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Flashback: The Last Week of MTC

January 5, 2014 by Payton and Grace Downing

The last week of school was quite memorable, while at the same time it sped by far too fast. We had a random assortment of Practical Skills classes to finish up. We dabbled in auto mechanics (very basic), with the basic rule of thumb being keep up on your maintenance if you get a vehicle overseas!

IMG_4274Payton taught his last lesson at Green Gables. We made it through the Law and were able to help the guys understand more about God’s standard and the impossibility of keeping the whole law. One of the highlights of the evening is that the Detention Center team came to visit with us and are going to be taking over next semester–we had thought the teaching at GG was going to end up shutting down, but God provided the perfect team to pick up where we left off!

IMG_4287I know know how to set a toilet and snake it if need be, thank to Joel, the MTC’s plumber and one of the staff who was on the GG team with us–we love Joel!

IMG_4305One of the best days was when Thatcher decided to grace us with his presence. Our buddies, the Cizdziels, left us a note early in the morning saying they were going to the hospital to have their baby–and then they even let us see him only a few hours after he was born! I felt so special that we were the first to meet the little guy–I haven’t met anyone that young and cute in a long time!

IMG_4308The week’s activities continued with water pressure and a discussion on how much you need to adequately was the soap out of you hair. I also learned that water weighs a whole lot! Later, when we left Missouri, an ice storm had left everything covered in a coating of ice. I thought back to this lab and was kind of awed by how much water was left hovering above ground after the ice storm!

IMG_4313The Tech Center’s labs continued with electrical problem solving, the kind that went like, “What do you do if your kids are always getting shocked when they turn on a light and it’s not static electricity?” I think that was about the time when Katie turned to me and said, “Hey Grace, remember that time we blew up a battery?” Haha–yes, I did remember. Payton told me that technically we just shorted it out. It was still bad either way. 🙂

IMG_4352Oh yes, and we cleaned and scrubbed and scraped and toothbrushed until our apartment shined! 260 C’s next occupants were going to be our friends, the Van Der Decker’s, who were going to get married the day after graduation.IMG_4299Ah yes, there was the concrete lab–very hands on!

IMG_4361The last day of school, our good buddy, Garran, stopped by with his wifey, Hannah! We had a lot of fun catching up as they passed through.IMG_4380Payton chose to improvise during the packing since we didn’t have a vacuum. He did a great job vacuum-sealing all of our clothing. I’m glad he did since once the car top bag was loaded, he got sick and we didn’t end up leaving for another day!! That was all in the middle of freezing rain and we were just praying that the tarps would keep our stuff dry. Oh the memories!

IMG_4425

We can’t believe it’s over! Wow. God has been so good to us during our time of training. We’re excited to see what He has in store as the new year moves forward.

Filed Under: MTC Tagged With: adventure, experimenting, fellowship, life lessons, moving, no running water, packing, pictures, transition

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Comments

  1. Dan Downing says

    January 5, 2014 at 10:35 pm

    Now I can say I’ve seen it all! Grace, you are very blessed to have a live in vacuum cleaner!
    Seriously, congratulations on a job(s) well done! Stay warm, my love and prayers are with you two always.

    Reply
  2. Joe & Marisol Livingway says

    January 5, 2014 at 8:57 pm

    We are so thankful for both of you. Your faithfulness and diligence is an encouragement to everyone!

    Reply

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