Week...uh, never mind, I've lost count...
Well, this week has definitely been an interesting one. For our TRC this Saturday we taught the plan of salvation for the first time in Chinese. Which could have been great right? Except that we had no time all week to study, which meant that Saturday rolled around and we were without vocabulary type knowledge. But there is a fun story for the TRC this week. So let me back up...actually, let me jump back a whole week...
So last Friday, well ok, it was two Fridays ago now, I received an dear elder from my roommate of the past, Lexi. She has a new cohort member, he was American born Chinese. Not a member of the church but attending BYU. She was doing member missionary work with him. Well my companions and I taught Lexi and a Taiwanese chap the following day. However it didn't come to my realization that it could have been the fellow she'd mentioned until some time later. I'm a little slow. So on Monday night I receive another Dear Elder from Lexi talking about the TRC experience.
Low and behold it was the same guy! He was an actual investigator. Our second time in the MTC really teaching a lesson, and the second time that we didn't know until after the fact. Fun stuff. Well my companions and I were very excited about the letter from Lexi, probably largely due to the fact that Lexi was pretty ecstatic herself in this letter. I'd not thought much of the lesson with them. Our Chinese was so so, but we'd done a few things ok. Well apparently this chap really liked it, and he'd felt the spirit. Enough to tell Lexi that he wanted to come back this last Saturday. We reacted in true missionary fashion, hoping against hope that it would work out and we could teach him again. We organized it with the TRC so that we could be assigned to him again, turns out he was already signed up again! We bought a Book of Mormon and marked up Moroni's promise and also wrote out a big and inspiring testimony in the cover. Oh we were so excited, so prepared. We worked out a wonderful lesson plan. It was going to be awesome! He was going to be taught by three amazing sister missionaries and be blown away by the power and authority of God. He was going to be converted right there on the spot! Committed to Baptism! It was all set!
Well Saturday rolls around, with much nervousness, and we arrived at the MTC. Unfortunately he did not. But we taught three girls from Hong Kong instead, and they were lovely and quite forgiving of our lack of preparation for a completely separate scenario and a lack of vocabulary...well at least on my part. My companions did very well. It was a growing experience. But a good one. We are determined to get this book of Mormon to this man some how. And where there is a will there is a way right??
In other news, Tuesday I got to see my very first Apostle ever!
We arrived in the gym for devotional and sat around per the usual waiting for the program to begin. Then a man stepped up to the microphone, it was early, the devotional was not due to start for another 20 minutes or so. He told all the elders in a rather firm mannerism to please don their suit jackets. Then he said in a criptic kind of way with one of those particular "I know something you don't know" kind of smiles, "Also, we don't stand to sing the hymns of Zion unless one of the Brethren is in the room."
Well that did it, the room was instantaneously abuzz. Then a few minutes later the doors to the foyer opened and everyone leapt to their feet, being a smart crowd of missionaries, we'd figured something was afoot. In walks Elder Russell M. Nelson.
Great experience eh? I enjoyed it.
Once again, thank you to everyone who is sending me mail! Dear elders, letters, and cards. And packages! I try to write everyone back because I appreciate it so much, but my P-days (they are not really called preparation days you know, P really stands for PANIC) are really packed. And my poor hand only writes so fast. So I promise I will get back to you all eventually, because I REALLY do want to write you. But forgive me in advance for the brevity please!
I love you all.
Ta, until next Monday!
Sister Melissa Thiessen
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
30 days left in the MTC??
One month left in the MTC, thats just 30 days! Wow.
This week...what have I done this week?
We got the new missionaries in, and like a breath fresh from babylon they came. With them they brought the rejuvinating zest of those fresh to the work. They all seem pretty friendly and excited to be here. One odd thing of note, I thought it was kinda strange to have my brother here at the MTC the same time I am, well there is one sister and brother pair here both in the same zone!! They are both mandarin speaking, she is going to taiwan and he is going to singapore! How strange is that? I'm not sure how I would feel though I guess its a pretty cool thing haha.
We got our new tongban (companion) Her name is Sister Fleming. She hails from utah and she is probably the very most excited missionary I have ever met. she is excited about absolutely everything about the MTC and this new calling. Sometimes her great enthusiasm can be a bit much to take, but she has a very sweet spirit. She already knows a good deal of chinese and knows many of the actual characters not just the pinyin so I know that I can learn a lot from her. It is however quite an adjustment to go from constantly keeping track of just one other person to having two to have with you at all times.
We also taught for the first time in a tripanionship on saturday. Our second lession in Chinese. It went so much better than the first in my humble opinion. (Sister fleming also did great) We get in the room to teach and low and behold whom do I find?! My dear old roommate Lexi!! I had been wondering for 7 weeks now if I would get to see her, much less teach her. It was a little nerve wracking to teach someone I knew so well, but I managed all right I think.
My classes are now almost entriely in chinese, which is pretty intense. But on a good day I can understand 50-60% of it. Which is pretty amazing. I'm really trying to SYL (speak your language) more, and set a good examples for the new missionaries. I've been doing better at it, and I am surprised how much of a difference it really makes. My teachers do know something after all I guess eh?
I gave a talk on Sunday! In Chinese. Oh yeah. Well it was actually more like I shared a scripture and then I testified...but hey, It was pretty good if I do say so myself. The branch presidency assigns two missionaries each week to give talks. the catch is that they don't announce who those two will be until that sunday, right before sacrament. So everyone has to prepare talks. these talks are the terror of the Zone, everyone dreads being called every sunday. I kind of had the inside info on it though, Last sunday, my two roommates are the music coordinators and they get to see the magical presidency sheet of answers. they saw my name to give a talk. But an elder in my district, one dear Elder Randal (the elder from newzeland) volunteered and removed my neck from the chopping block. So this week I was entirely prepared and delivered an amazing product. Even if it was under 4 minutes...
Well, thats all I have time for dear friends and family. But I thank you all again so much for your support and your continued mail efforts. they bring the sunshine to my very crowded week. I miss you all and wish you a good week!
Sister Melissa Thiessen
This week...what have I done this week?
We got the new missionaries in, and like a breath fresh from babylon they came. With them they brought the rejuvinating zest of those fresh to the work. They all seem pretty friendly and excited to be here. One odd thing of note, I thought it was kinda strange to have my brother here at the MTC the same time I am, well there is one sister and brother pair here both in the same zone!! They are both mandarin speaking, she is going to taiwan and he is going to singapore! How strange is that? I'm not sure how I would feel though I guess its a pretty cool thing haha.
We got our new tongban (companion) Her name is Sister Fleming. She hails from utah and she is probably the very most excited missionary I have ever met. she is excited about absolutely everything about the MTC and this new calling. Sometimes her great enthusiasm can be a bit much to take, but she has a very sweet spirit. She already knows a good deal of chinese and knows many of the actual characters not just the pinyin so I know that I can learn a lot from her. It is however quite an adjustment to go from constantly keeping track of just one other person to having two to have with you at all times.
We also taught for the first time in a tripanionship on saturday. Our second lession in Chinese. It went so much better than the first in my humble opinion. (Sister fleming also did great) We get in the room to teach and low and behold whom do I find?! My dear old roommate Lexi!! I had been wondering for 7 weeks now if I would get to see her, much less teach her. It was a little nerve wracking to teach someone I knew so well, but I managed all right I think.
My classes are now almost entriely in chinese, which is pretty intense. But on a good day I can understand 50-60% of it. Which is pretty amazing. I'm really trying to SYL (speak your language) more, and set a good examples for the new missionaries. I've been doing better at it, and I am surprised how much of a difference it really makes. My teachers do know something after all I guess eh?
I gave a talk on Sunday! In Chinese. Oh yeah. Well it was actually more like I shared a scripture and then I testified...but hey, It was pretty good if I do say so myself. The branch presidency assigns two missionaries each week to give talks. the catch is that they don't announce who those two will be until that sunday, right before sacrament. So everyone has to prepare talks. these talks are the terror of the Zone, everyone dreads being called every sunday. I kind of had the inside info on it though, Last sunday, my two roommates are the music coordinators and they get to see the magical presidency sheet of answers. they saw my name to give a talk. But an elder in my district, one dear Elder Randal (the elder from newzeland) volunteered and removed my neck from the chopping block. So this week I was entirely prepared and delivered an amazing product. Even if it was under 4 minutes...
Well, thats all I have time for dear friends and family. But I thank you all again so much for your support and your continued mail efforts. they bring the sunshine to my very crowded week. I miss you all and wish you a good week!
Sister Melissa Thiessen
Half Way!
Made it! Half way.
I've now officially been here halfway. Six more weeks to go.
This week was another trying week. Its getting to the point where I'm sort of feeling like my sponge is full and I cant absorb any more. I need to find some way to wringit out. We are stepping up our chinese because now we are teaching in chinese. Can I just say, wow? That is a difficult thing? It feels like a handicap. But it does force us to teach very simply. Which is a good thing.
Our first experiance in the TRC with teaching in chinese was...sub par. At least for me.
We taught the only two volunteers that came in that day that were native taiwaneese. They were lovely people, both of them. So very nice, they smiled so much and were so friendly with us. And encouraging as we stumbled along. Which we did. It was ok, not painful at least...until one of them said something...then it all went down hill. We could understand maybe 1 word out of 20. I felt like "What language are you speaking? Because thats not what I'm speaking here." We would ask them questions and it felt pointless because we could not envolve them nor address their concerns. And when they asked us a question? Well...I just hope we said something along the lines of what they needed to know. The man was very helpful, he really tried to supply us with words when we struggled. His lady friend spoke no english but she gave us encouraging smiles.
I however was very frustrated, and probably as a result, did not feel the spirit. When we left the room I was upset to say the least. I felt completely useless, and entirely unable to help these people. My companion Sister Petersen said she'd felt the spirit, so did our teacher when she observed. Why didn't I? Chinese was making me a spiritual mute! I felt like I couldn't convey anything. My feelings of frustration increased when we found out only then that the man we'd taught was an ACTUAL investigator. Not a member, or a returned missionary or something of the like. I really really hoped that our inability to communicate the importance of the gosple didn't hurt his chance to recieve it.
I later realized (once again, boy am I thick) that this is so much bigger than the chinese. I really can't expect to learn and understand all this after a month! A bare month! and I'm already teaching (or attempting to teach) in chinese! I guess I need to be told more than once...which really isn't anything new... Even in the after months in the field I probably will not be able to understand a great deal of what people in the country tell me. But the amazing thing I realized is why it is important to me to speak this language. I realized why I want to learn it so very very badly and get so frustrated at my own inabilities. Its because I really do very much care for those people, and I care that they recieve this message. Because it is the most important messege they will ever get the chance to hear. I really just want to be able to tell them. I'll get there. Eventually. But until then I need patience...which is something (as any of you who know me will attest to) that I am notoriously not well known for.
This wednesday our new missionaries arrive. 22 of them. Included among them are 7 sisters! so many! 2 of them are going to be accellerated into our transfer. This makes me nervous. They will most likely add one sister to each of the existing companionships, making us tripanionships. I really don't know how we are going to adjust to another person squeezing into our dynamic, and I really fear making her feel more left out than she already will. I can't imagine trying to catch up to 6 weeks worth of MTC style learning while trying to melt into a dynamic of missionaries as closely knit as 6 weeks of learning chinese makes you! That would be so hard! I really hope we can adjust well.
Well, thats all I can spew out for this week in the time I'm allotted here. Ya gotta take what ya can get! Be well everyone!
I've now officially been here halfway. Six more weeks to go.
This week was another trying week. Its getting to the point where I'm sort of feeling like my sponge is full and I cant absorb any more. I need to find some way to wringit out. We are stepping up our chinese because now we are teaching in chinese. Can I just say, wow? That is a difficult thing? It feels like a handicap. But it does force us to teach very simply. Which is a good thing.
Our first experiance in the TRC with teaching in chinese was...sub par. At least for me.
We taught the only two volunteers that came in that day that were native taiwaneese. They were lovely people, both of them. So very nice, they smiled so much and were so friendly with us. And encouraging as we stumbled along. Which we did. It was ok, not painful at least...until one of them said something...then it all went down hill. We could understand maybe 1 word out of 20. I felt like "What language are you speaking? Because thats not what I'm speaking here." We would ask them questions and it felt pointless because we could not envolve them nor address their concerns. And when they asked us a question? Well...I just hope we said something along the lines of what they needed to know. The man was very helpful, he really tried to supply us with words when we struggled. His lady friend spoke no english but she gave us encouraging smiles.
I however was very frustrated, and probably as a result, did not feel the spirit. When we left the room I was upset to say the least. I felt completely useless, and entirely unable to help these people. My companion Sister Petersen said she'd felt the spirit, so did our teacher when she observed. Why didn't I? Chinese was making me a spiritual mute! I felt like I couldn't convey anything. My feelings of frustration increased when we found out only then that the man we'd taught was an ACTUAL investigator. Not a member, or a returned missionary or something of the like. I really really hoped that our inability to communicate the importance of the gosple didn't hurt his chance to recieve it.
I later realized (once again, boy am I thick) that this is so much bigger than the chinese. I really can't expect to learn and understand all this after a month! A bare month! and I'm already teaching (or attempting to teach) in chinese! I guess I need to be told more than once...which really isn't anything new... Even in the after months in the field I probably will not be able to understand a great deal of what people in the country tell me. But the amazing thing I realized is why it is important to me to speak this language. I realized why I want to learn it so very very badly and get so frustrated at my own inabilities. Its because I really do very much care for those people, and I care that they recieve this message. Because it is the most important messege they will ever get the chance to hear. I really just want to be able to tell them. I'll get there. Eventually. But until then I need patience...which is something (as any of you who know me will attest to) that I am notoriously not well known for.
This wednesday our new missionaries arrive. 22 of them. Included among them are 7 sisters! so many! 2 of them are going to be accellerated into our transfer. This makes me nervous. They will most likely add one sister to each of the existing companionships, making us tripanionships. I really don't know how we are going to adjust to another person squeezing into our dynamic, and I really fear making her feel more left out than she already will. I can't imagine trying to catch up to 6 weeks worth of MTC style learning while trying to melt into a dynamic of missionaries as closely knit as 6 weeks of learning chinese makes you! That would be so hard! I really hope we can adjust well.
Well, thats all I can spew out for this week in the time I'm allotted here. Ya gotta take what ya can get! Be well everyone!
Monday, October 4, 2010
A week of improvement.
A week of improvement.
This week was a huge improvement on last week. Let me start by giving a ginormous thank you to everyone that wrote me this week with words of encouragement. They accomplished their purpose. I was very much uplifted by the love showered down upon me by my family and friends. Thank you so much!
Earlier this week while still troubled, my companion and I had another of our very long, very deep discussions. It was decided that I should go see the branch president about the lack of desire (not complete lack, but not as full and brimming as I would have liked) to be in the MTC. We talked, pres Baker and I, about a lot of things that very night. We decided that some people just don't do as well in the extreme structure of the MTC as others. We both decided that I will probably be just fine in the actual mission field. His talking with me comforted my unease, and then he gave me a blessing. He told me, in the blessing, not to worry about the language, that I would master it. That was such a comfort to me, among the many other things he said. The rest of the week went by with more and more encouragement.
This week I had a meeting with one of my teachers, a progress meeting like we have every week. This week was my first time with our male teacher Kong Laoshi (laoshi being teacher in chinese) he asked me how the language was coming along and then when I expressed my frustration he gave me a few words of advice. He asked about my language study plan and my prayers before and after language study. I took the points he gave me to heart and applied them, that day I had a great Chinese learning experience. In that one session of MDT I think I may have learned more than on any other one day. I can now teach how to pray in Chinese, as well as hold a modest brief conversation. My SYL (speak your language-meaning at all times) has also greatly improved. There is no way that we can succeed in learning this language without the lord. No way. Next week starts our practice teaching the lessons fully in chinese....oh boy...
General conference was this weekend. What an amazing experience, that I am glad I got to have in the MTC. How many of the thousands of missionaries that pass through these doors get to be here on one of the two weekends a year of general conference? I am so pleased I got to be one of them. What a great thing to be sitting in an auditorium full of dedicated and ordained servants of the lord on one of His bi-annual conferences, His prophets speaking to His people. When Elder Holland talked? Oh my, every missionary in that room was reduced to tears. I am completely serious there. There was not one that I heard talk about it afte,r or I saw around me, that was not sniffling and blinking back watery eyes. He has such a way of oration, he is a powerful speaker. And what a thing to give a talk in conference about nothing but gratitude! Our President Monson also moved me. He is and always was an amazing speaker. He can take you from laughing to tears in a singe sentence. All the talks were amazing, and I found new appreciation in them from this perspective.
A few things of note happened this week. I got pumpkin pie! Which of course is a thing of note! One of the other sisters mother sent it to her same day mail. one of the giant ones from Costco! It was soooooo amazing!
Also, the other night I was in the shower, happily enjoying the hot water and washing my hair, when suddenly a piercing screech shattered my blissful moments. The fire alarm was going off! I considered staying under the water, but then my companion, and our roommate sister Gandolf came to get me. I had to throw on clothes and abandon my things. It turns out one of the new sisters had burned a bag of popcorn! So we all had to evacuate the floor. I never got to finish that shower...
And last but not least, my dear brother showed up here on Thursday evening. Having been previously warned by my mother, all of Friday morning I was craning my neck and carefully examining the face of every elder to see if I could spot him. To sister Petersen I said "I am going to develop a complex here looking so intensely at all these elders." To me she replied, "...don't worry about it, you still have 6 weeks to see him. One day you will just be walking along and then you will say to yourself, "I know the back of that head!" And that is exactly how it happened too! Only fortunately, I only had to wait until lunch on the first day he was here!
I was just setting down my tray at our table when I looked up and low and behold. I said to myself "I recognize the back of that head!" Aloud I shouted (in Chinese mind you) That's my brother! That's my brother!" and I lept up and dove into the sea of suits struggling for food. I reached him standing in the lunch line. "Elder Thiessen," I said. He turned about and a huge grin split his face. Right there he gave me a huge hug! The elders around us were comically mortified. But Jacob pacified them all, with our name tags held out as proof, "Its ok, She is my sister!"
It was great! How sweet that he has my same lunch period? Since that is probably the only time I will get to see him. I've seen him a few more times since then, hopefully in the future we will get to talk more.
Our older districts leave tomorrow. That is sooooo odd!! We will be alone for a week, there will only be 4 sisters in all the MTC learning Mandarin, and I will be rooming with them all!! Then the new ones get here and we will have to care for them. I am not ready for that kind of responsibility!!
Well, that ends another blog. I hope you all are well. I love you all!
Sister Melissa thiessen.
This week was a huge improvement on last week. Let me start by giving a ginormous thank you to everyone that wrote me this week with words of encouragement. They accomplished their purpose. I was very much uplifted by the love showered down upon me by my family and friends. Thank you so much!
Earlier this week while still troubled, my companion and I had another of our very long, very deep discussions. It was decided that I should go see the branch president about the lack of desire (not complete lack, but not as full and brimming as I would have liked) to be in the MTC. We talked, pres Baker and I, about a lot of things that very night. We decided that some people just don't do as well in the extreme structure of the MTC as others. We both decided that I will probably be just fine in the actual mission field. His talking with me comforted my unease, and then he gave me a blessing. He told me, in the blessing, not to worry about the language, that I would master it. That was such a comfort to me, among the many other things he said. The rest of the week went by with more and more encouragement.
This week I had a meeting with one of my teachers, a progress meeting like we have every week. This week was my first time with our male teacher Kong Laoshi (laoshi being teacher in chinese) he asked me how the language was coming along and then when I expressed my frustration he gave me a few words of advice. He asked about my language study plan and my prayers before and after language study. I took the points he gave me to heart and applied them, that day I had a great Chinese learning experience. In that one session of MDT I think I may have learned more than on any other one day. I can now teach how to pray in Chinese, as well as hold a modest brief conversation. My SYL (speak your language-meaning at all times) has also greatly improved. There is no way that we can succeed in learning this language without the lord. No way. Next week starts our practice teaching the lessons fully in chinese....oh boy...
General conference was this weekend. What an amazing experience, that I am glad I got to have in the MTC. How many of the thousands of missionaries that pass through these doors get to be here on one of the two weekends a year of general conference? I am so pleased I got to be one of them. What a great thing to be sitting in an auditorium full of dedicated and ordained servants of the lord on one of His bi-annual conferences, His prophets speaking to His people. When Elder Holland talked? Oh my, every missionary in that room was reduced to tears. I am completely serious there. There was not one that I heard talk about it afte,r or I saw around me, that was not sniffling and blinking back watery eyes. He has such a way of oration, he is a powerful speaker. And what a thing to give a talk in conference about nothing but gratitude! Our President Monson also moved me. He is and always was an amazing speaker. He can take you from laughing to tears in a singe sentence. All the talks were amazing, and I found new appreciation in them from this perspective.
A few things of note happened this week. I got pumpkin pie! Which of course is a thing of note! One of the other sisters mother sent it to her same day mail. one of the giant ones from Costco! It was soooooo amazing!
Also, the other night I was in the shower, happily enjoying the hot water and washing my hair, when suddenly a piercing screech shattered my blissful moments. The fire alarm was going off! I considered staying under the water, but then my companion, and our roommate sister Gandolf came to get me. I had to throw on clothes and abandon my things. It turns out one of the new sisters had burned a bag of popcorn! So we all had to evacuate the floor. I never got to finish that shower...
And last but not least, my dear brother showed up here on Thursday evening. Having been previously warned by my mother, all of Friday morning I was craning my neck and carefully examining the face of every elder to see if I could spot him. To sister Petersen I said "I am going to develop a complex here looking so intensely at all these elders." To me she replied, "...don't worry about it, you still have 6 weeks to see him. One day you will just be walking along and then you will say to yourself, "I know the back of that head!" And that is exactly how it happened too! Only fortunately, I only had to wait until lunch on the first day he was here!
I was just setting down my tray at our table when I looked up and low and behold. I said to myself "I recognize the back of that head!" Aloud I shouted (in Chinese mind you) That's my brother! That's my brother!" and I lept up and dove into the sea of suits struggling for food. I reached him standing in the lunch line. "Elder Thiessen," I said. He turned about and a huge grin split his face. Right there he gave me a huge hug! The elders around us were comically mortified. But Jacob pacified them all, with our name tags held out as proof, "Its ok, She is my sister!"
It was great! How sweet that he has my same lunch period? Since that is probably the only time I will get to see him. I've seen him a few more times since then, hopefully in the future we will get to talk more.
Our older districts leave tomorrow. That is sooooo odd!! We will be alone for a week, there will only be 4 sisters in all the MTC learning Mandarin, and I will be rooming with them all!! Then the new ones get here and we will have to care for them. I am not ready for that kind of responsibility!!
Well, that ends another blog. I hope you all are well. I love you all!
Sister Melissa thiessen.
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