March 25th, 2009 Wednesday
So I get to my e-mail and discover that there is no mail from my family in there. So distressing. Just kidding. LOL. I got a dearelder earlier in the week from Mom and Sister Davidson. Anyway, I hope the Bishop has been reading the e-mails and letters I send every so often. Anyway, we had a devotional last night and everyone in my district (same people in my Cantonese class) got pumped up with the gospel. Way cool! I get fired up a lot. It's really nice. I love it. The devotional speaker was so good I listened more than I took notes. I was afraid I would miss something. I just enjoy every minute of the things that go on here. Also this week I watched a devotional that the MTC had recorded. It was called "The Miracle of a Mission." The general authority who spoke at this devotional figured that there was someone in the audience who felt like they wanted to leave the MTC and stop their mission. Well he spoke to the audience about that. He said don't have regrets and don't take the mission for granted and don't leave. He also said that it was the best thing someone can do for themselves. By the way, I am praying that when you and Mom get to Hong Kong you will witness a miracle. That would be great to have you see that. Anyway, keep sending dearelders. Everything else is good, love you lots.
Rachel
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
More News From The MTC . . .
March 2009 Wednesday
You know I think it's amazing how you can't see what I'm doing and don't know much, only what I tell you and yet you send the right letters to me. I guess being in tune with the Spirit really help. I sent Jonathan a funny card about the MTC. Just thought he could use a letter too. Please make sure he writes me. I need all the letters I can get. Letters are nice. They make me feel so happy while I am away. Tom and Sarah Davidson sent me a dearelder. It was really nice of them. I didn't expect it either, that's what made it so great. So is there anything specific you want to know about the MTC? Here is something neat. Wr have a General Authority come every Tuesday. They teach us so much about missionary work. We had Elder Kikuchi (Jpanese) come talk to us last week. This week we had Elder Hamula from the 70. His talk was harder for me to understand then Elder Kikuchi's. Both talks were good though. I got to go to the temple this week. I couldn't go last week because my companion Sister Peck was sick. She is way better now. Today is the 2nd out of 12 P-days I will have while here at the MTC. Most people are only in the MTC for anywhere from 3-9 weeks. We are lucky, we need way more help I guess. I'm picking up Cantonese at a slow but steady rate. For now I can bear my testimony, pray, and say random words like Heavenly Father and I know that. . . It's way awesome here. The Spirit is amazing, however I hate sitting in class. I feel like I have ADD each time I have to sit. DRIVES ME NUTS! LOL!
The food here is not bad. We have had many different things to eat such as burgers, wraps, cereal, bread, fries, soda, Cordon Bleu chicken and bagels. I find a lot of the food here really fatty. We eat 3 times a day but everyone get hungry in between, so we all go to the book store to get food.
I'M sending you and Dad a bunch of pictures of me and my district. There are two awesome elders. They are amazing people. By the way I talk to Hamish here all the time. I also see Patrick too. Elder Macpherson leaves next week. Elder Carpenter and I are STILL HERE! After 12 weeks it will be nice to get out of here. Anyway have a great day!
And remember Heavenly Father loves you!
Love Rachel
AKA Sister Simkovits
You know I think it's amazing how you can't see what I'm doing and don't know much, only what I tell you and yet you send the right letters to me. I guess being in tune with the Spirit really help. I sent Jonathan a funny card about the MTC. Just thought he could use a letter too. Please make sure he writes me. I need all the letters I can get. Letters are nice. They make me feel so happy while I am away. Tom and Sarah Davidson sent me a dearelder. It was really nice of them. I didn't expect it either, that's what made it so great. So is there anything specific you want to know about the MTC? Here is something neat. Wr have a General Authority come every Tuesday. They teach us so much about missionary work. We had Elder Kikuchi (Jpanese) come talk to us last week. This week we had Elder Hamula from the 70. His talk was harder for me to understand then Elder Kikuchi's. Both talks were good though. I got to go to the temple this week. I couldn't go last week because my companion Sister Peck was sick. She is way better now. Today is the 2nd out of 12 P-days I will have while here at the MTC. Most people are only in the MTC for anywhere from 3-9 weeks. We are lucky, we need way more help I guess. I'm picking up Cantonese at a slow but steady rate. For now I can bear my testimony, pray, and say random words like Heavenly Father and I know that. . . It's way awesome here. The Spirit is amazing, however I hate sitting in class. I feel like I have ADD each time I have to sit. DRIVES ME NUTS! LOL!
The food here is not bad. We have had many different things to eat such as burgers, wraps, cereal, bread, fries, soda, Cordon Bleu chicken and bagels. I find a lot of the food here really fatty. We eat 3 times a day but everyone get hungry in between, so we all go to the book store to get food.
I'M sending you and Dad a bunch of pictures of me and my district. There are two awesome elders. They are amazing people. By the way I talk to Hamish here all the time. I also see Patrick too. Elder Macpherson leaves next week. Elder Carpenter and I are STILL HERE! After 12 weeks it will be nice to get out of here. Anyway have a great day!
And remember Heavenly Father loves you!
Love Rachel
AKA Sister Simkovits
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
A very interesting week...
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Hi Mom and Dad,
So this week has been very interesting. Lots of stuff has gone on. Yesterday, we had a general authority come and visit. We have one every Tuesday. However, yesterday a very different person came to the MTC. Usually it's someone from the 70 or something like that. This time you will never guess who it was. I was hoping for the prophet but, sadly it was not. It was L. Tom Perry. He is an amazing speaker. He knows a lot and he served a mission to what they call the northern states. Ya all up there was one big mission. Now it's like a million missions. Anyway, then on Sunday last week we had the Beesons come and speak to us. They work here at the MTC and they taught us about music and it was amazing. They said that even if the oeople don't know what language you are singing in, they can, none the less, feel the spirit anyway. Oh by the way dad, the words have not come out of my ears yet. They actually keep coming out of my mouth, kinda weird. Anyway, everything is going well. Well...except one thing. I am trying to get along with my companion. We got into a small dispute. We fixed it, no biggie. I just felt like I always have to be careful about what I say and how I say it. So Sister Lemmons leaves today at 9:20 am for her plane ride to the Philippines, which is where her mission is. She flies to California, then to Taiwan with a 10 hour lay over, then to the Philippines. Crazy huh? Oh by the way I got the package you sent me. I forgot to tell you that. I got all the stuff I accidently left behind.
Oh by the way when L. Tom Perry spoke yesterday he said they have a great need for senior couples. I read an article that I am sending you guys about senior couples. Super good article. They say that because seniors go on missions the llives of all their posterity will be blessed. So their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren that are not active, will one day become active again. ALso as a senior couple serves a mission they are also setting a good example for the rest of the family. It is truly amazing. You never know what could happen because you went on a mission. Anyway, you will read the article when it get there. Everything else is great. If you have any questions, remember to send a dearelder.com. I love getting those things. They are awesome.
Hope you have a great day, love your little missionary girl,
Bye Momme, bye Daddy
Hi Mom and Dad,
So this week has been very interesting. Lots of stuff has gone on. Yesterday, we had a general authority come and visit. We have one every Tuesday. However, yesterday a very different person came to the MTC. Usually it's someone from the 70 or something like that. This time you will never guess who it was. I was hoping for the prophet but, sadly it was not. It was L. Tom Perry. He is an amazing speaker. He knows a lot and he served a mission to what they call the northern states. Ya all up there was one big mission. Now it's like a million missions. Anyway, then on Sunday last week we had the Beesons come and speak to us. They work here at the MTC and they taught us about music and it was amazing. They said that even if the oeople don't know what language you are singing in, they can, none the less, feel the spirit anyway. Oh by the way dad, the words have not come out of my ears yet. They actually keep coming out of my mouth, kinda weird. Anyway, everything is going well. Well...except one thing. I am trying to get along with my companion. We got into a small dispute. We fixed it, no biggie. I just felt like I always have to be careful about what I say and how I say it. So Sister Lemmons leaves today at 9:20 am for her plane ride to the Philippines, which is where her mission is. She flies to California, then to Taiwan with a 10 hour lay over, then to the Philippines. Crazy huh? Oh by the way I got the package you sent me. I forgot to tell you that. I got all the stuff I accidently left behind.
Oh by the way when L. Tom Perry spoke yesterday he said they have a great need for senior couples. I read an article that I am sending you guys about senior couples. Super good article. They say that because seniors go on missions the llives of all their posterity will be blessed. So their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren that are not active, will one day become active again. ALso as a senior couple serves a mission they are also setting a good example for the rest of the family. It is truly amazing. You never know what could happen because you went on a mission. Anyway, you will read the article when it get there. Everything else is great. If you have any questions, remember to send a dearelder.com. I love getting those things. They are awesome.
Hope you have a great day, love your little missionary girl,
Bye Momme, bye Daddy
What's it like at the MTC?...
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Hey, thanks for letting me know what goes on at home. Things seem to be going good for you guys. That is way awesome. So mom wanted to know about my companion. I actually have 2 companions. I'm a solo sister which means I am the only female in the district/class. So about my companions. They are both from Idaho. Sister Lemmons is going to the Philippines and SIster Peck is going to Hong Kong at the end of the month. I will still be here until the 25 of May or something like that. These sister companions I have are way awesome, super nice girls. I love them! Let mom see this e-mail, print it off or something. But please make sure she sees it. So I have not eaten like a cow though sometimes I wonder. I have actually gained 3 pounds so far. I mean you eat and then sit and then eat and then sit and then eat some and then sit again. It's CRAZY! Some people say they lost weight, I don't think so. I gained weight. Mom might be happy about that. I'm so skinny minny I kinda need the extra weight. Anyway, I listened to some of the music I had, at night before bed. It's super good stuff. Oh and about the MTC. At the moment I don't hate it or like it. Here is why. I love the spirit you feel here and the amount of spiritual learning you get, however, I find that sitting in a class for 12 hours a day could drive someone nuts. Seriously! Ya so this week I am working on goals. They make us set some every week. Goals as individuals and as a district and with the language and everything. SOOOOOO many goals. I have set the goal to be patient. I expect people to be patient with me so I should be patient with everyone else right? Ya, I need to work on this goal. I think next week I will work on love and charity or something. Everything else is way good and I love it here. The book store is super fun. I get mail occasionally. Make sure Mom writes me more often. I really appreciate the notes even if I can only write back on P-day (Wednesday). ANd yes, we have 6 to a room. Kind of a busy place. Everything else is great. We have a branch presidency for Sundays here. The people are way awesome. One of the members of the presidency went on a mission to Quebec. That was like back in the day when the Kirkland ward did not exist. I think back then the Elder lived in Dorval (I think that's what he said). Anyway the people here are awesome. I am having, though, a hard time getting along with my teachers. I think it's too much estrogen in the room. Who knows. Anyway, I have 2 companions in the classroom. They are elders and I get to be around them all the time. I can do lunch and dinner with them and go for walks and stuff. Way nice guys. One is from San Jose, California. He is a convert of 4 years I think. The other elder is from Highland Utah. That is the same place Bishop Coleman was from. They are great guys. Both of them have Chinese backgrounds. I have the disadvantage because no one in our family speaks Chinese of any kind. :( Bummer. Anyway, everything is way good and I love everything here, except for class. Hope everything is going good for you. ANyway, send me some more letters, I love them.
Have a great day.
Love Rachel
Hey, thanks for letting me know what goes on at home. Things seem to be going good for you guys. That is way awesome. So mom wanted to know about my companion. I actually have 2 companions. I'm a solo sister which means I am the only female in the district/class. So about my companions. They are both from Idaho. Sister Lemmons is going to the Philippines and SIster Peck is going to Hong Kong at the end of the month. I will still be here until the 25 of May or something like that. These sister companions I have are way awesome, super nice girls. I love them! Let mom see this e-mail, print it off or something. But please make sure she sees it. So I have not eaten like a cow though sometimes I wonder. I have actually gained 3 pounds so far. I mean you eat and then sit and then eat and then sit and then eat some and then sit again. It's CRAZY! Some people say they lost weight, I don't think so. I gained weight. Mom might be happy about that. I'm so skinny minny I kinda need the extra weight. Anyway, I listened to some of the music I had, at night before bed. It's super good stuff. Oh and about the MTC. At the moment I don't hate it or like it. Here is why. I love the spirit you feel here and the amount of spiritual learning you get, however, I find that sitting in a class for 12 hours a day could drive someone nuts. Seriously! Ya so this week I am working on goals. They make us set some every week. Goals as individuals and as a district and with the language and everything. SOOOOOO many goals. I have set the goal to be patient. I expect people to be patient with me so I should be patient with everyone else right? Ya, I need to work on this goal. I think next week I will work on love and charity or something. Everything else is way good and I love it here. The book store is super fun. I get mail occasionally. Make sure Mom writes me more often. I really appreciate the notes even if I can only write back on P-day (Wednesday). ANd yes, we have 6 to a room. Kind of a busy place. Everything else is great. We have a branch presidency for Sundays here. The people are way awesome. One of the members of the presidency went on a mission to Quebec. That was like back in the day when the Kirkland ward did not exist. I think back then the Elder lived in Dorval (I think that's what he said). Anyway the people here are awesome. I am having, though, a hard time getting along with my teachers. I think it's too much estrogen in the room. Who knows. Anyway, I have 2 companions in the classroom. They are elders and I get to be around them all the time. I can do lunch and dinner with them and go for walks and stuff. Way nice guys. One is from San Jose, California. He is a convert of 4 years I think. The other elder is from Highland Utah. That is the same place Bishop Coleman was from. They are great guys. Both of them have Chinese backgrounds. I have the disadvantage because no one in our family speaks Chinese of any kind. :( Bummer. Anyway, everything is way good and I love everything here, except for class. Hope everything is going good for you. ANyway, send me some more letters, I love them.
Have a great day.
Love Rachel
First week at the MTC ...
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Hey Mom and Dad,
So this is my first week here in the MTC and everything is great. I admit I cried a bit the first few days. Then everything got better. I even cried on Sunday. It's very hard for me here. All the constant learning. However, eventually you get used to it. So yesterday was Tuesday and we had a devotional and Elder Kikuchi spoke to us. He is in the Quorum of the 70 and he is Japanese. He is an awesome speaker. Even though I have only been here a week I can already feel my testimony growing. I can see where I need to improve and where I am doing well. Things are great. The food is not bad. I also found out yesterday that I gained about 2-3 pounds or so just from being here. I mean all you do is eat and sit all day. It's not too bad. The food is ok. By the way I still have not touched a vegetable yet. Maybe one day I will. Oh here is something neat. I can see how everything I have done has led me up to this moment in the MTC and for my mission. Everything I have done really has helped me. I mean cleaning the church at home. Ya, that's prepared me too. Weird huh? Anyway, hope things are going good for you guys and Jonathan. Have an awesome day and please write me letters as often as possible. I would really like that. Oh and by the way if you want to send me e-mails faster just go to DearElder.com. Dad, you can go there and set it up or mom can. Either way it's the fast way to send letters to me, but just while I am in the MTC.
Thanks so much, love you guys
Rachel AKA Sam ji Muih (this is my Chinese name, there are supposed to be tone marks on my name, don't know how to write them)
Hey Mom and Dad,
So this is my first week here in the MTC and everything is great. I admit I cried a bit the first few days. Then everything got better. I even cried on Sunday. It's very hard for me here. All the constant learning. However, eventually you get used to it. So yesterday was Tuesday and we had a devotional and Elder Kikuchi spoke to us. He is in the Quorum of the 70 and he is Japanese. He is an awesome speaker. Even though I have only been here a week I can already feel my testimony growing. I can see where I need to improve and where I am doing well. Things are great. The food is not bad. I also found out yesterday that I gained about 2-3 pounds or so just from being here. I mean all you do is eat and sit all day. It's not too bad. The food is ok. By the way I still have not touched a vegetable yet. Maybe one day I will. Oh here is something neat. I can see how everything I have done has led me up to this moment in the MTC and for my mission. Everything I have done really has helped me. I mean cleaning the church at home. Ya, that's prepared me too. Weird huh? Anyway, hope things are going good for you guys and Jonathan. Have an awesome day and please write me letters as often as possible. I would really like that. Oh and by the way if you want to send me e-mails faster just go to DearElder.com. Dad, you can go there and set it up or mom can. Either way it's the fast way to send letters to me, but just while I am in the MTC.
Thanks so much, love you guys
Rachel AKA Sam ji Muih (this is my Chinese name, there are supposed to be tone marks on my name, don't know how to write them)
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