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How are you all this week? I just finished my 7th week at the MTC! Only 3 and 1/2 more to go! This upcoming week will be really special because we are completing our English Language Certification training this week at the ELC at BYU. In order to get our visas, we will become trained English teachers there. I am looking forward to it but I am also super nervous about forgetting Mongolian since we will not have any Mongolian classes Monday-Thursday. We will miss an entire 8 classes, so I will do my best this week to speak Mongolian as much as possible outside of training.
Speaking of Mongolian: This past Thursday, my companion and I committed to speaking only Mongolian for the entire day. It was probably one of the most difficult things I've ever done, especially because I do not learn languages very quickly. But with the 4 weeks worth of knowledge we had, we were able to get by by saying simple phrases to each other and I ended up learning so much. I discovered new words I wanted to study, brushed up on a lot of grammar principles I needed to practice, and even felt the Gift of Tongues at several points during the day. By the end, however, my brain was absolutely fried haha.
We also had our first Helping Others appointment this week in Mongolian. For those of you who don't know, Helping Others is a program at the MTC where you roleplay a missionary home visit. The MTC hires members and nonmembers to play investigators so you never know if the person you are teaching is a member or not. You pretend that you are in the field visiting their home and you practice teaching them each of the Preach my Gospel lessons. These roleplays are so helpful for preparing us to teach in our actual field later on. Usually, we would have started teaching Helping Others investigators in Mongolian two weeks ago but the MTC just hired our Mongolian investigator this week, so he was brand new.
We taught him about the Restoration of the Gospel and about Jesus Christ. I was so nervous to teach in the beginning that my hands would not stop shaking, but after saying a quick prayer with my companions, I instantly felt at peace. I thought our lesson went very well in the end. There were moments where our investigator would ask us questions and even though I didn't pick up on anything he said I simply knew how to answer him. The Gift of Tongues helped me interpret what he was saying even when I wasn't understanding the words he spoke and it was incredible. The Gift of Tongues also helped me to have a clear mind when I taught and I was able to calm my nerves enough to say what I wanted to say. Overall, the lesson was simple but powerful. I am looking forward to teaching the people of Mongolia and sharing this same calming Spirit with them.
This week was also Halloween and as many of you know, my family is big on Halloween costumes. I was a little sad that I couldn't dress up with them this year, but my district was super sweet and they joined in dressing up with me the best that we could. Sister Vick and I dressed up as pumpkins and Sister Allen went as Luke Skywalker. Some of the Elders wore vests and carried around nerf guns so that they could be cowboys for the day. They made it a fun experience. We also had a mini Halloween party with our STLs and Japanese Sisters where we ate a bunch of junk food. It was a blast for sure!
It also snowed a lot this week! The mountains looked so beautiful every day with the snow glowing on top of them. The snow made the MTC more peaceful and made it feel more like Christmas, which was so cool. I also had to break out the winter coat because it was so cold, but I loved every second of it.
Also, fun Mongolian cultural fact of the week: Mongolians will call horses the opposite of their color. For example, a white horse is referred to as a black horse in Mongolia and vice versa. I have no idea why but that rule only applies to horses.
On Tuesday, we had a devotional taught by Elder and Sister Eddy of the Quorum of the Seventy. They focused on how we can become better missionaries and disciples of Christ. Elder Eddy taught something that really stuck out to me. He explained that God labors with us in everything that we do. I love the idea that Heavenly Father is always putting forth work and effort with us to help us carry out His plan. He loves us perfectly, so how could He not? Elder Eddy taught that missionaries who trust in Him and don't fear will reach out to everyone and have faith that the Lord is preparing people who will listen. We should love the people we teach so much that we teach with boldness. He also taught that Heavenly Father has already been laboring in our missions and He will continue to labor in our missions when we leave. I love that Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us!
I wanted to share a wonderful scripture I came across in my study this week. In Alma 17, Alma had just come from teaching the people of Gideon about Christ's coming, when he ran into his old friends, the sons of Mosiah.
Alma 17: 2
2 Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.
We can follow their examples and learn from the scriptures. When we study the scriptures and the doctrine of the Gospel, we can strengthen our knowledge of truth. Knowing truth will help us make better decisions and avoid temptation, which will make our lives easier. We truly can find rest when we follow Jesus Christ and learn from the scriptures. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it can help us find answers to our questions. It has blessed my life in so many ways. I invite you all to read Alma 7 this week. It is one of my favorite chapters about Jesus Christ. If you have any questions about anything I've talked about in this email or anything in Alma 7, please don't hesitate to ask. I love you all!
Love
Sister Potter
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| Dressed as "pumpkins & a bat" for Halloween |
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| The Mongolian Flag in the background |
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