Life in the MTC ( Missionary Training Center) is very similar to your freshman year at college. The biggest exception for couples is they are rooming with their spouse. There are no surprises. On the other hand, the young missionaries are usually with people they don’t know 24/7.

The cafeteria food is worse than I remember when I was in college, but that might be due to the fact that my culinary taste buds have matured and are more discerning. The experience in the cafeteria can be overwhelming. It’s similar to grade school when the alarm would ring for recess. Remember all of those kids rushing outside to play. That’s what it is like at 7:00, 11:30 and 4:30. I am not sure of the exact number but the campus can hold a few thousand missionaries. Visualize one lunch room, over a thousand hungry young men and woman vying for the last chocolate chip cookie. Then throw in about 150 Senior Citizens into the fray. (I think you get the picture)

And then there is the Laundry Facilities. There are a hundred washers and dryers all in one room. All of the missionaries do their laundry in this room. ALL OF THEM.

Note to mothers: please teach your children how to do their laundry. Most of them throw everything in together.

Note to grown children: maybe you should update your aging parents on the differences between washers and dryers.

My husband and I had our first experience in the Laundry Room on a Saturday morning. The first sign of trouble occurred when my husband put the laundry into the dryer and couldn’t figure out where to put the soap. The problem was solved when he discovered they weren’t washers. The second sign of trouble came after the clothes and detergent went into the washing machines. One of them was a broken machine. There was a label stating it was resting we didn’t notice, until it locked and no water flowed into the machine. We had to wait 38 minutes after it locked to put our clothes into a working machine. The third sign of trouble was when I put the clean laundry into a dryer and shut the door. IT WASN’T A DRYER. I had to wait another 38 minutes for the washing machine to unlock so that I could put them into a dryer. I think we spent 4 hours washing two loads of laundry but we never mixed colors with whites. I think we also relearned what a washer and dryer is.

The main purpose of the MTC is to prepare all of these wonderful young men and woman to serve the Lord in various capacities. The Senior Missionaries go for the same reasons. A typical day starts with breakfast at 7:00 followed by classes. Lunch begins at 11:30 which is also followed by classes. Our final food experience is at 4:30. After dinner there can also be classes along with firesides and devotionals. All of these experiences center around Christ. In the mix of all of the organized chaos are the missionaries trying to learn a language. Wherever I went I heard them talking to their companions using only the foreign language they had been assigned. Believe me when I say it is truly inspiring to watch.

The MTC is magical in the way it can turn these rough teenage beings into Disciples of Christ. A better word for magical would be inspiring. The spirit is strong and the purpose is clear. They bring the truth to all of Gods children. I am grateful I got to be a part of this miracle for two short weeks.

January of this year my husband and I submitted papers to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. To our surprise and delight we were given the opportunity to serve with LDS Charities working with the Refugees in Greece.

Your first question might be “Do you have to learn Greek”? My answer is yes and no. I knew from the very beginning I would NEVER learn Greek. My husband, on the other hand, was all gung ho about the OPPORTUNITY to learn another language. He pushed, prodded and encouraged me to learn this incredibly difficult language. He bought me a t-shirt with the alphabet stenciled on it thinking this would encourage me. It had the opposite effect. It is, after all, Greek. Isn’t that what everyone says when they tell you something is not too hard, ” It isn’t Greek after all!”. Needless to say he has spent hundreds of hours studying, while I, on the other hand, have spent hundreds of hours doing what?

Today I am sitting with my family enjoying the aftermath of a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. I am overwhelmed with two thoughts. I am excited for the great opportunity we have ahead of us but it means giving up my family for 18 months. It is bitter sweet as my 94 year old mother-in-law said. I will miss them all.

If you are interested in following two grandparents as they make their way through the emotional rollercoaster that is ahead of us, you are more than welcome to read my weekly blog.

The bottom line is always going to be, we get to serve others in the way the Savior would like us to. Thus, I go forward with faith that all will turn out for everyone’s good.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

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The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

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Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

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