Goood Mooooooooooooooooorrrning!

Being a president of an MTC is like going on a recycling youth camp for two years.  President Taylor has mentioned the similarities between running a Wood Badge camp over and over again, like the movie, “Ground Hog Day!”  The only difference is that we change the youth every 19 days.

We all arise at 6:00 a.m., and my job is to sing “Good Mooooooooooorrning” through the halls and over the intercom system. When I don’t hear a reply, I keep singing.  If I wasn’t required to do that job I would stay in bed. The President says that all of us experience “the mattress affect” every morning. “The mattress affect” is where the monster mattress responds to the 6 a.m. alarm clock by reaching up and around and grabbing hold of you as soon as you try to get up and out of the bed.” He says it’s a true and universal phenomenon and must be fought against or you’ll be overcome and enslaved for the rest of the day!

We all gather at 6:15 for roll-call and for gym. When we first moved in to the new MTC  facility, the excuse we received from a few missionaries for not being on time was that they didn’t know what time it was.  Most of the missionaries don’t have watches and they do not bring alarm clocks.  The next day I purchased 60 wall clocks for all of the residence rooms. Usually, I run down the hall whispering under my breath, “I’m late, I’m late, and I’m late; for a very important date. No time to stop, no time to wait, I’m late, I’m late I’m Late!” (Alice in Wonderland).  That’s me—I’m in a wonder land all the time!   

As we assemble for early morning roll call, the districts all report as loud as the district leader can yell out, “ALL PRESENT!” When every district is complete and when all are present, the President yells at the top of his lungs, “Well  Doooooooooonnnnnnnnn! until he is red in the face and I think he will pass out or blow a blood vessel in his head.

Most of the time we have warm running water for showers and plenty of toilets; 42 to be more exact. The facilities are a lot newer than the dirt and fire of camp, but the supervision is the same.  After gym we all go to breakfast, get ready for the day, and start classes at 8:15. We stay very scheduled throughout the day.

At 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. the missionaries have a snack outside in the garden area. The area is growing and getting very beautiful. They like it.  It’s becoming our “secret garden.” 

Lunch is at 12:30 and of course we have rice three times a day. They consider white rice as the only real food! The Filipinos believe that any other food is just a “snack.”

 

Our purified drinking water is brought in large 5 gallon bottles along with the food. I asked the cooks how much rice we used and they said about one ton per month. I am so grateful we don’t have to garden and hunt for our food.

We eat with the missionaries most of the time in the cafeteria. “The family that eats together, prays together, and plays together, stays together!”  I guess that could be our motto.

In the evenings the missionaries prepare to teach, have personal and companion study, and sometimes enjoy a fireside from a local speaker or an MTC Devotional from one of the Area Presidency or local Seventy. Classes and other activities end and they prepare for bed. Lights go out at 10:00 p.m.  The President states rather arbitrarily, “What time do missionaries go to bed—Not One Minute, Not One Second After 10:00 p.m!  Lights out!  Covers up! Eyes Shut! “How grateful I am for the night—soothing, precious, restful, blissful night!”  I immediately give in to the mattress. 

On our Preparation Day we “try” to train 80 missionaries how to wash their clothes and clean their rooms. (If you think training your children is a challenge, think again.) Many have never used a shower, washer, dryer, or had a flush toilet. I teach them how to turn on the taps and machines. It is amazing the colors of whites the missionaries come up with after washing their clothes.

On our Service-Day we have the missionaries wash windows, cars, haul water bottles, and prepare packets for the upcoming missionaries.

Sunday is a very busy day:  

·         8:30 Prayer Meeting

·         9:00 Sacrament Meeting

·         10:00 Relief Society and Priesthood

·         11:00 District Meetings

·         12:00 Lunch (with ice cream!)

·         1:00 Leadership Meeting

·         3:00 Song Practice and Visiting the Temple

·         5:00 Dinner with ice cream again)

·         6:00-9:00 Fireside and Church Videos

I know why the Lord had only one day in seven to rest; that is all he could take!  It was easier to get back to work on Monday.  I love Monday’s! 

I wondered why we had so many callings the last 6 months before our mission. Now I know. It was to help us prepare for the busy schedule we keep. I do want to report that I have a nap every day and I don’t feel at all guilty.  I try to remember what the President says, “A day without a nap is a day wasted!”  We have “wasted” a lot of days here. 

We live in a large area enclosed by a fence which includes—

·         The Philippines Area Office Building,

·         The Temple Patron House

·         The Missionary Training Center

·         The Mission Services Building which soon will house the MRC (Medical Recovery Center), the cafeteria and a few apartments. 

This area is guarded by 10 rotating security guards.  They are on site 24 hours per day working 12-hour shifts, seven days per week. The Manila Temple is across the street. 

My favorite things about my mission are the missionaries, playing at gym, hearing them sing, seeing them grow and my being called “Sister Taylor!”  

Many have lost parents or are the only members of the church. We become an extended family and it is always hard to say good-bye. Most of the missionaries have never eaten so well or had a living place so “luxurious.  They like to weigh themselves and see how much weight they have gained in 19 days. 

One very special experience occurred on the last day of gym with our last group.  As mentioned earlier, every morning at 6:15 a.m. we gather in for roll call and for prayer. At the end of gym the zone leader calls us all together again for a brief closing prayer and a blessing over the breakfast food. This particular morning was different; the zone leader asked us to kneel. There we were, all bowing our heads and kneeling in the middle of the concrete parking lot. I had to open my eyes and touch the ground. As I did so, I realized that I was facing east towards the temple and Angel Moroni was standing on the tower above my head.

As I looked up at him I wondered what I would be doing when the Savior returned to the earth. I felt that I was more ready than before; I hope to be completely ready when He really comes.

Debra Sue Taylor