Thanks for the picture of me on TV. Haha. Heid, you are a master photographer. I'll be on the lookout for your package. You can never have too many shoes, even as a missionary.
This week was full of mostly ups (and some downs). I should probably mention that a weird flu bug swept the MTC. We all went to devotional in the Marriott Center on Tuesday, and at the end of the talk, it was like a switch was hit and suddenly all these missionaries were having digestive issues, if you catch my drift. Some 100 missionaries ended up in the ER. One of my roommates got the bug so it wasn't the most restful week with lots of doors slamming in the middle of the night, but I was hand sanitizing like crazy. It sort of felt like a sci-fi movie, with the security guards coming into our buildings wearing rubber gloves and face masks. Anyway, everyone's better now and my immune system is (hopefully) stronger.
We got a new teacher this week. Rumor had it that he looked like superman. (True fact). Before he left, Brinley Sensei told the sisters to stay focused. Ha. I've also discovered the joy of scavenging through all the free bins after all the sisters leave for the field. I've acquired a new backpack that is quite nice, after I did some surgery and sliced off the handle that looked like had been chewed by a dog. #thriftshop
The best part of the week was by far the Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting. Security was pretty tight this week, and we weren't allowed to run on campus since general authorities were getting trampled by overzealous missionaries. We found out that seats were limited for the MTC choir in the Marriott Center, and missionaries were sprinting across the parking lot to get a seat. Just like Black Friday. Minus the hipsters and cigarette smoke I felt like I was at a concert, weaseling my way through people who are a lot taller than I am so that I wouldn't get trampled. But we survived, haha.
The broadcast itself was super incredible. The Quorum of the Twelve all marched in to the Marriott Center, waving at all the missionaries. You could definitely just feel all the love. Elder Perry's talk: using Facebook and other social media should be interesting. I know we'll have laptops in Tokyo but I'm excited to see what changes will be coming to how we communicate with people.
In one of our classes this week Willard Sensei asked me to be the investigator as he demonstrated how to teach. I was playing the role of a less-active member who had once served a mission but was iffy on some gospel doctrine and just wasn't happy. I found the experience so incredibly frustrating as my teacher was saying, "Do you read your scriptures? Do you pray? Do you go to church?" Being the imperfect human being that I am, I wanted to rip my hair out and say "I DON'T KNOW WHY ON EARTH I DON'T ... I KNEW IT WAS TRUE AND I STILL DO." It just really hit me that you can't have the things that really bring lasting joy without the gospel, the Light of Christ in your life. Questions / doubts are fine ... so many things would have never come about if it weren't for a question (case in point: Joseph Smith). However, we can't lead our lives with doubt or cynicism. Let's just say it was a whole lot of internal conflict with my alternate identity.
Anyway, here's my little rant for the week. I love you! The Church is true!
All my love, Magi-chan
P.S. Note to Okasan: YOLO = you only live once. It probably sounds silly, and that's because it is.
Photo caption: Awkward photo, in honor of Brinley Sensei's last day of teaching at the MTC
(Tuesday, June 25, 2013)
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