Well Family and Friends,
I am happy to report another amazing week here at my home (aka the MTC) And what an amazing week it has been! I love all of the experiences I have had this week and will try to share some with you!
First the low points of the week... Last Wednesday our district finally got into get some shots, I got two. Getting the shots was fine, I have never reacted bad to shots before. But the next day... I woke up and my whole body was very sore. I tried to get out and do my normal routine, but was really achy and had an upset stomach. SO I went to sleep after gym, woke up and felt worse. At one point it even hurt to breath in. SO I went to the health clinic, they sent me to the Student Health Center (3rd time Ive been there now... first for myself though) I had to pee in a cup and they took my blood and the result of all that: I had an adverse reaction to the shot. What a waste of time! Oh well... I took some medicine and felt a lot better by that night. So my subject line, shots = may dii... May dii means no good...
I didn't let my sickness get me down and actually got a lot of studying in while I was in bed and waiting. Nothing is going to stop me from learning this crazy language!! I love it. In the midst of those trying moments, whether they be physical like on Thursday, or mental, I am consistently seeing the Lord strengthen me and refine me into the missionary he would have me be.
I heard a wonderful quote this week that I want to paraphrase because I didn't get the chance to write it down. It goes something like: You should look back gladly at each struggle you have every week. Those are the moments you are learning the most and those are the times that you are becoming who you are. I really know that the Lord blesses me in my struggles and watches over me at all times. I am striving to take each struggle I face every day and attack it head on with the promises I am given with my sacred calling as a missionary.
But don't get me wrong, missionary work is fun! The struggles are indeed but a small moment. Several times a day everyday I have many joyful experiences that are so sweet to me. I am especially grateful for the amazing district I am blessed to be in. I am serving the Lord along side 14 of the most amazing, valiant, diligent Elders and Sisters Thailand has ever seen.
My time here is running out... but we will all endure to the end, for we know we have a great work ahead of us. Now is the time for preparation and in two weeks I will be accounting for all that I say I believe in by my actions. Keep praying for me, and keep yourselves with an eye single to the glory of the Lord. He will never let you down!
I love you all soo soo much! Keep writing me because I know I won't be getting a lot of mail in Thailand. I really do want to hear from everyone. And huge thanks to all that have written me this week! It was great to hear from so many of you. I will try to write you back, but there is so much to do and so little time to write.
LOVE LOVE LOVE,
Melissa
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Two Beautiful Swords
Sawatdii Kha Family and Friends!
This week we learned Thai idioms and my favorite by far is the Thai version of slow and steady wins the race. Translated, it means: Do your work slowly and you will earn two beautiful swords! awesome!
It has been an absolutely incredible week here at the MTC. This place is really home to me (but Sac-town will ALWAYS be my real home) I realized on Sunday when we were walking back from our temple walk that when I will leave (which, don't get me wrong, I am way excited to!) I will REALLY miss this place! It will always be a place I hold dear in my heart. A place where I have grown so much and come so much closer to the Lord and to the gospel.
The friends I have made here are friends I will have the rest of my life. I have so much love for every single Elder in my district, as well as my two companions. Everyone of them impress me so much by there spirit and their dedication to the Lord and their willingness to be obedient. If there is one lesson I learned this week it is about obedience. I think I have always been a pretty good kid... in school and at church, I have always followed the rules pretty good... But I am finding now that I am yearning to be more obedient... I actually look for ways to be more obedient to the commandments and to the rules. I see the wisdom and promises that come from obedience and I KNOW how much I need those blessings.
Thank you to those of you who have been praying for me. I truly feel the prayers of my loved ones coming to me and strengthening me. I find that I am the happiest when I am constantly praying for every thing. And I pray for many of you by name.
Friday night we had the amazing opportunity to watch a DVD that was made for the missionaries in 2006. It showed so many fun pictures of Thailand places foods and everything. It's hard to believe that a place like that actually exists, and especially that I am going to be going there! Needless to say, it pumped all of us up a ton!! But the best part by far was the 7 straight minutes of picture after picture of missionaries with converts entering the waters of baptisms to a beautiful piano arrangement of If You Could High To Kolob. I was in tears at the end when I saw all those lives who were changing for the best. It reminded me of what my purpose truly is... to bring other unto Christ.
That DVD lit a fire inside of me that I promised the Lord I would never let die. All of my heart might mind and strength is turned to serving these people. I am the happiest when I can forget my self and remember why I am here. I really feel like I am the happiest I have ever been right now. I know the trials will come, but the Lord will never leave my side and I know that.
I love you all. I miss you all. In 2 weeks and 6 short days that will fly by, I will be on my way to the other side of the world. So write me one last time before I leave and make sure I have your addresses so that I can send you a post card. OK. love you all ever so much!
Can't wait to hear from you!!!
Love,
Sister Larson
This week we learned Thai idioms and my favorite by far is the Thai version of slow and steady wins the race. Translated, it means: Do your work slowly and you will earn two beautiful swords! awesome!
It has been an absolutely incredible week here at the MTC. This place is really home to me (but Sac-town will ALWAYS be my real home) I realized on Sunday when we were walking back from our temple walk that when I will leave (which, don't get me wrong, I am way excited to!) I will REALLY miss this place! It will always be a place I hold dear in my heart. A place where I have grown so much and come so much closer to the Lord and to the gospel.
The friends I have made here are friends I will have the rest of my life. I have so much love for every single Elder in my district, as well as my two companions. Everyone of them impress me so much by there spirit and their dedication to the Lord and their willingness to be obedient. If there is one lesson I learned this week it is about obedience. I think I have always been a pretty good kid... in school and at church, I have always followed the rules pretty good... But I am finding now that I am yearning to be more obedient... I actually look for ways to be more obedient to the commandments and to the rules. I see the wisdom and promises that come from obedience and I KNOW how much I need those blessings.
Thank you to those of you who have been praying for me. I truly feel the prayers of my loved ones coming to me and strengthening me. I find that I am the happiest when I am constantly praying for every thing. And I pray for many of you by name.
Friday night we had the amazing opportunity to watch a DVD that was made for the missionaries in 2006. It showed so many fun pictures of Thailand places foods and everything. It's hard to believe that a place like that actually exists, and especially that I am going to be going there! Needless to say, it pumped all of us up a ton!! But the best part by far was the 7 straight minutes of picture after picture of missionaries with converts entering the waters of baptisms to a beautiful piano arrangement of If You Could High To Kolob. I was in tears at the end when I saw all those lives who were changing for the best. It reminded me of what my purpose truly is... to bring other unto Christ.
That DVD lit a fire inside of me that I promised the Lord I would never let die. All of my heart might mind and strength is turned to serving these people. I am the happiest when I can forget my self and remember why I am here. I really feel like I am the happiest I have ever been right now. I know the trials will come, but the Lord will never leave my side and I know that.
I love you all. I miss you all. In 2 weeks and 6 short days that will fly by, I will be on my way to the other side of the world. So write me one last time before I leave and make sure I have your addresses so that I can send you a post card. OK. love you all ever so much!
Can't wait to hear from you!!!
Love,
Sister Larson
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Surprises, Adventures, and Reunions!
Well Family and Friends it has been quite the week here at the MTC!! UNFORTUNATELY Our little secret is not working, so I am under a time constraint while writing this letter... it's too bad because I have a lot to say!
Well, if you want more details, you are just gonna have to write me for them, and I PROMISE to write you back! (i just sent out 12 letters!!)
OK sooo Saturday is was the biggest day this week! First for SURPRISES: we were teaching our very first lesson in Thai (it actually went pretty well!) and the family that we were teaching has a son in Thailand right now who is the office elder and he told them... are you ready for this... WE ARE LEAVING ONE WEEK EARLY!!!!!!! This is huge! Our district is so ready though! We are learning the language at a much faster rate than the districts before us. AND we will learn 10 times more in Thailand than we would at the MTC. SO that was awesome news that we are all excited for! I will now be leaving AUGUST 10th!
Now for ADVENTURES: So one of the new sisters who came in this week had had an infection after getting her wisdom teeth out and took antibiotics for it. Well the infection was coming back, and since she didn't know where to go, I got to go with her to the health clinic. So we got to walk off campus, which I thought was really awesome! BUT! it gets better... She had to get a prescription so we got to GO OUT INTO THE REAL WORLD!!! hahaha. It was crazy. We went to the Rite Aid in Provo and I actually went into the store! Who knew stores and regular people still actually exist!! haha. So the craziest part was being in a public place with my tag. It hit me right then, wow, I am really representing something way bigger than I am. So with that experience, and knowing that I am now going a week earlier, that has really caused me to take it up a notch in both my language and spiritual preparation for Thailand.
I am SOOOO excited to get out there and teach this wonderful message!
OK... last but not least, REUNIONS: a big big thank you to Chris and Annie for coming to the 7am session this morning and having breakfast with me!! It was so fun to see them and they just brightened up my day! AND it's Annies bday, so Happy Birthday Annie!! Love you guys!
I am doing so so good here. The homesickness has lessened as the anticipation of getting out to Thailand increases! I love where I am, I love what I am doing, and I love ALL of you who are supporting me in this. I really couldn't do it with out you!
So PLEASE friends, keep writing me! Your letters all me so much, from every single one of you!!
I miss you, I love you, I pray for you
Love Love Love,
Melissa
Well, if you want more details, you are just gonna have to write me for them, and I PROMISE to write you back! (i just sent out 12 letters!!)
OK sooo Saturday is was the biggest day this week! First for SURPRISES: we were teaching our very first lesson in Thai (it actually went pretty well!) and the family that we were teaching has a son in Thailand right now who is the office elder and he told them... are you ready for this... WE ARE LEAVING ONE WEEK EARLY!!!!!!! This is huge! Our district is so ready though! We are learning the language at a much faster rate than the districts before us. AND we will learn 10 times more in Thailand than we would at the MTC. SO that was awesome news that we are all excited for! I will now be leaving AUGUST 10th!
Now for ADVENTURES: So one of the new sisters who came in this week had had an infection after getting her wisdom teeth out and took antibiotics for it. Well the infection was coming back, and since she didn't know where to go, I got to go with her to the health clinic. So we got to walk off campus, which I thought was really awesome! BUT! it gets better... She had to get a prescription so we got to GO OUT INTO THE REAL WORLD!!! hahaha. It was crazy. We went to the Rite Aid in Provo and I actually went into the store! Who knew stores and regular people still actually exist!! haha. So the craziest part was being in a public place with my tag. It hit me right then, wow, I am really representing something way bigger than I am. So with that experience, and knowing that I am now going a week earlier, that has really caused me to take it up a notch in both my language and spiritual preparation for Thailand.
I am SOOOO excited to get out there and teach this wonderful message!
OK... last but not least, REUNIONS: a big big thank you to Chris and Annie for coming to the 7am session this morning and having breakfast with me!! It was so fun to see them and they just brightened up my day! AND it's Annies bday, so Happy Birthday Annie!! Love you guys!
I am doing so so good here. The homesickness has lessened as the anticipation of getting out to Thailand increases! I love where I am, I love what I am doing, and I love ALL of you who are supporting me in this. I really couldn't do it with out you!
So PLEASE friends, keep writing me! Your letters all me so much, from every single one of you!!
I miss you, I love you, I pray for you
Love Love Love,
Melissa
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Another Crazy Blessed Week!
Family and Friends!!!
Oh my goodness... So many wonderful things to tell you all about! First off, I really really do love all of you who receive this letter. I know its kinda cheesy, but our teachers say we are missionaries and that we can be cheesy! as long as we are sincere :) so yes i love you all and would also love to hear from all of you!!!
Shout outs... there are a few. First to my awesome and special Bro Scott who finally wrote me and will be an amazing missionary! It's hard work Bro, I know you can do it with a solid testimony like you have. I am excited to hear about Jakes week too... and of course how Kurtis' BC experience is going. (don't get married bro... 17 months more)
ALSO to Brianne Roberts! Who surprised me with the most AMAZING and I really do mean A-MA-ZA-ING freshly baked cookies in the cutest box ever! :) Just receiving that cute package totally made my day! and the cookies just made it all that much better.
Aaaaaand Mike who sent me an awesome tape! I LOVED it!! I really felt like I was talking on the phone... minus the me talking part. I am excited to get my families soon! (MOM PLLLLLLLEEEEASE send me blank tapes, they don't have them here and I really want to respond to Mike- and you guys eventually).
And also Tony for giving me the most awesome Office quote and for finally writing me! :)
OK! So for my experiences of the week...
First of all, last Tuesday after the email I wrote we had the opportunity to clean the temple, which was awesome. It was amazing how much I could still feel the spirit even though it wasn't in session. We got to see the celestial room bare because they were adding decoration to the carpet, so that was pretty cool...
The devotional was awesome. Gerald Lund spoke and it got me really pumped to get out and work work work! AND I also got called as the Coordinating Sister! Which is like the Relief Society president for the sisters. I am sooo excited for this calling. I get to greet all the new sisters who come in every week and go to branch council meetings. So it's awesome because it is a break from the norm. We have 4 new sisters coming in this week (they are going to AZ and WA) so I made them all little signs welcoming them to the MTC and got them some treats! :) The first day can be rough saying bye to family and all, but hopefully I can help them to feel like this is where they belong. I am so excited for my calling.
The week went pretty smoothly. I feel like I am really getting the hang of it, and I feel like Utah is really my home (well home away from home) My new favorite thing to do is bearing my testimony in Thai to passer byers in the hall ways. It's so fun because I can say the most simple things that I have known since basically week one and missionaries say, woah... that sounds really cool!!! haha. It's a good way to build confidence! :)
Happy 4th of July all! It was really neat here at the MTC. And YES I did get to see fireworks. It was awesome, we stayed up 45 min late, and it was allowed! :) We started off the day by surprising the elders and decorating our class room with signs and streamers and balloons, the elders loved it! :) I had a hamburger for lunch, which was awesome. And there was a special fireside that night. It was very historic and made me miss being a student!! It was so fun to watch fireworks because I kinda felt normal for a minute... But realized I'm not when we started singing called to serve while they went off! haha. It was sooo fun.
Sunday was probably one of the best days I have had here because I got to go to all my coordinating sister meetings and was so cheerful all day. Because thursday was kind of a hard day for me, I fasted to be confident in myself and my abilities, and oh man were my prayers answered! I really felt like my confidence grew so much in just that one day. One thing I really enjoyed was the Sunday night fireside where the speaker said Obedience is not something we have to do that is holding us back, but rather Obedience is our quest and all blessings are predicated on it. It was a really powerful talk!
So on Monday the Phii-Thai's (phii means older) left for Thailand!! (They left last night and are still not in Bangkok! they will be there at 8:05pm MST) It was sad, but exciting. It made me realize (1) that I AM actually going to be leaving this place and REALLY need to work on the language and (2) that I am SOOO excited to get out to Thailand!! Crazy!
So since Sister O'Neil left, Sister Essma (my roommate who is going to Cambodia) is now my companion... which isnt really anything too new, because I still go to class and everything with sister young and sister akagi, but now the three of us have to make sure we walk with sister essma to class and meals and on Pday. Sister Essma is awesome!! and I will miss her so much when she leaves to Cambodia a week before we leave.
Alright, I saved the best story for last!! So yesterday I was at the RC (referral center... we make calls to confirm that people get their media offers they call or mail in for) and I have always been pretty weary about it. I am not a fan of receiving sales calls and know that some people may look at this as one (even though it obviously isn't because salvation is priceless ;)) But I really wanted to have a good experience so I prayed before and searched my scriptures for a good one I could share and came up with about 3. So I was calling calling calling and got a ton of answering machines. When finally this woman named Yolanda picked up.
I asked her if she had received her Finding Happiness through Christ DVD and she said she did but was too busy to watch it. I promised her that when she watched it and took time out of her life for God that she would be blessed, because my life has been blessed as I have done the same. And she agreed with me. We had a great conversation about Christ and I read her my scripture. She told me that she has been so stressed out lately and has been praying for some divine guidance to help her and told me she felt like I was answering her prayer!!
And the neatest part is that she really is so busy and was on a 15 minute break when I called or else she wouldn't have been able to answer the phone!!! I KNOW the Lord was answering her heartfelt prayers!!! She agreed to have the missionaries come and teach her more about how she can make Jesus Christ a bigger part of her life!! I pray for her every night and I put her name on the temple prayer rolls as well! :) Anyone who reads this and would like to pray for her, please do.
I just love this great message that God our Heavenly Father really, truly does love us! And that Jesus Christ IS the way back to him. Everything we do in life is leading us to that great moment when we stand before God and are let back into his presence. It is a reality to me.
I LOVE you all... I really do. Please write me and let me know how you are all doing. I hope you all know how much I really do miss you. I think about you often. I love this work though and wouldn't want to be anywhere but right here.
Please write!
Love,
Melissa
PS. I am now going to be going to the Tuesday 7am Temple session, so if anyone (CHRIS AND ANNIE) wants to come I will be looking for you!!!
Oh my goodness... So many wonderful things to tell you all about! First off, I really really do love all of you who receive this letter. I know its kinda cheesy, but our teachers say we are missionaries and that we can be cheesy! as long as we are sincere :) so yes i love you all and would also love to hear from all of you!!!
Shout outs... there are a few. First to my awesome and special Bro Scott who finally wrote me and will be an amazing missionary! It's hard work Bro, I know you can do it with a solid testimony like you have. I am excited to hear about Jakes week too... and of course how Kurtis' BC experience is going. (don't get married bro... 17 months more)
ALSO to Brianne Roberts! Who surprised me with the most AMAZING and I really do mean A-MA-ZA-ING freshly baked cookies in the cutest box ever! :) Just receiving that cute package totally made my day! and the cookies just made it all that much better.
Aaaaaand Mike who sent me an awesome tape! I LOVED it!! I really felt like I was talking on the phone... minus the me talking part. I am excited to get my families soon! (MOM PLLLLLLLEEEEASE send me blank tapes, they don't have them here and I really want to respond to Mike- and you guys eventually).
And also Tony for giving me the most awesome Office quote and for finally writing me! :)
OK! So for my experiences of the week...
First of all, last Tuesday after the email I wrote we had the opportunity to clean the temple, which was awesome. It was amazing how much I could still feel the spirit even though it wasn't in session. We got to see the celestial room bare because they were adding decoration to the carpet, so that was pretty cool...
The devotional was awesome. Gerald Lund spoke and it got me really pumped to get out and work work work! AND I also got called as the Coordinating Sister! Which is like the Relief Society president for the sisters. I am sooo excited for this calling. I get to greet all the new sisters who come in every week and go to branch council meetings. So it's awesome because it is a break from the norm. We have 4 new sisters coming in this week (they are going to AZ and WA) so I made them all little signs welcoming them to the MTC and got them some treats! :) The first day can be rough saying bye to family and all, but hopefully I can help them to feel like this is where they belong. I am so excited for my calling.
The week went pretty smoothly. I feel like I am really getting the hang of it, and I feel like Utah is really my home (well home away from home) My new favorite thing to do is bearing my testimony in Thai to passer byers in the hall ways. It's so fun because I can say the most simple things that I have known since basically week one and missionaries say, woah... that sounds really cool!!! haha. It's a good way to build confidence! :)
Happy 4th of July all! It was really neat here at the MTC. And YES I did get to see fireworks. It was awesome, we stayed up 45 min late, and it was allowed! :) We started off the day by surprising the elders and decorating our class room with signs and streamers and balloons, the elders loved it! :) I had a hamburger for lunch, which was awesome. And there was a special fireside that night. It was very historic and made me miss being a student!! It was so fun to watch fireworks because I kinda felt normal for a minute... But realized I'm not when we started singing called to serve while they went off! haha. It was sooo fun.
Sunday was probably one of the best days I have had here because I got to go to all my coordinating sister meetings and was so cheerful all day. Because thursday was kind of a hard day for me, I fasted to be confident in myself and my abilities, and oh man were my prayers answered! I really felt like my confidence grew so much in just that one day. One thing I really enjoyed was the Sunday night fireside where the speaker said Obedience is not something we have to do that is holding us back, but rather Obedience is our quest and all blessings are predicated on it. It was a really powerful talk!
So on Monday the Phii-Thai's (phii means older) left for Thailand!! (They left last night and are still not in Bangkok! they will be there at 8:05pm MST) It was sad, but exciting. It made me realize (1) that I AM actually going to be leaving this place and REALLY need to work on the language and (2) that I am SOOO excited to get out to Thailand!! Crazy!
So since Sister O'Neil left, Sister Essma (my roommate who is going to Cambodia) is now my companion... which isnt really anything too new, because I still go to class and everything with sister young and sister akagi, but now the three of us have to make sure we walk with sister essma to class and meals and on Pday. Sister Essma is awesome!! and I will miss her so much when she leaves to Cambodia a week before we leave.
Alright, I saved the best story for last!! So yesterday I was at the RC (referral center... we make calls to confirm that people get their media offers they call or mail in for) and I have always been pretty weary about it. I am not a fan of receiving sales calls and know that some people may look at this as one (even though it obviously isn't because salvation is priceless ;)) But I really wanted to have a good experience so I prayed before and searched my scriptures for a good one I could share and came up with about 3. So I was calling calling calling and got a ton of answering machines. When finally this woman named Yolanda picked up.
I asked her if she had received her Finding Happiness through Christ DVD and she said she did but was too busy to watch it. I promised her that when she watched it and took time out of her life for God that she would be blessed, because my life has been blessed as I have done the same. And she agreed with me. We had a great conversation about Christ and I read her my scripture. She told me that she has been so stressed out lately and has been praying for some divine guidance to help her and told me she felt like I was answering her prayer!!
And the neatest part is that she really is so busy and was on a 15 minute break when I called or else she wouldn't have been able to answer the phone!!! I KNOW the Lord was answering her heartfelt prayers!!! She agreed to have the missionaries come and teach her more about how she can make Jesus Christ a bigger part of her life!! I pray for her every night and I put her name on the temple prayer rolls as well! :) Anyone who reads this and would like to pray for her, please do.
I just love this great message that God our Heavenly Father really, truly does love us! And that Jesus Christ IS the way back to him. Everything we do in life is leading us to that great moment when we stand before God and are let back into his presence. It is a reality to me.
I LOVE you all... I really do. Please write me and let me know how you are all doing. I hope you all know how much I really do miss you. I think about you often. I love this work though and wouldn't want to be anywhere but right here.
Please write!
Love,
Melissa
PS. I am now going to be going to the Tuesday 7am Temple session, so if anyone (CHRIS AND ANNIE) wants to come I will be looking for you!!!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thrills, Chills, and Spills
Hello Family and Friends!!
I always think to myself, geez, I am here at the MTC for so long, how am I ever going to come up with enough to write about?! But you know, I have tons to say!! So here we go...
First the thrills (which also brought some spiritual induced chills). This past week, as some of you may know, the mission presidents came in for their conference. Every single apostle and the first presidency was here all week. The friday devotional was AMAZING!!! Elder Holland spoke (I dont even have to tell you what he said for you to know how amazing it was....) and in attendance were Perry, Oaks, Scott, Bednar, Cook, Christofferson and Anderson! AND I was in the choir and sang Joseph's First Prayer. It was so amazing!! But, im not gonna lie, I was pretty bummed there was no Monson, Uchtdorf or Eyring... :( But that is ok.
Holland spoke about having the Spirit as a third (or in my case, fourth) companion. Hearing the words of a truly inspired apostle of the Lord gave me so much motivation and inspiration to go out and work my tail off, and ALWAYS have the spirit with me at ALL times. I know that I am NOTHING without it. I won't learn Thai in the time I am given without it and I won't progress without it. So yea... the Spirit is VERY VERY important, and his talk was very inspiring.
So that is the good news about the Mission Presidents being here. Now the bad news... Swine Flu strikes again! and no, I don't mean health wise. We are all healthy and doing just fine. BUT because of that stupid flu, we never got to meet our mission president :( They were too afraid of our germs getting to them and delaying their trips so they completely cut off access to the building they were in and did not let the mission presidents even come into our class room!! :( we were all way bummed. We never even got to see the prophet the whole week :( oh well... I still have 7 weeks, hopefully I'll see one then.
And for the spills. My companion (Sister Akagi) took a little spill this morning (she fell while running) and had to get x-rayed (which was a little ridiculous because she was fine) BUT we got to go see the outside world!!!! well... we went down the street to the BYU Health Center, which wasn't quite as far as I wished it would be... but it was still really nice to get out of our little bubble for a half hour! So that was the most exciting part of the day... And now we are going to help clean the temple! Which I am very excited about!
Speaking of the temple... next tuesday is my 1:40 session so hope to see some of you and on Sunday I will be up there from about 415 to 515 so anyone who would like to say hi that would be cool!! (dont worry... my companions see people they know ALL the time)
Alright... now for the fun stuff!!! (and a little bit of not so fun stuff) so Sunday was cool... I LOVE sundays... but for some reason I was feeling especially down this sunday, mostly just missing the comforts of home and my own bed that I could nap in whenever I wanted (and my family of course) and just when I was feeling really low, we sang a song that I had never sung before for the prelude music before the fireside. I cant remember the name but know that it was hymn 41. The chorister said, pay close attention to the 3rd verse... and I decided to... so the first line of the 3rd verse said something to the extent of having "glorious rest" and I said... wow, I could really go for that right now! but the verse was about the millennium and speculated the joyous reunion between us and the Savior. Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought how much I longed for that sweet reunion I will have in a year and a half, when I can finally see my family again and know that the little amount of time I have had to endure suffering while I am away from them will all be worth it in that moment I see them again. And then... to just contemplate the overwhelming peaceful feeling that will overcome all my senses when I am able to greet the Savior again one day, and hear him say... Well done good and faithful servant... you have endured your load, now you may enter in to my rest and have eternal joy.
It was amazing. Life changing. I became so eager to suffer through my trails so that I may serve the Lord and be qualified for all the blessings he wishes to give to me. I LOVE his glorious plan and am so desirous to share it with ALL of Gods children!!
The Lord truly does comfort his children when they stand in need of comfort. He works with his angels to strengthen his missionaries so that they can do his work. And you, my friends and family, are my angels. On Monday I was trying to overcome the discouragement of learning this crazy language (which I love by the way) and was having a bit of a hard time. When the mail comes and I got two packages (from mom and mike... both of which I LOOOOVED!) and EIGHT letters!! Wow, thanks guys...
Needless to say, it was an AWESOME night. Sister O'Neil is leaving for Thailand monday (CRAZY!) so in honor of her last pday we had a sleepover!! We built a tent and slept on our mattresses which were on the floor! It was SOO fun! we had treats and girl talk for our the hour before lights out and I didnt even have time to read all my letters until this morning! It was great. Just evidence to me that the Lord really does bless me when I need it!
Alright! So I am going to try to wrap this one up... but I do have a few people to scold. (hehe) These are the people I would LOVE to hear from (although I would honestly love to hear from EVERYONE!) Brittany! (I still don't have your address!) Tony (who said he would write once a month...) Craig (c'mon craig... I'm right down the street) and Dan. So mom, if you could make sure those 4 people see this, that would be great. Everyone else who has been writing keep it up! I love it!! and dont forget Dear Elder.com!!! (it will get to me the same day you write it!!) AAAAND send me pics! I have all kinds of pictures from friends on my wall and I want ALL my friends and families beautiful faces up there! I tried to attach pics, but big brother (aka the MTC) wont let me. So i took a bunch this week and will be sending them to those who sent me pics! You know who you are!! (this should give everyone added motivation to send a pic to me!)
I'd also like Densia and Dannies address!! OK well I dont think I even said everything I want to say... but the time is far spent. SO SAWATDII KAH!!!
Love You ALL!!!!
-Sister Larson
PS RIP MJ
I always think to myself, geez, I am here at the MTC for so long, how am I ever going to come up with enough to write about?! But you know, I have tons to say!! So here we go...
First the thrills (which also brought some spiritual induced chills). This past week, as some of you may know, the mission presidents came in for their conference. Every single apostle and the first presidency was here all week. The friday devotional was AMAZING!!! Elder Holland spoke (I dont even have to tell you what he said for you to know how amazing it was....) and in attendance were Perry, Oaks, Scott, Bednar, Cook, Christofferson and Anderson! AND I was in the choir and sang Joseph's First Prayer. It was so amazing!! But, im not gonna lie, I was pretty bummed there was no Monson, Uchtdorf or Eyring... :( But that is ok.
Holland spoke about having the Spirit as a third (or in my case, fourth) companion. Hearing the words of a truly inspired apostle of the Lord gave me so much motivation and inspiration to go out and work my tail off, and ALWAYS have the spirit with me at ALL times. I know that I am NOTHING without it. I won't learn Thai in the time I am given without it and I won't progress without it. So yea... the Spirit is VERY VERY important, and his talk was very inspiring.
So that is the good news about the Mission Presidents being here. Now the bad news... Swine Flu strikes again! and no, I don't mean health wise. We are all healthy and doing just fine. BUT because of that stupid flu, we never got to meet our mission president :( They were too afraid of our germs getting to them and delaying their trips so they completely cut off access to the building they were in and did not let the mission presidents even come into our class room!! :( we were all way bummed. We never even got to see the prophet the whole week :( oh well... I still have 7 weeks, hopefully I'll see one then.
And for the spills. My companion (Sister Akagi) took a little spill this morning (she fell while running) and had to get x-rayed (which was a little ridiculous because she was fine) BUT we got to go see the outside world!!!! well... we went down the street to the BYU Health Center, which wasn't quite as far as I wished it would be... but it was still really nice to get out of our little bubble for a half hour! So that was the most exciting part of the day... And now we are going to help clean the temple! Which I am very excited about!
Speaking of the temple... next tuesday is my 1:40 session so hope to see some of you and on Sunday I will be up there from about 415 to 515 so anyone who would like to say hi that would be cool!! (dont worry... my companions see people they know ALL the time)
Alright... now for the fun stuff!!! (and a little bit of not so fun stuff) so Sunday was cool... I LOVE sundays... but for some reason I was feeling especially down this sunday, mostly just missing the comforts of home and my own bed that I could nap in whenever I wanted (and my family of course) and just when I was feeling really low, we sang a song that I had never sung before for the prelude music before the fireside. I cant remember the name but know that it was hymn 41. The chorister said, pay close attention to the 3rd verse... and I decided to... so the first line of the 3rd verse said something to the extent of having "glorious rest" and I said... wow, I could really go for that right now! but the verse was about the millennium and speculated the joyous reunion between us and the Savior. Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought how much I longed for that sweet reunion I will have in a year and a half, when I can finally see my family again and know that the little amount of time I have had to endure suffering while I am away from them will all be worth it in that moment I see them again. And then... to just contemplate the overwhelming peaceful feeling that will overcome all my senses when I am able to greet the Savior again one day, and hear him say... Well done good and faithful servant... you have endured your load, now you may enter in to my rest and have eternal joy.
It was amazing. Life changing. I became so eager to suffer through my trails so that I may serve the Lord and be qualified for all the blessings he wishes to give to me. I LOVE his glorious plan and am so desirous to share it with ALL of Gods children!!
The Lord truly does comfort his children when they stand in need of comfort. He works with his angels to strengthen his missionaries so that they can do his work. And you, my friends and family, are my angels. On Monday I was trying to overcome the discouragement of learning this crazy language (which I love by the way) and was having a bit of a hard time. When the mail comes and I got two packages (from mom and mike... both of which I LOOOOVED!) and EIGHT letters!! Wow, thanks guys...
Needless to say, it was an AWESOME night. Sister O'Neil is leaving for Thailand monday (CRAZY!) so in honor of her last pday we had a sleepover!! We built a tent and slept on our mattresses which were on the floor! It was SOO fun! we had treats and girl talk for our the hour before lights out and I didnt even have time to read all my letters until this morning! It was great. Just evidence to me that the Lord really does bless me when I need it!
Alright! So I am going to try to wrap this one up... but I do have a few people to scold. (hehe) These are the people I would LOVE to hear from (although I would honestly love to hear from EVERYONE!) Brittany! (I still don't have your address!) Tony (who said he would write once a month...) Craig (c'mon craig... I'm right down the street) and Dan. So mom, if you could make sure those 4 people see this, that would be great. Everyone else who has been writing keep it up! I love it!! and dont forget Dear Elder.com!!! (it will get to me the same day you write it!!) AAAAND send me pics! I have all kinds of pictures from friends on my wall and I want ALL my friends and families beautiful faces up there! I tried to attach pics, but big brother (aka the MTC) wont let me. So i took a bunch this week and will be sending them to those who sent me pics! You know who you are!! (this should give everyone added motivation to send a pic to me!)
I'd also like Densia and Dannies address!! OK well I dont think I even said everything I want to say... but the time is far spent. SO SAWATDII KAH!!!
Love You ALL!!!!
-Sister Larson
PS RIP MJ
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Hello from the MTC!
Sawatdii Kha! Family and Friends, you are all amazing! Special shout out this week goes to the Best Dad ever!! Happy Fathers day dad! Fathers are so special with a very special love, they watch us and protect us, they guide us and direct us back to our home above!!! The father of our ward, leads with loving care... duu duu duu... our bishops always there! (sorry i forgot some of the lyrics to that adorable primary song!) I was singing that on sunday and totally imagined the primary kids singing it and dad crying... first fathers day as the father of our ward! Wish i could have been there... :( Hopefully you will get my letter dad, I really think you will like it. Feel free to share it with your brothers and sisters, they will like it too.
Next shout outs go to Jamie and Robin for writing me emails! :) as much as I looooove them... my email address was not really supposed to go out (oops!) I don't mind that you have it, and if you email me I will read it (i know it is so much easier!) but i am only SUPPOSED to send and receive emails from my family. They were much appriciated ladies and I will definitely be writting you both back in the next few days!
Also I have two amazing aunts who both lovingly sent me cookies on the same day! Haha, it was awesome. My roommates were especially excited! So that was quite a fun surprise! I seriously LOVE all your letters. There is really nothing more exciting than ending a long hard day at the MTC and having loving, encouraging words from those I love and miss to look forward too. Thanks to everyone who has written so far and Keep 'em coming, please!
SO this week has been pretty amazing. We'll call it the emotional rollar coaster that is the MTC. In a place so full of the spirit, the ONLY thing that can get you down is allowing yourself to be discouraged and having a bad attitude. There is so much to learn, the language, teaching, listening to the spirit, teaching with the spirit, teaching with the scriptures, simplifying the message, setting goals, following through with your goals... it can be a lot to handle in the times you think about how easy normal life at home is. But for every minute i am discouraged, there are hours and hours of powerful, life changing impressions and lessons learned that make this the greatest thing I feel that I have ever done in my life... and I am only 3 weeks in!
Just yesterday, I was feeling a little down with the amount of studying I have and how much I just wanted to listen to Taylor Swift (haha) and I took a step back and realized just how blessed I am to be in the company of such fine young men and women, and to be taught by some of the most amazing teachers who love the gospel with all their hearts and have so much love for me and my life already... it's incredible. There is no where else I would rather be than here, (even without my Taylor Swift CDs haha) I feel that there is no where else, save only the House of the Lord, that I could feel this close to the spirit and learn so much about the nature of God and my own potential. I would be so lost with out the gospel of Jesus Christ. I cannot even imagine life without it! ahh... love it.
So, Sunday was a pretty cool day. Every Sunday, everyone is asked to prepare a 5 min talk on a different Christlike Attribute, this weeks was Virtue. Then right before it is time to be given, (like seriously the middle of Sacrament meeting) they announce who the two speakers will be. And go figure, it was me! :) I totally had a feeling I would speak though, because as I was preparing, lots of inspired thoughts came to mind. I told Sister Young, I really want to speak today! haha. So I felt kind of bad, because the Elder who spoke before me OBVIOUSLY did not prepare, it was horrible, it was like... Virtue! yea! uhhh its really good.... uhhh.... and then read right out of preach my gospel. haha. SO, sadly, I went up and (not to be concieded or anything) really showed him up) I felt kind of bad for him, but it is his own fault for not preparing...
The funny thing was in the middle of the talk when I was asking them to turn to 3rd Nephi 27, totally unknowingly, I made this little pop noise with my mouth, that I actually do quite often, but for some reason it was very loud and right into the mic... I apologized for the sound, but didn't realize how loud it was until after the meeting when both the second speaker and the 2nd councelor who was conducting the meeting said something about it. Then all day sunday and monday people came up and said hey great talk! that noise you made really scared me though! or I thought it was really funny!
So i guess it made a pretty big impression... haha. Well hey, it could have been worse. ;)
Ok, so this is getting pretty long, but I do want to answer some of your questions mom. First one, yes I have been to the call center. It's pretty cool. I always get really nervous when someone answers, and then it always turns out good. No one has been really rude to me. I even had some pretty cool chats with people who are interested in reading the Book of Mormon. I have committed some people to read and pray about it. So thats nice.
Tonight we are learning how to make commitments in Thai. So I will practice right now in English. Do you all promise tonight, before you go to sleep, to read your Book of Mormons and pray to know that it is the Word of God? Good job. :)
Health... ok. I am fine, the tamiflu we are taking usually gives me an upset stomach, but it always goes away. Only two more days of taking it!! YAY! The two elders who got swine flue were in quarentene for 5 days. They both hated it, but got a lot of studying in luckily. Poor Elder Burnette though, he had swine flu and now he has pnumonia... :( he is such a sweet kid.
OK, I am gonna try to wrap this up... i thought we couldnt attach pics, but i guess we can, so you will have to wait for next week for that. I have only taken a few new ones though. AND I loooooooooooooooooved your package mom. the shirts are way cute! That was the wrong body spray though... i think its called fressia. (i dont really like the one you sent...sorry for being picky) ALSO PLEASE send me a medium sized purse. I dont carry my backpack everywhere I go and a purse would be really nice to carry the little things I need since i dont have pockets. umm stamps... and anything else fun!
Ok I loooooooove you all and I hope that life is amazing in Sacramento or wherever you reside! Write me and tell me all about it! Boys have fun at EFY. and Mike, make things happen!
LOOOOOOVE,
Sister Larson.
Next shout outs go to Jamie and Robin for writing me emails! :) as much as I looooove them... my email address was not really supposed to go out (oops!) I don't mind that you have it, and if you email me I will read it (i know it is so much easier!) but i am only SUPPOSED to send and receive emails from my family. They were much appriciated ladies and I will definitely be writting you both back in the next few days!
Also I have two amazing aunts who both lovingly sent me cookies on the same day! Haha, it was awesome. My roommates were especially excited! So that was quite a fun surprise! I seriously LOVE all your letters. There is really nothing more exciting than ending a long hard day at the MTC and having loving, encouraging words from those I love and miss to look forward too. Thanks to everyone who has written so far and Keep 'em coming, please!
SO this week has been pretty amazing. We'll call it the emotional rollar coaster that is the MTC. In a place so full of the spirit, the ONLY thing that can get you down is allowing yourself to be discouraged and having a bad attitude. There is so much to learn, the language, teaching, listening to the spirit, teaching with the spirit, teaching with the scriptures, simplifying the message, setting goals, following through with your goals... it can be a lot to handle in the times you think about how easy normal life at home is. But for every minute i am discouraged, there are hours and hours of powerful, life changing impressions and lessons learned that make this the greatest thing I feel that I have ever done in my life... and I am only 3 weeks in!
Just yesterday, I was feeling a little down with the amount of studying I have and how much I just wanted to listen to Taylor Swift (haha) and I took a step back and realized just how blessed I am to be in the company of such fine young men and women, and to be taught by some of the most amazing teachers who love the gospel with all their hearts and have so much love for me and my life already... it's incredible. There is no where else I would rather be than here, (even without my Taylor Swift CDs haha) I feel that there is no where else, save only the House of the Lord, that I could feel this close to the spirit and learn so much about the nature of God and my own potential. I would be so lost with out the gospel of Jesus Christ. I cannot even imagine life without it! ahh... love it.
So, Sunday was a pretty cool day. Every Sunday, everyone is asked to prepare a 5 min talk on a different Christlike Attribute, this weeks was Virtue. Then right before it is time to be given, (like seriously the middle of Sacrament meeting) they announce who the two speakers will be. And go figure, it was me! :) I totally had a feeling I would speak though, because as I was preparing, lots of inspired thoughts came to mind. I told Sister Young, I really want to speak today! haha. So I felt kind of bad, because the Elder who spoke before me OBVIOUSLY did not prepare, it was horrible, it was like... Virtue! yea! uhhh its really good.... uhhh.... and then read right out of preach my gospel. haha. SO, sadly, I went up and (not to be concieded or anything) really showed him up) I felt kind of bad for him, but it is his own fault for not preparing...
The funny thing was in the middle of the talk when I was asking them to turn to 3rd Nephi 27, totally unknowingly, I made this little pop noise with my mouth, that I actually do quite often, but for some reason it was very loud and right into the mic... I apologized for the sound, but didn't realize how loud it was until after the meeting when both the second speaker and the 2nd councelor who was conducting the meeting said something about it. Then all day sunday and monday people came up and said hey great talk! that noise you made really scared me though! or I thought it was really funny!
So i guess it made a pretty big impression... haha. Well hey, it could have been worse. ;)
Ok, so this is getting pretty long, but I do want to answer some of your questions mom. First one, yes I have been to the call center. It's pretty cool. I always get really nervous when someone answers, and then it always turns out good. No one has been really rude to me. I even had some pretty cool chats with people who are interested in reading the Book of Mormon. I have committed some people to read and pray about it. So thats nice.
Tonight we are learning how to make commitments in Thai. So I will practice right now in English. Do you all promise tonight, before you go to sleep, to read your Book of Mormons and pray to know that it is the Word of God? Good job. :)
Health... ok. I am fine, the tamiflu we are taking usually gives me an upset stomach, but it always goes away. Only two more days of taking it!! YAY! The two elders who got swine flue were in quarentene for 5 days. They both hated it, but got a lot of studying in luckily. Poor Elder Burnette though, he had swine flu and now he has pnumonia... :( he is such a sweet kid.
OK, I am gonna try to wrap this up... i thought we couldnt attach pics, but i guess we can, so you will have to wait for next week for that. I have only taken a few new ones though. AND I loooooooooooooooooved your package mom. the shirts are way cute! That was the wrong body spray though... i think its called fressia. (i dont really like the one you sent...sorry for being picky) ALSO PLEASE send me a medium sized purse. I dont carry my backpack everywhere I go and a purse would be really nice to carry the little things I need since i dont have pockets. umm stamps... and anything else fun!
Ok I loooooooove you all and I hope that life is amazing in Sacramento or wherever you reside! Write me and tell me all about it! Boys have fun at EFY. and Mike, make things happen!
LOOOOOOVE,
Sister Larson.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
PARA MUU!!!
Family and Friends!
Ok! First shout out... Happy Birthday Britt! The big Double Duece! i WOULD HAVE written you a letter, but I don't have your address!! (mom make sure Britt gets this!) And send pics of your adorable baby too!!
Now. The subject of this email. It's kind of a funny story. As most of you probably know, swine flu is running rampent amoung the Provo MTC. When we got here one of the Elders in my district asked our teacher how to say swine flu and by some misunderstanding told everyone it was pronounced para muu... so that was the big joke. People would shake hands and we would yell PARA MUU!!! We later found out it's not actually Para Muu, but something else way less cool to say (muu means pig, para... i dont know)
SO two people in my district and one in the older Thai district have confirmed cases of Swine flu!! Pretty much everyone in the district either isn't feeling well, or is just getting over something. I was feeling really sick yesterday and got tested but came out negative! Thankfully. We are all taking Tamiflu, a drug that prevents the flu. Hope that works. To test for swine flu they stick a cotton swab very far up your nose... NOT comfortable!! The elders who have it are quorentened (feel free to correct my spelling) I am so sorry to hear that Breanna had the flu :( I wrote her a letter and gave it to a Sister going to the Temple Square Mission last week. Hopefully she got it!
OK, so I am going to try to get through all my stories and answer some of mom's questions. Thank you to every one who has written me. Keep'em coming! Every day at the MTC is a great day. Every night at the MTC is as good as the letters you get. So write!! :)
First of all, last Tuesday... We were waiting in line for the devotional and I said, it's gonna be an apostle, I can feel it! So we get in the gym and there was no announcement on the screen of who was speaking- a sure sign of it being an apostle. So then as we are singing the prelude music, a man comes up to the mic and says: If an Apostle were to come, you should stand when he enters. Everyone got really excited and I turned to Sister Young and said, let's guess who it's gonna be, I guess Bednar! and who was it DAVID A. BEDNAR!! haha nice. It was AWESOME. He spoke about doing what was right and the Holy Ghost will guide your steps, even if you don't feel that profound spritual prompting. It was amazing.
So a lot of people have been asking me how I like the MTC and the answer is that I LOVE it. I love feeling the spirit that is always here and learning Thai! The language is coming. It is hard at times, but when I think about how much I know now compared to how much i knew 2 weeks ago, its pretty astounding! I love class. That is the best and the hardest part of the MTC. Hard because after so much time its hard to concentrate, and the BEST because that is when I learn so much about myself, the gospel, recongnizing the Holy Ghost, and why I am here. There have been so many instances that I have KNOWN for sure that I am supposed to be here. There are times were I think, man, normal life would be sooo nice right now. But that is when I need to remember my purpose and the profound calling that I have been blessed to have.
I have an AMAZING teacher named Brother Sahkaa who is a Thai native. He is SO funny, SO kind and loving and an AMAZING teacher of the gospel. If I can ever have as much love and charity for God's children as he does, I would probably be the best missionary ever. I'll be talking about him a lot in my emails so rememeber him. My other teacher is Brother Duvall. He is great too. He is very focused and intelligent and helps me aspire to be a better missionary. So yea, I am a true nerd and love class.
Ummm the food is really good. I am being very good about eating healthy, and it is not hard, there are lots of choices to choose from. Sister Young is a runner, hardcore. So we keep eachother motivated to stay healthy. I think I have lost weight!! :)
Alright, answers to mom's questions. Here we go:
I have not gotten any shots yet, I dont know how much they will cost. Can I use my debit card? I have to get 4.
The books are all for learning Thai. We have 3 Preach My Gospels (english, Thai in romanized letter and Thai script) 2 dictionaries eng-thai and thai-eng, 2 books made for missionaries learning thai, 1 basic thai grammer book, a thai song book, aaaand a SYL (speak your language) dictionary. So yea, we have A LOT of books.
Sleep is alright. It always takes me forever to fall asleep, probably because I am used to taking to Mike until I can't talk anymore (haha Mike always hated it when I was too tired to talk) So I just lay in bed for a long time. I usually wake up in the night, hopefully that will go away once I get used to this place. And suprisingly enough, I always am awake before 6:30 and just wait for someones alarm to go off before I actually get up. Even though I don't get the best sleep, I ALWAYS have have enough energy to get through my long days... BLESSINGS!
Scott write me.
Ok, so you wanted to know how Sisters are treated here. Very Well. The Elders always say hi to us, open our doors, take our trays at meals, and are very respectful. I estimate there are probably about 150 sisters -ish out of 2000 at the MTC, so not alot. We live on two floors of a building that has the most showers and a lounge area and vending machines on the floors(I guess the elders don't have lounge areas and their vending machines are on the basements)
As for clothes... I have already worn everything and would like to have some more color in my wardrobe. I wear black too much. PLEASE send sweaters that I can wear with my church clothes and a sweatshirt for the night. It is a lot more cold than I thought!! (send my new alumni sweatshirt please) thanks!
ANYONE READING THIS WHO LIVES IN PROVO OR VISITS PROVO FROM NOW UNTIL AUGUST 17th. Come to the Tuesday 1:40 session. I would love to see anyone I know. My companions are ALWAYS seeing people they know because they went to BYU... I rearly see anyone I know :( I did see James Kingston though!! That was fun :) he is doing good. So the temple is closed for the next two weeks I guess, but there are still 6 or 7 more P-days... so Kurtis (if you're there) and Chris and Annie... I'll be looking for you guys!
Ummm... so you want a tape. I will try to get that done soon. I have talked on it once while I was unpacking on the very first day. That will be fun to hear. I will speak some Thai for you and maybe have my companions say some words. We'll see...
Kurtis... got a ticket? Bummmmmer. Have fun at EFY, sorry I didnt get that letter to you. Let me know if you have other sessions and I will write you some words O wisdom for them. And come to the temple. and write me.
Scott... write me.
Jake... can't wait to find out the details of your dance. Rock it little bro.
Dad... you can update me on sports things that are really big, I dont need a lot of details like Kurtis. Political stuff is ok, but try not to say much about the depressing stuff unless it makes big headlines. Anything that is fun and exciting.
Mom... I think I answered all of your questions.
Mike... miss you bud. I am SOOO jealous that you went to the nice warm beach... aahhh Utah forgot it was summer and decided to be freezing. You know how much I hate being freezing. Keep going to the temple and make good choices! You're amazing!
Everyone else... I love you, I miss you, write me.
Ok... last few things I need mom... good smelling body spray (there is some in the bathroom I really like lilac something ruther, or whatever you want to buy) stamps stamps stamps I need a bunch, and again, sweaters and a sweatshirt because I am always cold.
So some amazing elders just showed us how to get past the 30 min time rule which is why this letter is ridiculously long. Congrats to all that got the whole way through. ;)
The gospel is true. Live it. Love it. Teach it. Preach it.
Love you all... Oh yea... and write me.
Love,
Sister Larson.
Ok! First shout out... Happy Birthday Britt! The big Double Duece! i WOULD HAVE written you a letter, but I don't have your address!! (mom make sure Britt gets this!) And send pics of your adorable baby too!!
Now. The subject of this email. It's kind of a funny story. As most of you probably know, swine flu is running rampent amoung the Provo MTC. When we got here one of the Elders in my district asked our teacher how to say swine flu and by some misunderstanding told everyone it was pronounced para muu... so that was the big joke. People would shake hands and we would yell PARA MUU!!! We later found out it's not actually Para Muu, but something else way less cool to say (muu means pig, para... i dont know)
SO two people in my district and one in the older Thai district have confirmed cases of Swine flu!! Pretty much everyone in the district either isn't feeling well, or is just getting over something. I was feeling really sick yesterday and got tested but came out negative! Thankfully. We are all taking Tamiflu, a drug that prevents the flu. Hope that works. To test for swine flu they stick a cotton swab very far up your nose... NOT comfortable!! The elders who have it are quorentened (feel free to correct my spelling) I am so sorry to hear that Breanna had the flu :( I wrote her a letter and gave it to a Sister going to the Temple Square Mission last week. Hopefully she got it!
OK, so I am going to try to get through all my stories and answer some of mom's questions. Thank you to every one who has written me. Keep'em coming! Every day at the MTC is a great day. Every night at the MTC is as good as the letters you get. So write!! :)
First of all, last Tuesday... We were waiting in line for the devotional and I said, it's gonna be an apostle, I can feel it! So we get in the gym and there was no announcement on the screen of who was speaking- a sure sign of it being an apostle. So then as we are singing the prelude music, a man comes up to the mic and says: If an Apostle were to come, you should stand when he enters. Everyone got really excited and I turned to Sister Young and said, let's guess who it's gonna be, I guess Bednar! and who was it DAVID A. BEDNAR!! haha nice. It was AWESOME. He spoke about doing what was right and the Holy Ghost will guide your steps, even if you don't feel that profound spritual prompting. It was amazing.
So a lot of people have been asking me how I like the MTC and the answer is that I LOVE it. I love feeling the spirit that is always here and learning Thai! The language is coming. It is hard at times, but when I think about how much I know now compared to how much i knew 2 weeks ago, its pretty astounding! I love class. That is the best and the hardest part of the MTC. Hard because after so much time its hard to concentrate, and the BEST because that is when I learn so much about myself, the gospel, recongnizing the Holy Ghost, and why I am here. There have been so many instances that I have KNOWN for sure that I am supposed to be here. There are times were I think, man, normal life would be sooo nice right now. But that is when I need to remember my purpose and the profound calling that I have been blessed to have.
I have an AMAZING teacher named Brother Sahkaa who is a Thai native. He is SO funny, SO kind and loving and an AMAZING teacher of the gospel. If I can ever have as much love and charity for God's children as he does, I would probably be the best missionary ever. I'll be talking about him a lot in my emails so rememeber him. My other teacher is Brother Duvall. He is great too. He is very focused and intelligent and helps me aspire to be a better missionary. So yea, I am a true nerd and love class.
Ummm the food is really good. I am being very good about eating healthy, and it is not hard, there are lots of choices to choose from. Sister Young is a runner, hardcore. So we keep eachother motivated to stay healthy. I think I have lost weight!! :)
Alright, answers to mom's questions. Here we go:
I have not gotten any shots yet, I dont know how much they will cost. Can I use my debit card? I have to get 4.
The books are all for learning Thai. We have 3 Preach My Gospels (english, Thai in romanized letter and Thai script) 2 dictionaries eng-thai and thai-eng, 2 books made for missionaries learning thai, 1 basic thai grammer book, a thai song book, aaaand a SYL (speak your language) dictionary. So yea, we have A LOT of books.
Sleep is alright. It always takes me forever to fall asleep, probably because I am used to taking to Mike until I can't talk anymore (haha Mike always hated it when I was too tired to talk) So I just lay in bed for a long time. I usually wake up in the night, hopefully that will go away once I get used to this place. And suprisingly enough, I always am awake before 6:30 and just wait for someones alarm to go off before I actually get up. Even though I don't get the best sleep, I ALWAYS have have enough energy to get through my long days... BLESSINGS!
Scott write me.
Ok, so you wanted to know how Sisters are treated here. Very Well. The Elders always say hi to us, open our doors, take our trays at meals, and are very respectful. I estimate there are probably about 150 sisters -ish out of 2000 at the MTC, so not alot. We live on two floors of a building that has the most showers and a lounge area and vending machines on the floors(I guess the elders don't have lounge areas and their vending machines are on the basements)
As for clothes... I have already worn everything and would like to have some more color in my wardrobe. I wear black too much. PLEASE send sweaters that I can wear with my church clothes and a sweatshirt for the night. It is a lot more cold than I thought!! (send my new alumni sweatshirt please) thanks!
ANYONE READING THIS WHO LIVES IN PROVO OR VISITS PROVO FROM NOW UNTIL AUGUST 17th. Come to the Tuesday 1:40 session. I would love to see anyone I know. My companions are ALWAYS seeing people they know because they went to BYU... I rearly see anyone I know :( I did see James Kingston though!! That was fun :) he is doing good. So the temple is closed for the next two weeks I guess, but there are still 6 or 7 more P-days... so Kurtis (if you're there) and Chris and Annie... I'll be looking for you guys!
Ummm... so you want a tape. I will try to get that done soon. I have talked on it once while I was unpacking on the very first day. That will be fun to hear. I will speak some Thai for you and maybe have my companions say some words. We'll see...
Kurtis... got a ticket? Bummmmmer. Have fun at EFY, sorry I didnt get that letter to you. Let me know if you have other sessions and I will write you some words O wisdom for them. And come to the temple. and write me.
Scott... write me.
Jake... can't wait to find out the details of your dance. Rock it little bro.
Dad... you can update me on sports things that are really big, I dont need a lot of details like Kurtis. Political stuff is ok, but try not to say much about the depressing stuff unless it makes big headlines. Anything that is fun and exciting.
Mom... I think I answered all of your questions.
Mike... miss you bud. I am SOOO jealous that you went to the nice warm beach... aahhh Utah forgot it was summer and decided to be freezing. You know how much I hate being freezing. Keep going to the temple and make good choices! You're amazing!
Everyone else... I love you, I miss you, write me.
Ok... last few things I need mom... good smelling body spray (there is some in the bathroom I really like lilac something ruther, or whatever you want to buy) stamps stamps stamps I need a bunch, and again, sweaters and a sweatshirt because I am always cold.
So some amazing elders just showed us how to get past the 30 min time rule which is why this letter is ridiculously long. Congrats to all that got the whole way through. ;)
The gospel is true. Live it. Love it. Teach it. Preach it.
Love you all... Oh yea... and write me.
Love,
Sister Larson.
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