Because of our unique assignment, the wonderful powers that be included us in a week of Humanitarian training at the MTC this last week.  It was amazing to be back on this campus, learning and preparing again to “go forth.”

We met in a class in T-3 with 3 other couples with Humanitarian assignments.  We spent the week being trained by folks from Salt Lake in the LDS Charities and Humanitarian departments.  It was so fun.  Once upon a time I taught these seminars to Senior missionaries.  The principles are still the same, but the resources we have to work with have changed drastically.  We belong to a church actively involved in changing lives, on a global scale, and on a personal scale.We are learning how to help alleviate suffering and how to go good in the Lord’s Way.

Here are our new friends:We had a fantastic week.  These other couples fly out in a few days.  We’ll go home for a week, then return for our Preach My Gospel training on the 14th.

The Johnsons help to coordinate all the Humanitarian missionaries and prepare us to set forth in the world.

While we walked the halls of the MTC, we found the board of Mission Presidents and the Jackmans, who took our place in Yakima.These are the LDS Missions in West Africa and beyond:

Here are all of the languages taught.  Afrikaans, which I learned here many years ago, is no longer on the list:

We also walked over to the new buildings that were built and dedicated while we were gone.  We went to find Evelyn Maeser, our French tutor there, but just missed seeing her.These are the cubbies where the tutors teach languages remotely.  This is our favorite Evelyn:The view of the other new buildings from the 6th floor:The MTC campus is beautifully landscaped and there are open spaces for study and sunshine.

Seeing this sidewalk brought back memories.  This is where we dropped Adam and Aaron as they embarked on their missions to Chile.  We shed tears here–in happy but hard goodbyes.  This time we’ll be the ones leaving them behind, along with Claire and Graham and our adorable grandchildren.  It’s never easy, but it’s always good.

The field is white, already to harvest.