Day 8 of the MTC experience

Today we were on a bus at 6:30 a.m. for Welfare and Humanitarian training in SLC. They gave us a sack breakfast and then gave us instruction on the bus during the drive to Welfare Square. Then a power point presentation by Roger Webb and a tour of the Bishop's store house, the bakery, the wet pack and the milk and cheese processing plants. Jim gave us a big thick slice of fresh bread and Deseret brand peanut butter, jam, and chocolate milk. Jim (excuse me, Bro Goodrich) explained about the ATMIT product which was developed to feed the extremely malnourished children whose bodies are too weak to digest regular food. He showed us a couple of pictures that showed an AMAZING change in the children after only five months (at a total cost of about $5.00)


Then back on the bus for lunch and a short talk by Elder Rudd at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Elder Rudd is 92 years old and still comes in each day to work in the welfare department. He has been a mission president in about 5 missions and worked in welfare for 150 years. (well you would think so to hear his stories). Before we entered the MTC, we read the book Pure Religion that he wrote about the history of the Church's welfare program.


Back on the bus and down to the Humanitarian Center across from the Distribution Center. Here we saw the thousand pound bales of clothing of which they receive 500 each day (yes that is half a million pounds of clothing). This is the clothing that is not put on the racks at the Deseret Industries, but is used in humanitarian relief efforts all over the world. We also saw people carrying in arm loads of new quilts that they had made, and examples of the wheel chairs, medical kits, neo-natal resuscitation supplies, school kits, hygiene kits, and cleaning kits. Truly a world wide and world class relief organization.

One of our missionaries heard Louisiana's governor talk on TV following the Katrina hurricane when he said that there were two relief organization that had done much more than all of the others put together. The first organization was the Mormon Helping Hands and the seconds was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

We then returned home, went for a walk on the track in the gym, went to Costco and bought an Itouch with the Lee's and spent the rest of the evening setting it up with them.