Well, Sunday was the half way point! We officially have less time left in the MTC than we have been here! I honestly can't imagine leaving. The MTC just feels like normal life. The first week we were here, the "oldest" district said "We were born here, and we're going to die here." I finally understood what they meant. I'm not feeling stir-crazy, but our district as a whole is has cabin fever. Our tiny little classroom full of 9 people feels rather claustrophobic. I feel bad for the districts who have 12-14 people in the same space!
This week was nice though because we got a bit of variety in our schedule. Monday, we got to host Senior Missionary couples and help them move into their rooms at the MTC. It was so nice to get to know them, and to speak some English! There were 85 couples and 3 sisters that came in on Monday. I was assigned the job that gave me the most amount of time with the couples. I spent about 15 minutes getting to know them, welcoming them, and answering their questions. We have couples who are headed all over the world! One couple was from Washington and they were going to serve in their hometown at the family history center, another headed to Congo, and another to Cambodia. All of them were so excited to be at the MTC and to talk with the young missionaries. I thought about how I love loving people and how wonderful it was I had the opportunity to help the senior couples.
I look forward to the day when I can get to know and love people in Chinese. I pray each day as I study I will blessed with the gift of tongues so I can serve in the way the Lord needs me to. I'm already starting to see this gift as I study and practice. I feel that I have an affinity for language comprehension in Chinese. I think this is interesting because it seems this is yet another way the Lord is humbling me. I struggle most of the time to speak more than very simple sentences, but I can usually divine some meaning from what people say to me, This seems to be a gift from the Lord that will allow me to love the people and not focus on myself. If I all I can do is listen, I will have to simplify and teach what the Spirit guides me to. I will be able to love the people and understand their questions and concerns.
We have a language study software called TALL, Technology Assisted Language Learning that helps us study flashcards, check our our speech, and has reading and listening practices. I love watch the videos of missionaries meeting with church members and investigators because it helps me come to understand the culture and the people of Taiwan. I'm so excited to be there and to get to know those who need more of Christ's light in their lives.
I also had the wonderful opportunity to sing at the MTC Mission Conference this Sunday. There were over 2,000 missionaries there. It was a great experience. I'm so grateful for the experiences the Lord is blessing me with here and the opportunities I am having to bear my testimony both through words and song.
Today our district had a picnic at lunch, and tonight our district gets to help orient the new missionaries to what teaching is really like. We are all slightly anxious because we have never really taught in English and it's surprisingly hard!
Thank you all for your love, prayers, letters and packages! Trust me, the encouragement, and sometimes the chocolate, is well needed ;)
Wo ai nimen,
Qi Jiemei
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