroom. He was an ambassador to help the Church's relations with the U.S. Army and help more soldiers go on missions. He was really impressed with our Chinese and our motivation to serve the Lord. I was just thinking to myself, I'm really grateful to be a soldier of God.

This week I also sang in the Sunday Evening Devotional. It was pretty awesome- I've never sang in front of 3,000 people before. I sang 'I Need Thee Every Hour' and I was grateful to be able to share my testimony through music. There is a rumor that they broadcast the devotional to all the MTC's worldwide, so who knows, maybe someone across the globe saw me. It was a unique and amazing experience.

This week we started teaching non-members via Skype and in person. They come to the MTC as volunteers to learn more about the gospel. They are all native Chinese speakers and it was so fulfilling and powerful to truly teach someone about God that has never really heard about Him and His message. I felt the Spirit in our lessons and especially as I was speaking. The work I've put into learning this language is really paying off- the Lord is helping me say what I need to and I don't feel much of a barrier at all. It's such a blessing to be able to communicate with these people in their language. It's honestly crazy how fast we learn here, and so inspiring. There's no denying that we have some divine assistance. 

I love being a missionary. It's so rewarding and fulfilling and FUN. I'll be off to Australia in 2 weeks, time is really flying by.

Happily trusting in God,

Elder Halverson