Week 2

Hi minasan!

O genki desu ka? (I have no idea if I wrote that write.  I am really struggling with Romanji.)  I'm so glad all went well with MoTab.  And that's exciting Katherine will be out here soon.  Sort of weird to think that half my family is literally blocks away from where I am but I will not be seeing any of them, haha. But all is well.  Although Kristen stopped in yesterday before her meeting and I was so happy to see her.  I pretty much see at least one person from school or back home everyday so it makes it kind of fun.  Nearly half the HFAC population decided to go on a mission this summer so we are having a lot of stellar musical numbers.  I'll probably try and track down some music one of these days and audition. 

I thought last week was good, but this week was even better.  That whole analogy that every missionary uses, "WHOAAAAA being in the MTC is like drinking out of a fire hydrant," no longer feels so applicable now that I feel like I have more of a routine down.   I mean, I know there will be inevitable struggles down the road, but every day it's so simple.  Wake up at 6:30, get ready for the day, and study Japanese and whatever else you need to do to teach your investigators / invite others to come unto Christ.  I am never questioning what I am supposed to be doing that day.  I love the feeling of pounding Japanese verb conjugations and gospel doctrine into my head for the whole day and then dropping into bed and sleeping like a rock.  I discovered that we do indeed have an adjustable thermostat in our room so I cranked up the temp so I no longer sleep in the fetal position every night. 

I really love our district.  I knew everything would be okay the day that one of my roommates woke up and sang a song that she made up about the Great Gatsby, sung to the tune of "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer."  We also like to stand next to each other in the bathroom and sing Regina Spektor and the Beach Boys as we brush our teeth.  Cheney shimai keeps me entertained with all her random stories.

My favorite thing this week has been gym time.  Someday I want to break the MTC mile record time, which is an extreeeeeemely lofty goal (but I guess they don't call it a record for nothing).  I've still got a lot of time to shave off.  But it gives me something to think about as I run around the track for the millionth time (I'll admit--times like these I miss my iPod).  It's also probably one of the only instances in which I feel okay with being competitve on my mission.  Our district is also pretty athletic so some of the sisters and I have taken to soccer.  Yesterday we played and I'm definitely feeling it.  I suppose that's what I get for pushing other sisters in the mud as I play.  We all just run back and forth on the field yelling things in Japanglish that don't make any sense in but we have the best time. 

I love studying Nihongo! Which is a very good thing because I will be doing that for quite a while.  Both our teachers are super solid.  One of them was Alex's companion for a week and the other knows both Alex and Kristen.  Although Brinely Sensei is leaving us at the end of this week for a new job since he's trying to get an MBA and working at the MTC won't exactly give him the work experience he needs.  But they're so paitent with us and you can always feel their testimonies in every lesson.  I'm happy that I'm patching up all those little gaps that I have in my grammar so I can sound like a somewhat intelligent person instead of the Tarzan-talk that I have been doing for far too long.  A bunch of Japanese sisters flew in this week and the elders in our district volunteered me as tribute to go inform them that one of them left their chapstick in the classroom.  I think they understood me.  I also attempted to explain what kind of contact solution is good for soft lenses when I ran into them at the bookstore.  I really hope I told her the right thing but I think she still has her vision so apparently I communcated all right. 

The end of this week will probably be a little wild as the First Presidency and entire Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will be on the MTC campus training all of the new mission presidents.  Our entire schedules are being shifted around to accomodate.  I unfortunately do not get to go to sacrament meeting with the First Presidency but our zone leaders get to pass them the sacrament.  Apparently they have to attend a 2-hour rehearsal to practice passing it.  The MTC formed a choir for the worldwide training meeting on Sunday and the choir has nearly 1500 missionaries in it.  I'm not sure what the rest of the campus is like during choir rehearsals since nearly every missionary is at the rehearsals.  But we all get to go to the training meeting so look for me in the choir.  Not that you'll see me.  But I've noticed that the BYU camera people like to zoom in on people who are not white, haha.  I will probably wear green since I think that is the only solid colored shirt I brought and they are being supppppper specific about what we can wear. 

I suppose I should say something spiritual now.  On Sunday I listened to Elder Bednar's talk, Characters of Christ, and it blew my mind.  One thing that I am trying to work on is being more selfless.  Sometimes I think I use the word "I" way too much and this talk really put things into perspective.  "Get over yourself," Elder Bednar said so many times.  He talked about how a testimony is not enough to sustain you and that true conversion requires turning away from the natural man and getting on a path to continual conversion.  We need to be willing to pay the price to know what we need to know.  The Savior always turned outward, and that is something that I am striving for.  Read the talk if you get a chance.  They encourage every missionary to listen to the talk during their MTC stay and I can see why.

Thank you for all your letters and emails.  They make my day every time!  I'm already experiencing the intense joy of mail time.  Sometimes I feel like Steve from Blues Clues.

Love, Magi-chan

P.S. Could you please send my my navy Toms? It would be much appreciated.  Danke.

Japanglish phrase of the week:

YOLO: ikkai dake ikiru

Photo caption:  Tacky obligatory missionary photo. 

(Tuesday, June 18, 2013)