So I just saw the date and realized that today celebrates the anniversary of two things. First of all in 2006 the marriage of my sister and brother-in-law Kelly & Nate happened. Congratulations kids, I never would have guessed you two would have made it. The second thing was in 1999 I entered the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. Even though I officially became a missionary on December 26, 1999, it was the 29th when it all really began. That was a great time of my life when I grew and in my opinion became a man.
That's not what I want to talk about though. When I think of my time in the MTC, I think about Y2K. It was only two days away and everyone was freaking out about whether or not their bank accounts would be safe. If I remember correctly, everyone thought that the computer programs at the bank were not capable to go past a 1999 date so they would just all begin to malfunction. People were pulling their stocks, savings, and a many other assets out so they would not lose everything. Other people thought it was the end of the world, Jesus was going to come and so on.
While all this was going on I was tucked away safely in the MTC. Now this is the part that people have a hard time believing. The MTC was an awesome place to celebrate the new millennium. They threw us a huge party and it was catered by everyone. Pizza Hut, Subway and many other fast food places were all there to feed us. Missionaries from all over the world were congregated in this little melting pot and were celebrating the new year the way they would in their native country. Pacific Islanders were doing cultural dances in the hall way, African, Asian, European, South American Missionaries all there doing their thing. It was awesome and I couldn't think of a better way or place to be to bring in the new millennium.
After it was all said and done, there was no need for panic. Nobody lost money or stocks. It was funny though to think that everyone was panicking over something so simple as a new year. So now I ask, where were you during the change of the millennium? Was it extraordinary or was it totally disappointing?
