MTC Week 4 - September
"Guess what? I love you, I love you, I LOVE YOU!"
If you're wondering, those are the concluding lyrics in the song that Buddy the Elf sings to his dad upon their first meeting. I heard some elder singing it a couple weeks ago, and now all the sisters in my room sing it to each other allllllll the days.
Also. As Sister Westover and I would not really consider ourselves to be runners, we made it a goal earlier in our MTC stay to be able to run three miles around the track without stopping or walking. Each time we ran three miles, we pushed ourselves to walk at least one lap less than we did the time before. I can recall one challenging run during which I would not let myself walk for the last ten or so laps. As I was nearing the end and increasing speed, I began to feel a flame inside my lungs. The burning--I'm sure you've felt it--continued and progressed to a point that made me want to quit running. But can't stop won't stop!! Over and over in my mind I repeated the words "Ni keyi, ni keyi!" ("you can, you can!"), until I had completed the last stretch of the run. A little over a week later, I could have run more than 3 miles for how light and breezy my lungs felt. It wasn't easy getting to that level of comfort in running. It required that my lungs work hard, persevere, and even overcome a blazing fire.
I'm not going to lie to y'all, this week has been hard. To make a long story short, we got a new teacher and she is extremely strict and requires much of us. She has an insanely strong testimony and follows the rules to a 'T,' and I know she truly loves our district. She just expresses her love in a way that none of us are used to. Sometimes I feel like I'm in school as she asks us to complete assignments and turn them in to her. In addition, when we go to teach her as our investigator, she's not very receptive and she asks difficult questions that are hard enough to answer in English, let alone Mandarin! During one lesson, I was trying to explain that many men in the Book of Mormon were prophets like Joseph Smith. Instead of gliding through my desired sentence gracefully, I told her that "Nephi IS Joseph Smith." Looking back, that's hilarious. In the moment, however, I was a beyond frustrated. My companions and I were extremely discouraged with all the changes, and honestly we are still struggling to grapple with it. However, I know we are where the Lord wants us to be. I can't ever forget that.
Just like I had to urge myself to keep running in order to become a better runner, I must keep going during this rough patch to become a better missionary. This is true to life. Hard things do happen, but you can, YOU CAN get through them. Learn from them. Grow from them. Do your best and Christ will be there to help you. He will make you better than you can be on your own. Philippians 4:13.
Wo ai nimen!❤
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Pictures:
Study time break...
Sad that their old teacher left and a new, strict teacher came--no more messing around!
Do you like their buns?
Temple walk with the district...
Bumped into Brett Roberts from the home ward!
More sadness at the departure of their old, less strict teacher....
Game-day snacks while secretly rooting for the COUGS...
Smiley Sister Love...
Temple walk...
Do you like my new HUGE #TaiwanTaipei shirt?!
If you're wondering, those are the concluding lyrics in the song that Buddy the Elf sings to his dad upon their first meeting. I heard some elder singing it a couple weeks ago, and now all the sisters in my room sing it to each other allllllll the days.
Also. As Sister Westover and I would not really consider ourselves to be runners, we made it a goal earlier in our MTC stay to be able to run three miles around the track without stopping or walking. Each time we ran three miles, we pushed ourselves to walk at least one lap less than we did the time before. I can recall one challenging run during which I would not let myself walk for the last ten or so laps. As I was nearing the end and increasing speed, I began to feel a flame inside my lungs. The burning--I'm sure you've felt it--continued and progressed to a point that made me want to quit running. But can't stop won't stop!! Over and over in my mind I repeated the words "Ni keyi, ni keyi!" ("you can, you can!"), until I had completed the last stretch of the run. A little over a week later, I could have run more than 3 miles for how light and breezy my lungs felt. It wasn't easy getting to that level of comfort in running. It required that my lungs work hard, persevere, and even overcome a blazing fire.
I'm not going to lie to y'all, this week has been hard. To make a long story short, we got a new teacher and she is extremely strict and requires much of us. She has an insanely strong testimony and follows the rules to a 'T,' and I know she truly loves our district. She just expresses her love in a way that none of us are used to. Sometimes I feel like I'm in school as she asks us to complete assignments and turn them in to her. In addition, when we go to teach her as our investigator, she's not very receptive and she asks difficult questions that are hard enough to answer in English, let alone Mandarin! During one lesson, I was trying to explain that many men in the Book of Mormon were prophets like Joseph Smith. Instead of gliding through my desired sentence gracefully, I told her that "Nephi IS Joseph Smith." Looking back, that's hilarious. In the moment, however, I was a beyond frustrated. My companions and I were extremely discouraged with all the changes, and honestly we are still struggling to grapple with it. However, I know we are where the Lord wants us to be. I can't ever forget that.
Just like I had to urge myself to keep running in order to become a better runner, I must keep going during this rough patch to become a better missionary. This is true to life. Hard things do happen, but you can, YOU CAN get through them. Learn from them. Grow from them. Do your best and Christ will be there to help you. He will make you better than you can be on your own. Philippians 4:13.
Wo ai nimen!❤
----------------------------------------------------
Pictures:
Study time break...
Saturday BYU/Utah Game Day! We studied and ate chips, popcorn, and queso hehe.
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