Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Week 9


Holy cow i leave tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its official. my visa is here. i report to the travel office tomorrow at 12:30 and take the frontrunner out to the airport. Nervous is an understatement, but so is excited. I feel like i've been waiting for this day and it was never supposed to come. But its here! Already said goodbye to some people and will say goodbye to some more tomorrow, but my whole room is going at the same time and three of us are on the same flight all the way there. (hixson is on a different flight to LA but with us on the flight to sydney and he's with a bunch of cantonese speakers who think that their language is superior to mandarin... psht) 

Over my mtc life i have come to liken it unto highschool. You come in as a freshman, all excited and ready to do your best. Then you take felt and get your first A- and your momentum begins to decline. By the end of junior year you're ready to get out, but when you get to the last months of senior year you realize that after highschool life gets real. We had a departure devotional last night and it wasn't until that was over that i realized how close the field is. I think the constant idea that we might not get our visas made me not be able to think about it but now its just here. also, you've got the different cliques here. at least with the people that are here for more than two weeks. You've got people that are social butterflies like the frenchies ( not fair. they have french accents and i cant compete with that) and then there's people like me and Hixson that sit back and make fun of people from the sidelines. and all sorts of others that i don't have time to go into detail on right now. Also i feel older than all the elders here, but i know that i'm one of the younger ones in age. 

How did everyone like general conference?!?!?!?! Man it was great. Tons of good stuff and its amazing how when you go in with questions and with a prayer in your heart, then even if the talk is about overcoming depression you can receive revelation from it. I also couldn't believe how much they talked about missionaries! I don't know why, but it seemed to me like when they were talking about how members need to step up to the yoke with the missionaries i just felt this overwhelming amount of trust. The apostles trust the missionaries so much, even though we're not able to speak the language, and don't understand the gospel as well as some members, the apostles are asking members to place their trust in missionaries that the spirit will work through us. I just hope i can live up to the expectation.

I've been hearing weird things about the government being shut down or something... What's going on with that? 

Today we went to the temple for the last time. It was great. My temple recommend works if i didn't already tell you guys that... everyone is excited for me to show them how i packed my suitcase so lets hope i can remember... last night at our sunday devotional they had "Vocal point" come. they are an acapella group from BYU and they were great. It's nice to hear recently returned missionaries talk because they are real with you. They remember better the emotions that go through you and they seem to connect better with missionaries than an 80 year old man that no one really knows that well. Aparently since it was conference this week all the general authorities have been preparing their talks for conference and we haven't had an Apostle come speak at one of our devotionals in Weeks! I'm kinda disappointed about that, but the talks have still been great. Elder maynes that spoke on sunday came to the mtc a few weeks ago. I really like him. 

We said goodbye to our investigators last week. We were so close to having Mao Jiemei ready for baptism. We just had to teach the law of tithing and paying fast offerings and that would have been all the lessons. Oh well, i guess i'll have to wait till the field to teach those... 

Thank you to everyone for being so supportive of me. You have no idea how many times i've been down on myself and pitying myself and then i get a slip telling me i have a package or i get a letter and my spirits instantly get better. I love you guys so much and i cant wait to talk to you tomorrow! 
Love all y'all!

Love,
Elder Tingey


ps. My mission is officially 1/12 over. now i just can't wait to get to work!

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