Another week!!! This was probably the fastest week so far. Here's the updates...
I saw the Steels and the Moss' at like every meal the past couple weeks. So fun. I was so happy to see them the first time they walked in the cafeteria and came toward me. They all hugged me so tight and I was SO happy. We got a pic on their iPad and I sent it to you right then. They were so amazed at how fast I was on the iPad. It was so weird using an iPad again. Haha! Anyway, it was so good to see them.
Once a week, our district reads out of the Book of Mormon together in groups of 6. We read Alma 5 last week and it was SO good. We were able to discuss the "questions" and just really come together. I couldn't help but be FILLED with the spirit as we read. I know that I don't know a lot of doctrine- I am learning. But the one thing I am SURE of, is that Jesus Christ is our Savior. Whenever I think about Christ, talk about Christ, ANYTHING, I can't help but KNOW that he is the Savior of the world. I am so grateful for that knowledge. Without, I don't think I would have stayed sane the first week or so out here. (I love how I talk as if I've been gone for so long. Often times, I think that when 6 weeks is up and I leave the MTC, that I'm going home. HA! The longest part is still to come... but I have a feeling it will be the best.)
Haha, so at the devotional on Tuesday, the emeritus 70's wife got up there and said, "in honor of the 24th of July..." and the ONE sister in my district that isn't from Utah (Sister Maddock from Chicago) said "What is the24th of July?" It was so funny. She went on all sarcastically about how we KNOW that pretty much everyone here is from Utah.. but please respect us who don't know everything about Utah! It was so funny. Also, every time they read a bio about who the speaker is, this is usually how it goes: "Blah blah blah, graduated with a bachelors from Brigham Young University and then continued his studies at Brigham Young University, blah blah blah, BYU, blah, BYU, and now serves in the Provo blah blah and just Provo this and BYU THAT! WHOO!" .....BUT NOT THIS WEEK! The speaker graduated from UNIVERSITY of UTAH. I ran down from the audience and booty-bumped him right there on the stage. Jokelang (just kidding). Of course I didn't. I waited until after the meeting to booty-bump him.
Thursday, I was just feeling kind of crappy. You'd think that Satan would have NO INFLUENCE here because the spirit is so strong, but yet I allow myself to become vulnerable and allow him to get in my head. I was feeling like a crappy sister missionary who is slow at learning the language, who can't be herself because she's trying to figure out how to conjugate the verbs, who doesn't yield to the spirit; pretty much just felt like a missionary who just doesn't get this whole missionary thing. I prayed so much and tried so hard to change my way of thinking but I just was feeling useless. We had Skype TRC, which is like, we go to the lab and SKYPE FILIPINOS IN THE PHILIPPINES. We get to know them, see their needs, and fulfill our purpose; bring others unto Christ. That nights lesson was on the Book of Mormon. We sat down to skype, said a prayer as a companionship, and pushed "Begin Video Call". I instantly had to go to the bathroom, but whatevs. It was too late! Haha. The guy came on, and we just talked and got to know him. In Tagalog. It was so cool. We could understand him and he understood us! I couldn’t stop smiling. I was so happy. We prayed right there on Skype, and began our message. I asked questions about why the Book of Mormon is important to him, if he was able to receive answers through the BOM, etc. After I asked him if he had ever received answers through the BOM, I asked if he would share a story. He shared a story about his mission. He told us the Tagalog BOM was very important to him, and this was why. He served in Texas and one day, after him and his comp had studied the BOM in the morning and had been out on the streets all day, they both had had a feeling to go talk to this lady with a stroller. She was Tongan and her baby was sooo cute. They find out she's a member and think, man why did we need to come talk to her. Sure enough, she tells them that her baby is half Tongan, half Filipino and her husband is Filipino but not a member. The story plays out and this missionary was able to teach her husband, baptize him, and a year later, be there when they got sealed. He was SO grateful for his Tagalog BOM because he couldn't read English. he said he almost didn't bring it but thought, what the heck. It might be fun to read out of it every once in a while. As he finished this story, he began to cry. And my companion and I began to fill with tears. It was so special seeing how the BOM is so important to him. He thanked us over and over for being inspired to talk about the BOM and listen to his experiences because he really does love the BOM and needed to be reminded of its importance.
Heavenly Father was SO mindful of my needs that day. He knows I am capable of listening to the spirit and inviting the spirit, and that i am SO capable of BEING MYSELF in a lesson. I can still be Abbey Hafen while I speak Tagalog. He was so mindful of my needs that night by preparing this Filipino for us to teach a short lesson to that night via skype. I felt so much better about myself and just couldn't stop thanking Heavenly Father for that experience.
Being here is hard, but SO GOOOOOOD!!! Seriously, so good. Sorry for the spelling errors, I really just type SDF (so dang fast) that the computer can't keep up with me and I want to just blaze through this email time so I can say as much as I can!!
WE GOT TRAVEL PLANS. YES. I REPEAT, I AM LEAVING THE MTC MONDAY JUL 29. holla! seriously, it was so so fun to get the travel plans. 2 people in my district have different flights to Tokyo, but my entire district flies together from Tokoyo- Manilla. We are SO lucky- the other district has COMPANIONSHIPS getting split up. We are so so happy. Here's the schedg:
LEAVE SLC 11:15am
ARRIVE Portland 12:04PM
LEAVE Portland 2:10PM
ARRIVE Tokyo 4:55PM
LEAVE Tokyo 6:25PM
ARRIVE Manila 9:55PM
I bought a calling card, so I will call you. Should I call your cell phone mom? I will call on a payphone first, so I don't waste calling card time to make sure you’re there, and then I'll call back on the card. I don’t understand time changes so.... yeah. I have no idea. If you want to figure that out for me you can!!
Carol Mikita (from KSL news) spoke at Relief Society. It was seriously so incredible. I was able to play the musical number. It was such a beautiful number. We changed the key and stuff and it was so powerful. I have missed feeling the spirit and expressing my testimony through music and am so happy I can take my violin to the field with me.
Thursday, we had a NO ENGLISH day. Literally, we couldn't speak English the WHOLE day. It was fun, but so frustrating. Besides having to order my salad in a different language, spilling water in the cafeteria and explaining what happened to a worker in Tagalog and charades, the WORST moment of the day was realizing this is about to become my life. x 1000.
THE CHURCH IS TRUE. Yeah.
Heres some funny things:
- Sunday night movie after the devotional, this kid falls asleep in the INTRO and straight up drools on the floor
-an elder (I’m assuming) behind us at the Sunday devo must have just ripped some nasty ones because our whole row almost pasted out. nice, elder. nice.
-when we play 4 square with our zone, all the elders have this joke that I am heartless, even though I am not, and whenever ANYONE hits a nice shot and gets someone out, they say, "you've been HAFENED!!" it is so funny, but they just think I am so heartless when I play! I’m apparently just the best.
-Filipinos don't say the "p" sound, so our teacher said one time a leader was introducing the movie and said "okay, we will watch Fung Pu Fanda!" and he couldn't stop laughing
I love your letters and Dear Elders SO much. SO SO SO much. I love you all and am so grateful for you. I pray for you every night.I hope I haven't forgotten anything, pictures will come later. I love you I love you I love you. I hope my letters have enough about what is going on, it's crazy how time goes out here. SO crazy.
Alam ko po na, tunay si Jesu Cristo. Alam ko, tunay ang pagbabayadsala, gumait po ako ng pagabayadsala niya. Alam ko, totoo ang simbahan ni jesucristo.
I know that Jesus Christ is real. I know the Atonement is real, because I have used his atonement. I know that the church of jesus christ is true.
that is my testimony, and I leave that with you in Jesus Christ's name, AMEN.
FLIGHT PLANS
ME, Sister Pace, Sister Nosler, Elder Baker, Elder Tribe, Elder Poulter, Elder Hall, Sister Meinzer, Sister Carr (her district left but her mission president forgot to notify her to come in on June 19 instead of June 5 so she had to stay a few weeks with us! We love her!) Sister Maddock, Sister Carr, Sister Howlett, Sister Sirrine.
Sister Christensen, Sister Gardner, Me, Sister Ianuzi, Sister Carr. The district above us leaving. I love them!
Me and Zach Bess at the temple. I love seeing him all the time.
I LOVE ELDER TRIBE. He seriously is so funny, he's from Ogden. everything he says is funny. I love it.
THE DISTRICT!!
Elder Baker, Elder Tribe, Elder Poulter, Elder Hall, Sister Maddock, Sister Pace, me, Sister Howlett, Sister Sirrine, Sister Nosler, Sister Meinzer, Sister Carr.
Love me some Sister Meinzer. She's great.
me and my beautiful companion, Sister Nosler. And our favorite Elder Joseph. He was so Christlike, we LOVE and miss him.
Zone leaders Elders Packard and Finneman. I loved them so much. And miss them. They will be fabulous missionaries. I seriously clicked with them so well.
Me and Elder Nelson. I played tennis with him and his little sister! So crazy to see him, we were both like, whhaa?? haha so fun seeing everyone here.
Our study cove. Love it.
YAY TANNER OLSEN!!!! Seriously, he has been looking for me and finally pday brought us together. I fly to Portland like an HOUR after him on that Monday. We were so sad.
Nice Sister Meinzer.
GO UTES. Elder Rowland (played baseball at SCHS, we were good buds) and his companion. They are serving in Ukraine.
4-square action shot!
District 4-Square plus Elder Lifi. Sister Nosler, Sister Pace, Abbey, Sister Meinzer, Sister Sirrine, Sister Holwett, Elder Lifi, Elder Baker, Elder Poulter, Elder Hall, Elder Tribe.
At the Health Clinic to get medicine Sister Nosler and Abbey.
Elder Poulter in action.
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