Dear Family!
The MTC is so great! The spirit is always so strong here and I love being around so many people who have such a strong desire to serve the Lord.
We are a little sad this week because the older generation is leaving next Tuesday which means that MY group will be the older generation. This marks my halfway point in the MTC. It makes me feel that I have not learned as much Chinese as I should. :( It's ok because I know it will come it will just take time and I need to learn to be patient.
I love Sundays here at the MTC. It is so spiritual and uplifting. I really understand the phrase just make it to Sunday. If you can make it to Sunday you will feel totally better after Sunday.
My roommates and I are getting so close. We have started to say nightly family prayers which have really bonded us together. I feel that unity is starting to build. One of the Sisters in my room Sister Burrows’ brother died while he was on his mission and his birthday was Monday. It was really hard for her but she made it through. Her brother went to Romania and both him and his companion died from carbon monoxide poisoning. It was in the Church News.
I love gym time!! it is a great time to relieve stress and forget about Chinese. This past week I have jogged a mile twice with the help of my Cambodian sister Payne (she is going to Cambodia). I also have rowing competitions with the elders in my district. I usually lose but it is fun anyway. I have lost 8 lbs.
Today we are going to the temple which I love because it really lifts my spirits and helps me put things into perspective. I love the feeling I get when I am at the temple and the peace and reassurances I get while I am there.
Funny story from this week
So you have to know in Chinese there are 4 tones. So it's all about the tones and the right letters.
So Mao is cat and yao is medicine. Sister Anderson sometimes says mao and I started thinking that but she would immediately correct herself. So we are role playing with one of our zone resources teacher. I start because I know more conversational Chinese. I ask him what he did that day and he told me that he was not feeling well so he had stayed inside all day.
I said, Ni chi mao ma? (Which means have you eaten a cat)
instead of
Ni chi yao ma? (Have you eaten medicine)
It took me a second to realize what I said but as soon as I did my companion and I could not stop laughing. Our teacher was trying to get us to be serious but we were having a laughing moment.
That is one of the many moments I experience here and think this is why I am in the MTC 12 weeks not 9 because I get medicine and cat mixed up. The good thing is that I try. That is really all that matters. I will get this language down!
It's been a rough week but not. There are times when I feel down and there are times when I feel on top of the world! I was thinking about it and realized that part of the problem is I need to have more faith in the Lord. I get really impatient and frustrated that I am not learning as much as I want to. I have to remember God sent me here and he will help me in that moment and time I need it. That will be in lessons.
I talked with President Baker and he really helped. He reminded me that patience is a choice. It's not that you run out of patience it's that you chose not to have patience. I am working on that.
Also my roommates and I love our happy thoughts. Every night before family prayer we read one. Each day the one we read seems perfect. I am so grateful you took the time to make those. They have made my days better and have lifted me up when I need it. The girls say that you are so thoughtful!!
I sometimes get discouraged and think I could be in school right now and it would be so much easier! I then think about how much I have grown and how I would not change this experience for the world! This is making me the person I WANT to be! I am so grateful for that.
I really have become comfortable here. I joke with all my zone and they joke right back. The Elders in the district have seen me at my best and worst and I have also seen them at their best and worst. We are a FAMILY!! WE may drive each other crazy but at the end of the day if any of them were in trouble I would do anything for them! I always thought that they randomly put the sisters in zones with elders, but after talking with the sisters it is no coincidence. Each sister feels that those Elders were meant to teach them! I feel the same way. I love all the elders in my zone but there will always be a special place in my heart for the elders in my Zone! We all want to meet up after the mission and want to be at each other’s weddings!
I need to focus on the here and now. That is hard I sometimes worry about what will happen after my mission! I need to remember that God will take care of me. All I need to worry about is being worthy and he will take care of the rest. Live in the present and quantinize it! I think that is how it is spelled!
I know this church is true and I am so glad that I have it in my life! I am grateful I have the opportunity to consecrate 18 months of my life to God. I know that this is where he needs me! I know he loves each and every one of us. I know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet! I know that Christ suffered for you and me! I love this church and am grateful for all the blessing I receive because of it!
Love,
Sister Latimer
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