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| Cliche map picture |
Bonjour! What is up in the 801? Haha actually I can answer that because
I'm still in the 801. Well, to quickly explain my subject line, Betelehemu is a
song that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed and it is really sweet and
brought a lot of joy to my day, so I highly recommend that you stop reading this
and go look up the song right now. But make sure you watch the performance and
not just listen to it. It brought me pure joy yesterday. There's a rule that
there is no music in the MTC, except for Hymns to start things off, but everyday
we have an hour to do this computer program thing that helps us learn our
language and sometimes while I am doing it I listen to MoTab. So yesterday I
took a little break and watched the MoTab and it was just a good time. Also,
while you are at it, look up their performance of Come Thou Fount of Every
Blessing (the most recent one I believe) and listen to that too. You don't have
to watch it this time though. But I listened to that song this week and it just
made me cry a little. The line where it says "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love," just makes me think of how hard sometimes it is
to do what we know is right, and our Savior and Heavenly Father know that, and
that is all the more reason we need to hang onto them for support. Great songs,
music is a blessing. That's probably in the top ten "things" I miss most here.
But it's a small sacrifice I'm willing to pay. The sisters in my district and I
like to translate songs to French and then sing them, here's an example: Je suis
huppé, tu ne comprend pas, which is "I'm so fancy, you don't even know. Sort of,
French and English are not the same, so they don't translate the same way. If
you don't know the fancy song though, don't go look it up. It will be a really
sad waste of your time.
Ok, now for some newz from the week! We got our travel plans,
YICKADEE!!! This "goin' to Canada" thing is getting real. I am so pumped. So
yeah we have to be at the MTC travel office at 3:30........... AM haha what a
bummer! Then we head to the airport, and our flight leaves around 7. So family,
I'm very sorry to say that if you'd like to receive a call from me, I'll be
calling around 5 Washington and California time hahaha. Feel free to not answer,
it's not a big deal at all. I can just leave a message or somesen and say some
French words if you'd like. The bummer is, since I won't have a pday until the
following week, I won't know if you want me to call anyway or not. So I'm just
going to call and let you guys choose if you want to answer. But don't go out of
your way or anything by waking up that early cuz it's no big thang. But I'll
call the cell phones, don't worry. This week we taught our investigator Denis at
the park, aka outside our building. It's fun to teach outside but it is kind of
hard because there are missionaries running around and yelling a ton and it's
harder to hear. One of the times though it was really funny because while we
were teaching the weather was slowly getting worse. So the wind started picking
up a bunch and was blowing our scripture pages everywhere and it was getting
really loud so I felt like I was just shouting a bunch. "Dieu vous aime!!!!!"
Which is, God loves you, and I don't know if you've ever yelled that at someone,
but it just feels kinda not right. Anyway, we were just about done with our
lesson when basically a tornado hit (or something like it) and it started to
rain too, so we just grabbed all of our stuff and were starting to run away when
I remembered that we had forgotten to pray, so I just yelled at Denis before
taking off, "Priez dans votre coeur!!" Which is, pray in your heart, and after I
said that our teacher just broke character and starting laughing. It was a great
time. Our other lesson with Denis was eventful as well. We were in the "park"
again, and were mid lesson when these two girls just came and sat down at our
table. My comp and I knew them because they work for the MTC and give us our
service assignments each week, and we knew that they knew our teacher because
they had told us that before, but he didn't know that we knew all of this. They
didn't know that we were in a lesson with Denis and not just talking with Frère
Sybrowsky, so it was really weird when they sat down. Our teacher just looked at
us with the most confused look on his face, then he started explaining to us-in
French- that they were his friends, we just said "we know" and then he just
broke character again and started talking with them because he didn't know what
else to do. It was all very strange and the morale of this pointless story is:
don't teach lessons in the park! Just messin' you can teach lessons in the park,
just expect interruptions. But they were fun times, and made those lessons
memorable for sure.
Another thing that happens at the MTC that I don't think I have told you
about is sacrament meeting. Since we are learning French, every week we have to
have a talk prepared (in French) on an assigned topic. And then, after the
sacrament, who ever is conducting announces who will be speaking. So it is a
surprise and everyone sits there sweating because you really don't want to get
called on and whatnot. And guess who was the lucky one who spoke this week?
That's right, Sister Gunn. Haha tricked ya. Just felt like telling you all about
that for funsies. Looks like I made it through my MTC journey unscathed
talk-wise! Sorry, random tangent.
A happy thing for the earth this week is that it has been raining a
bunch. It's sad for me though because then we can't go outside for gym. It's a
bummer. So yesterday night instead of soccer we went to the gym and were
shooting hoops. But everyone and their dog was there because of the rain so
basically there were just balls flying around everywhere, it's the closest I've
come to death here, how cool! After awhile I just quit and ran the track. So the
exercise was good, just a little bit boring. One of the elders in my district
got a scholarship to run track for BYU, and he can run a mile in 4 ish minutes!
So tomorrow he is going to run for us (that sounds weird) and I'm excited
because I've seen him lazily jog and he looks like a gazelle or something, so
tomorrow it'll be cool to see what he looks like full speed. Sorry I am wasting
your time with this nonsense, I just don't know where to take this emails ever.
Ooo I thought of a thing. So one of the districts in my zone was going to New
Caledonia, but none of them got their visas in time (poor them) so they were
just kind of waiting around the MTC learning more French while they waited to
see what was going to happen. And yesterday they all got new assignments! One of
the sisters got reassigned to Boston until her visa is ready, and three of the
sisters and the one elder (he was a solo missionary) are going to Atlanta! How
neat is that? Pretty sweeeeet. It was cool because we were all so happy for them
because they were super bummed they had to stay in MTC Land for a longer time
and not go to New Caledonia and whatnot. So when we heard the news, basically
our whole zone happened to be in the gym waiting for gym festivities to start
when we heard that they were being reassigned and we all started cheering and
yelling, "Hurrah for Israel!!" it was funny. Also it was cool to me because you
just learn to love all of these people here so much. Even though you haven't
known them for a long time. You're happy for them and sad for them, and that's
been really great because I know that they're all here for me as well.
So to conclude, I thought that I would clear up my humility lessons I
keep vaguely mentioning. Even though I probably seem super humble (hehe see what
I did there?), I actually can be pretty pride full. Maybe not more than the next
guy, but somewhat for sure. I just sometimes start to feel like I know
everything that I am doing and I get a little cocky. It's really weird for sure.
Confidence is important, but it's when you feel like you don't need the Spirit's
help is when you have a problem. So I would go into some lessons with
investigators thinking, "oh yeah I know what to say and how to say it's all
good," and when my comp and I pray before we go to the investigator's sometimes
I tune out or just don't pay good enough attention because I'm not as nervous
and don't feel as dependent as I did in the beginning. But the times when my
attitude has been like that, the lessons have gone really poorly and it's sad
that I caused it. It's nothing like super terrible or anything, it's just
notably different to me, and it makes me disappointed in myself. As much as I'd
like to be, I'm not perfect. And the second we think we don't need the Lord's
help in our lives is the second trouble starts happening. I have to pray for
Heavenly Father to help me stay awake now, and keep my mind focused, because
sometimes I forget to ask for help in the really important things, I've had to
start asking for help in the little things as well, just to prove that I know I
need help here and throughout the rest of my life. Another way I've been
learning the "humble lesson" is through practicing French. In the beginning I
was really timid and just so embarrassed to sound dumb or be wrong. But as I've
started to forget myself and my own fears, things have gotten better. There is
always room for improvement. So that's what I have meant with my humility
lessons.
Anyway, that's all for today. Glad to hear that everyone is doing well!
Love and miss you errday! Next time I write I'll be in Canada!
Love,
Suzy
P.S. Sorry if there are spelling errors, no time to re read
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| Soeur Davis et moi |
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| One of the districts in the other French zone are going to Tahiti so they gave us grief for going to Canada, so we wrote the "Canada >" note and gave it to them, and this is what they sent back. |
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