Week 7

Can you believe this is my third to last letter here at the MTC? It's crazy to think I'll be teaching real investigators soon, without learning much more Chinese first. When I got to the MTC, I thought the older generation was great at Chinese and if I could just get to where they were, I'd be set. Now I realize just how little they knew.

Well, I'll start my post with the most exciting part of the week. We got our Chinese tags! Our tags already had "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" in Chinese, but now we have the ones with our names in Chinese. My character is pretty cool, I'll maybe send a picture later. This week (we think), something even more exciting happens. We get our travel plans! That'll be fun to see, but ours is one of the few Chinese districts that isn't all going to the same mission, so it will be sad to realize how soon I leave my district.

Also this week, we three Singapore missionaries had a talk on Malaria with a doctor, which was fun. He also told us about other horrible sounding diseases we could get there, and Malaria sounds like the least of my worries. A teacher who served there told us not one of the missionaries ever took the pills (doxycycline) even once.

Today we get to clean the temple, which is pretty exciting, but it does take a long time, so that's why I'm writing this fairly early in the morning.

Oh, on Tuesday, we had Janice Kapp Perry do the devotional, and she was great, but the best part was definitely her husband. She told us the pick-up line that he first used on her (during music class, "Those lips look like they were made for more than playing the clarinet"), and then he quietly got up and grabbed her from behind and smooched her. Then later, we were singing a song and they had all the missionaries stand to sing it (and they always tell us not to stand when we sing). It may have been President Nalley's worst nightmare.

Yesterday in Sacrament meeting, my companion gave a talk. I think that means I may give one here, since there's only one more possible week. Also this week, we wondered why we haven't been asked to host yet, so we requested to, and we probably will only get to do it once before we go, which is sad. And Kirk has already done it!

Oh, and Elder Sheranian emailed me, and he is currently in Johor Bahru, which sounds pretty fun. He says they could use some Chinese speakers there. It is possible I'll serve there, since currently the MTC has 5 Singapore-bound Chinese speaking missionaries, which is probably like 1/2 of what's currently there. Only 15 more days until I'm there!!!!

Oh, I had a cough for a week or two, but it's pretty much over. And there was a balding elder somewhere in front of me to my right, I think. There was a red head two seats down from me.

Have a fun time at Hill Cumorah! I can't wait to find out what parts you'll be playing. Ge doesn't mean barge with my character, but even the native Mainland Chinese elders don't know what my character means.