For two weeks now, I have been at the local Missionary Training Center acting as an investigator for the new missionaries to practice their teaching skills on. I'm an official service missionary with a 1-year call. I had to make up my own profile: my name, personal situation, and why I'm willing to listen to the missionaries. Some people get really dramatic and create a totally fictional character, but I decided to go more reality-based (I'm no good at making up details on the spot). Here's what mine says:
Kris is a married mother of 5 children. She works from home creating websites for companies. She believes in God, but is confused about the specifics of how He works. Kris's mom recently died from cancer. One of the nurses caring for her mom was Mormon and told Kris about her belief in life after death.
The very first session I did, I was a member missionary with an older couple acting as the investigators. I was their neighbor who has tried to talk to them about the Church for many years. The missionaries who came in were brand new - only at the MTC about 5 days. They were so nervous. They kept trying to get the other to do the talking by saying, "Do you have anything to add, Elder?" At one point, one of them was explaining a concept and his voice got quieter and quieter until he just stopped in the middle of his sentence and put his head down. I felt so bad for him! One of the other investigators told me that she had another set of elders who tried the "Do you have anything to add" technique and finally, one of the elders just said, "Nope!" Hilarious! One of the investigators told me that the first visit is a big wake-up call for some missionaries.
They try to schedule it so that the missionaries see the same investigator for two visits in a row. This is more like what it will be like on their missions and it gives them an opportunity to prepare and pray for investigators as they teach a follow-up lesson.
In another session, I acted as the investigator daughter of a senior couple who had already had one meeting with the missionaries. When they came this time, they were set to teach about the Word of Wisdom. We had a lively discussion about the merits of coffee and tea and wine and why we should or should not drink these things. The elders were so good! They laughed with us and taught us and challenged us and (most importantly in my opinion) testified to us of the truthfulness of the principles they were teaching. At the end of the lesson, we all committed to give up our coffee and go to church.
I also went in as a member with a college-aged investigator whose profile was that she was on the volleyball team at BYU and her teammates had gotten her interested in learning more about the Church. A big personal thrill for me was when the elders referred to me as her "roommate"; yahoo for the 40-year-old!
I've been there 7 days so far averaging 2-3 hours each day and been taught by a multitude of elders, two senior missionary couples, a set of sisters, and two trios of missionaries. I've been both a member missionary and an investigator and I definitely like being an investigator the most. I've learned that it is a real privilege to be an investigator; people love this calling. Most of the folks who come have been doing it for years. They love is so much that they extend their service missions far beyond the one year. The MTC also accepts volunteers and many just keep coming and coming. One lady I've been with twice has been coming for 8 years! When my bishop asked me if I would be willing to serve, he made me promise that I would come back to the ward. In his words, "People get this calling and they don't want to leave!" I can sure understand why.
Two of the neatest experiences so far happened with a trio of missionaries and then with a senior couple. The trio first: we have these rooms set up like living rooms, so you wait in them and the missionaries knock on the door like it's your house (there is a video camera recording the missionaries so their trainers can give them feedback afterwards). I could hear the three of them outside the door rallying their courage: "Are you ready?" "Yes, I'm ready." "Do we have everything we need?" "You've got the scriptures?" "Yep, I've got them." "Let's take these pamphlets in, too." "Okay." "Ready?" "Ready." [big gulp of air and huge exhalation] "Here we go." KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. I had to chuckle just before I answered the door. :) [Note: I would have to do the same thing and then some if I was going door-to-door to meet with strangers. Takes a lot of courage!]
I let them in and we proceeded to get acquainted. These three were really good at carrying on a conversation, asking questions about me and being genuinely interested in my answers. They shared some background on themselves and why they were here and I felt a good spirit from all three of them. They taught me about the love of God as the Father of His children and about Christ and about where we go after we die and the importance of prophets and priesthood authority. They were so sincere in their testifying to the truthfulness of what they taught that I found myself teary several times. They taught for about 40 minutes, transitioning well from one person to the next so that they all taught and bore witness - it was a completely uplifting experience. When I shut the door after they left, I heard one of them say, "Yes!" They deserved it! These men are ready to be missionaries!
The senior couple I met with were just a gem. They came in full of love for me and for the message that they brought. They got to know me and my situation and shared about themselves: from Canada with 12 children of their own and 3 adopted - 15 in all! Their lesson focused on families and our love for our family and how that translates into God's love for His family. We talked about Christ and the atonement and the plan that God has for our lives. They also taught about how God talks to us and answers prayers and what those witnesses from the Holy Ghost are like. At the end, they said the most beautiful prayer for me and after I closed the door behind them as they left, I sat on the couch and just cried because the good feelings of the Spirit and the love of God and this couple were so strong.
I had a knock on the door right after and they had left their coats in the room! We aren't supposed to go out of character with the missionaries, but the couple came in and started talking with me, so I got to learn a little more about their mission. He is a physician and they are going on a medical mission to the Philippines. They'll be taking care of the missionaries, so they don't have to learn Filipino, but they want to learn some so that they can be prepared if the occasion arises. The elder said something so sweet to me, he said, "You were a golden contact! You can try to pretend you're not a member, but you can't hide the spirit that emanates from you." I thought that was cool, but I also thought, "Maybe I should be giving these missionaries more of a hard time." When I was trained, though, they told us to be golden contacts, so I guess I'll just keep going the way I am.
The biggest thing I have learned from this for when I serve a full-time mission is that I need to be ready to teach. This means knowing the scriptures and understanding the doctrine to such an extent that explaining it comes easily. The best missionaries so far have been the ones that "know their stuff" and can easily find scriptures that teach the principles. Second thing, for me at least, is that it really matters to me that the missionaries know that what they are teaching is true. I want to know what they think about this principle, how they feel about it, how they came to know it was true. Testifying - that's what I wait for them to do.
See why I call it the Best Calling Ever?
I picked up two different hitchhikers today.
