Holy cow guys, I don't even know where to start. Time is such a weird concept here. I feel like I've been here for years, but my first day at the MTC feels like it was yesterday! Well, I am a missionary! I love it so much. I have truly never been happier in my life. Nothing brings a bigger smile to my face than putting on my name tag each morning and getting to represent Christ each day!
The MTC itself is quite the place. It kind of just feels like I'm in a weird missionary summer camp at byu. We live in some kind of Stover Hall, but now have to fit six to a dorm room instead of two.. bless our sweet souls. Also there are so many friends from college and high school everywhere. It really is such a blessing to be able to see so many familiar faces each day! Elder Miller, Lawrence, and Doyle have classrooms on my same floor so I get to see them everyday! We all have pretty similar schedules though, so I get to see Hermana Curtis, Elder Lafontaine, and so many more friends from BYU and Timpview everyday! I have even seen the kid that Maddie said "It was interesting meeting you" to, and don't worry Mads. He hasn't forgotten;) haha It is the coolest thing to be around so many wonderful people that have all made the same sacrifice that I have to go out and serve the Lord. Plus, you can always hear a million languages everywhere you go which is so cool! It is our favorite thing to learn all of the places missionaries are serving. I particularly like to talk to all of the new French speaking missionaries because it's just about the one time I feel ahead in a language... haha
Speaking of languages....Chinese is so crazy hah. I am convinced it is an alien language. It is so cool and I am definitely growing to love it, but it is SO HARD. English and French speaking missions sounded pretty good this week... especially when our second day came around and they informed us we were teaching our first lesson in two hours.... in Chinese. Yep, that was quite the experience. Since then, we have taught 4 lessons in Chinese and one in English (we got passed down an investigator from another building and we were so stoked to be able to communicate easily with her!). The lessons did go surprising well though. The gift of tongues is so real, but not in the way that I had expected it to be. It wasn't like I walked into my first lesson ever and just opened my mouth and perfect Chinese came out. It is more of the fact that we can retain so much of the information we are being taught, and can pick out words in our lessons that we have only heard a few times. We have been able to truly feel the spirit in our lessons, even with a large language barrier. It has been such a testament to me that the language is not why I am out here. I am out here to teach the gospel and invite others to come unto Christ. That is why I am serving a mission. Chinese is just the tool that is helping me achieve that purpose. Being thrown into the whirlwind that the MTC is and especially as we try to learn the language, it is so important to remember that. Our branch president reminded us that "We must center ourselves on the doctrine of Christ, and the language will develop itself. We are improving much faster than any of us could've ever imagined, and we know that is truly from the Lord!
Another gift from the Lord has definitely been my district. THEY ARE THE BEST EVER. It's me, my companion Sister Bernhardt, and six of the nicest, funniest, best elders in the world! We love them so much. We are all so different but we work so well together. We are family now and spend all of our time together from meals, to class, and even exercise time hah. That's always a funny one. They're just the best. And my COMP. AH I LOVE HER. It is crazy because we totally connected before our missions and talked on the phone and everything before we came, so we knew who each other were the second we read our names! She is the best. We are so alike, but different enough that we build each other up and get along so well. She is such a strength to me!
Being in here, it is really easy to forget I am in Provo. The hallways connecting buildings are outside, and they have a covering over them, so you don't even see the mountains unless you go out to the front. When we leave to go to the temple or health center or what not, it is such a weird thing to remember that I am literally just home and there are people out there living normal lives and not cramming PMG and Chinese in their brains everyday. hah
Ok some funny things for the week: first, I need to explain my subject line. We are all adjusting to the missionary rules and guidelines and are always reminding ourselves to call our friends by their last names, not saying "guys", not hugging or high fiving(???) elders, and so on and so on. But, we have all had lots of little slip ups. The other day was the best one yet. I was leaving my classroom and reached from the hall to turn off the light in my classroom. I guess I went on my toes for a sec because all of a sudden I hear "Sister! Your calves look really nice today!" coming from the hall! Followed by a roar of laughter and an apologetic elder. hahah It was so funny. It's now the biggest joke in our zone, and I can't go an hour without someone bringing it up or complimenting my calves. haha good times.
Thank you so much for all of the notes and packages! It is the best thing in the world to get them throughout the day. So keep 'em comin' people! Also notes or dear elders are better than emails because 1- it shows my district I actually have friends 2- I can only open emails once a week and I can get letters everyday!
Well I love and miss you all everyday! Hope you are doing well, and continue to keep me in the loop!
xoxo
Sister Richards
洁美李
Lǐ Jiéměi
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