MTC Halfway Point!

Hey!  I am half way done with the MTC! WOOO HOOO And now, my district is one of the older ones in my zone ;)

This week has gone by so fast! It literally feels like it has been one big long day and I just wrote my weekly email! So crazy! Anyways, last Thursday we got to go to the temple to do initiatory's (I think that's how you spell it?)

 I think that the more we go to the temple, the more I am loving it! Especially since after, we had breakfast at the temple... it was so good! MTC food is alright, but I kind of forgot what real food tastes like, lol. It is a lot better than I remember :) Additionally, we actually got to take a nap last Thursday, which was 100% needed. The weeks here can get tiring if you don't have enough sleep.

Friday was fun, but I didn't accomplish nearly as much as I had planned (language study wise) because I lost all my flashcards! They fell out of the pouch on my bag so I spent all day remaking all 200+ of them. It really sucked and totally put me in a bad mood! But it also taught me a very important lesson: I realized that I had made such a big deal out of my flashcards even though it didn't make much of a difference in the long run. I remade them and it was like they were never lost in the first place, no big deal. The problem is I let myself make it into one. Flashcards are great, but they are not why I am here. I am here to invite others come unto Christ. I have my problems, but there are so many people out there that have it so much worse. For example, Elder Maez was sick on Thursday and got no sleep the night before but he didn't complain about it at all! And here I was feeling sorry for myself about flashcards. I think it made me really think about my reason for being here, and when I realized how silly my problem was I was able to have a positive outlook for the rest of the day. Getting to the point, it really taught me that no matter how rough or bad something might appear and no matter how imperfect I am, if I am just trying my best and make an effort to make someone else's day easier/better than I think I am doing what the Lord wants of me.

On Saturday I got a really nice Dear Elder from my mom, which totally made my day! She is such an inspiration to me and really inspires me to do better. I always knew I had a great mom, but I don't think I can ever really appreciate how amazing she really is :) 

Sunday was so amazing! It was exactly what I needed to get me pumped up for the rest of the week. It is crazy how much of an emotional roller coaster the mission has already been! But despite the good and the difficult moments, I have loved every second and I know it will all be worth it in the end. Anyways, on Sunday I put away my flashcards and spent all my time focusing on the Lord. During down time, I tried to figure out how the people around me were doing and seeing how I could help them. Additionally, we played a bunch of mind games like snaps and green glass door... I figured them all out :) (it only took all day, lol). It was so fun and I really feel like I got so close to the people in our zone! I love those missionaries so much!

And the more I get to know them, the more amazing they are. I know they all have things to work on and so do I. But I think that by focusing on the good in others we are able to love them more and actually be more helpful in encouraging them to keep on trying the best we can, because that is all any of us can really do. None of us are perfect, but as long as we just take it one step at a time, I know that we can all get there some day.

So... .have you ever wondered "what would I do if I were in the shower and the fire alarm went off?" Well on Monday, I got to find out. We only have 30 min to get ready for the day after gym time so my companions and I hopped in the shower right before the alarm went off! I know! Worst timing ever. Anyways, I decided to just go ahead and finish my shower (terrible idea... don't do that) when one of the "firefighters" came up and started yelling at us all to get out. It took forever because I had to get dressed but it ended up being alright. Additionally, my mom sent me a package on Monday full of chicken flings!

So hilarious! Half my zone got one and all the elders walked around with them in their ties all day, so funny! I laughed so hard I cried! Also, we used a chart in our room as a target board, because the chickens would stick to it and when we came back the next day, they had all left chicken-shaped stains! We laughed so hard!

Tuesday my whole zone went outside to play beach volleyball during gym time (because the older districts were leaving on Thursday) and it was sooooo fun! I am horrible at volleyball but still had a blast! While I was out playing, I kept thinking of my sister and how cool it would have been if she were there, because she probably could have smoked my whole district! ;) Additionally, my kasamas and I are getting better and better at teaching by the spirit and we had two amazing lessons today! I think it was because we are learning to focus on teaching by the spirit and using the scriptures more. It is amazing how powerful the BOM really is! It really has changed my life and I know I am happier when I read it. If there was one piece of advise I could offer anyone, it would be to study the Book of Mormon daily (araw-araw).

Anyways, yesterday was a ton of fun! Elder Flores (an elder in my district who has already gotten 15+ packages from his mom!) got a bunch of baby bottle pops and he shared them with us. Let me tell you, those things are amazing! I forgot just how good they are until I finished one yesterday!

Additionally, I got a bunch of cinnamon rolls from my family--including my "favorite person" ;) (you know who you are)--which my companions and I loved!

TAGALOG

This week my favorite lesson about my mission language had to do with grammar. In Tagalog, you have to be really careful how you conjugate words or you could end up saying something completely different than what you meant! For example, "inihahayag po ang Jesus ng tao" means the people killed Jesus while "inihahayag po ng Jesus ang tao" means Jesus killed the people. Which is why grammar is so important! 

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT

So at Elder Bednar's devotional talk last week, he really focused on how to better study general conference talks. His strategy is to make three columns, one for doctrine/principles, one for invitations and one for blessings. He suggested that for each talk, we focus on these things in order to figure out what the speakers are asking us to do. He said that we should read conference talks over and over again and set goals to make those doctrine principles more a part of our life in the next six months. I loved his advise and want to try doing this for myself.

Anyways, I hope you all have a great week! Thank you so much for all the love and support! I really love getting letters and emails from everyone and hearing about how you guys are doing. You guys all have a great week! And always remember, GOD LOVES YOU!!!