Hey everyone! I got the awesome package yesterday after dinner! Thanks a ton! The pictures are great! If you could though I would really like a picture with my electric guitar, maybe one from college or any others that are good pictures. Also the picture of my long hair I want to show people. Thanks for telling me when everyone comes in even though they all do so two to three weeks after I leave :( Speaking of friends I have been seeing Mikey Unsworth a lot and Sam Bush just arrived last Wednesday and lives two apartments down from me! It has been way fun to have him around to chat with and exercise with at gym time. Brings back memories. Plus now I have more of a reason to use the running shoes ya sent! Hmmm... Yeah Cash sent me a dearelder and I was super happy to get it, but I don't recall 100% right now whether or not it had his house number on it, but If not I'll give that number you sent a shot!!!
That makes sense about the Auditor job. I bet it's a lot of fun working with and helping them though. Good luck and keep going! I pray for you to be happy and be able to work hard. Thank you so so much! That's nice they gave you a gift card too. Non MTC food sounds great now, but hey! The temple finally reopened last Wednesday so I can go today for the first time in 5 weeks! It has been lame not being able to go. Thanks for the super good pictures you sent in the email too. Livy and Mya look so awesome and fun as usual. Mya's silly smile is the best. That is crazy how quick Livy is growing up too. It is going to be awesome when I come back and they are able to say and do even more neat things. I'm glad Mya is being a good helper too.
Good old family parties at Missy's nice house! Did they have a pool there too? It must have been really cool and I send my love to everyone too. Please let me know about any big family news from them.
Thanks for telling me about the missionaries in your ward! How is the Salt Lake West mission going??? I can actually view the missionaries who are in the ward from here via the ward directory thing on LDS.org. They seem like great guys. That's so cool one is from Austria! I wonder how long ago it was they were here in the MTC. Hearing missionary stories is always really cool and inspiring. Some of my favorites are in PMG, but the scriptures really have the best ones of all! Speaking of which those new scriptures have been neat and definitely are nicer to read, but It is kinda weird moving to a set with absolutely no markings and starting from scratch! I am thinking it will probably help me to notice more neat things within the scriptures too so I'm excited. I think I will have to send my old ones back before I leave though which is sad because I have a lot of good markings in them from all these years. I really love that explanation that you shared from Bro. Nordfelt. I knew he liked the song when I asked him if we could sing it. We actually sang it in sacrament meeting in Japanese a few weeks ago and I made it all the way through that time. Haha! The explanation really helps it to make more sense and I hope I can remember it well especially as I read or sing through the song. Please do your best to keep the lower lights going back home :)
I'm sorry you couldn't find the pamphlets! You really didn't have to buy them since they have some at the MTC I could've bought. I just thought I'd get the one that I already had, but thanks anyways! Yeah the Japanese Bible is interesting eh? Did you see the cover with the sheep and the grapes on the front? It is not too bad actually. Still pretty hard to read, but I am getting there. They use different language and advanced uncommon words once in a while. The size of the letters isn't the hardest thing at all. They actually have triples and bibles that you can only buy in Japan that are about half the size that I am probably for sure going to get eventually when I am there because the Japanese triple they gave me here is way big.
I'm glad Adam is doing well home teaching! That's one fun thing that I miss a bit. It was especially cool in the singles ward. I really made a good bond with the apartment I home taught! It's so cool how that friendship can build and help the message you share to apply more. That's one of the most important things about being a missionary. When I get to Japan I am going to be teaching and helping my best friends come unto Christ. That's just how it is. I even feel like some of my pretend investigators here at the MTC are my friends just from the spiritual growth I am going through with them.
Thanks for refraining from sending goodies. I have been working out harder lately, but nevertheless I have put on a bit of invisible weight. Nothing too bad, but enough to make me want to watch what I eat. It doesn't help that the cookies are one of the only things at the MTC that's consistently good, but I have been eating salads more often.
As for things here the new Kohai have been pretty cool. There are three more going to Sapporo. It seems like Sapporo always has the least amount, but that probably just means that there were a lot of them a while ago. I am so excited to go though. Not this Wednesday, but next, we will get new Nihonjin and I'm so excited you don't even know! If they weren't coming I don't know how I would make it three more weeks... haha. Well teaching and learning Japanese have been coming more and more too. I don't think I will be able to leave early at all even though they tested me and I was above where you need to be to leave early I think they want me to stick around to keep learning (which is good and feasible) and help out the other missionaries. It's cool and I understand. I am just so psyched to get to Japan.
Love everyone lots and thanks so much for the letters! Make sure that everyone knows that they are welcome to the blog!
kokoro kara ai shiteimasu!
hacchinson chourou
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
7/24/12 Hey!
Hey! I got an email from Joseph today and I wanted to reply to it so I have a bit less time to email ya today, but I will be fast and write a letter too if i don't get everything in!!!
I am so excited Mara got to go (to trek) and had fun! Did she write any of it in a journal? If not you should encourage her to so that she can remember the awesome memories and spiritual experiences. That is such a neat opportunity that the ward got to have though. It must have been a really good and cool experience to be in the sacrament meeting afterwards though. That's totally unfair about the guitar stuff... No one ever asked me to play guitar in church :( JK! It's alright! Must've been fun though. One time I went to a really awesome fireside where one of Sis. Nordfelt's cousins came who is a pro musician who writes EFY songs and stuff came and spoke/played which was way neat.
Wow! So is auditor I higher than auditor II? That's so neat that you are actually training so many people! I can't wait to get to Japan to meet my first trainer and maybe someday train a new missionary too! I am glad that they are sharp and are learning well! It is probably because of your awesome teaching!!! So Adam is done with training already? Holy cow! Here come the fireworks then! Good luck to him! Speaking of fireworks, what are you doing for pioneer day? I hope he had fun at Batman too. That is one of the movies I am excited to see when I get back! I have a bad memory, so please let me know what exact dates Ferrin, Josh, Michael, etc are leaving if you can!
I am pretty sure those pamphlets are in the top drawer of my blue dresser. If not it's okay, but I think they would be fun to study and maybe use in a lesson where I want to teach more about Joseph Smith. I think I probably will need the new shoes eventually because I have only been using the old shoes since arriving here and by the end of two years I think the other pair will run out for sure. It would just stink if the nice shoes ran out while I was in Japan and I couldn't get new ones/they would cost a lot to send. Whatever you think is okay with me.Thanks for sending the card back! I did buy another one here at the MTC bookstore so I should be alright :) I will try to get more pictures and send it one more time. Are you going to try the postmart place in Provo to send my package?
Thanks so much for the awesome talk from Dieter Uchtdorf though. I feel like it relates to me a ton. Being the middle child as well I feel like I am in the middle a lot, but it is such a good thing! Thanks for the sweet pictures too! The picture of Adam is from his play right? Feel free to send more than 3 pictures per email if you'd like. And PLEASE send pictures in book form or whatever form with my package like you said you were making a while ago. I really want to have that if you can get it ready soon.
Also I bought my new scriptures and they are cool! Just plain black triple and bible with no tabs, but I kinda like 'em a lot that way.
Thanks for the prayers and I love love love you! I can definitely feel the prayers and I don't know what I'd be doing without the support of so many incredible people that love and care about me. I have had strong promptings from the Holy Ghost that he will lead me where I need to go. I have been feeling a lot lately like I should go to Japan sooner than August 27th, but I am going to talk to the Branch Pres. about it if I can. Please pray that whatever is supposed to work out will work out. Please also pray for my companion.
Aishiteimasu!!! :D
kokoro kara, hacchinson chourou
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
A few photos!
7/17/12 Time is going by!
Ai suru kazoku! (My beloved family!)
Thank you for the pictures and letters as always. They are a great strength to me and keep me on my feet during the sometimes long and slow days here at the MTC. Mya and Livy look great and that's amazing that Livy is learning so fast too! I'm glad you like the pictures I sent too. I have everyone's name written down somewhere so hopefully I should be fine as far as that goes :) Everyone here is pretty awesome although more than half of everybody left on Monday morning including the Nihonjin... :( They are probably the best friends I have made at the MTC so far even though I wasn't quite fluent in speaking with them. I definitely learned a lot from them about God's love and how it really transcends boundaries like language and what not. I learn that more and more every time I bear testimony, teach, or pray in Japanese. They also helped my Japanese to get better. Kindness definitely overflows from them as well. They gave lots of gifts (ties, food, and a Japanese alarm clock) and thoughtful kind words. The morning they left I found the alarm clock on my desk with a note from one of the nihonjin that said "I LOVE YOU Hutchinson!" and the rest was in Japanese. It felt like a part of me left when they left. I can't even imagine how hard it will be to leave Japan, but I will be happy to be with you all again too. I miss them a lot and it is really quiet and kind of boring now, but next Wednesday we are supposed to get our kohai (new missionaries) so that should make things interesting again! What do you want to know about the other people in my district/comp? From my district there are just 2 other sapporo missionaries and 3 sendai missionaries. We also have 2 sisters going to kobe, but there are a ton of other missionaries going to kobe, tokyo, nagoya, and a few to fukuoka in the other districts.
Sounds like Mara had a ton of fun at camp! Adam looks very mature in the group picture. Also the trail looks amazing! It must have been ultra fulfilling to see that huge change done by your own hands eh? The pie sounds sooo yummy right now. Lots of people complain about the food here on a regular basis. It's definitely not the worst, but I miss your cooking and lack of fried greasy stuff. Home movies sound fun though. I was a pretty crazy child! I'm so excited for Mara and Adam to go to Trek. Make sure they write in journals while they are there so that they can remember the good experience.
Speaking of journals, I lost the one you gave me. I was pretty much devastated because it was a really nice journal and was a record of my first few weeks in the MTC not to mention your encouraging note on the inside. I have checked lost and founds for it constantly, but I am going to have to buy a new one :( I am also still really wanting to buy a new set of scriptures since they are a really good deal here ($40) and I want to start a new marking style in them. I thought I would ask if it's ok, but whatever you think is the best to do I understand! Please let me know soon through dear elder. Also there is a really cool thing in Provo called postmart where you can send packages to the MTC for FREE! From what I have heard you just drop it off and it gets to me the day of or the day after and I can do the reverse too! You should have dad look into it. That way if you ever wanted to send me a package again dad could just drop it off while in Provo.
This week was hot, but the rain was fun. There are covers all over all the MTC pathways so I didn't get too wet. I hope you can still get the yardwork done! I wish I was there to help sometimes. We have service once a week, but all we do is clean toilets and vacuum for one hour.
That is so cool that you are getting going on your new job! You will probably learn and get in the groove of things there way fast. You are a good teacher and good example of how to do things right. Trust me I know! You have been such an awesome mom and I know you will be awesome at teaching others in your job as well :) Keep doing your best with your primary kids too! I am also so grateful for dad and the incredibly thoughtful and kind response he wrote to me. It really uplifted me and reminded me of how strongly not only dad loves me, but how strongly Heavenly Father and Christ love me and are proud of me. Even though I am not the best missionary I can be yet and I still have a lot to learn, He is proud of me and trying to lift me to be better and overcome the trials I face here. As I understand and teach about Christ more, I can feel my testimony grow and can start to understand how Christ really is the center of this gospel. As I read the Book of Mormon more I understand its immense power and spirit and why it is essential. Pray, read, and attend church with all of your heart and you can receive revelation that will guide you and bless you. Don't take it for granted and truly, earnestly seek answers. I love you all so much and know this church is true more than anything else that I have ever known in my life.
Ai shite imasu! I love you!!!
Hutchinson Choro
P.S. Please thank Jeff Johnson for his letter again. It is so thoughtful of him to send me the church program and kind note every now and then. He has such a strong testimony and I know that Heavenly Father is proud of the work he does in being kind to others and fulfilling his calling with all his heart.
P.P.S. Also if you do plan on sending anything, please no food... I have a drawer packed with food I inherited from the departing missionaries and I don't know what I am going to do with all of it yet.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
7/10/12 I love you!!!!!!!!!!
Hey! I am glad that everyone has been getting my letters alright. To any of my friends that read this on the blog that I haven't written yet I am way sorry and will try to soon, but If you let me know through dearelder or a short note then you'll pretty much be guaranteed!
The pictures you emailed me worked perfectly! Thanks so much! Once I am done I am going to test out Andrew's cd maker thingy and send a cd of all the pictures I have so far! Most of them are just at the temple with the other missionaries, but I'll see what I can do about getting more. The ironing board in my hall is too big to matrix on so I am not 100% sure if I will be able to get legit looking pictures with it :( I will send the cd today for sure though!!! I am really happy that people are reading and checking the blog. Like I said if anyone comments are anything please dearelder or email it to me.
The Nihonjin are the coolest. They did really appreciate the cookies and and like most American food, but they miss their Japanese food a lot. (They also really want to see a picture of me with long hair so you should send a copy of the one I took before I cut it before college) I usually sit with them in lunch and try to talk with them about whatever and they are WAY nice and cool and funny. One of them gave me an awesome tie today and another one is going to draw some cool pictures of my missionary handbook cover. I am going to miss them a TON when they leave next Monday with the senpai missionaries. It will be lonely. There will be a whole week and a half where we will be 'alone' on our floor before we get our kohai and we become the new senpai.
As far as things to send me go please just send that picture thing you were talking about (including the long hair and guitar pictures of course!) It sounds really awesome. More granola bars would be cool too. No more cookies though please. I have already gained like 5 or 7 pounds from all the greasy fat that we eat here. You can't tell at all, but I am pretty much eating salads from now on. Just to be safe ;) If you can find them I think I forgot my cool Japanese socks that Gary gave me. Send those too.
I am way excited about Dallin! I wish I could see him and hear his awesome mission stories. I am excited to be bad at English when I get back! ;) The spirit is definitely the most important thing. Without it you are pretty much just talking. As a missionary you are never the real teacher, the spirit is. We have been learning a lot about that and receiving revelation through prayer, the book of mormon, and church. They are really cool lessons and really help me to remember the missionary purpose to invite others to come unto Christ. It's cool to hear the talks and workshops. They have different topics, but they all focus on that. It's cool to realize that when you teach someone what you are really doing is watching someone discover Christ for themselves through what you give and teach them.
Glad to hear that your primary class is still doing well though! Why is there only one kid?? Also please send me a picture of my plaque when you can. I think that will be cool to see. If anyone at Church asks about me and wants to hear from me please let me know!
That's way exciting about the Dunns! Tell Austin and Juli congrats for me!!! It must have been lots of fun to visit with them. I wish I could've been there to hear the cool stories about the Evans and stuff. Plus see that cool view! I am way excited to meet the Evans and have actually run into a few people at the MTC and while visiting the temple that knew the Dunns and Evans because they lived with them in Japan too! One of my senseis said she actually used to get rides to places with Connor sometimes! Coolio.
The pictures of Mya and Livy made my day! I wish I could play with them and I hope that I'll able to play with them lots when I get back! I can just hear her singing hahah.
I am very very proud of Adam for getting his eagle project together. That sounds like an awesome story and I wish I could've helped and walked the trail and stuff. Please give him a high five and hug for me. As far as Discover goes I say just try to continuously have a good attitude and don't get discouraged when there are lots of calls or when people on the other side are stupid and complain because they have bad credit scores and blah blah blah. The main thing is that if you can stay the whole day in that office chair without getting restless than you will probably do very well. Just follow the rules and all that stuff. There is definitely a lot of sitting here at the MTC too and it really wears on me. I can't wait to walk around all day!!!!! Make sure Adam has an awesome birthday too. I wish I could think of something cool to send him... does he want anything church related? I can definitely get that kind of stuff here.... haha. Regarding short sleeve shirts my comp didn't bring any so I just have to wear my long sleeves all the time since you have to have matching sleeves. It's not too hot though.
Sorry that the kanji isn't coming though! I don't remember exactly what I sent, but it's usually just aishiteimasu which means I love you and hacchinson chourou which you can probably guess what that is :)
As for scripture study what I have been doing is reading the Book of Mormon from the very beginning and trying to imagine that I am someone who has never even heard about God or Jesus Christ before other than what a missionary might have told them on the street. I want to be able to relate to the people I teach as much as possible and in turn I am understanding the Book of Mormon and the scriptures even more! It's a cool idea and I really like it.
Sometimes I feel like it has been way more that 4 weeks, but sometimes I still feel like I just barely got here too. I am doing my best to learn as much as possible from the MTC and be ok with having to wait so long even though my Japanese is better than almost all of the senpais already...
Anyways I'm a little bit overtime so I'll talk to you next week! :)
Aishiteimasu!!!
Hacchinson Chourou
The pictures you emailed me worked perfectly! Thanks so much! Once I am done I am going to test out Andrew's cd maker thingy and send a cd of all the pictures I have so far! Most of them are just at the temple with the other missionaries, but I'll see what I can do about getting more. The ironing board in my hall is too big to matrix on so I am not 100% sure if I will be able to get legit looking pictures with it :( I will send the cd today for sure though!!! I am really happy that people are reading and checking the blog. Like I said if anyone comments are anything please dearelder or email it to me.
The Nihonjin are the coolest. They did really appreciate the cookies and and like most American food, but they miss their Japanese food a lot. (They also really want to see a picture of me with long hair so you should send a copy of the one I took before I cut it before college) I usually sit with them in lunch and try to talk with them about whatever and they are WAY nice and cool and funny. One of them gave me an awesome tie today and another one is going to draw some cool pictures of my missionary handbook cover. I am going to miss them a TON when they leave next Monday with the senpai missionaries. It will be lonely. There will be a whole week and a half where we will be 'alone' on our floor before we get our kohai and we become the new senpai.
As far as things to send me go please just send that picture thing you were talking about (including the long hair and guitar pictures of course!) It sounds really awesome. More granola bars would be cool too. No more cookies though please. I have already gained like 5 or 7 pounds from all the greasy fat that we eat here. You can't tell at all, but I am pretty much eating salads from now on. Just to be safe ;) If you can find them I think I forgot my cool Japanese socks that Gary gave me. Send those too.
I am way excited about Dallin! I wish I could see him and hear his awesome mission stories. I am excited to be bad at English when I get back! ;) The spirit is definitely the most important thing. Without it you are pretty much just talking. As a missionary you are never the real teacher, the spirit is. We have been learning a lot about that and receiving revelation through prayer, the book of mormon, and church. They are really cool lessons and really help me to remember the missionary purpose to invite others to come unto Christ. It's cool to hear the talks and workshops. They have different topics, but they all focus on that. It's cool to realize that when you teach someone what you are really doing is watching someone discover Christ for themselves through what you give and teach them.
Glad to hear that your primary class is still doing well though! Why is there only one kid?? Also please send me a picture of my plaque when you can. I think that will be cool to see. If anyone at Church asks about me and wants to hear from me please let me know!
That's way exciting about the Dunns! Tell Austin and Juli congrats for me!!! It must have been lots of fun to visit with them. I wish I could've been there to hear the cool stories about the Evans and stuff. Plus see that cool view! I am way excited to meet the Evans and have actually run into a few people at the MTC and while visiting the temple that knew the Dunns and Evans because they lived with them in Japan too! One of my senseis said she actually used to get rides to places with Connor sometimes! Coolio.
The pictures of Mya and Livy made my day! I wish I could play with them and I hope that I'll able to play with them lots when I get back! I can just hear her singing hahah.
I am very very proud of Adam for getting his eagle project together. That sounds like an awesome story and I wish I could've helped and walked the trail and stuff. Please give him a high five and hug for me. As far as Discover goes I say just try to continuously have a good attitude and don't get discouraged when there are lots of calls or when people on the other side are stupid and complain because they have bad credit scores and blah blah blah. The main thing is that if you can stay the whole day in that office chair without getting restless than you will probably do very well. Just follow the rules and all that stuff. There is definitely a lot of sitting here at the MTC too and it really wears on me. I can't wait to walk around all day!!!!! Make sure Adam has an awesome birthday too. I wish I could think of something cool to send him... does he want anything church related? I can definitely get that kind of stuff here.... haha. Regarding short sleeve shirts my comp didn't bring any so I just have to wear my long sleeves all the time since you have to have matching sleeves. It's not too hot though.
Sorry that the kanji isn't coming though! I don't remember exactly what I sent, but it's usually just aishiteimasu which means I love you and hacchinson chourou which you can probably guess what that is :)
As for scripture study what I have been doing is reading the Book of Mormon from the very beginning and trying to imagine that I am someone who has never even heard about God or Jesus Christ before other than what a missionary might have told them on the street. I want to be able to relate to the people I teach as much as possible and in turn I am understanding the Book of Mormon and the scriptures even more! It's a cool idea and I really like it.
Sometimes I feel like it has been way more that 4 weeks, but sometimes I still feel like I just barely got here too. I am doing my best to learn as much as possible from the MTC and be ok with having to wait so long even though my Japanese is better than almost all of the senpais already...
Anyways I'm a little bit overtime so I'll talk to you next week! :)
Aishiteimasu!!!
Hacchinson Chourou
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
7/3/12 Thanks for the package and letters!
Hi everyone! Thanks so much. The cookies were great even though I only ate a few and gave the rest to the Japanese Elders. They are so great! They were really happy to get them too. I hope you weren't expecting me to eat all of them haha I told you what would happen when you did ;) Thanks for the running shoes, socks, and granola bars too! I had just ran out! I also figured out a better method of keeping my soap from disintegrating so I probably won't have to use the new soap for a while. Thanks so much for the letters though. I am so excited about everything that everyone is doing! Congratulations mom!!! I'm so glad that blessings are coming your way because you deserve them so much for helping me to get out here and working so hard. I love you!!! I hope that the washing machine or sprinklers don't have anymore problems! Hopefully the rest of the house holds up too, eh? You will definitely be able to make it through all of the crazy stuff that comes your way! Especially if I can survive the MTC!!! Haha it really isn't bad, but things are starting to get slower and it's feeling like I've been here a lot longer already. I am learning lots and lots more japanese and I speak with the Japanese missionaries during meals and other times almost everyday. I can't say a lot, but listening to what they say and just opening my mouth are pretty much the biggest part of it. I just think about D&C 33 where it says open your mouth and it shall be filled. I also found out that I would probably only be here for five weeks if I had called the MTC in advance... It is probably way way too late to do anything like that now, but I asked the branch president in my weekly letter if he knew anything about it. If I am supposed to stay here all 12 weeks then that is ok with me! It is daunting, but if it's the case then the Lord has obviously intended for it to be! I remember what Nephi said all the time about us not receiving a trial that we wouldn't be able to handle. Plus, my Japanese will hopefully be even better by then too! So we'll see about that.
I'm proud of Adam for going for it with his eagle project! I hope everyone isn't too stressed out about it. I'm glad he found something to do for it! Don't give up and I think he'll be able to pull it off. Don't overwork yourselves though please! I'm glad you figured out the badge situation too... I don't really understand it, but I'm glad it's working out.
Thanks for telling me about the testimonies too. That is definitely something that I have been needing to hear. With Japanese, being a good example to my district, and trying to prepare and work with my companion, every little thing feels like the straw on the camel's back sometimes. I know that that is how I am supposed to learn and grow though. I think about how I used to always say that if my mission isn't hard it won't be worth it. Let's just say that it has definitely been more than worth it so far! (In the good way of course!) It's built me up so much. I'm growing more and more patient and understanding more and more about how Christ loves and knows each and everyone of us more than we can imagine. I know that they are by my side and I am grateful. I think about my mission scripture sometimes to remember that.
I'm excited for Dallin! Make sure to tell him hi! That's neat he got to make it home for the 4th! I will almost definitely be able to see the stadium of fire fireworks from my window because it faces the stadium directly! The other day a bunch of jets flew over. I am pretty sure they are practicing and stuff. I don't know what I'm going to do with those glowsticks hahaha... As far as the fourth goes though I think my district and I are going to wear matching ties or something. We are cool like that I guess! I don't think that I can print anything here so I will eventually send a disk with pictures using Andrew's thingy. Sorry I have only taken like ten pictures since getting here. I don't like taking my camera around and there is hardly any sort of time. At least it seems like that. I hope that you get my plaque figured out though! I want to see a picture of it when you are done. I like the picture Mya sent and it is on my wall.
The devotionals here are like the best thing ever. I cry at almost every single one of them. They are so good and so eye opening! The thing that gets me the most is singing with the whole MTC afterwards. For some reason songs can get to me and help the doctrine that I learn really sink in. It's hard to keep track of them without searching my whole study journal for them, but the one on Sunday was a guy who did a massive monologue type thing as Willard Richards. He was basically Joseph Smith's secretary and knew him really well. Anyways he just spoke about his whole life history, mission, and work with Joseph Smith all the way down to the martyrdom. It was way amazing and inspiring. We sang Praise to the Man afterwards and it was so great. On fast sunday instead of priesthood and relief society everyone meets for mission conference where the MTC presidency and their wives speak. Way amazing. They spoke about a ton of topics, but Pres Brown spoke about the missionary purpose and dissected it a lot. It was so so good and I got some amazing notes.
Last, but not least thank you so much for the incredible scripture you shared with me (note: it was Alma 38:2). I really REALLY needed to read that. I feel like it related to me perfectly and I felt the spirit so powerfully through it. I am definitely going to try to share it when I teach and look back on it whenever I am having a tough time. I love you all so so sooo much. I wish I could write more!!!
PS
Please tell Jeff Johnson thank you so much for his kind letter and thoughts. He also sent me a copy of a sacrament meeting program which was very kind and thoughtful of him. I will try to write him back sometime, but in case I don't get a chance let him know that I'm so grateful for his support and friendship and that I hope that he is doing great!!!
I'm proud of Adam for going for it with his eagle project! I hope everyone isn't too stressed out about it. I'm glad he found something to do for it! Don't give up and I think he'll be able to pull it off. Don't overwork yourselves though please! I'm glad you figured out the badge situation too... I don't really understand it, but I'm glad it's working out.
Thanks for telling me about the testimonies too. That is definitely something that I have been needing to hear. With Japanese, being a good example to my district, and trying to prepare and work with my companion, every little thing feels like the straw on the camel's back sometimes. I know that that is how I am supposed to learn and grow though. I think about how I used to always say that if my mission isn't hard it won't be worth it. Let's just say that it has definitely been more than worth it so far! (In the good way of course!) It's built me up so much. I'm growing more and more patient and understanding more and more about how Christ loves and knows each and everyone of us more than we can imagine. I know that they are by my side and I am grateful. I think about my mission scripture sometimes to remember that.
I'm excited for Dallin! Make sure to tell him hi! That's neat he got to make it home for the 4th! I will almost definitely be able to see the stadium of fire fireworks from my window because it faces the stadium directly! The other day a bunch of jets flew over. I am pretty sure they are practicing and stuff. I don't know what I'm going to do with those glowsticks hahaha... As far as the fourth goes though I think my district and I are going to wear matching ties or something. We are cool like that I guess! I don't think that I can print anything here so I will eventually send a disk with pictures using Andrew's thingy. Sorry I have only taken like ten pictures since getting here. I don't like taking my camera around and there is hardly any sort of time. At least it seems like that. I hope that you get my plaque figured out though! I want to see a picture of it when you are done. I like the picture Mya sent and it is on my wall.
The devotionals here are like the best thing ever. I cry at almost every single one of them. They are so good and so eye opening! The thing that gets me the most is singing with the whole MTC afterwards. For some reason songs can get to me and help the doctrine that I learn really sink in. It's hard to keep track of them without searching my whole study journal for them, but the one on Sunday was a guy who did a massive monologue type thing as Willard Richards. He was basically Joseph Smith's secretary and knew him really well. Anyways he just spoke about his whole life history, mission, and work with Joseph Smith all the way down to the martyrdom. It was way amazing and inspiring. We sang Praise to the Man afterwards and it was so great. On fast sunday instead of priesthood and relief society everyone meets for mission conference where the MTC presidency and their wives speak. Way amazing. They spoke about a ton of topics, but Pres Brown spoke about the missionary purpose and dissected it a lot. It was so so good and I got some amazing notes.
Last, but not least thank you so much for the incredible scripture you shared with me (note: it was Alma 38:2). I really REALLY needed to read that. I feel like it related to me perfectly and I felt the spirit so powerfully through it. I am definitely going to try to share it when I teach and look back on it whenever I am having a tough time. I love you all so so sooo much. I wish I could write more!!!
PS
Please tell Jeff Johnson thank you so much for his kind letter and thoughts. He also sent me a copy of a sacrament meeting program which was very kind and thoughtful of him. I will try to write him back sometime, but in case I don't get a chance let him know that I'm so grateful for his support and friendship and that I hope that he is doing great!!!
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