Looking Forward

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Update: for some things like email to letter converters, ordering food, and maybe mailing some things, they require the unit number, which is 146. I'll still get anything that's sent, but they always correct it. Also, my departure date is JUL29, not JUL30, for any mail.

Spiritual Stuff:

One of the things I love about the MTC is that we all greet each other in the language we will be speaking on our missions, whether that be English, Spanish, Malay, Japanese, etc. You'll have a full conversation with someone and neither of you will be speaking the same language, let alone understanding the other person. It's a lot of fun, and also brings a sense of unity to the MTC. While we might all be here for different amounts of time, be heading to different places around the world, be learning different languages, we're all here for the same reason. We all love Christ and His church, and we want to share the joy we've found in it with the people of the world.

Daily Life/Fun Stories:

Saturday was June 29th, and because we got here May 29th and will be leaving July 29th, that means we hit our halfway mark! It's actually super surreal, because it feels like we've been here forever and also that we just got here and will just stay here forever, not actually going to Japan. However, the last couple of days we've been really thinking about what it'll be like when we get there. For example, we get there at the beginning of August, which is the dead of summer... So that's going to be fun on bikes. Also, while we get there after the rainy season, we're just in time for typhoon season, about which our teachers have a lot of stories. For example, biking through typhoons, leaky windows, watching people get thrown off their bike by the wind, being pushed up a hill on their bikes by the wind... But they all say it's super fun (biking in a typhoon), so I'm looking forward to it. On Monday our 先輩 (senpai= upperclassman but used in more contexts), who were our leaders since we got here and who we've gotten really close to, are leaving for Japan. It's especially sad because none of them are going to Tokyo South. They split up the 6 missions in Japan as to when they come into the MTC, so the ones we get closest to are always not actually going to the same area. For example, Tokyo South, Nagoya, and Sapporo missionaries come in and then three weeks later Tokyo North, Fukuoka, and Kobe come in. We're going to try and keep in touch though. The 後輩 (kouhai= underclassman but used in more contexts) have opened up a lot more, and it's cool because there are a bunch from the Philippines and New Zealand. The people from the Philippines are learning Japanese through English, which is not their first language, and it's pretty awesome. Also, one of the new sisters from the Philippines is at least 4 inches shorter than me, which is very unusual but also awesome. Olson姉妹 and I have made friends with a bunch elders going to/from Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji because their classrooms are on the same floor. It's really funny because somehow they knew how to say, "Die!" in 日本語, and that was it. They started saying it to us and we were super confused as to why at first, but they just think it's funny. They asked how to say "I have to go," so we taught them, and then they started saying "Die, I have to go" every time we see them. So if you know me, you know that I don't really tan. And yet, somehow, I'm already starting to get a watch tan, which is just fantastic. I've always wanted a super pale piece of skin that shows when I take off my watch (not). Ok, story time: Olson姉妹 got her mom to send her a ton of face masks (see pic), and we decided to ask the 長老たち (chouroutachi= elders) if hypothetically we had some of those korean face masks right that second if they would do them. Hypothetically. Collins長老 was super down to do it, while Walkenhorst長老 was hesitant. We passed them out, and didn't really expect them to do them, but they did! (See pic below). We died laughing over the fact that they actually did them and their super serious expressions.

About the Pictures:

• A double rainbow over the mountain!
• We love our 日本 flag.

• Elder Kartchner, who ate literally 7 plates of taquitos (and then that cookie).
• Our district's 長老たち.
• We almost always study outside (until it gets into the 90's and we go inside because the UV forecast is 'Extreme')
• Olson姉妹 and I with our 長老たち先輩 after zone games, all wearing our mission shirts (that literally nobody looks good in).
• The face masks. If you look closely, the ones where there's only one is where the 長老たち took one and did it.