Week 6

Nimen Hao!

Can't believe how fast things are going right now. It's scary because i know that no matter how much i learn here, i will still not be able to understand people when i get to Australia  One of the elders that left a couple weeks ago emailed elder ward and told him that they don't knock doors, but they sit in the park and go "asian hunting". I guess they just wait for a Chinese person to walk by and then they pounce. The kid is in Brisbane, but i feel like that can't be much different from Sydney. One of my teachers, Meng Laoshi, went to California on his mission and he told us he taught about fifty percent english lessons. I feel like I will be more immersed than he was in the language, but I wouldn't be surprised if we teach a couple english lessons. I feel like everyone is out in the field already. It's me and Sam here on campus now. The last two. Sam is in my dorm building and in my class building so i see him all the time. I was looking for nolan all day on Wednesday but i couldn't find him. I was a host so i would've helped him too! Hope he's alright. He's probably on West campus now because thats where all the russians go. I will look for him and get a picture at the devotional on tuesday. If you could send me his email that would be awesome. Connor comes in on Wednesday and that's about the last of them. Then its just a matter of who is leaving. Sam and i leave on the same day so maybe we will be on the same flight to California... I can hope. 

I'm doing well, except i've had a headache for the past couple days now. Not sure what it's from but i think it has something to do with Chinese .. I found the Advil in my bag, but i couldn't find the Ibuprofen  Mom, do you remember where you put it? Also when should i be looking to go get that shot? they never asked for my immunizations record so i don't know if they know i need it. I'm exercising and trying to stay active. I usually do push-ups and squats every night before bed. 

I'm kindof starting to get bugged by people here. I think when you're forced to be with people for so long, you are inevitably going to be bothered by them. Strange thing is, Hixson is one of the few that doesn't bug me. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? Oh well. Maybe its because of the headache. i need to be more patient with people, and the Lord knows that. Gotta love it. Lets just hope i don't snap on any of them. 

The language is the language. Last night they played The Testaments in Mandarin and so our district decided to go see it. I couldn't understand like anything. I can pick out words i know sometimes, but i can't tell what's going on ever. I just know that when i get out into the field i wont be able to understand anyone. They speak way too fast!! We've been watching some "I'm a mormon" videos and there are three in mandarin so we keep watching them without subtitles and i still can't understand them. I've almost got the first vision memorized in Chinese  but im not sure how my tones sound. I feel like my rising tone sucks. sometimes i can't tell the difference between that and the dip tone. Things get frustrating and when you think your Chinese is improving, you realize how much you need to improve on just as a missionary and you are humbled again. Sometimes its frustrating but then you have an experience that makes everything worth it. For example, on saturday me and hixson had a lesson with "Song Dixiong" who is a "doctor" and "doesn't believe in God". it was like our fourth lesson with him and he was already starting to develop a little bit of faith, but so we decided to teach him the plan of salvation. We went through the lesson and planned really well. We got in there and everything seemed to fall into place. The spirit was there and we could understand enough of what he was saying that we could answer his questions. We got all the way through the plan and we talked about how we have to be perfect in order to dwell with god. And since we are all imperfect, we all fail God's test. And that's when we talked about the Atonement. We had an awesome scripture that fit perfectly with our lesson. it was just awesome. So we go back to class and at the end of every class we do coaching time where you can get time with the teachers. We asked him to give us some feedback on the lesson just to see how he felt about it. When he was talking about it he teared up a bit and told us that it was the simplest, yet most powerful depiction of the plan of salvation he had ever heard. As soon as he said that, the spirit hit me like a rock. like a punch to the heart. Its experiences like those that make this amazing. It's extremely taxing and often exhausting, but it is totally worth it. 

Funny story, i was in line for lunch and the guy serving said, "elder tingey, where are you headed?" I was confused because i wasn't exactly at the front of the line, but i said "sydney, Australia." the kid infront of me looked back all confused and i realized that he had answered at the same time..... THERES TWO ELDER TINGEYS IN THE MTC!!!!!!!! He's from somewhere in utah like Juab or something but i'm sure we're related somehow. He's going to Argentina if you were wondering. 

Before i leave i will probably send a package home with stuff i don't want and like letters and stuff so if you guys could keep a box with all my letters and things to keep until i get home that would be awesome. I feel bad because hanna Thatcher wrote me a letter and then moved down to BYU and never gave me her address so i cant write her back. If you could get that i would appreciate it. 

Life is good here at the MTC. This church is true. Joseph Smith was a Prophet. Jesus is the Christ. I know these things are true. I think it was Elder McKonkie that said something like, "In a coming day i will meet the savior. I will fall at his feet and feel the marks in his hands. But i will not know then any more than i know now that he lived, and that he died for me and my sins." That is not exact and i'm not sure if it was even Elder McKonkie, but I love that quote and i could say the same thing. 

Love you guys! I loved the Powell pictures. All the elders in the computer lab told me it was messed up that you guys would send those... but i liked them. That boat is a beauty on the water and with Jeremy at the helm, man the potential is amazing. hahahah Wo ai nimen!!!

Love,

Spencer

ps sorry no pictures this week.... Next time.