Young men and young women of the Brambleton Virginia Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints received a glimpse into missionary life and gained confidence that they can share the gospel with others during an “MTC night” last month.
Nearly 60 youth in the Brambleton Ward and Tall Cedars Ward attended on March 15, where they learned from full-time missionaries in the Washington DC South Mission and a member of the mission presidency. Ward and stake leaders attended as well.
Erek Dan, 18, in the Brambleton Ward, said the activity brought him closer to the Savior, Jesus Christ.
“I think this activity has really opened me up to being able to take upon the name of Christ more truthfully and fully, instead of just hiding behind the scenes and not being able to take those promptings and act upon them when I’m presented with them,” he said.
Phebe Brown, 15, from the Tall Cedars Ward, said the evening taught her about the hard work and also the blessings of being a missionary.
“MTC youth night really opened my eyes to the powerful happiness of sharing the gospel,” Phebe said. “I have two brothers serving missions right now, and I understand a little better what they are doing, how they bless others and how it feels to testify every day.”
‘We were actually learning how to be missionaries for real’
Stephen T. Funk, the second counselor in the Brambleton Ward bishopric, said the bishoprics and Young Women presidencies of both wards planned and coordinated together.
The wards invited their youth by sending out “mission calls” and placed each youth into a companionship for the evening.
When the youth arrived, they were greeted by the full-time missionaries and given a name badge, a copy of “Preach My Gospel” and an index card outlining their assigned mission, companion and rotation schedule, Funk said.
The evening began in the chapel. Dan conducted the meeting and was impressed by how many youth not only showed up from both wards but participated the whole time.
“I had a warm feeling and a feeling of collectiveness,” he said. “We were all together, we were all doing it all together. It honestly felt like, in a way, we were actually learning how to be missionaries for real, instead of it being just a mock activity.”
Funk shared his experience as a convert to the Church and testified that there are people — like he once was — who are waiting to hear the gospel.
“To reinforce that message, I invited one of the missionaries who taught me, Brother Mike Owen, to join me. He attended the event and later participated as a ‘friend’ during the teaching activity. It was a powerful moment for the youth to see the lasting impact of missionary work, even nearly 30 years later,” Funk said.
The missionaries spoke about how to teach a gospel discussion, and then the youth rotated through three 20-minute experiences: a missionary question-and-answer session, language training and a practice teaching appointment.
President Mark Thomas, the first counselor in the Washington DC South Mission presidency, led the missionary question-and-answer sessions with his wife.
“We were so happy to be there with so many wonderful young people, obviously excited about the opportunity to serve a mission,” President Thomas said.
The youth came with questions, doubts and concerns, such as what will happen on a mission, will they be able to handle it and measure up.
“What stood out to us was how we felt the Savior’s love for them as we were answering their questions,” President Thomas said. “It was clear from the powerful Spirit and emotion we experienced.”
He said having the youth come to the activity “was a clear sign they knew where they wanted to be,” and he helped them understand they are valiant, watched over and blessed through their covenants and righteous desires.
Increasing the desire to serve a mission
Esther Fenimore, 15, from the Brambleton Ward, said her favorite part of the night was the opportunity to ask President and Sister Thomas any questions and learn from them.
She said she felt the spirit when people bore their testimonies during the course of the evening. She learned she can build her own testimony in many ways, improve her scripture study and get to know the Savior more.
“I’ve always wanted to serve a mission and this just made it more like I want to serve one more,” Esther said.
Phebe enjoyed getting to know other people’s mission experiences. When she practiced teaching others, she found it challenging at first but she learned from the full-time sister missionaries how to speak about the gospel, refer to the scriptures and share her testimony.
“It solidified my confidence in going on a mission and even made me want to go more. I saw the happiness that the sisters have,” Phebe said. “It made me feel closer to Jesus Christ because this is His work we are fulfilling on the earth.”
Belle Price, 16, in the Brambleton Ward, thought the activity went really well. She enjoyed having the mission presidency there and working with the missionaries.
“We learned languages and were teaching people the gospel. I learned French, that was cool. And I learned how to teach people about Christ better like in the way a missionary would,” Belle said.
Dan said he also enjoyed the part of the night where he learned the language of his assigned country, which was Germany.
“I take German in high school. And so that was really cool to learn about an actual missionary that went to Germany,” he said.
Dan is planning on serving a mission, but before going to the MTC night, he said he had felt some nervousness or anxiousness about serving because of the unknown. But this activity helped him know more about what a mission will feel like — especially during the rotation where he practiced teaching someone about the gospel.
“It really gave me a sense of what it might actually be. And that really changed it for me,” Dan said. “It made me feel more confident in knowing that, I don’t have to know what’s ahead of me. I don’t have to know all the exact details because I know that the Holy Ghost will be able to lead me through those times.”
Brambleton Ward Bishop Kasey Kanekoa sat in on one of the teaching experiences. Two of the young women in his ward taught about the nature of God — and he said they bore sincere and authentic witnesses of eternal truth.
“I know that our young women, the role player and I felt the Spirit speaking to us, and I know that feeling this in a role play demonstrates to our youth the level of support and confidence they can have as they prepare to become full-time missionaries,” Bishop Kanekoa said.
