Week 5

Hi minasan! 

Thank you so much for all the letters and emails.  I love reading about what everyone's up to.  We've officially hit the half-way mark (hallelujah) and time will hopefully pass more quickly from now on.  Not to sound shallow or anything, but the other day I finally had to repeat an outfit, so I would consider that an accomplishment consider the length of time I've been here.  To answer Okasan's question, I will probably still be in the MTC while you're in Japan.  I could have pressed the issue more but there isn't a group headed to Tokyo until when my district leaves (Aug. 6) so I decided to create less hassle for the travel office and the mission and just endure the full 9 weeks.  My branch president said I probably could have left a while ago but that this is a good opportunity to have more time to read scriptures and such ... so I shall be obedient. 

My new best friend this week has become the flashy yellow textbook affectionately dubbed Pikachu by past Japanese missionaries.  It pretty much answers any grammar question I ever had about Japanese.  The more that I read it, I discovered that my Japanese prior to the MTC follows how old men speak in Japan (I don't know if that's true, but that's what the book tells me).  So I'm trying to make my Japanese a little more feminine and more current to my generation. Ha.  Every textbook is named after a Pokemon character (the useless blue dictionary = Squirtle (sp?), etc. etc.).

As far as music goes, this was a more than exciting week.  Sister Cheney is nice and writes letters while I play piano on P-day, so I've been able to dabble with some church music.  The district ahead of us just left the other week, and we got a new batch of Japan-bound missionaries.  Who of all people should move into the classroom next door but my dear HFAC cello-playing friend, Sister Maynes.  She pulled out an arrangement of "I Stand All Amazed" that a composition friend wrote, so we tried out for a musical number.  I didn't really know what to expect but we ended up playing for the MTC president's wife and counselors and she says we can play in one of the upcoming devotionals.  So I'm super excited about that.  It will probably be the most people I will ever play for (a couple of thousand missionaries), but I suppose I should learn to like performing if that's what I'm studying.

Also, Sister Cheney and I are the music coodinators for our branch (SURPRISE!) so we are now in charge of begging elders to play "Called to Serve" in Priesthood and arrange musical numbers.  It's a good time. 

This week we went to the TRC for the second time (where volunteers come from the area to be taught by the missionaries).  I was so pumped when they told me I would get to pump the Brother and Sister Taguchi, an older couple from somewhere in Japan.  Just imagine a nice Japanese grandpa with a plaid shirt, suspenders, and a Mr. Miyagi-esque beard, and a cane.  As soon as we sat down he started telling us his whole life history, I squeezed in a few words about prayer, and then he gave us a whole lecture on how to sit like a lady.  In English.  ("Don't cross your legs.  It's unprofessional.  Sit with your legs together.  Otherwise you're inviting scandal."  Or something like that.  He used some other words but I probably shouldn't quote exactly, haha).  Just for the record I think I was sitting somewhat like a lady.  He also taught me how to shake hands.  (No dead fish--they'll think you don't have testimony).  Got it.  They were the nicest people and I hope I get to teach them again next week (them and Beyonce).

Sounds like you had fun on the 4th.  We had a devotional and watched 17 Miracles (nothing like sitting in a room with 1,000 crying missionaries).  And then we got to eat Magnum bars while watching the fireworks from the Stadium of Fire within the MTC gates.  They let us stay up till 10:45.  It was a really wild time.  The next day we all regretted staying up because no one could stay awake in class. 

This morning the Russian sisters on our floor just left for Washington or something.  I had no idea there was a significant Russian-speaking population there.  I sure will miss them singing folk songs while blow-drying their hair at 5:30am.  But really, they were a bunch of cool girls and it'll be interesting to see who moves in next door. 

We got the chance to host the incoming missionaries, meaning you stand on the curb on Wednesdays and open the car door as soon as the family pulls up and are responsible for showing the missionary where to go.  Soooooo many missionaries.  I actually had a really fun time (in spite of every single little boy reminding me of Zachary and all the tears). 

Spiritual thought of the week:  This week I've been thinking a lot about tender mercies and blessings in our lives.  We taught our progressive investigator yesterday, who kept saying he was angry because he didn't feel like God loved him and he had too many problems in his life.  I'm not sure if anything I said helped, but I couldn't help but just think that if we continually look around us we'll be amazed at how much we really have to be grateful for.  I was sort of grumpy one day so I started making of list of all tender mercies that I saw throughout the day, and I've been adding to it daily.  I found that as I do that it's a lot easier to be optimistic.  Also, I'm trying to appreciate having weaknesses.  Alma 26:12!  If piano has taught me anything, it's that you won't go anywhere without weaknesses and criticism.  I was rereading a note that my old roommate Mariah wrote me forever ago and she was talking about how the Lord wants to mold us into something great.  We just need to allow him to, and that's not happening if we were already perfect.  Being in the MTC makes you VERY aware of all your shortcomings, but I'm learning to embrace them.  This life is all about becoming like the Savior, and our weaknesses will either bring us closer or drive us further away.  It's up to you to decide. 

Well that's all for now.  Love you!

All my love,

Magi-chan

PS: In addition to the contact solution, could you also please take a tube of City Block and a couple sticks of Dove deodorant (preferable pomegranate, but beggars can't be choosers)?  Everyone says the deodorant isn't as strong and I don't want to be a smelly American.  I would supppper appreciate it.  

Shoutout: Alex and Kristen--thankssss for you message!  Keep me posted on KPMG.  Good for you.  (Choach--you should write me via Dear Elder whenever you're not hanging out with your coooolah college friends.  Please and thank you.)   

Pic 1:  Thank you for the package!  Those pop rocks are being saved for when I need a little boost (both literally and figuratively).

Pic 2:  Random run-in with Sister Fontannetti who served in our ward forever ago? 

(Tuesday, July 9th, 2013)