Yikes ... where does the time go?? I am two weeks behind schedule in posting to Ashleigh's blog, but did hear from her today, so it's HOT OFF THE PRESS!!
Last weeks' update (better late than never I say...)
Quote of the week: "Satan, what a JERK" - Elder Brown
Moment of the week: Hermana Smith tripped and fell as she was climbing the stairs to say the closing prayer in church!
I have the best teachers EVER. In all honesty I do. Brother Mickelsen (Brian is his first name) was on the Glenn Beck show 11/13 discussing a bill he's proposing to tighten up on on-line porn (I hear you can you-tube it). Hermana Scaife knows like 4 languages and is learning more. She is the funnest person I know ... and Brother Mickelsen would remind you of Frank ...
So it was a great week. I got more mail than I know what to do with. Everyone is so great at reemembering me. Char and Judy (a gal I worked with) both sent cookies and Tammy (who I also worked with) sent me pictures and a note. Tiffany continues to write and I got a letter from Becky and Aubrey. Heather, Carl, and Cheria all dear elder me.
The District next to ours left last week and that was super sad but such is MTC life. We got to go "off campus" because Hermana Barker (my companion) had to go to the doctor because her hands are all cracked and bleeding so that was an adventure. Please send a knitted hat (black preferably) and some gloves - it's now cold here.
We get to have a big Thanskgiving dinner and then a guest speaker and then a big service project making books to send to the kids of the world. I hear coloring crayons are involved and I'm very excited! No class but no sleeping in. I'm still excited my Spanish is doing good. We taught our first lesson in Spanish only this last Thursday -- CRAZY
Current update:
Thanksgiving was fabulous! They fed us all sorts of good food (minus corn) and we got pie and everything. We didn't get to do books but we assembled 1st aid kits instead. Over 2500 missionaries were at the MTC so it was quite the party!!
At the end of the day we had an assembly and instead of a speaker, missionaries got to get up and share with everyone what they were thankful for. Now you'd think you'd show some restraint for such things ... but apparently people get nervous ... it was amusing to say the least and slightly uncomfortable at times!! Some things should never be said over a microphone. It upset a lot of people, but quite frankly it made my day!! Some of these people couldn't pass a McDonald's interview and yet they've signed up for 2 years of the most important work this world has!
I meet the most interesting people here ... I can't even tell you! I met this Elder from Petersburg who knows Addie Florschutz !!! And this girl from Norway who was a boxer since she was 12 and an Elder who literally had a bandage on his head for weeks from falling out of a mango tree back home! And there are people who were Southern Baptists, and athiests, and all manners of other randomness all called to do the Lords work. Elizabeth Smart is also here ... she will be serving in England I think ... you should see the gossip that has raised!
People are so funny.
Quote of the week: It was the end of the day and we were in our rooms (me, my companion and the other 2 hermanas) and we were talking about how sick we were of wearing the same things over and over ... and Hermana Smith was like "I've accepted the fact I have to dress like a paligamist every day" and it was the FUNNIEST thing!
My Spanish is coming along SO slow. We leave in 2 more weeks ... I'm excited but not ready!!! Dec 15 to be exact and we get our flight plans any day now!
I would also like to mention I have the best friends ever! Tiffany and her family have been doing so good keeping in touch and Becky sent me Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread and an Advent calander of waxy chocolaty goodness. And Katelyn dear-eldered me again ... Yes i am quite blessed.
November 30, 2009
November 20, 2009
Ashleigh had computer problems this week and LOST the majority of her "newsy" email on Monday. She cranked out a second one though, much shorter, but kinda sweet! I know she is missing everyone, as the letters are finally starting to "flow" out of that place. She wrote me a very nice "thank you for not dis-owning me when I became a Mormon" letter last week. It sounds like she has met a lot of converted Mormons whose families haven't been very supportive. Sad. :(
You might be a missionary at the MTC if:
1) Nightly auditions for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir are held in the shower nightly (in a variety of languages might I add)
2) 4-square is a competitive sport in gym
3) The vast majority of people in gym are wearing black dress socks under their Nikes
4) You ask advice from a 19 year old boy... and then take it because it's not half bad!
5) You're college age and hungry for 4:30 dinner
6) The 3 questions of life are asked casually -where did you come from? (Alaska) -why are you here? (because I want to feed God's sheep) -where are you going? (Phoenix)
Holidays are going to be very lonely without Ashleigh this year. I guess I will have to eat her share ....
HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone !!
-- Fawn
You might be a missionary at the MTC if:
1) Nightly auditions for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir are held in the shower nightly (in a variety of languages might I add)
2) 4-square is a competitive sport in gym
3) The vast majority of people in gym are wearing black dress socks under their Nikes
4) You ask advice from a 19 year old boy... and then take it because it's not half bad!
5) You're college age and hungry for 4:30 dinner
6) The 3 questions of life are asked casually -where did you come from? (Alaska) -why are you here? (because I want to feed God's sheep) -where are you going? (Phoenix)
Holidays are going to be very lonely without Ashleigh this year. I guess I will have to eat her share ....
HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone !!
-- Fawn
November 9, 2009
Ashleigh sent a wonderful email today ... thought I would share the jest of the whole thing on the blog. ENJOY !! ;)
This week was all sorts of fun. Because we are HORRIBLE at Spanish on our Spanish-only days we laugh at the STUPID stuff we say :)
We played this "relate everything to the gospel game" where everyone in my district wrote down a noun and then we'd draw one and related it to the gospel. Jesus was likened unto a ship, zebra, cat, dog, rollercoaster, guava fruit, dryer lint and 2 other random things that I can't think of at the moment ... LOVE THE MTC!
For our Large group meeting we got a new speaker FINALLY. Anyways, so he says "It's Saturday and you and your companion have no food and no money, What do you do?" In unison all college age missionaries say "go to Costco for free samples"!!
And he also being a college age kid says EXACTLY and pulls out some cookies for the free samples. Then he asks "who passes out the free samples"? and in unison we respond "old people"! EXACTLY and he pulls out 2 wigs, aprons, and canes!!! Two Elders had already volunteered so we had 2 old women. One person tried to sell cookies w/o offering free samples and the other with free samples. It was a magical moment as we discussed the importance of inviting people to come to church to "free sample" rather than trying to sell them on the product of mormonism with only our word supporting it. I enjoyed it throughly :)
My Spanish is coming along ... I'm getting better at creating my own sentences and not just memorizing catch phrases but I'm still not fluent! It's crazy to think I would have left for Phoenix last Wednesday if I was English speaking and it's crazy that my half way mark is coming up! Of course that means I get to call you in 5 weeks!!! I'm quite excited for that :) I do miss you and your fun/unfriendly comments :)
Thank you so much for the cards. I got the purple polka dot one and I'm glad my money made it safe. It's fine wherever you put it thanks for that. Keep sending them please. It makes my day!
This week was all sorts of fun. Because we are HORRIBLE at Spanish on our Spanish-only days we laugh at the STUPID stuff we say :)
We played this "relate everything to the gospel game" where everyone in my district wrote down a noun and then we'd draw one and related it to the gospel. Jesus was likened unto a ship, zebra, cat, dog, rollercoaster, guava fruit, dryer lint and 2 other random things that I can't think of at the moment ... LOVE THE MTC!
For our Large group meeting we got a new speaker FINALLY. Anyways, so he says "It's Saturday and you and your companion have no food and no money, What do you do?" In unison all college age missionaries say "go to Costco for free samples"!!
And he also being a college age kid says EXACTLY and pulls out some cookies for the free samples. Then he asks "who passes out the free samples"? and in unison we respond "old people"! EXACTLY and he pulls out 2 wigs, aprons, and canes!!! Two Elders had already volunteered so we had 2 old women. One person tried to sell cookies w/o offering free samples and the other with free samples. It was a magical moment as we discussed the importance of inviting people to come to church to "free sample" rather than trying to sell them on the product of mormonism with only our word supporting it. I enjoyed it throughly :)
My Spanish is coming along ... I'm getting better at creating my own sentences and not just memorizing catch phrases but I'm still not fluent! It's crazy to think I would have left for Phoenix last Wednesday if I was English speaking and it's crazy that my half way mark is coming up! Of course that means I get to call you in 5 weeks!!! I'm quite excited for that :) I do miss you and your fun/unfriendly comments :)
Thank you so much for the cards. I got the purple polka dot one and I'm glad my money made it safe. It's fine wherever you put it thanks for that. Keep sending them please. It makes my day!
November 3, 2009
Hurray ... email from Ashleigh yesterday! Summary of some of the more interesting points are pasted below !
Oct 24: I don't think the MTC is anything like you imagine. It's nothing like I imagined. It's a lot more laid back in the sense no one checks on you to make sure you're where you're supposed to be or doing what you're supposed to be doing. Unlike BYU where they practically tuck you in. It's also not as preachy ... they don't actually teach you so much as they teach you how to learn and set up your own study plans. It's odd and wonderful. We're learning the importance of planning ... who would have thought I could learn to be organized?! Not me!!!
Oct 25: It was a great day. We get to walk to the temple every Sunday so we took pictures and just sat on the grass and swapped stories of our past lives. 19 year old boys ... even with name tags of Elders are all the same ... same stories I mean ... bands, dances, hamsters ... all end in disaster.
Oct 30: Today was our first day of NO English ... needless to say ... I didn't say much but there were some amusing misunderstandings. You know that picture you sent of Poo Kitty ... that frame you made ... well I was looking at it again and showed my roommate and she thought I called YOU Poo Kitty instead of Suga ... and because i couldn't explain it in English ... well we all had a good laugh. Also the word for pregnancy is similar to another common word ... so one Hermana thought the other said she looked pregnant :)
-- Fawn
Oct 24: I don't think the MTC is anything like you imagine. It's nothing like I imagined. It's a lot more laid back in the sense no one checks on you to make sure you're where you're supposed to be or doing what you're supposed to be doing. Unlike BYU where they practically tuck you in. It's also not as preachy ... they don't actually teach you so much as they teach you how to learn and set up your own study plans. It's odd and wonderful. We're learning the importance of planning ... who would have thought I could learn to be organized?! Not me!!!
Oct 25: It was a great day. We get to walk to the temple every Sunday so we took pictures and just sat on the grass and swapped stories of our past lives. 19 year old boys ... even with name tags of Elders are all the same ... same stories I mean ... bands, dances, hamsters ... all end in disaster.
Oct 30: Today was our first day of NO English ... needless to say ... I didn't say much but there were some amusing misunderstandings. You know that picture you sent of Poo Kitty ... that frame you made ... well I was looking at it again and showed my roommate and she thought I called YOU Poo Kitty instead of Suga ... and because i couldn't explain it in English ... well we all had a good laugh. Also the word for pregnancy is similar to another common word ... so one Hermana thought the other said she looked pregnant :)
-- Fawn
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