There wasn't much that went on this week besides that. Classes have been really emphasizing being diligent until the very end of the MTC so that we can head out into the field as confident and ready as possible. So we have been working extra hard, learning extra grammar and vocabulary, trying to cram in as much as possible. It's been hard work, but good work. All the extra roleplays and teaching visits really are making me excited to be out in the world. They all are super slow and take place with really broken Cantonese, but they still are good lessons. We had little teacher interviews the other day and one of our Cantonese teachers took us out and asked us how we felt about the language and leaving for Hong Kong. I told him I was nervous and a bit intimidated by it all, new culture, new leadership, new companions, difficult language. My teacher responded by saying that he's not worried for me at all, I've learned how to learn Cantonese and deal with difficult new situations. I don't know how much of that is true, but it was definitely reassuring to hear.
The most fun things happened on Friday this week. We knew we might get our flight plans that day, so we anxiously waited for the email to drop in. There were several false alarms that agitated everybody, but eventually, at the end of class, we got them. We had a good time being excited with each other, we all took pictures by the big map. To celebrate with the Mandarin Elders on our floor who also got their flight plans, we had a Christmas party. They call the day that you get your flight plans "Christmas". So we jammed out eating a whole lot of chips and dip until 9:45 again when we had to clean up like lightning again. These parties are becoming a bit of a regular occurence. We are going to have one more right before we leave and it is supposed to be a real rager.
On Sunday, we had to say goodbye to our Branch President unexpectedly in Sacrament meeting as he was getting swapped around in some big rotation. It was a bummer, he was a really awesome guy. But our new Branch President seems really cool too.
After Sacrament meeting, our companionship had to go teach the priesthood lesson. Despite only planning for a few minutes the night before (nice) we taught a really good lesson about keeping the Sabbath day holy and making it a delight. It made me a bit homesick for all the fun family parties. After all the rest of the meetings for the day, we had our devotional all about Preach My Gospel from some branch missionaries serving here. It was pretty darn good, we know a guy and he got us the best seats in the house with the international missionaries who need translating. After that, we had movie night. We fired up some bags of popcorn, hopped on one of the bunk beds like a double decker couch from the Lego movie, and put someone's phone on the desk to watch the first episode of the new Book of Mormon videos. There are pretty decent, a little cheesy at times, but decent. It was fun at least just to have something to do last night.
Other than that, it was a pretty boring week. I'm pretty sick of the food and the same schedule and things every single day, but I'm also anxious to make the most of this last week. We are just praying that nothing bad happens in Hong Kong these next couple of days, especially with that holiday coming up. Anyways, thanks for everything!
- Elder Murray
(UPDATE on Flights: They got a letter this Tuesday that they were allowed to forward to us. They are staying in the MTC until at least Oct 1 when the Brethren will assess and make a decision. Oct 1 is the Anniversary of People's Republic of China. )
No comments:
Post a Comment