Wednesday, July 24, is a holiday in the State of Utah.  But, it is not a holiday at the MTC!  Classes started at 8:30am in the chapel building next to the MTC campus.  Before class began, we had opening exercises with a song and a prayer and some housekeeping announcements.  For class, we had a role play with volunteers that come from the community outside of the MTC.  Arlana and I had a nice old man that was pretending to be an investigator who had invited the missionaries (Arlana and I) to his house for the first time.  Our appointment lasted 45 minutes.  We got to know him and then we discussed the plan of Salvation.  We committed him to read the pamphlet about the Plan of Salvation and then pray about it.  We then set a follow-up appointment.  Our role play was then evaluated by our instructor who was hidden on the other side of the partition.  After a break for lunch, we were instructed on how to follow up on prior commitments and then prepare to give lesson 2 in Preach My Gospel.  Our classroom day ended at 4:15pm at which time we went to the mess hall to eat dinner and then catch the shuttle to the Marriott Hotel.  That evening was spent watching the national news, catching up on the emails, and then lesson preparation for the next day.

Thursday was much like Wednesday except for the announcement that one of the Elders in our senior couple group had a heart attack the previous day and was taken to the Hospital in Provo where he underwent a procedure to have a stint put in one of his arteries that was completely blocked.  The role play Thursday morning was with an elderly couple who volunteered from the community.  They had invited the missionaries back for a second visit, but since that first visit the missionaries had transferred and Arlana and I were there now in their place.  So after a time of getting to know them, we inquired about what they had done since the prior missionary visit.  He had done nothing and she had read some of the Book of Mormon.  So after some more discussion, we ended with a re-commitment to read 3 Nephi before our next appointment.  Again, we were evaluated by our instructor who was sitting behind the partition.  After a lunch break, we resumed our training at 1:30.  In the afternoon, we were trained how to use the Book of Mormon in our lessons as well as how to work with less active members of the church.  The afternoon session ended with a senior couple telling of their experiences from their multiple missions in the South Pacific Islands.  Their experiences somewhat parallels those of Bro Groburg in the movie the "Other Side of Heaven".  That evening, Arlana and I went on a walk around downtown Provo and viewed the construction site of the Provo Center Temple.  The shell of the old tabernacle is on stilts as a basement is built below it as well as an underground parking garage.

Friday started out much the same way as the other days.  But today, we were joined with the Elder who had had the heart attack on Tuesday.  He was happy to be with us, no doubt.  He was not cut open.  Rather they enter his artery through a vein in the wrist to implant the stint near his heart.  A miracle!  The Friday morning role play was between missionary couples.  One couple was chosen to play the less active and another couple was chosen to be the missionaries.  We then rotated places in which the roles were reversed.  After we got to know the less active couple and their problems, Arlana and I spent  the next hour trying to figure out what was causing them to be less active and develop a lesson and a commitment to do something.  So after the preparation, we got back into our roles and presented and then received the lesson that was prepared.  It was a lot of fun and we got to know two other couples really well.  After lunch break, we returned to the chapel building and learned about how the missionaries should interact with ward and stake leaders and how to interact with ward members.  The end of the afternoon marked the end of our training on "Preach My Gospel".  An elderly couple came in to tell of the multiple missions to the New Zealand area.  Quite interesting!  That night we prepared  to transfer the next morning from the Marriott to the apartment room in the MTC.