Mission Training Center

January 31, 2017

Winter Tundra in Utah

We flew to Utah for training as we begin our humanitarian mission before going onto hot and sunny Peru. Of course, Utah was in the grip of winter, and it snowed every day for a week with temperatures never getting above freezing.

Two days before entering Mission Training Center, Marshall and Sandy
enjoying our last snow in Orem, UT, before heading to hot, steamy Peru.

We sent this photo to our mission colleagues in Peru, and they advised us to absorb as much of the cold as possible - they are in the midst of a heat wave right now - part of their summer!

We stayed with Marshall's sister Carolyn in Orem, UT, for 4 days, then started the actual mission.

Enter the MTC

We first entered the Mission Training Center (MTC) in Provo, UT, on 23 January and spent 10 days there. We were among the 80 other senior missionaries and 500 younger missionaries heading to places all over the globe. We spent our time in spiritual training and humanitarian classes designed to help us fulfill our various missions - some as office staff, some in proselyting roles, and us in our role as humanitarian missionaries (only 8 of us this week were going on humanitarian missions).

Marshall and Sandy in front of huge world-map mission board pointing to Peru

Humanitarian Missionaries (L to R) & Assignment:

Henries (Peru), Thomasons (Viet Nam), Gerritsens (Cape Verde), Bells (Philippines)

Snow-bound Mission Training Center (MTC), Provo, UT

Mission Training Center District (L to R: Huntings, Furnisses, Sister Heather Eliason, Henries, and DeSpains)

Lunch with the Language Tutor

During our time at the MTC, we were able to have lunch with Marshall's language tutor, Gabriel Canozo, with whom Marshall had met via Skype sessions during the previous 5 months. These language sessions were designed to improve and increase Marshall's already fluent Spanish skills. Gabriel, a Venezuelan, was able to help expand Marshall's vocabulary by about 600 words in areas of medicine and technology in order to deal with Government leaders and local health-care professionals. (Sandy has also been studying Spanish with a vengeance during the past 6 months and is fairly conversant in the language - although she remains hopeful she will be able to understand anyone once we arrive).

(Left) MTC Language Tutor Gabriel Canozo and wife Brynne, (Right) Marshall and Sandy Henrie

The final week of our MTC training focused on humanitarian training, which was a good review of material we had studied ahead of time.  A key principal is that everything we do in the area of Humanitarian service should foster: self-reliance, promote service (by the recipients of our aid), and be sustainable after we leave.

Training Trip to Salt Lake City, Welfare Square, and Joseph Smith Building 

One day as part of our humanitarian training we traveled to Salt Lake City. We toured the welfare and humanitarian efforts underway at the world-famous Welfare Square and then had lunch with church humanitarian leaders on the top floor of the Joseph Smith Building downtown. This shot from the top floor is a picture of Temple Square, showing the Tabernacle, the Conference Center, and, of course, the temple.

View of Temple Square from top of Joseph Smith Building, downtown Salt Lake City

So now we fly from here on Thursday afternoon and arrive in Lima, Peru, on Friday morning, February 3. We have waited a long time for this adventure to begin, and we are glad this day has finally arrived.