Hey all! Week number two out of nine here at the MTC is complete! I've really gotten into the swing of things, and as of tomorrow will no longer be the youngest "generation" in the Chinese zone. A new batch of Chinese speakers will be coming in tomorrow which is really exciting, but at the same time is a bit sad since some of the good friends I've made here will be leaving this week. But, they are off to do the work and that's great!
The Chinese study is coming along well and is proving to be a really good review for me. It's giving me the opportunity to really fix up my tones and sound more fluent. I'm also doing a lot of self grammar study.
We've had some great devotionals this week. For those who recognize the name, Gerald N. Lund came and gave an amazing talk on personal revelation and how to differentiate between your own thoughts and promptings from the Lord. It's always been something I've had a hard time figuring out and it was really cool to have it explained. He talked about looking at the emotion driving the thought and evaluating if what you are feeling is spiritual revelation or hormonal "revelation".
We had another great devotional this week from one of the directors of media for the Church. He talked about the "I'm A Mormon" campaigns online, in New York, and in London, and the "Christmas Is____" campaign they had in New York city. For someone interested in public relations, it was right up my alley. Loved seeing how the things I love can all come together to bless lives.
I recently discovered that one of my roommates used to live in Ohio, and as a result is a huge Buckeyes fan. We've now made it a point to find more Buckeyes fans or Wolverine fans respectively. I have to admit, the Wolverine fans are acting a little shy and falling behind in the running. But it did get one of the Elders in my zone to wear his Michigan tie as a show of support. Go Blue!
Funny story. An Elder in my District was teaching a lesson (always in Chinese) when his investigator asked him how much of a paragraph he wanted him to read. When he indicated the correct amount, the Elder confirmed by saying yes. The only problem is, this Elder not only speaks English and is learning Chinese, but is fluent in French. So instead of saying yes in Chinese, he said "oui". Now this would have been funny enough if it had ended there, but nope. He panics and realize, "no, not French, can't speak French." So what's he say? "Si." At this point both he and the investigator start cracking up and end up giggling for the next couple minutes. He never did manage to say "yes" in Chinese. C'est la vie!
Wo ai nimen!
Sister Makena Bauss
Bao Jiemei