Dear Family,
My time is shorter today than it usually is because we have a
special devotional tonight, we are hoping someone from the 12 will be
speaking, but it really could be anyone. The MTC has been hosting the
new mission president seminar this last week which means three things.
First our lunch room is even smaller than usual because they cut off
part of it for the mission presidents and general authorities. Next it
means I got to meet Pres Moon and his wife. They are very kind and
wonderful people and extremely down to earth which I like. It was funny
because he didn't know that we sisters were part of his mission. His
paperwork told him he would be meeting with ten youth (supposedly
elders). When he saw that Chi Yang made up the ten he thought Chi Hays
and I were her companions dropping her off. When Sis Moon figured out
the mishap and they realized they had 12 missionaries to meet they were
ever so kind to us as well. I enjoyed hearing him talk about his
excitement for the mission and his hopes that Vietnam will open
shortly. After the initial freak out over learning vietnamese I was a
bit skeptical about Vietnam, but now I am so excited and would absolutly
love serving there. We spent the rest of the time sharing out favorite
scriptures and hearing Pres and Sis Moon's testimonies, it will be a
delight working with them for the next year and a half. Third it means
that if you keep a weather eye out you can see members of the 12 walking
about. Last night at dinner as we were coming out we saw Elder and Sis
Bednar coming down the hall, sadly we couldn't talk to them because
they had guards posted in the hallway.
I can't believe I have already been in the MTC a month, okay
so sometimes it feels like I have been here an eternity but others it
feels like I was just dropped off. I gave a rather skeletony list to
Mom about what I do, but I didn't explain classroom time very well so
here is a shot.
We spend six hours everyday but Sunday and Tuesday with
classroom instrution. We have three teachers who teach us about tieng
Viet, studying the Gospel effectively and creating lesson plans. They
Kiet (tie kit) and Thay Thuan (tie tune) are room mates. Thay Kiet
served in Campuchia (Cambodia) and Thay Thuan in Houston Texas. They
have such a verve for the Gospel and for the Vietnamese language I can't
help but want to learn from them. Co Huong was our first investigator
as Chi Suong and now has become our teacher, she served with Thay Kiet
and has great passion for the Gospel, sometimes it can be scary, but she
helps me remember to always feel what I am teaching.
Learning Vietnamese is unlike any other language I have worked
with. The tones are still treating me horrible. One I can hear them,
but can't figure out how to make them and second I am used to memorizing
words, but here you have multiple words that look exactly the same
except for tone marks. "Ma" for example can mean anything from mother,
to ghost to young rice plant. I am constantly amazed at how much the
Lord is helping me learn and at how much I still have to learn. This
last week I have been able to bear my testimony in Vietnamese and really
feel the Spirit. Having the Spirit with you helps you learn the
language and love the people more. We had an interesting activity this
week where we taught one member with the five of us all teaching
together in English and tieng Viet, that was exciting. We started out
so lost and disconnected, but by the end we were actually working off
each other's lesson plans. It was amazing having my heart come alive at
the joy of the work as I bore witness that I KNOW the Book of Mormon is
true and it is a blessing in my life.
One last thing about tieng Viet, so all question words go at the
end of the sentence, which always messes me up. So if I want to ask
what, where, when or how I have to say them last, but my brain always
wants to same them first, so I can never think of the rest of the
question because my brain freezes at the start or to ask a yes no
question you add "khong" (comb) at the end of the sentence, which when I
talk to investigators I always forget. So I'll be asking them for a
commitment and they just stare at me because I never make it a question,
oh well the joys of learning another language.
I love you all and am very excited for the work ahead. I
know this is God's work and is truly the Gospel of Jesus Christ, at the
end of the day that is what makes all the hard work, the joys and the
down times worth it. Much love Sister Fabricius
No comments:
Post a Comment