Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017 – Mission Training Meeting and Farewell, William Mendenhall House

This morning’s Mission Training Meeting was excellent! Pres. Hall spoke to us about using the “Teaching Center” at the Mission Office as well as on our own personal computers at home. 

In the Mission Office at the Visitor’s Center the “Teaching Center” has 16 computer stations primarily used by the Young Single Sister Missionaries but they are available for the Senior Couples as well. If we use our PC at home the system is up and running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The person using the “Teaching Center” system logs onto LDS chat rooms on the internet and they link up with people that have questions about the church or are interested in learning about the gospel. Their questions are answered, lessons are taught and testimonies shared over the internet. If the caller is interested, Bibles and/or Book of Mormons are mailed or hand delivered by full time missionaries to their home. Referrals are passed along to missionaries where ever the person is in the world. Until the local missionaries find the person, our Young Single Sister Missionaries can teach them lessons through email or the chat room. Then, even after the local missionaries take over the lessons, the missionary using the “Teaching Center” can keep in touch with the investigator clear through to their baptism. It is an amazing world-wide system.

Pres. Hall emphasized the significance of the “Teaching Center” system by showing the pictures of a dozen individual and families that had joined the church in the last year and a half because of the “Teaching Center.” What made this group of over a dozen converts significant was they were all found and taught by our own Elder Rober, a Senior missionary who went home just a couple of weeks ago. He was instrumental in the conversion of all these people because he used the “Teaching Center” in his spare time.

President Hall had two of our Seniors tell their success stories using the “Teaching Center” on their personal PC’s at home. The first was Elder Nelson. He is currently in contact with, teaching or following up with hundreds of people that are interested in the Gospel. Since he arrived in Nauvoo he as seen dozens of his contacts baptized.

 Elder Andrus, one of our Teamsters who is going home this week also told his stories of success with the “Teaching Center.” He said sometimes the chat room contact only gives a first name with no address and no phone number. He said that with patients, teaching and prayer, contact information is shared so referrals can be sent to the local missionaries anyplace hey live in the world.

Pres. Hall said that the Young Single Sisters in our mission are experiencing an average of 15 baptisms per month as a result of their work on the “Teaching Center” computers. He also said that the Seniors in the mission are averaging about 7 baptisms per month. Pres. Hall said, “The face of Missionary work is changing….” Investigator using the “Teaching Center” can even take a virtual tour of the inside of the local chapel they will be attending on Sunday!  I was very impressed with this morning’s training meeting.

At the end of this morning’s meeting we had another one of those “Bitter Sweet” moments were we bid farewell to a group of valiant dedicated missionaries who are leaving for their homes this week. As is our custom we sang “Farewell Nauvoo” to them through our tears, as we waved goodbye. I usually have tear filled eyes during these farewells but this time I needed a box of Kleenex. 

What made this group of departing missionaries even more “Bitter Sweet” was what group they are. You see. . . This is the same group of missionaries Sis. Johnson and I went through the MTC with exactly a year and a half ago. Sis. Johnson and I have extended our mission by six weeks or we would have been up there on the stage with them waving goodbye too. This farewell was really a heart wrenching one. We wish them a safe journey home.