Dear Family,
So much for the idea of a nap today, however due to the fact Bro
Reynolds (a man I respect very much for his advice about my trio and
his love for missionaries) said that missionaries don't get time to
sleep I don't know whether naps are out of the question. Well I'll go
on faith and instead just get my eight hours and hope for the best.
Well we have said goodbye to another Viet teacher...you would
think we were scary or something. I have loved Thay Tuan and his
patience with me as I continually butcher the language his loves, I am
trying to improve, but if I never grasped Latin grammar (some Vietnamese
structures seem the same) after two and a half years, I only have
slightly high hope for improving grammar in 12 weeks. But with the Lord
all things are possible even me understanding correct sentence
structure. Thay Tuan ( please ask about tone and vowel marks later)
helped me understand the importance of the language and the gospel
language. After he left I was surprised to realize I understand the
northern dialect better than the southern dialect now, that isn't
necessarily a good thing because I should be speaking southern, but I
was excited to realize the random tender mercies Heavenly Father sends
us.
There really never is a dull moment here, whether it be saying
good bye to your Vietnamese teacher three weeks before you leave the MTC
(yes folks I am now down to 21 days, yes I am nervous, but I am also so
very excited to meet the people and fall in love with them. Sis Buoi
our native Vietnamese sister going to Atlanta told Chi Hien (Yang, who
is a size two and size five shoe) she'll be able to buy dresses for a
dollar in Cambodia, I wonder how much my dresses will cost when it will
take four dresses sewn together to fit only my bone structure :-) but I
really am excited for everything) or whether it be spilling food on
myself twice in a period of three weeks. I have now managed to drop my
tray at both breakfast and at lunch, all for the love of ketchup,
somehow the counters aren't situated to balance a tray while trying to
squirt ketchup onto your plate. So when I did it two weeks ago I
actually managed to break a plate, but a kind worker cleaned it up and
told me to get another plate of food. Today was more awkward, after
spilling salad dressing and gyro dressing down my front I was swarmed by
a pack of elders and teachers, before my plate had time to settle on
the floor even. They kindly gave me napkins, refused my help to pick up
my gyro, salad and french fries (yes I still love my french fries, I'm
trying to enjoy them as much as possible before you to the land of rice
and beans) and the elder (the one who had cancer as a lad and is now a
teacher here) from the district (the show missionaries watch before
entering the MTC, just ask Mom, Dad or Natalie about it) went and got me
another gyro while another teacher took my tray to the washers. I'm so
thankful for their kindness, I still felt awkward, but I'm clumsy I
usually feel awkward at some time or another, I'm thankful I didn't have
to clean my mess up alone.
And really that is what life is all about. We all feel awkward
or strange or unprepared or lonely or like we just had the floor pulled
out from under us, but the Lord is always there to pick up our fallen
dinner tray. For instance I have been practicing to audition for a
musical number for about two weeks, on Sunday the elders I was working
with apologized and said they didn't feel good about doing it for
various reasons, I don't blame them. In that moment I realized Heavenly
Father knows our hopes, dreams and desires he wants those things for us
to and he desires our happiness, but sometimes it is better for us to
suffer disappointment so he can truly bless us and so we feel his
abundant love for us.
I apologize for the shortness of this email, I had a lot to do in 20 minutes, but I tried. As a parting thought please go on lds.org
and look for the summarization of the new mission presidents seminar. I
am amazed to read what the general authorites had to say. I know it is
for mission presidents, but I think it will apply to all of us.
Thanks so much to all of you for your love and support and I hope this week is fabstastical for you!!!!
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