Welcome to the Krazy Kingdom: Cadence Update

Сайн Бацгаан уу!

Another week has flown by! This week is my 8th week at the MTC and I have 2 1/2 left to go! I still haven't heard anything about visas yet so I am expecting to be reassigned to somewhere in the states sometime this week. We will see how everything turns out. I know that wherever I go after the MTC, the Lord has a work for me to do and I will do it happily, wherever that may be. I see getting reassigned as a blessing because it will give me the opportunity to be a proselytizing missionary for a short time, which would be a really cool experience.

This past week, we trained at the English Training Center on BYU campus. It was the best experience I've ever had! People from all over the world travel to the ELC to learn English, which they use in their jobs or to help them attend universities in America. Whatever the reason for learning English, the students there are so passionate about their studies. They were so inspiring to me and I loved to hear their stories. One Colombian couple we ate lunch with told us about how learning English is helping them progress in their careers as doctors in Columbia. Another student was from Syria and he loved to travel and work around the world, and he explained that learning English is helping expand his options for learning and work. We also met two sweet Mongolian girls who were avid English learners. They were so kind and they helped us practice our Mongolian as we taught them. I loved hearing everyone's stories and asking them about their cultures. All of the students at the ELC truly blessed my life and touched my heart.

If I could continue to work at the ELC, I would because it was so fun. We spent four days observing English teachers and their classes, prepping and teaching our own classes and lessons, and evaluating and learning how to become good 'English as a Second Language' teachers. My companion and I taught 2 classes (1 hour long and 1 half hour long). Our classes ranged from 8 to 14 students ages 18 - 50+. I learned a lot about how to adapt a lesson to fit the needs of the students in the moment. Sometimes, the students wouldn't understand fully or they would learn something more quickly than expected, so we had to practice thinking on the spot how to expand or move our lesson activities around to suit the students better. It was challenging but so rewarding to see the light bulbs click in the students' heads when they finally understood what we were teaching. I loved seeing their faces light up when our classes did fun learning activities that they enjoyed as well. Overall, it was such a helpful experience for preparing to teach English in Mongolia and I learned so much.

Yesterday, we had another Helping Others appointment where we taught our "investigator" about the Plan of Salvation. During our lesson, our investigator asked me a question about how the Plan of Salvation can physically bring us happiness. It took a second but suddenly all the words clicked in my head and I understood him perfectly. The Gift of Tongues made speaking and listening to Mongolian come so naturally to me throughout the rest of the appointment. I was able to teach with ease and understand everything my companion and investigator discussed as well. It was as if the language suddenly clicked in my head. It's difficult to explain but I felt Heavenly Father helping me so much with the language in that moment. I can't wait to continue to grow in the language.

Also I was so sad to say goodbye to my wonderful STLs and the other lovely Japanese Sisters in our branch this past week. They are going to do great things in Japan and they were such a blessing to me at the MTC.

I apologize if this email sounds super repetitive. There's only so much that happens at the MTC so I am slowly running out of things to write about sadly. But it is still a blessing to be here while I train to be a missionary. Also if you can, please pray from my companion Sister Allen. She has been struggling with a terrible cough this past week. We took her to get x-rays yesterday and the doctors said it shouldn't be anything too serious, but I know that prayers can work miracles, so if you have time, they would be much appreciated.

We had the privilege of hearing from Elder Bednar at our weekly devotional on Tuesday. He taught us about how we can find deeper meaning in the gospel through sequences and patterns in our scriptures and doctrine. He also talked about our purpose in life. One quote he shared that really stuck with me is that "we serve for Him (Christ) and because of Him." I think that this quote can be applied to all aspects of our lives. When we love, serve, grow, learn, obey, etc. we should love, serve, grow, learn, and obey for and because of Christ. When we center our lives on Christ and do everything for Him, He will yoke us in all of our efforts. He atoned for us so that He could yoke us and support us in every aspect of our lives. He has already given you this gift. He wants you to use it by turning to Him. I testify that if you focus your life on growing, learning, obeying, etc. for and because of Him, you will experience more joy, feel the guidance of the Spirit continually, and Heavenly Father will bless you abundantly. Christ knows you by name. He saved you individually. We owe everything to Him, yet He continues to give us more. I love our Savior!

If you have questions about anything in this email or are curious about anything, feel free to message me! I am more than happy to answer any questions. Have a wonderful week everyone!

Love,

Sister Potter