Chapter 3, wherein Sister Larson finds people that are cute, and names a lint ball

No, I did not make up that title out of thin air... read on and enjoy...


Hello wonderful family and friends!!

This week has been, overall, really great. I've really got the hang of things at the MTC, and I learn so much everyday! I'm so lucky to have wonderful companions and an awesome district. We do lots of fun things together. And also we learn Chinese and how to teach more effectively, haha. One of the Elders in our district took a rubber glove from a doctor's office he was in a week or so ago, and he blew it up like a balloon. He then proceeded to draw a chicken on it, with feet and a beak and a badge that said "Ji Zhanglao" which means "Chicken Elder" or Elder Chicken. We added him to our district roster and everything. Well, the Elders were wayyy too obsessed with him, so naturally my companions and I took him and hid him during lunch one day. They were so distraught, it was hilarious. We then put Ji Zhanglao right outside the window to our classroom, so it looked like he was staring in. Elder Johnson in our district was particularly overjoyed to have been reunited with Ji Zhanglao. It took the Elders forever to figure out it was us that did it. I guess they didn't think we were smart or devious enough...

Me with Ji Zhanglao. He has a little missionary badge and everything.

Anyways, chicken gloves aside, this week has been pretty ordinary. The one drawback about the MTC is that every day feels the same, and so I lose track of time really quickly. I never remember what day it is, what time it is, and the only way I can mark the passing of time is by when I go to meals and then go to my dorm to sleep. I love the MTC and everything about it, but I'm eager to get out in the field. One thing I learned this week about my mission is that there are only 4 Chinese speaking Sister missionaries in my entire mission right now. So the fact that I'm the only one in the MTC right now going there speaking Mandarin isn't as surprising anymore. On Thursdays, we do what we call TRC, which stands for Teaching Resource Center. I think. Anyways, it's where we teach members who speak Chinese a little lesson. One of the Sister RMs that we taught had actually served in my mission speaking Chinese! It was so cool to get to talk to her, she knows all the names of the Sisters serving there right now, and she took a picture of us to send to the mission president. It was awesome.

This week brought many embarrassing moments, as I am still myself and still do weird things all the time. This time, I was in the cafeteria, in line for some food, and we talked to some Elders for a little while before we turned away and just talked to each other. Then my companions started "fighting". We have an inside joke where I tell them "You're both cute, stop fighting!" so I said, maybe a bit too loudly, "You're both cute!" and the Elders whirled around with incredulous looks on their faces, like "Who, me?" and I just kinda stared at them and was like "No, not you, I didn't mean you," and it was really bad. Then of course I kept seeing both of them like all the time that day. Lovely.

I was excited this week to be able to see one of my friends from college! He eats at the same time as me, so we get to say hi everyday, which is always nice. Anything or anyone you know from the world outside the MTC is always wonderful to see. It reminds you that there really is a world outside of this place and that life does go on, haha.

My companions and I at the temple on Sunday. It was a beautiful day!

On Sunday, my companions and I went to see a talk called The Character of Christ by David A. Bednar. It was life changing. It was given at an MTC devotional a few years ago, so if you ever have the chance to find it or a transcript of it somewhere, WATCH IT. He gives the most amazing talks, especially at the MTC. What I loved about it was that he mainly talked about how selfless Christ was, and how he always looked outward instead of inward. He shared so many amazing stories of these truly selfless people that just blew my mind. When it was over, I just wanted to keep watching it forever. I also wanted to immediately become that selfless and that loving, but I know that it will take a while for me to ever get to that point. I've tried over the past few days to be more selfless. Looking to help others instead of looking to help yourself is really hard. It's unnatural in fact (Mosiah 3:19). But it is a Christlike attribute that we should strive to emulate and make a part of ourselves, if that makes any sense. My English speaking skills are continuing to decline. :)

A picture of the temple that actually
 looks beautiful.

My attempt at beautiful photography.
It failed hardcore. My nametag looks
like a creepy photobombing name tag.

My companions and I are teaching two "progressing investigators". They're our classroom teachers, but they put on a totally different persona. One of them is really talkative and keeps all of his commitments, so I love teaching him. Sometimes he asks weird questions and we don't know how to answer them. Like the other day, at our third lesson with him, he asked us what our names were. (We'd completely forgotten to ever mention that. I guess with the Spirit, you don't even need to know anyone's name teehee). So we told him our Chinese names, and he was like "Oh, you're all sisters?" And we were like "Yeah," and he just looked at us funny and then I realized he asked us if we were like biological sisters, so we hurriedly said "No, no, it's just a... You know, Sister just means..." and we didn't know how to explain it in Chinese. Eventually I think I managed to say it was a title, and he got it, but he totally had to try to not laugh at us and keep in character. Our other investigator is shy and quiet and I also think he is intimidated more by talking to young women than young men. Which makes sense, but he doesn't always ask a lot of questions. He still keeps his commitments, and we committed both of them to baptism! Which would be even cooler if they were, you know, real investigators. Still, it's good practice, and I found that I'm not scared anymore to invite someone to be baptized. One of my teachers said that we shouldn't be shy about extending invitations and commitments, that we should be upfront and honest, because it shouldn't seem like we have anything to hide. I found that to be wonderful advice that I'll keep in mind for when I have real investigators.

Our "Pocket" Chinese dictionary. Lies. It doesn't fit in my pocket.

So to help us learn the language, we go on this computer program about everyday. It's called TALL, which supposedly stands for Technology Assisted Language Learning, but I have my own acronym for it: Totally a Lame Loser. It's weak, I know, but I just hate it so much. It's dumb. It makes me learn grammar that's hard. And sometimes, the people that pronounce it sound weird. Basically, I need to get over my pride and just accept the fact that I'm not going to be perfect at everything and that I'm not going to know all the Chinese grammar just yet. But I still hate TALL. I enter the computer lab thinking "Yeah, TALL, I'm gonna punch this grammar in the face!" and then I leave thinking "Aaagh, curse you TALL, I hate you, I'm gonna punch you in the face!" And that's all I have to say about that.

Yesterday I got cupcakes from my wonderful roommate! I was really excited, and so was my district, because of course I shared with them. I had a chocolate cupcake that basically changed my life. It was almost a spiritual experience.

Cupcakes!  They were amazing.

I almost forgot to talk about Filbert! So since the Elders had their Elder Chicken for a pet, my companion, Sister Price, decided we needed a pet too. So she took this ball of fluff that basically looks like a piece of lint and named it Filbert. It's pretty lame, actually. Filbert can't actually do anything. I mean, he's a piece of glorified lint, he doesn't do much. I think we lost him. I don't actually know where he is right now...

Me and my companions wearing our sweet mission shirts!!
 Mine says God Save the Queen and it's basically amazing.

Well, I hope you have all been having wonderful weeks and that life is going well for all of you! Remember to look outward instead of inward, because that is what Christ would do and this life is all about striving to be like Him. I know that through Him all things are possible. Through Him, I can learn Chinese, I can be patient with my companions, I can teach by the Spirit, and I can serve with love. I know that I'm on my mission for a reason, and that I will be able to help lots of God's children come to a knowledge of the gospel. I love you all!!

Love,

  
Sister Larson

MTC Week 2: Getting in the groove

This week Sister Larson fills us in on getting into the routine of the Missionary Training Center, with a few photos as well...

Meagan's door indicating the inhabitants' destinations

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope you are all doing well and that you had a great Valentine's Day! The MTC is one of the best places to be if you're single on Valentine's Day, because no one's going on dates! It's awesome :). I got a candy from some random Elder who was going around to classrooms, and the donuts in the morning had red and white sprinkles. I also wore a red skirt. It was precious. And that's about all I did that was abnormal on Valentine's Day, haha.

This past week has overall been pretty great. I've really gotten into the groove of how to do things and what my schedule is. I love my companions. We laugh all the time. The Elders always ask us why we're so giggly, which just sets us off even more. We even have inside jokes. It's great. I couldn't ask for better companions. The only problem we do have is that we are three of the most forgetful people in the whole entire world. I cannot tell you how many times we have gone down from our fourth floor dorm, almost made it to the classroom, and realized someone forgot their ID, their scriptures, the laundry detergent (which was us this morning), etc. It's terrible. 

I didn't get any mail on Friday, Saturday, Monday, or Tuesday, so it was a bit backed up. The bookstore was doing inventory over the weekend, so the mailroom obviously had to be closed as well :P and then yesterday, Elder Savage of our district went to the doctor around lunchtime and was gone all day because he had been having chest pains. His companion, our district leader, obviously had to go with him and since only district leaders can get the mail, we didn't get it until this morning. It was so funny, we saw them in the laundry room and were telling them they had to get our mail before we could e-mail, and then while we were putting our laundry in an announcement came on saying "Will Elder Savage please come to the main desk blah blah blah" and we RAN before he could leave and yelled that someone had to get our mail or we would kill them. They are nice Elders, so they did, but I was worried there for a bit.

I love hearing from friends and family, I really do. As a missionary, you forget that there is a world outside of the MTC, so I love hearing what goes on in people's lives, even if it sounds boring. I promise I'll love it.

Last Wednesday, after I wrote our e-mail, we got to go to the temple, which was absolutely awesome. Due to complications with Sister Price's temple recommend, we had to wait for a while and only got to do some initiatories, but it was awesome and we plan on doing an endowment session later today. I love the temple and I encourage everyone to go every chance they get! The Spirit always dwells in the temple.

One other little funny thing I've found out about missionaries is that you forget that you have a first name. I was telling an Elder a story last night, and I said my name in past tense talking about myself or something, and he was like "Who's Meagan?" and I just looked at him and said "I am," and it was a little weird. I signed a receipt yesterday and I almost signed it "Sister Larson" because I feel like Sister is my first name now.

Also, missionaries (or maybe just me) get so excited about things you people in the real world don't think about all the time. Like, I love going on the temple walks every Sunday and being outside of the MTC, under open sky. It was so nice this Sunday and very sunny. We also studied outside yesterday and went for a little walk because it was so warm. Also on Sunday, we get to watch church films or talks after the devotional, and my companions and I were so excited to be able to watch Legacy this Sunday. It is so cheesy and the acting is just fantastic. I love pioneers, though, and I love how the church has survived through all of these trials! 

The biggest surprise of the week came when we found out our first Chinese investigator, Guochenwei, was actually going to be our second teacher, Su Laoshi (l-ow-sure). Okay, so maybe I was the only one that was really surprised, and everyone else in my district saw it coming, but I didn't and I was freaked out. It was cool though, because he is a native Chinese speaker and he teaches us a lot about grammar and when you can use certain words. We also have two more "investigators" played by our two teachers.

Showering at the MTC is different for Elders and Sisters, or so I've heard. When I go shower, there are always sisters humming hymns or Disney songs. Some of them forget that when they shower, other people do to, and that they may not appreciate you belting "NOOOO ONEEEEE SHOOTS LIKE GASTON MAKES THOSE BEAUTS LIKE GASTON," so that's always fun. But sometimes when I'm humming a hymn, a random stranger hums the alto part with me and it's awesome.

More about my companions, because there's just so much to say about them, Sister Price and I are very alike and enjoy many of the same things. She's very intuitive as I might have said before. She eats bananas everyday even though she hates them. I don't know why. She said something about potassium, but I don't believe her. She also has wonderful spiritual insights that she has shared in companion study. We always love to laugh. Sister Biancardi is just awesome, she's always so happy and is determined to do everything right. She laughs at everything, which is good, because then she laughs at all my jokes and it makes me feel like I'm funny. Which I appreciate. She also loves to sing and has a beautiful voice! Again, I love them and I got so lucky to have them.

Sister Price and I were matching on accident, so Sister Biancardi changed to match us as well. We're cute.

Me and my companions reenacting the Samuel H Smith statue. It was a very sunny day so my eyes are a bit squinty. We are hauling out 23 pounds of language material off to the mission field!

I love being here and feeling the Spirit everyday. I can tell that the Lord remembers His missionaries and loves them, little things happen throughout the day that He knows will make me happy. I've learned that the gospel of Christ is very simple and that too often, we who have been raised in the church make it more complicated than it needs to be. I am getting better at the language everyday, and I love teaching our Chinese investigators, even though it's hard sometimes. The church is true, the Book of Mormon is the best book in the whole world, and I have never once regretted coming on my mission. Tell everyone about the gospel! Find little ways to slip it into your everyday conversation. You will be blessed, and those whose lives you touch will appreciate your love and concern. I love you all!! Wo ai nimen!

Love, 

Sister Larson

(For you non-Chinese speakers out there, "Wo ai nimen!"  means "I love you!")

Welcome to Sister Larson's Blog!

Hello everyone!  Welcome to the home of Sister Larson's reports as she serves a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Leeds, England.  While in England she will spend much of her time focusing on teaching people of Chinese heritage and thus she is also learning to speak Mandarin.

Meagan entered the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah, on February 5th.  Most of the posts on this blog will consist of her weekly email reports that we receive from her.

Below is her first message, written after one full week at the MTC.  We are so happy to hear about her progress and we hope you are too!  It's so wonderful to see that her sense of humor is also fully intact.  Those of you who know her well will immediately recognize that it's still our sweet and funny Meagan speaking to us.

Photo by Fabiana Beatriz Photography

Hello family and friends!

This first week at the MTC has been a whirlwind. The hours feel long, but the days are short. I can't believe it's already P-day! So many new things have happened, I will try to describe a few awesome things that I've experienced so far.

First things first, I am in a district of Mandarin speakers who are all going to Taiwan, Taichung. Except for me, who's going to England. It's pretty funny, because they'll say stuff like "What do you think Taiwan is going to be like?" "Did you bring this or this because it's so hot there?" "Oh my gosh Taiwan is cool!" and I'm just over here like ... "God save the queen!" It's pretty cool though. In my district are Elders Johnson, Faddis, Savage, and Oswald and then there's me and my two companions, Sister Price and Sister Biancardi. My companions are awesome and our district is awesome. I guess we were a little shy at first though, because the other Mandarin districts called us Zarahemla, because "we were their brethren, but they never saw us." haha.

More about my companions: Sister Price is from Seattle and comes from a long line of Taiwanese missionaries. Like, her family went to Taiwan, she's not Taiwanese. That was confusing. Anyway. She's so awesome and smart and spiritual! The other day our companionship was feeling gloomy and doomy because we'd had a not-so-great teaching "appointment" and she suggested we all have a companionship prayer. It was a great suggestion, we all cried and felt better. :)

Sister Biancardi is from West Linn, OR (near Portland) and I actually knew her a little bit before coming to the MTC. She was in Women's Chorus with me last semester and we'd both talked a bit about how we were learning Mandarin and leaving on the same day for the MTC. She is very funny and determined, and she knows the gospel well. 

Me with Sister Biancardi (for the one day when she was my only companion)

Me and Sister Biancardi and Sister Price - they're pointing to Taiwan and I"m pointing to England

Other cool things... I'm learning Chinese, for those of you who didn't know. :) It's hard. I'm not going to lie. But at the same time, it's awesome being able to teach basic lessons to our pretend investigator, Guochenwei, and to be able to pray and bear my testimony in Chinese. More of it will come later, I know. Last night at our devotional, Elder Zwick's wife spoke about patience. She said that the Lord doesn't make mistakes, and that He called us to speak Mandarin for a reason. He knows we can do it, so why don't we? I really loved that.

My 23 pounds of language material

As for my daily schedule, I mostly am in the classroom. Honestly, I call that room "home" and not my dorm. I sleep and shower in the residence halls. I do almost everything else in the classroom. But it's okay, because I have the awesomest teacher ever. He is from Australia but speaks Chinese because he went to Singapore on his mission. He is like the most spiritual, most patient teacher ever. The "older" missionaries (those who have been out longer than us) are spreading rumors that he's one of the Three Nephites. I think I believe them.

Sunday is probably one of my favorite days. I don't have class, it's all personal study and meetings. The sisters get to watch Music and the Spoken Word before Relief Society. This week, when they sang Love One Another, they showed pictures of happy little families and I totally cried. I wanted to shake my fist and yell "Why would you show that? Do you realize I'm in the MTC and get emotionally compromised when I see families??" Haha. But it was a wonderful program and I felt the Spirit testifying to me that my family is blessed for my service and that I will be with them forever. I love the gospel!! I love the Plan of Salvation!! Also on Sunday, our little Mandarin branch of about 30 missionaries has sacrament meeting almost all in Mandarin. Everything except two of the talks and announcements is in Chinese, which is cool and also a little strange. On Sunday nights, after the devotionals, we get to watch a film or a talk, so my companions and I went to watch The Testaments in Mandarin. I love that movie, but I could not for the life of my figure out what anyone was saying if they spoke any word other than "The Son of God," "Blessing," "God," or "Hello." Needless to say, I just sat back and accepted the fact that I basically know nothing in Mandarin. But at the end, when Christ came and visited the Nephites, it suddenly didn't matter what language it was in anymore. I knew that Jesus Christ lives, that He loves all of us, and that He visited the people of the Americas. It is so cool how, no matter what language or culture or background you have, the gospel is the same and the Spirit is the same. :)

I feel like there's so much more I could talk about. While the MTC has made me more in-tune with the Spirit, and I speak Chinglish instead of English all the time, I'm still the same clumsy person I was before my mission. I've knocked stuff off of others' desks, I trip, I say things weird... One time I completely fell out of my desk and face planted. This morning I made myself bleed trying to open laundry detergent with my key. :) Hehe, no worries, I'm perfectly fine. All I'm trying to get across is, a mission is FUN and full of laughter. Honestly, I didn't think I'd laugh as hard as I have. I love the spiritual side of my mission and I love laughing with my companions and having fun. While a mission is so different from everything I've done so far in my life, it's been the best week of my life as well. 

To answer a few quick questions...

My Chinese name is Lin Jiemei, pronounced "Lean Jee-eh May". I don't know what it means. I didn't pick it. They just gave it to me. Haha. 

Everyone in my district has some Chinese experience. Everyone else took it in high school. I wish I could've done that! Oh well. It's nice not having to go over the basics, but also it means we get to jump right in and start speaking!

My companions and I have taught our "investigator" four times now. Each time gets better. Sometimes, he asks a question and I'm like "I think he said something about God... Wait, what?" and I get all confused. Other times, I answer him without even thinking about the fact that "Oh I'm just speaking Chinese right now and testifying of Joseph Smith. Cool." Some lessons are good, some are less good. Either way, I've learned more Chinese in these few days than I have before this. It's awesome.

Well, I think my time is about up. I love all of the mail I receive! It really uplifts me and makes me so excited! I love you all, I know this gospel is true, and I know God loves ALL of His children. I hope you have a wonderful week, and I'll write more next Wednesday!!

Love,

Sister Larson

Stay tuned for more next week!