As I have floated these last couple of days, I have reflected on the broader MTC experience that missionaries have outside of the classroom. The first would be their experience with the TRC. I had an opportunity to sit down with one of the supervisors and to watch the TRC Orientation video. I think it is important to note that the missionaries are having experiences and learning principles in both of these settings. The TRC Orientation video goes over the plan, study, and teach cycle again as they prepare to teach TRC investigators. The video also has a FAQ section that goes over a lot of the questions that missionaries typically have about the TRC. Finding ways to observe their TRC visits can also provide insight as to how well the missionaries are progressing.
Another setting that oftentimes gets overlooked by teachers is the study periods that missionaries have in between classroom blocks. There are segments such as "Missionary Portal/Assessments," "Doctrinal Study," and "Additional Study" that take up several hours of the missionaries' week. While staying within the bounds of our role as a guide to the missionaries, we can keep these sacred hours in mind as we consider the full experience that missionaries are having at the MTC.
One final activity of note would be the Zone Leader Orientation held on Wednesday or Thursday nights for incoming missionaries. I actually sat in on one of these meetings a few weeks ago. I was both impressed and surprised at what I saw there. A lot of the missionaries' first impressions of the MTC come from the pick-up experience, the meeting with the MTC Presidency, and this meeting. I thought the zone leaders did a a great job in leading the meeting. It would also be important to consider the training that these Elders had beforehand. The feeling I had in the meeting is that these zone leaders are "just doing whatever the guys before them did." This is a great opportunity for them to learn about leadership and especially the importance of setting a spiritual tone as they "being teaching."
I love this post. I have really seen the influence that the first couple of days can have an new missionaries. I have been particularly surprised at how much of a difference an effective First Day Welcome makes as well. If we greet the new missionaries with enthusiasm and excitement and set the tone by having many, many spiritual experiences right there in their first hour, they will grow so much in the first moments and they will be so much more prepared to work diligently and effectively throughout the rest of their stay at the MTC.
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