We reported to the Missionary Training Center in Provo Utah on Monday February 5th. We joined with over 2,000 younger missionaries that are continuously cycling through anywhere from a few weeks to several months (depending on language training). We were two of 131 senior missionaries reporting that day (a very large group), of which 18 couples are going to be serving humanitarian and self-reliance missions (the largest group -at least in recent times).
The first week was proselytizing training, which we won't be allowed to do in Vietnam, but it was a spiritual boost nonetheless. Elder Christofferson from the Quorum of the 12 apostles came and spoke to all the missionaries on our second Tuesday.
The second week was specific training on our humanitarian work. All 18 humanitarian couples were learning together. To give you a small idea of the global reach of Latter-Day-Saint Charities efforts here are the locations where our group will be serving and our group picture (sorry, the location signs we are holding are too blurry):
Vietnam
Cambodia
Jamaica
Mexico City
Albania Macedonia
Bahrain
Philippines
New York City
Scotland
Montenegro
France
Slovakia
Indonesia
Armenia
Hungary
Every month a new group of humanitarian missionaries report for training. Most will serve for 18 months (like us).
It was a big eye opener to see how much the church is doing worldwide which most of us are unaware of. In addition to local initiated Humanitarian Aid projects in each country (Vietnam for us) there is a focus on Global Priorities and crises anywhere in the world that require an Emergency Response.
Global Priorities are areas that the church sees as humanitarian needs that are common to large areas of the world. These include Childhood Nutrition, Maternal and Newborn Care, Vision Care, and Immunizations.
Emergency Response: There is a team in Salt Lake City that daily monitors worldwide natural disasters and war torn areas for opportunities to rapidly respond with what is needed for that crisis.
These three areas are funded from different annual budgets to make sure they all get properly addressed. They all strive to partner with vetted and trusted partners (local and international) that help get the aid to the people as efficiently as possible (e.g. Red Cross, etc). For areas in the world where it is politically sensitive, aid is provided but the specifics are not generally shared.
All projects worldwide are thoroughly documented in a database where each missionary couple has access to the projects in their area. This is where we will document new projects and manage them through to completion. We already have about 20 approved projects waiting for us in Vietnam (including some that fall under Global Priorities) - Thank you Elder and Sister Peterson!
One of the most impressive aspects to this training for us was how the love of Jesus Christ permeates and guides all of these efforts. The Saviors' purposes were constantly included throughout the presentations.
As training finished up everyone was excited for their flights to all their various destinations around the world. We cheered them on as we boarded our shuttle to the Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission (along with two other couples waiting for visas). We are here waiting for LDS Charities to be re-registered as a legal organization in Vietnam.
After the three-day weekend we began some more training for our temporary assignment. The Headquarters Mission itself is very impressive. Nine hundred senior missionaries work here on a part or full-time basis. These missionaries staff the Family Search Library, Church History Museum, Church History Library, and many other infrastructure assignments that keep the whole missionary program running. After this week's training we will receive our temporary assignment. We are excited to participate in new areas but also anxious to get to Vietnam!