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.