September 23, 2011

Hai everyone!!! (isn't it funny that i always say haiiiiiii and in Japanese hai means yes?) i found that amusing... anyway..

 

This week was seriously the bomb.com.byu/edu

 

Ok so at the beginning of the week all the Elders and Sisters at the MTC were given the OCTOBER ensign. Yep. thats right. a month early. it is a special edition ensign all about the Book of Mormon. So that was really cool! then we were told to read it and become familiar with it for the devotional on Tuesday. Of course everyone was whispering about the possibility of the prophet coming. (those are the kind of rumors that happen at the MTC.. haha so we get to the devotional after being reminded a hundred times to bring our ensign and scriptures and something to write with slash on and in walks ELDER RUSSEL M. NELSON! so that makes apostle number three. you could say i'm SO LUCKY! right?! Elder Nelson is sooooo cool! First his wife talked and i am obsessed with her. i want to be her. she was hilarious. she talked about obedience which is definitely and overlying theme here but i know that it is really important. then her husband got up and talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon and all about what was in the ensign and stuff. The spirit was so strong and even though I already have a testimony of the Book of Mormon, I felt the spirit testify to me multiple times in just that meeting that the Book of Mormon is true. I seriously love that book so much!!! We are so lucky to have this book with us and should treasure it above all of our posessions. So when the Ensign comes out for October, read it! You will love it!!!!

 

Ok so a few days ago our sensai told us to meet in our class room in our best missionary attire right after we went to the temple on pday. He wouldn't tell us why but we met there this morning and he just started teaching a normal class. a little bit into it we hear a knock on the door and in walks President Brown (president of the MTC), Brother Yamashita newly called member of the quorum of the 70 from japan and his wife, and President Mills (president of the international MTC program). Needless to say it was AMAZING. They all sat down and observed a little bit of our lesson (man was i trying soooo hard to be good at Japanese) and then they interrupted and introduced themselves and the 70 and his wife testified to us. Brother Yamashita told us how he was converted by the love that the missionaries felt and showed, not by their poor language skills. He said, " Don't worry because you have already accepted this sacred calling a long time ago." he kept saying dont worry dont worry in his cute japanese accent. then he said, "please love us Japanes people, please love us." I CAN'T wait to go there and love them SO SO SO MUCH! i already do! When they were all leaving President Brown came up to my comp and i and said, "you're gonna be a wonderful missionary. both of you. I am happy for you. Keep it up." It was so nice and such an amazing experience! the MTC is such a great place. No where else in the world would I be able to experience something like this.

 

anywayzzzzzzz

 

now for: Things I hear in the halls of the MTC:

 

some weird elder trying to sound ghetto (key word trying): "Oh, you be duck-tailin elder! You be duck-tailin hard core!" apparently there is some dumb term for just about every missionary cliche here in the mtc...

 

fun fact about the MTC:

 

the MTC stinks. no like it legitimately smells bad. It may be the fact that over 2,000 boyzzzz are roaming the halls and as my mother would say, "making smells". Nevertheless, I am constantly trying to refrain from gagging.

 

Sister Edstrom quote: after dinner one day, "We are just full with the spirit, there's no room for food." --- she's a character. LOVE HER.

 

anywayzzz thats all i have! If I have written you a letter, WRITE ME BACK DANG IT!!! (via dearelder). If i haven't, it is because i dont have your address. so write me anyway! :)

 

 

mina san, ai shite masu!!!!!

 

xoxo, gossip girl

 

swainston shimai

September 16, 2011

HIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

okay so japanese is so freaking hard i cant even know what to do with myself. the lord humbles me every single day with this language and the second i think i might be getting it he reminds me that i CANNOT do it without him. I love him! haha we got to do TRC this week which is when people who speak japanese come to the MTC and you teach them a lesson in Japanese and try to meet their needs as themself. It was really hard to get my point accross as it always is but i love how no matter how much of a train wreck a lesson ends up being, i can count on the fact that when i testify (even in horrible japanese), the spirit is always there and it doesnt matter what i am saying, the message gets accross. and that, my friends, is the secret to the gift of tongues. believe it.

 

sooo this week was really great! ELDER M. RUSSEL BALLARD CAME! seriously i have had two apostles of the Lord come and speak here at the MTC already. i am so so blessed. Elder Ballard is adorable i wanted to just run up and give him a hug. I wish all of you could experience when an apostle comes to the MTC. It is one very sacred experience. The spirit is so so strong testifying to meet every single one of the elders and sisters needs in the MTC. I marvel at how no matter what i am going through or struggling with every day, my prayers are answered through a talk or a lesson or even my companion or elders in my district.

 

anyway, this week one of the sisters was like, has anyone ever told you you remind them of Rachel Berry from Glee? I was like ummm noooo I never get that! (#yeahrightigetthateveryday)

 

I only have one quote from Edstrom Shimai this week.

Okay she loves loves loves Harry Potter. So this week when we were changing our sheets out slash making our beds she goes,

"uhhhh I dont wanna do this! I wish I brought my wand!" dead serious. hahah i love her.

 

Also, (this is for Adrianna) a few weeks ago in class my sensei used the word "tokidoki" for the first time. Remember that?

 

Also, for those of you who know me well this will be funny. So sometimes it is REALLY hard to stay awake at the MTC. Its a fact of life. So I was sitting in class and trying not to fall asleep and all the sudden I made that one noise that I sometimes make when I am falling asleep. Yep. true. totes embar. luckily it wasn't that loud. still totes embar.

 

What else.... ooh yeah on sunday we got to watch the special music and the spoken word about 9/11. If you didn't get to see it, go watch it right now please. They were showing videos of the heroes of 9/11 rushing to put others' lives before theirs. All i could think about is running to the people of Japan and putting my life and my cares behind me to rescue them from the sorrows and the pains of life. It is just as important as the firefighers running to pull people from the rubble. I NEED to get to them. I HAVE to save them. It is all I want to do right now and I am so so excited to get there and get to work.

 

Something funny about the MTC: on sunday nights, we get to watch movies. it is usually something like the testaments or the Joseph Smith movie. Last week we watched the testaments. as we are watching, the elders find any excuse to be immature. there is a part where Jacob is talking to the King's daughter and says something like "i know your name" (go watch it) and all the elders start cheering and whistling. i think they need a weekly hug allowance. its kinda sad. but funny.

 

anywayzzzz as always my time is running out. I love you all! please send me a DearElder shout out! I love those!

 

 

xoxo,

gossip girl

 

ai shite masu!

September 9, 2011

HELLO OUTSIDE WORLD!

 

I want chipotle so hard right now... anyway.. THEY HAVE CHIPOTLE IN TOKYO. also, THEY HAVE CHOCOLATE COVERED CINNAMON BEARS HERE IN THE BOOKSTORE. needless to say i may spend considerable amounts of money on them... jkjkjkjkjknotreally

 

but really...

 

Ok so this week really flew by! i had some serious run ins with horrible japanese teaching experiences where i got into a lesson and forgot every bit of japanese i knew. that was coool.... NOT. but its ok everyone says it will come, until then i just study by bum (you like that i said bum?) off every single day. it is like 100 times more studying then i have ever done in my life. LOVE IT.

 

next....

 

companion quotes:

 

"when you taste the pie flavored older men, you just can't go back."

 

also when she heard my cackle laugh for the first time (for you aleah) she goes, "swainston shimai, OH my gosh youre so funny!!!!!! then she proceeded to turn red and laugh for like 10 minutes. then for the rest of the class she would stop what she was doing periodically and laugh more. haha

 

thats all for companion quotes...

 

the other day my district was taking bets on how much mail i would get. that just goes to show how much mail means to us missionaries. dont let me down people.. haha

 

Also i am almost positive that the organist at the devotional the other night was my bus driver on my church history trip... ask katie about this one. and tell her to WRITE ME.

 

also i was talking to an elder the other day and he said

"are you the girl with the zebra luggage? i said yeah thats me did you write home about that one? and he said uhh im pretty sure that made it in the journal im not sure.. hahaha

 

anyway for some reason my time is up. I HATE THAT..

 

pray always and dont forget to FEAST upon the words of Christ. I love you all.

 

xoxo,

gossip girl

 

Swainston Shimai.

September 2, 2011

Warning: I have no time for punctuation or grammar. I apologize.

 

 

ok

 

 

If I had a facebook my status would be: TRUE LIFE: I'm wearing 10 shirts.

 

Moving on... I want everyone to know how grateful I am for all the letters and support!! I love you all!! Ok so this week was like a real MTC week! We literally spend 10 hours a day on language alone. Then at least 2 hours studying the gospel on our own and other stuff mixed in. I am praying for all of you at home every single day and night. Today I got to do a session in the Provo temple it was awesome but made me miss the Las Vegas temple. I love it there. Sometimes when i walk accross the street to the field for exercise or to the temple i think of how cool it would be if one of my provo friends happened to drive or run by. then i snap back to reality. I got to go to the MTC choir on Sunday and it was seriously amazing. we can't listen to music here so it helps me get my music fix. I'm literally dying. the MTC choir is unfortunately not singing in conference this fall so that is a bummer. ok so on to fun facts slash quotes slash experiences from this week:

 

Things i hear in the hallways of the MTC: (these are direct quotes mind you)

 

"I think im gonna ask my parents to send me my Zac Efron shirt. Then I can wear it every night" ----- bless him

 

another:

 

Elder 1: so excited, "dude! where'd you get that pocket protector?!"

Elder 2: soooo coooooool, "ohh... just in the bookstore for a solid 70 cents"

 

if you dont think these are funny its fine i do. i have to do something to keep myself entertained.

 

Oh yes, as for the elder who told me we are related. this week he informed me we are not. so dont worry. apparently grandma bergquist and his grandma have been besties for a million years... oh well.

 

Quotes from my companion:

 

"I wanna like, half swear right now!"

that's all i have for this week in companion quotes but dont worry they get better every day.

 

fun fact: i gave 2 elder's in my district Aleah's address. #yourewelcome #imsofunny

 

ok moving on... ON TUESDAY ELDER HOLLAND CAME AND SPOKE TO US FOR DEVOTIONAL

 

i peed everywhere. It was honestly one of the coolest experiences i have ever had. he talked to us about a lot of things but honestly i only have 4 more minutes so i have to cut this email short! im so saddddd!!! there is so so so much to tell you ! oh well.

 

Japanese is getting better. still so hard though. and our sensei still only speaks in Japanese. Also, our sacrament meeting is in Japanese. coolineverknowwhatsgoingon but dont doubt when other people laugh about something said in japanese and i have no idea qwhat they are saying i totes do my debra laugh.

 

okay i love you all. please respond via dear elder so i can have your address slash actually have time to read the letters and to respond in email. LOVE LOVE LOVE

 

xoxo,

gossip girl

 

i mean... miss tokyo 2012