No News is Good News.

by dad

I've always been a firm believer that no news is good news, but in this case a little bit of news would be good too. I can hardly believe how quickly the time is flying by. No, really. Before you know it, I'll be counting-down his return with double digit weeks. In the mean time, I've discovered the following information which has occupied my mind.

The MTC is located in Tema, Ghana, a few miles east of Accra, the capital city. It was opened in 2002 and is used mostly for the West African missions. The classrooms are spacious, as are the sleeping quarters, each having three bunk beds, study desks and storage closets. The restrooms with showers and other facilities are among the nicest in Ghana. Since the kitchen is modern with stainless steel fixtures, it took some time for the cooks, who are used to preparing food in a large pot over an open fire, to learn to work in such a facility.

The MTC also has a new President and wife. They arrived in January of 2010 and appears to have been doused with the same culture shock as the new arriving missionaries. This is a blurb from the wife of the MTC president after the first group arrived. . .

These missionaries are from Liberia, Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tonga and Salt Lake. It really is interesting to try and understand them, let alone pronounce their names. Several have no parents, one is from a polygamous family, several live with random people. I have to give pregnancy tests to the sisters before we give them medicine. Some have never slept on a bed before and have no idea what a mattress cover is or for that matter a pillow case. There are instructions in the bathrooms that tell them how to use a toilet. But there are some great moments to remember - a missionary from Liberia who was in tears when he came, trying to comfort the Elder from Tonga who was also missing his family after his two day flight here, and hearing their conversion stories.

As Sister Froerer mentions above, here is an actual picture of the instructions above the toilets. It is a sobering reminder that the rest of the world is not America.

Elder Darrow will be in 4th group of missionaries that they train. The day before Alex arrived Sister Froerer posted this comment...

We receive 39 missionaries (15 French) tomorrow that come from 15 different countries. What an amazing experience!