Okay, so the last e-mail I sent didn't work because this stupid ldsmail thing logged me off and then deleted my message so I have to use my comp's time because she is an angel. So, highlights of the last message:I'm leaving the MTC Monday--I can call you while I have a layover at JFK airport around 4:30PM Eastern standard time, I hope you're available to talk! I wrote Dad a crazy good e-mail with tons of good stuff. I don't remember what it was, but I remember that I said he is the one that taught me what it means to assume.
Um. Mom, I'm sure you wanted to send me pictures of Christian's wedding in the last package, but there were crunchy cookies that the Elder's say thank-you and I thank-you as well. I said thank-you a lot for all of the things you have sent me while I am here. I am going to send a package home with things I can't use--including those shoes from the missionary store--my feet have never hurt so bad and we don't even walk anywhere! So, there were cookies and a clothes line, but sadly no pictures.
So, I can't really remember what else, but the fact that I love you should be the number one message you recieve. Oh, and my branch president's wife babysat for Blayne on the biggest loser and says that he was crazy skinny when he was younger. Oh, and he's mormon. So, lots of mormons on the show.
Hm. I am super scared to speak german with real germans, they say that you'll feel fluent in a language by the time you leave, I don't even feel close to that. So, we'll see how that goes.
Anyway, I need to go, but I love you more than life itself! And, I encourage you to read Alma 4-5 when you are tired of those books on tape! Drive safe, eat lots of sunflower seeds, listen to good music because I can't, and when you have time, don't hesitate to write me a little message--even if it's just a post-it that say's I love you. Welp, I will try and write you, although you are gone and won't recieve it for a while! I love you! Love Em
Just to clarify--I did not intend to send Emily the pictures of Christian's wedding. That was delegated to Chad, but the poor boy got crazy sick and hasn't had a chance to get them there--yet. He has been called to repentance and promises to drop them by today or tomorrow. Please keep Emily in your thoughts and prayers as she begins a new part of her mission adventure in a new country with a new language. Thank you for your concern and support!
Angela
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
6/18/09
Wow, I can't believe you really e-mailed! I just figured you were way crazy busy. And I'm okay with that too! I got a ton of e-mails this week and I can't reply to them all... But, this week was a fantastic one. I am so glad you got my package and it made me chuckle a little that you didn't know what tape player to get when I sent a little tape to Christian. The mini-ones are easier, smaller, and cheaper. I can't remember all that I told you in the last e-mail. I guess the biggest difference is that I get flight plans TONIGHT! We only have like 12 days left in the MTC. This is crazy. I am going to have a new companion and they are going to call me a "Golden." They changed it Germany at least to golden because people that come from the MTC have such a light within them and are way excited to do the work, so the color has officially changed from green.
Hmmm... What else? Everything is pretty much the same, well I know tons more vocabulary about english than I ever knew before. We are completely finished with all of our grammar and have been for a while, so we are just reviewing--our district is a bit different than most in the fact that usually they never have time to review. So, we feel pretty good about it. The hardest was understanding passive voice. It is a little different in German, but that is alright. My district is so patient with me and the fact that I had to ask what a pronoun is... I felt kind of dumb... But, we are moving right along!
I also finished reading The New Testament and now am reading the Doctrine and Covenants. It is really scary to me... The Lord is very firm throughout it. But, I read Sections 1-50 in the past two days. Thanks for allowing me to read quickly.
Oh, and by the way, I can see things up close just fine, it's things far away that I struggle with. I realized this when I am like 6 feet from the chalkboard and struggle to read what the teacher wrote... My district just makes fun of me and tell me to get Grandma glasses.
Oh, and will you tell Grandma and Grandpa thank-you for the doughnuts? I don't know if I have enough time to, but not only did I love them my district and my zone did. It was wonderful. I loved sharing them! Oh, and I will tell you of one of the nicest compliments I recieved ever. One of the Elders while introducing me to the new Elders and Sisters said that I am the heart and soul of the Zone. That I am a good influence for them! Isn't that so sweet!
Hmm... I am trying to think quickly, but I don't really know what else to say. Hm. Well, I don't have time to e-mail everyone this week, so I will probably be writing a lot of letters. I got a lot of e-mails and that took time to read and people were asking me questions... But, I am so excited to be going out of the country soon and I love you so much! Tell EVERYONE I say hi! I really do! And that I love them very very much. I think of them often and they are in my prayers! Have a lovely day! Love Em
Hmmm... What else? Everything is pretty much the same, well I know tons more vocabulary about english than I ever knew before. We are completely finished with all of our grammar and have been for a while, so we are just reviewing--our district is a bit different than most in the fact that usually they never have time to review. So, we feel pretty good about it. The hardest was understanding passive voice. It is a little different in German, but that is alright. My district is so patient with me and the fact that I had to ask what a pronoun is... I felt kind of dumb... But, we are moving right along!
I also finished reading The New Testament and now am reading the Doctrine and Covenants. It is really scary to me... The Lord is very firm throughout it. But, I read Sections 1-50 in the past two days. Thanks for allowing me to read quickly.
Oh, and by the way, I can see things up close just fine, it's things far away that I struggle with. I realized this when I am like 6 feet from the chalkboard and struggle to read what the teacher wrote... My district just makes fun of me and tell me to get Grandma glasses.
Oh, and will you tell Grandma and Grandpa thank-you for the doughnuts? I don't know if I have enough time to, but not only did I love them my district and my zone did. It was wonderful. I loved sharing them! Oh, and I will tell you of one of the nicest compliments I recieved ever. One of the Elders while introducing me to the new Elders and Sisters said that I am the heart and soul of the Zone. That I am a good influence for them! Isn't that so sweet!
Hmm... I am trying to think quickly, but I don't really know what else to say. Hm. Well, I don't have time to e-mail everyone this week, so I will probably be writing a lot of letters. I got a lot of e-mails and that took time to read and people were asking me questions... But, I am so excited to be going out of the country soon and I love you so much! Tell EVERYONE I say hi! I really do! And that I love them very very much. I think of them often and they are in my prayers! Have a lovely day! Love Em
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
We got a letter today!
We have gotten a few letters from Emily, but they have been short and to the point. This letter is longer and there are some parts I want to share with all of you. At the halfway point the missionaries switch from junior to senior companion. Emily expressed that her time as senior companion has helped her to progress and learn. She is now the coordinating sister, which basically makes sure the sisters can go to her if they are having problems and Em can tlak to them. It seems a lot easier to talk to one of your own when you are homesick or having companion struggles than to go to someone outside your group.
She is studying long hours and surprised at her ability to focus on the lessons and the language for so long. Her strength is growing and she is now feeling more confidence. She is preparing to go boldly into the mission and declare her testimony of Christ.
She and Sister Hung now have a third girl in their companionship. Her name is Sister Folsom and Emily says she completes them! Isn't that just adorable?
Emily is reading the New Testament. She challenges us to read Ephesians 6:13-20 and Phillipians 1:20. She loves them and shares them with the missionaries around her. Please read them and feel free to comment to this post. Come on--let's make this a lively discussion!
Next week we will be on vacation so I will have Katie or Melissa post Em's next email!
Have a great month!
Angela
She is studying long hours and surprised at her ability to focus on the lessons and the language for so long. Her strength is growing and she is now feeling more confidence. She is preparing to go boldly into the mission and declare her testimony of Christ.
She and Sister Hung now have a third girl in their companionship. Her name is Sister Folsom and Emily says she completes them! Isn't that just adorable?
Emily is reading the New Testament. She challenges us to read Ephesians 6:13-20 and Phillipians 1:20. She loves them and shares them with the missionaries around her. Please read them and feel free to comment to this post. Come on--let's make this a lively discussion!
Next week we will be on vacation so I will have Katie or Melissa post Em's next email!
Have a great month!
Angela
Wedding Plans Must Be Taking Over My Weekly Emails
I made a special effort to make sure that Emily would have an email ready and waiting for her when she got online last Thurs. Granted I was sitting on the floor talking to my grandbabies so I was a bit distracted. So I ended up sending it to her hotmail account. When I saw the above title in her memo box I knew something was wrong! I forwarded my email to her, but she won't get it until tomorrow. By then she'll have 2!
I also want to say that Christian and Karley's wedding was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to. Karley made a gorgeous bride and they look at each other with such love. It's a great way to begin a new journey in life! They are now on their honeymoon to the big island of Hawaii. Yay!
So here is last week's email. Sorry for the delay. I got busy with the wedding/family visiting and working for Christian and Jason.
So, how are you? I am doing fantastic. This week Elder Bednar came for devotional-our third Apostle! I was so excited. And, he gave an amazing talk. It was on how we know if the spirit is prompting us to do something or if it is us in our head. His answer was simple. And a bit surprizing. He said, "Quit worrying about it. Get to work. Press forward with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Be a good boy. Be a good girl. Honor your covenants. Keep the commandments. And you won't go amiss." It was so amazing because everyone asks if it is them or the Spirit and he just said--It doesn't matter!
Well, I have a new challenge for you to read! You should read Ephesians-Hebrews--it doesn't take that long, and you will find out where all of the doctrine is for our temple ordinances. It is quite amazing.
Well, I am going to be in Germany in less than 3 weeks, can you believe it? I don't know if time goes by as quickly there as it does here, but it is crazy, it's like I just got here--and yet somehow I know a lot of a new language.
So, on Thursday I got called as the "Coordinating Sister." You probably don't know what that means, because I sure didn't. I basically just make sure all of the sister's are happy, their clothes are modest, and there is no flirtation going on. It is pretty cool because we just got 5 new sister's at the MTC and they are all really nice.
I'm not sure what else to say, but tell everyone I say hi and that I love them. Well, tell Katie and Jimmy and Jocelyn that I love them and think of them often. Oh, and let them know that if they take scripture markers and put them in front of the camera and make it look like someone is holding them, then take a picture with a flash, it looks like a light saber. Don't ask me how I know that... Oh, and tell Joseph and Melissa and Audrey I say hi as well and to get good grades for me! Tell Jace and A and Fiori I say hello and miss them terribly. I think of Adrienne every time I have to eat at the cafeteria and miss her good food! And, I miss Fiori so much. She really is the sunshine in my heart! Tell Christian and Karley that my whole district is so happy for them! I really wish I could be there, but it is a sacrifice... I am so so super excited for them. Well, I only have a minute left or this message won't get sent, so just know that I LOVE you mom and dad SO Much and thank-you for the watch. My day is SO much better because of it! ahhh, 40 seconds! I love you! Love Miss Em
I also want to say that Christian and Karley's wedding was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to. Karley made a gorgeous bride and they look at each other with such love. It's a great way to begin a new journey in life! They are now on their honeymoon to the big island of Hawaii. Yay!
So here is last week's email. Sorry for the delay. I got busy with the wedding/family visiting and working for Christian and Jason.
So, how are you? I am doing fantastic. This week Elder Bednar came for devotional-our third Apostle! I was so excited. And, he gave an amazing talk. It was on how we know if the spirit is prompting us to do something or if it is us in our head. His answer was simple. And a bit surprizing. He said, "Quit worrying about it. Get to work. Press forward with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Be a good boy. Be a good girl. Honor your covenants. Keep the commandments. And you won't go amiss." It was so amazing because everyone asks if it is them or the Spirit and he just said--It doesn't matter!
Well, I have a new challenge for you to read! You should read Ephesians-Hebrews--it doesn't take that long, and you will find out where all of the doctrine is for our temple ordinances. It is quite amazing.
Well, I am going to be in Germany in less than 3 weeks, can you believe it? I don't know if time goes by as quickly there as it does here, but it is crazy, it's like I just got here--and yet somehow I know a lot of a new language.
So, on Thursday I got called as the "Coordinating Sister." You probably don't know what that means, because I sure didn't. I basically just make sure all of the sister's are happy, their clothes are modest, and there is no flirtation going on. It is pretty cool because we just got 5 new sister's at the MTC and they are all really nice.
I'm not sure what else to say, but tell everyone I say hi and that I love them. Well, tell Katie and Jimmy and Jocelyn that I love them and think of them often. Oh, and let them know that if they take scripture markers and put them in front of the camera and make it look like someone is holding them, then take a picture with a flash, it looks like a light saber. Don't ask me how I know that... Oh, and tell Joseph and Melissa and Audrey I say hi as well and to get good grades for me! Tell Jace and A and Fiori I say hello and miss them terribly. I think of Adrienne every time I have to eat at the cafeteria and miss her good food! And, I miss Fiori so much. She really is the sunshine in my heart! Tell Christian and Karley that my whole district is so happy for them! I really wish I could be there, but it is a sacrifice... I am so so super excited for them. Well, I only have a minute left or this message won't get sent, so just know that I LOVE you mom and dad SO Much and thank-you for the watch. My day is SO much better because of it! ahhh, 40 seconds! I love you! Love Miss Em
Friday, June 12, 2009
So we went to a wedding in Utah and have been busy with wedding plans and visiting family so I forgot to post last week and now I have 2 consecutive posts to do this weekend! Plus I made sure I emailed Em early Thursday morning so she would have news from us since we didn't have a letter to send this week. Then I got Emily's email saying she hadn't heard from me. I checked my sent box and found that I had emailed her to the hotmail account instead of her MTC account! Grrrr! So here is last week's message and I will get to this week's message soon!
Hey Mom!
No, I didn't get mugged in the hall. Sadly, the last place I remember my watch was in the bathroom when I showered. I have checked everywhere in the bathroom and the Lost and found and it isn't there. I would love a new one... It doesn't have to be the same one because this is like the millionth thing I've lost this year. It can even just be that heart one in my room as long as I can tell the time. I am so sorry.
As far as more info (about how I fill my days), I wrote things in my planner so hopefully I have enough time to type it... Well, on Tuesday we taught (play acting) in the TRC and taught the message of the Restoration (Preach My Gospel) all in German. It was crazy. It was supposedly this man and wife that were methodist then met the missionaries and were semi-interested in the church then got too busy for the lessons, then there were new missionaries that found them and they were going to church and they decided to have the missionaries over for dinner. So, since they were going to church, Sis. Hung and I decided to challenge them to baptism. So, in our little scenario, the spirit was so strong, we did and the guy, who is one of the MTC teachers and is FROM GERMANY and speaks really FAST, said yes--and then afterward was surprised to hear that I have only had five weeks of German. Sister Hung is so proud and I am slowly starting to realize that my German is almost as good as others. I just lack the vocabulary they learned in High School. We also have two "progressing investigators" and one of them is getting baptized. We have taught him like four times and he is "giving up" smoking, drinking, and he is praying, and going to church with us. It is wonderful.
On Saturdays we have a weekly zone activity in which we practicing contacting. We practice it all in german with bearing our testimonies. That is so much fun, because every week people are more and more surprized with my german--including me. Although, don't get me wrong, it takes a while to formulate a sentence because there are 16 ways to say the word "the" and then you have to add certain endings to adjectives, the subject, direct object, and indirect object. If you want to learn english, learn german... Does that make sense? Every day our distrikt has decided (yes district is in german) to have a "deutsch fest" in which we only speak german. That is such a challenge, but it is so much fun because the elders learn the strangest words--like all of these battle and warrior terms.
By the way, there is a small swine flu epidemic going on here still and we were quarantined in our room for a while because one of our new companions-Sister Folsom was sick. She is our third companion, it is kind of wierd and hard, but she is fun to be around, so we make it work! What is the swine flu like in the rest of the world? It is a running joke here because they make it out to be such a big deal.
AND Christian is getting married soon! I guess it is Karley's birthday, so please let her know that I am thinking of her and wish I had extra time to write! If you could SERIOUSLY get me there address I would write them a lovely little note. But, I am working on their gift, so that should hopefully get to them before the wedding. I love them so much!
Oh, and another thing we do is we have a goal to bear our testimonies to three random people a day auf deutsch and that is definitely helping. It is amazing to be here and feel the spirit. Only at the MTC will you find over 150 boys crying over a movie of a man--The Restoration. You should watch it. It is beautiful. Actually we've seen it when we went to NY, but you can see it again. Oh, and we go to the Referral Center and this week Sister Hung decided to make some calls. Of course, she called the South and it was this old black lady and when Sister Hung asked if she had recieved her Bible or whatever the lady was like, "No, but it don't mean anything." Sister Hung was like, "Does that mean no?" And the whole conversation went like that, but I am so proud of her.
Well, I have to go, but I love you so much! I will get to writing that letter soon, I guess I can do that more than just once a week--some people make up their own strict rules and it is kind of stressful to get the right answers! So, I love you, and will hopefully hear from you soon!
Love Sister Turner
Hey Mom!
No, I didn't get mugged in the hall. Sadly, the last place I remember my watch was in the bathroom when I showered. I have checked everywhere in the bathroom and the Lost and found and it isn't there. I would love a new one... It doesn't have to be the same one because this is like the millionth thing I've lost this year. It can even just be that heart one in my room as long as I can tell the time. I am so sorry.
As far as more info (about how I fill my days), I wrote things in my planner so hopefully I have enough time to type it... Well, on Tuesday we taught (play acting) in the TRC and taught the message of the Restoration (Preach My Gospel) all in German. It was crazy. It was supposedly this man and wife that were methodist then met the missionaries and were semi-interested in the church then got too busy for the lessons, then there were new missionaries that found them and they were going to church and they decided to have the missionaries over for dinner. So, since they were going to church, Sis. Hung and I decided to challenge them to baptism. So, in our little scenario, the spirit was so strong, we did and the guy, who is one of the MTC teachers and is FROM GERMANY and speaks really FAST, said yes--and then afterward was surprised to hear that I have only had five weeks of German. Sister Hung is so proud and I am slowly starting to realize that my German is almost as good as others. I just lack the vocabulary they learned in High School. We also have two "progressing investigators" and one of them is getting baptized. We have taught him like four times and he is "giving up" smoking, drinking, and he is praying, and going to church with us. It is wonderful.
On Saturdays we have a weekly zone activity in which we practicing contacting. We practice it all in german with bearing our testimonies. That is so much fun, because every week people are more and more surprized with my german--including me. Although, don't get me wrong, it takes a while to formulate a sentence because there are 16 ways to say the word "the" and then you have to add certain endings to adjectives, the subject, direct object, and indirect object. If you want to learn english, learn german... Does that make sense? Every day our distrikt has decided (yes district is in german) to have a "deutsch fest" in which we only speak german. That is such a challenge, but it is so much fun because the elders learn the strangest words--like all of these battle and warrior terms.
By the way, there is a small swine flu epidemic going on here still and we were quarantined in our room for a while because one of our new companions-Sister Folsom was sick. She is our third companion, it is kind of wierd and hard, but she is fun to be around, so we make it work! What is the swine flu like in the rest of the world? It is a running joke here because they make it out to be such a big deal.
AND Christian is getting married soon! I guess it is Karley's birthday, so please let her know that I am thinking of her and wish I had extra time to write! If you could SERIOUSLY get me there address I would write them a lovely little note. But, I am working on their gift, so that should hopefully get to them before the wedding. I love them so much!
Oh, and another thing we do is we have a goal to bear our testimonies to three random people a day auf deutsch and that is definitely helping. It is amazing to be here and feel the spirit. Only at the MTC will you find over 150 boys crying over a movie of a man--The Restoration. You should watch it. It is beautiful. Actually we've seen it when we went to NY, but you can see it again. Oh, and we go to the Referral Center and this week Sister Hung decided to make some calls. Of course, she called the South and it was this old black lady and when Sister Hung asked if she had recieved her Bible or whatever the lady was like, "No, but it don't mean anything." Sister Hung was like, "Does that mean no?" And the whole conversation went like that, but I am so proud of her.
Well, I have to go, but I love you so much! I will get to writing that letter soon, I guess I can do that more than just once a week--some people make up their own strict rules and it is kind of stressful to get the right answers! So, I love you, and will hopefully hear from you soon!
Love Sister Turner
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
