Missionary Trek Highlights Provo MTC’s Increased Numbers
Contributed By By Lucy Schouten, Church News staff writer
Thousands of missionaries walk from both the main Provo MTC and the new “west campus” at Wyview Park to the Marriott Center for an MTC-wide devotional Tuesday, June 11. This was the latest solution used to accommodate increasing numbers of missionaries.
Article Highlights
- Thousands of missionaries from the Provo Missionary Training Center make their way to the Marriott Center for a Tuesday night devotional.
- The march of these missionaries is a symbol of the increased numbers of missionaries following the age change announcement in the October 2012 general conference.
- This unprecedented wave has pushed the number of full-time missionaries serving from 58,000 to roughly 69,000 currently; the number is expected to reach 85,000 during fall 2013.
“It’s really amazing to have so many people in one place with all the same intent.” —Elder Levi Neely, missionary from St. George bound for Budapest, Hungary
No marathon was scheduled for that day, but on June 11 the march of thousands of missionaries from the Provo Missionary Training Center to the Marriott Center resembled a race.
The trek to another location for the usual Tuesday night devotional is seen as a symbol of the increased numbers of missionaries following the age change announcement in the October 2012 general conference.
“It’s [especially powerful] since this is the first time we’ve needed to come to the Marriott Center,” said Sister Nicholle Peng, a missionary from Bountiful, Utah, who will serve in Taiwan.
The stream of missionaries curled around the Marriott Center parking lot, the path marked with orange construction cones. A few well-prepared missionaries even brought water bottles. A smiling senior couple wearing orange vests brought up the rear, hand-in-hand.
However, the end of this race was marked not by cheering fans but by the hymn “Behold a Royal Army,” played by a senior missionary on the organ. Also lacking was a spirit of competition. A historic 2,788 missionaries, 140 coming from an overflow campus at Wyview Park, filed into the Marriott Center with one purpose and spirit.
“It’s really amazing to have so many people in one place with all the same intent,” said Elder Levi Neely, a missionary from St. George bound for Budapest, Hungary.
The missionaries recognized the historic nature of the trek to the Marriott Center. “You’re walking down the hall [of the MTC] and everyone’s so excited to be here,” said Elder Joe Giacalone, Elder Neely’s companion from Syracuse, Utah. “We can feel that we are part of a historic thing, and it’s really cool.”
This unprecedented wave has pushed the number of full-time missionaries serving from 58,000 to roughly 69,000 currently, and the number is expected to reach 85,000 during fall 2013. The MTC held roughly 2,000 missionaries this time last summer, but by July 10, 2013, the number should be 3,611.
“There’s a little more energy at the MTC right now,” said Sister Alicia Eliason, a sister from Bountiful, Utah, who will serve in Taiwan. “I just feel lucky to be a part of it.”
Missionaries from the Provo MTC sing the opening hymn before a Tuesday night devotional at the Marriott Center.
Sister Peng watched the stream of her fellow missionaries continue to file into the Marriott Center. “They just keep coming,” she said.
Missionaries are expected to keep coming to the MTC and the Marriott Center for the rest of the summer and then leaving to serve around the world as they run “with patience” the race.
