oh my good golly miss molly it is my mtc hump day today! can you believe it? yes? ok that makes one of us. Just yesterday I waved goodbye to my family and ventured into the cave of wonders. now abboo(my small companion) and I (Aladin) are half way done. take a seat folks cause that is big news. I don't think i'm prepared for the big things ahead, but will I ever be... meh probably not! The end of next week I should get my travel plans, so we will see if my visa is here or not!
Sunday, the day of Sabbath, where you put all your cares away and enjoy a blissful day of rich and enlightening thoughts. NAH not here they like to mix it up and play what I call "Russian Roulette." see we are assigned to write a talk every week than in sacrament meeting they random pick two missionaries from the zone to come up and give them IN SPANISH!!! bam, it's like a game... a horrible one that makes you sweat! no longer am I chillin like a villin in sacrament meeting. now I'm nervous nelly praying that I either switch brains with a latino or that I don't get picked until next week. This week another district is off, :( I love them so much... with them goes 4 hermanas, which will make my district the second oldest district in the zone and the oldest sisters. That's right i'm an example now to the youngins. It will be funny when they ask me to say something in Spanish and I'll just smile a sheepish smile. speaking of the language i'm getting more confident which means i'm throwing our random words and attempting to make sentences. baby baby steps! Graham and I, we are sortof on the same playing ground. speaking of the language my companion was praying and said something. I swear she said "las Lasagnas" like the food.... I laughed and asked her what she was praying for... not even close la ensenanzas (which means teachings).... it was a hoot and we both died laughing.., she makes fun of me for it and I tease her for passing out for a three hour nap on p-day. Our relationship is fantastic. yesterday out of the blue, a lady comes to our class in the middle of the teachers lecture. "yes can I evaluate everyone's language progress, starting with hermana alley." oh dear did my heart just stop, am I dead... "The last thing I said walking out of that door to my class was "well folks if I don't come back you know i'm either going home or I've been sent to an English speaking mission.. farewell it's been nice getting to know you." so all nervous and such the questionable lady asked me to say certain things in the language of my mission. and than talk about the restoration. In the moment it was terrifying and it pure panic was probably written on my forehead, however afterwards I was pretty darn proud of myself. Did I answer everything correctly, heck no. was it even profound at all... no.. but did I actually form some sentences on the spot! YES!! Thinking back none of what I said was my own words, the Holy Ghost Definitely spit them out for me. It was great!! and for the next few hours I was on cloud nine as superwoman. The language is hard despite what everyone says about being a piece of cake, i'd like to think of it more as a stale(hard) cookie... Yes it has potential to be delicious but it takes a long time for it to melt (aka for me to warm up to it, and eat it up). Maybe this cookie analogy doesn't make sense to you but anyone that's had an mtc cookie understands where i'm coming from. And if you've learned a language and it was "easy peesy lemon squeesy" for you, i'll send you some humble pie. haha can you tell it's almost lunch time? !
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| I also eat a bannanna for every meal.... since the healthy food is limited here and they stuff me with goodies! |
Sunday was incredible. Fast Sundays are awesome at the mtc. You know that your fasting for an excellent cause when your tummy doesn't growl at you until 6:00 p.m. The big focus currently is prayer. We had a "mtc conference" which was a 2 hour thing. like stake conference. we were in the overflow rooms because there is too many of us awesome missionaries to cram into one space anymore. I've included some of my favorite quotes from both this as well as our Tuesday night devotional which was also on prayer;
"You cannot teach what you don't believe. you cannot explain what you do not know."
"are you serving time or serving the Lord?"
"Heavenly father is the receiver of your prayers, Jesus Christ the messenger, and the Holy Ghost the interpreter." <-----LOVE
"ponder your prayers... before you pray."
"God reveals himself to His children that are spiritually ready. We won't use a flood light, when a flashlight is sufficient."
and that was just a few, my notes are loaded. I love devotionals, they also get me pumped to be a missionary and the atmosphere is just booming with the Spirit. Everyday I get even more converted into this gospel. Personal study time is my favorite for that very reason. I can dive into the scriptures and without realizing it will find answers to things I wasn't even looking for. I also enjoy reading preach my gospel. Seriously read it in your spare time. haha It is a great "book". I'm such a missionary:) every week we go to the book store and I get giddy with all the church related supplies I want to get! this week I pranced out with a "living the Christ" and everyone just looked at me confused... they don't know that it was FREE!!!!!! oh man by the time I leave I will have bought everything in the tiny little store in Spanish or the relates to me as a missionary. no doubt the 7 dollars they give me a week goes to great use!
Have I mentioned my teachers? Hermano Hardy and Hermano Lunt. Take two very spiritual RMS that care so much about missionary work and you get my teachers. Hermano Lunt, is very focused on the fundamentals and "how to begin teaching someone" where as Hermano Hardy is all about coasting with the spirit. He is the humblest guy I have ever met, and the first thing he said to us was that he was here to serve us. and that if he makes the tinniest bit of a change in our lives it will be worth it. He also said that being sensitive and compassionate and carrying for others isn't "girly", He said the Jesus Christ was the Manliest man that ever walked and he had ALL of them plus some. I loveeeed that. He's awesome and you can just tell how much he cares for us. not to mention his patience for my Spanish is much appreciated:) he's very good at going at my pace while challenging me and pressing me to go farther.
the fourth of July:
so yes yes yes we did celebrate it!!!!
We got the package of goodies the two nights before, but I held out to decorate until the night before. Our room was hung with streamers, flags, a patriotic duck, and everyone dressed up!!! (I threatened everyone pretty much... no treats for people who don't come with the spirit.) I had to teach the Australian in the group how AMERICA celebrates the right way. the whole day was normal except we got to end earlier than normal. we had a devotional where a gentleman gave a talk about this his son serving in the airforce and tied it with the gospel. A musical number was next, where a flute and piano duet played perky upbeat songs. Some of which were america the beautiful, yanky doodle, ect. Just think.... fun!!! it was nice to vear away from the typical style we have (that sunday we got to watch songs of the Sabbath which was for the 4th of July as well). and then the big announcement..... hold your breath........ WE GOT TO WATCH A MOVIE!!!! ok so it wasn't disney but it was the next best thing 17 miracles... the CROWD WENT WILD!!! we errupted! you'd think none of us have ever seen a film before in our lives. it was awesome and yes I cried for those of you who were wondering (our ancestors suffered so much for zion, and i'll be foreever grateful for that. The pioneers have been a big focus on my mind as a missionary. I can almost relate, but of course in a more toned down way, i'm not sacrificing my life like so many did, just a short period of time. After the movie, we all ran out side and watched the stadium of fire fireworks!!!
They even fed us ice cream! During the finally we all sang our national anthem and let's be honest I wanted to hug every person I saw but of course stuck to just my companion. We stayed up way past bed time (midnight in fact) it was a celebration worth remembering and I'm glad I was able to spend it with 3,000 something (or how many there are here) missionaries. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!! The next day wasn't as awesome... waiting up after a late night was rough... I called it a "felize hangover". but it was also worth every second of lack of sleep.
I love you to heaven and back and twice over.
Hermana Alley :)
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| Mi districto = mi familia :) |
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