Week Six in the MTC

Hello everyone! Today is another wonderful P-day. This past week was pretty awesome. The MTC has the potential to be really boring but I have a pretty solid district and zone that make it all worth it. ^^ (That is an the Asian smiley face they use in emails and texting. You might as well start getting used to it because I like using it haha)

Tuesday last week was fun. My district hung out while the Elders laundry was finishing. Us Sisters are much smarter and come early so we don't have to wait. I feel like the Sisters have much more productive days when we do that, so now it's a habit. Anyway while we were hanging out we were talking about my nasty crushed finger. They made me go to the nurse. She was the opposite of helpful and just gave me a pass to go see the BYU urgent care. It doesn't have a date on it so I am calling it my, 'Get out of Jail free pass' haha. I was going to use it the other day but a couple of Sister have to go there tomorrow so Sister Stradling and I will go with them. Besides that we had Devotional from a Gerald N. Lund. He spoke on personal revelation. From the hour he taught, I got a lot of really awesome scriptures out of it as well as a good reminder that all things happen on our Heavenly Fathers time- it is His will and His time. Oh! Also, one thing I just remembered that he said was, "It matters more what you do with [answers to prayers or personal revelation] then how you receive it." To me that means God doesn't have to give you some huge elaborate answer, we need to be responsive to the still (you feel it, not hear it), small, whispers of the Spirit. Overall it was pretty awesome.

Wednesday started just like any other. The black trend is starting to spread to our whole zone. I was flattered that so many people thought it was funny haha. I mean it's not like a huge deal but some might venture to say that I am a trend setter. ^^

Anyway, before class started Elder Sorensen showed us this cool Chinese game. This is what you do: Take your right hand and hold your left ear lobe, take your left arm and but it through the loop you just created with your right arm. Make sure your elbow is completely through the loop. Now bend over to a 90 degree angle. Last, stare at the ground and spin for 30+ seconds. HAHA It is so awesome. I recommend if you are trying this at home, make sure there are no sharp corners that you'll run into. When you stand up your whole world is sideways and it is hilarious to watch people do it. I am proud to say that I successfully did it. Along with me most of our district took turns doing it. By the time Brother Tanner got to the classroom we are all pretty tired from all the spinning and laughing. He wasn't aware of the game yet so we decided he wanted to play a game to wake us up... Don't worry I recommended he try the Chinese game in the classroom. He did it and it was AWESOME! We were all wide-awake and ready to go after that.

After our productive day all the Sisters retired to our room. But just before bed we decided to play our new favorite game one more time. So we all lined up in the hallway of our residence hall. We attracted quite a crowd by the time we stood up and were stumbling everywhere haha. It was awesome. I was so dizzy that falling asleep was the opposite of a problem.

Thursday started kind of weird. Elder Lee came to class and was acting kind of off. I asked him why and he told the class that earlier that morning he had dropped his toothbrush on the ground and when we bent over to pick it up, someone opened a drawer above him on accident and he banged his head on the corner of it. Sister Wadsworth sent him to the doctors on campus. Turns out he has a concussion. He is out until Saturday. The doctor didn't want him using his brain so he lucked out and was able to sit out of a couple classes. He did come back for the end of the day to see Brother Tanner however. He is by far our favorite teacher! He had been telling us that he was stressed about finals, so us Sisters took it upon ourselves to make him the best finals survival kit we could create. He was so grateful. Along with all of the goodies and school supplies we included a mini Korean Hymnal which we all signed. It was so tender. I am pretty sure we are his favorite district! ^^

Friday... there is not too much to report on but I did have the weirdest daja-vu moment! It was kind of a comforting feeling as opposed to just a confusing moment like it normally is. When it happened, I was in the classroom with my whole district doing pattern practice repeating Korean phrases after our teacher. I took my eyed off of the paper we were reading and looked at my awesome district. Even though we do this all day it has daja-vu. I had dreamed or that our that moment before for some reason. Somewhere at sometime I knew I was going to be here. I felt like I was reassured in that moment that I was where I was supposed to be. I just smiled and looked back down at my paper and continued to repeat after our teacher. I know that it was a tender mercy from my Heavenly Father. Some days are really tough here. I was pretty discouraged Friday morning but after this I was fine. It might sound weird but I needed that moment and my Heavenly Father knew it.

Saturday was the best day! Both class blocks were taught by Brother Tanner!! He is such a great teacher. He can read people so well and he teaches to our needs on a personal level while he is teaching the class. That might not make sense but he is very talented. To end the day we had TRC. This week was our last week to teach two 20 minute lessons. Next week we are get to teach one 40 minute lesson. That will be interesting. But this week Sister Stradling and I taught about how to identify the spirit as an individual and we invited out two volunteers to attend church on Sunday. The first lesson was awesome! I really felt guided by the Spirit in what I needed to say. I felt like I was fulfilling my purpose as a missionary while I was speaking in that lesson. I love this gospel and I love teaching it in Korean.

Now on to something funny, in Elder Sorensen and Elder Lee's lesson they were asking their volunteer to ready Moroni 9:8. BUT since our Book of Mormon is in Korean they accidently had her read Doctrine and Covenants 9:8... After the volunteer read it out loud she said, "I feel scared" HAHAHA it was awesome! Awful mix up but really funny. Same story with the mix up or 1 Nephi 3:7 and 3 Nephi 3:7.

Sunday was a good day. In Relief Society we had the privilege of hearing from a Mary Edmonds. Please look her up and read/listen to all of the things she has said. She is hilarious! ...I see a lor of myself in her ^^ just kidding. She was just giving us advise about how to go about our missions. At one point she got off topic and said, "Do not touch the Elders; don't poke them, don't punch them. But keep a list of the ones you do what to touch for after your mission." Haha it was so funny. She had the perfect balance of being funny and spiritual. I learned a lot from her. The one thing I enjoyed hearing the most was, "All I can do, is all I can do." Sounds redundant but it is so true. I cannot expect too much out of myself. If I feel discouraged I can ask my Savior how I am doing and I know he will help me see what more I can do and what all I have accomplished. SO AWESOME.

Next was Sacrament meeting. If you recall the Branch Presidency decides who speaks that day when they get up to the pulpit. Fortunately, I was blessed to have a cough attack at the end of taking the sacrament. I needed to get water so bad. Sister Stradling and I stepped out for a moment and took our seats quickly when we returned. By the time we got back all of the speakers had been chosen. Bullet=Dodged ^^ ...or at least for now haha. It was a great meeting regardless.

After Sacrament I was able to take a temple walk with my district. It just so happens I ran into a few people I knew!! My older brother, Derek, his twin and my older sister Alise, AND the one and only Andrea Marks! JaNae came too! ^^ You could say I was beyond excited to see all of them. I loved talking to them and catching up. I also loved being able to introduce them to my favorite district! It made me so incredibly happy.

Temple walks are only an  hour but it was perfect. At dinner I was able to find the Finnish Zone. It was their last day we Elder Kiuttu and Elder Gustofson joined the Korean table for dinner. It was fun being able to catch up and listen to how excited they were about leaving and finally being able to be in the field teaching! I cannot wait until that is me! Korean is tough but I already love the Korean people so much and I can't wait to meet them!!

Monday, back to the grind.

The whole MTC is changing the schedule for all of the teachers and missionaries. For me and my district that means that we will only be effected for the last week that we are here. Brother Tanner had already set up his school schedule to work with the old class times. He was at risk for loosing his job but don't worry, he was promoted because he is amazing! I promise he is the best teacher that works here at the MTC. If they got rid of him they would all be idiots. But they knew what was best for them and kept him. Also, since I have been teaching CrossFit to my district, we promised Brother Tanner  that we would show them a thing of two if they ever changed their minds about him. haha kind of joking but mostly serious.

Today we are heading out to help this new Korean girl around campus. She speaks no English and is being send to serve in Taiwan. The poor girls in her district cannot communicate with her so we volunteer as a district to help! This will bee good practice! Once we found her it was so fun to talk to her. She is so cute!! I love all Koreans! I felt so awesome being able to understand and communicate with her. When it was time to take our trays to throw things away she looked so confused and I just turned around and said, "follow me" in Korean. She smiled. We had a moment ^^ haha it was the greatest.

Next we went to the temple where I see my Favorite Andrea again. I love her and loved being able to talk to her.

My time in up but I love you all!! Thank you for all of the letters. I still have so many to reply to but be patient with me.

Much love,

Sister Sloan

PS. Follow Brother Tanner on Twitter, his name is DHBACH :) That is a phonetic for incredible in Korean! The poor guy doesn't have any followers. Also see if he talks about his favorite district :)



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Week Five in the MTC-Conference Weekend!

Dearest family,

This week has been great at the MTC. My district has reached its halfway mark! We were able to hold a proper celebration with General Conference. Not only were we blessed to watch all of the sessions (minus the Priesthood Session), but we were blessed with little to no schedule for Saturday and Sunday. A few sisters in my district quickly found out why ever second of our day is planned... I mean we understand that our time in consecrated for The Lords work but also, a little free time is never a good idea for a bunch of college aged girls.

Before you judge us think about what we could really get away with at the MTC. If you haven't guessed it, the answer is nothing.  haha. So our hour or rebellion consisted of a walk all around campus. That's right. We even walked passed the Elder's residence. Of course we are always allowed to do that, we never had, so we did. Also, on Sunday morning after breakfast and before conference, Sister Cheney, Sister Scott, and I were bored. We entertained ourselves with a game of bowling in our hallway... We found 1,000,000 rolls of toilet paper in the storage closet so we stacked them and bowled. Good Sunday recreation we thought. Oh also there is a scale in the storage room where we hang our suitcases to weigh them before we leave for the airport. It is a hook that you just have to hook things on and it weighs it... we thought it would be a good idea to hang me from it. It was really funny.

Now that my life officially sounds lame, let me tell you more.

Wednesday. As all of the sisters were getting ready for the day, we decided we wanted to match. I recommended we all wear one color... black...to mourn that P-day was now over. hahaha If you were not aware, I think I'm hilarious and I think I will carry this tradition throughout the rest of my time at the MTC :) In class our teachers got a kick out of her outfits. And for some reason we were all on one, even our teacher. Brother Tanner decided to compare us all to animals on our breaks from class. Apparently, I remind him of a badger or a wolf... I'm not entirely sure what that means, but he said it is because they are tough. I'll take that. Next, Brother Lund.

Recently, I discover this lotion in the Narnia bin (a bin where sisters on your floor leave things they don't want anymore). It is the Jergens lotion that gradually makes you look tan... apparently he decided to comment and tell me I looked more orange than tan. Don't worry I don't actually look orange and I gave him a stink eye. I will go CrossFit on him if he says that again. Oh! Speaking of CrossFit, Brother Tanner made a rule in our classroom about using numbers. Since in Korea we will use both Chinese and Korean numbers, we are not allowed to say any kind of number in English. If you do, you are required to do that many push ups... So somehow I said $1,000 the other day... that stinks. But don't worry I am going to race an Elder in my branch this coming week, I'm not scared haha.

On Wednesday I was productive too. Sister Stradling and I taught our progressing investigator, Brother Lee (I wish I had a Korean keyboard to show you my Korean spelling skillz). Anyway our lesson went really well. Going into the lesson I felt less than prepared just because I cannot say all that I want to. Korean is hard. After the lesson went really well I realized how well Sister Stradling and I have progressed. I can actually speak some Korean, I can most definitely read it, and I can even build complex sentences to say or communicate IN KOREAN. That is amazing to me. I felt so blessed today.

Thursday was an ordinary day. Sister Stradling and I had three appointments with different investigators. It was busy, but we did well. In one lesson we are teaching a girl in high school. Her sister is a member, but they are the opposite of close. We previously taught her about the Holy Ghost and baptism. During this lesson, we invited her to come to church with us. She has said “no” before because she has Academy (I know this will be a common dilemma in Korea- it is like after school tutoring that the Korea's take very seriously; it is expensive and very sought after). She told us she couldn't, because she had Academy from 10-5 on Sunday. Me being clever (since this is "practice" and not real) I informed her that church was at 6PM haha. That is not realistic, but we got a commitment. After that, I realized that was a silly decision. I need to do a better job of teaching to her needs and helping her realize why going to church is worth the sacrifice. We teach her tomorrow so that I can right my wrong.

Friday was boring. Sister Wadsworth wanted to pick up some shifts so she took Brother Tanners. I try to love all of my teachers, and I do, but I love Brother Tanner the most. He can read the class better and is able to keep us awake, alert, and interested. So to say the least Sister Wadsworth tried but was not totally able to get through to us alllll day (2 blocks of 3 hour class). Brother Lund (a teacher just floating until he gets a new district) re-taught us adjectives after Sister Wadsworth tried. He did a much better job at explaining it for me. He is a very logical thinker and explained everything with charts and what not. I learned so much! It is pretty interesting because Koreans use adjectives A LOT. They don't say, "The boy that plays soccer" they say, "The soccer playing boy." Definitely something I will have to get used to, but I thought it was cool.

Saturday and Sunday was General Conference. I was able to watch all of the sessions and listen to some of the Priesthood talks on Sunday in between sessions. I will send my notes and thought in a letter today. I am almost out of time on the computer.

I love you all! Keep sending letters! I love hearing from everyone.

Also, remember how I smashed my finger with a 50lb weight last week? Well, I'm not entirely sure what is wrong, but it kills to type right now. It is not broken, because I can move it. It is crazy swollen so maybe I'll actually get that checked this week.

Love you all!

Sister Sloan

Easter Bunnies

My Bro

Favorite Bro

District

Brian Mattson (France)

Daniel Kiuttu (Finland)

Both friends from BYU-I Ward Fall 2013

Companion Love

Week Four in the MTC-Easter Week!

Hey all!

This week has been awesome!

On Wednesday my companion, Sister Stradling was sick. We aren't sure what it was, but it was stress related. She was advised to rest in our residence hall instead of attending class. I was kind of bummed, because I was in the mindset to learn the new grammar forms and vocab that was set up for that day. But that's okay. Looking back we basically got two P-day's in a row.

Thursday was another easy day. I don't know what it is but people are dropping like flies around here. Elder Wager, from my district (28A) is quarantined until Saturday. Classes today were just reviewing all we've learned. I was grateful because retention is tough for me. The extra practice was great. Our teacher, Brother Tanner took us outside to play a review game for two hours. It was awesome to be outside! We played 'King of the Hill' where two people would compete at a time. Our teacher would say a word or phrase in English and those competing would have to translate it (not just the word, but also put it in the correct grammar form). It was fun. I did okay.

Also, Elder Lee in our district was joking around about writing all of the missionaries little sisters that were close to his age. Of course we all want to be in-laws with a future Olympian. Sister Scott and I took the request for addresses very seriously. Along with that we took pictures of Danielle and Sister Scott's sister and stuck it in Elder Lee's scriptures where there are a few verses about eternal companions. haha we thought we were pretty clever.

Once it started nearing time to wrap up our day, our whole district was mentally exhausted from all the review and new vocab we had been practicing all day. No worries though, we are good about finding ways to entertain ourselves. Sister Cheney has pretty bad eyesight. Elder Lee thought it would be fun to try on her glasses. When he did, I thought it would be fun to throw things at him for him to catch. His delayed reaction to everything we threw brought us all the tears from laughing so hard. I'm sure on any other day it would not have been so funny, but it was almost 9:30PM and we were delirious. haha I love my district! We have so much fun together!

Friday was an easy day. We learned Korean and Chinese numbers. The concept of counting is definitely one I can grasp over infinitive grammar forms and what not. It was pretty interesting to learn that in Korean they use both languages for counting different things. For example, to tell time the hour number is always Korean and the minute is Chinese.. why? Couldn't tell ya. Also, Chinese numbers are used for dollar amounts, hymn numbers, ect. Korean numbers are used for age, to count floors of a building, ect. Crazy huh?

Saturday was a normal day. Breakfast, class, personal study, lunch, language study, class, dinner, language study, gym, and planning. Since our whole class was back together we reviewed a little then jumped into teaching. It was pretty awesome in class with Brother Tanner. We were asked a few days prior to prepare a lesson as a class to teach Brother Tanner. Following the Spirit is definitely coming easier, but it is still scary to put all of your faith in The Lord so he can help us know what to say and speak to the needs of the person we are teaching. As we started we were asking him questions about his life, so we could zone in on what he was struggling with. Eventually we found out that he is getting pretty nervous about pursuing a career to support the family he will eventually establish with his wife. People were sharing scriptures and such about trusting in our Heavenly Father. Up to this point 20 minutes had passed and I had not felt prompted to share or contribute anything. I have learned that when I am being prompted by the Spirit, my heart beat increases a least a million percent. I feel a sort of warm sensation in my chest and the butterflies start to flutter in my stomach. Out of nowhere my heart starting picking up its pace. The thought to talk about my family and my parent’s example, came to mind. I opened my mouth and told Brother Tanner something to the effect of, "I can imagine my father was in a similar position when he was in college and newly married with three kids." I explained the age difference between Derek, Alise, and me. Everyone is always amazed every time they hear my parents survived that haha. Anyway, I went on to share that as I have watched my parents through the years, I have learned that as we fully trust in our Father in Heaven we are blessed. The example of my parents growing together in the gospel of Jesus Christ, is one I want to follow. Brother Tanner's eyes turned a little red as they started to glaze over. I don't know if I said anything of value to him, but I could definitely tell that the Spirit was speaking to him pretty strongly. Awesome experience!

EASTER SUNDAY!! There was a lot of hype and rumors about what General Authority would be coming to speak with us for our Easter Sacrament meeting. In preparation, my district arrived to wait in line 2.5 hours early. (We had to be sitting in our classroom anyway so we weren't that crazy for waiting that long for good seats). As it turns out Thomas S. Monson was not in the building. Instead we had the opportunity to hear from Valerie and Bishop Gerald Causse. Before the speakers though we were able to witness the sacrament to be passed to the whole MTC. 3,000+ people. There were at least 6 tables (not including the overflow) being used to bless the bread and water; eight Elders were at each table passing with 4 Elders blessing. I was amazed that it only took about 10 minutes each to pass to everyone. Pretty amazing experience.

As for the speakers, I walked away with a lot of notes. To sum it up they both spoke on the Atonement. That is fitting because that is the reason we celebrate Easter. I am very grateful that of all the holidays, I was here in the MTC on Easter, to celebrate Christ's sacrifice and resurrection. I love the atonement. One things that really sticks out to me as I review my notes is, "love is a motivation for all things." God and Jesus Christ loved us all SO MUCH that God sent his son, Jesus Christ to atone for our sins. Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross because he loved us and wanted to help prepare a way for us to return to live with our Heavenly Father again. I know that my motivation to help and serve the people of Korea will be driven by love. I know that I will be able to feel this love, because I am reminded daily of the love my Heavenly Father has for me and if I can see an ounce of that for his children in Korea, I know my purpose will be fulfilled. I love this gospel.

After sacrament meeting we were able to have a district meeting, interviews with our Branch President, President Yost, then a temple walk. I cannot tell you how grateful I am that I was able to see some of my family on Easter Sunday. I was walking with my companion, Sister Stradling and I stopped talking mid-sentence. She turned to me probably confused as to why I stopped talking. I squinted my eyes, looked into the distance, and said, "Is that my mother?" Before she had time to say anything I literally dropped everything I was carrying in my arms into hers as I asked, "can you hold this?" I hardly gave her a choice as I started running towards my mommy. The second I hugged her I felt my eyes tearing up. I am so happy and excited to be able to hug my mom again. As I tried to compose myself, I asked her a few times why she was in Utah. I didn't really care, I was just glad she was haha. We found Derek and Andrew soon after and we took a nice walk around the temple. I am so grateful I was able to see and introduce some of my family to my district. One Sister commented, "some people get letters, some packages, but you have a family that comes and visits!" I know, I know, I have the best family :)

Next was dinner then another devotional from Sheri Dew. I am short on time so I will include what I learned from her in a letter I will write today. She is awesome!!

Monday. In the morning we had service. Sister Stradling and I were assigned to mop and dry 5 flights of stairs in the building, 18M. As we did there were a lot of teachers and missionaries walking all over the wet stairs. Most people felt so bad and apologized for walking through our moping job. In response I would say, "well, I hope you fall........ APRIL FOOLS" hahaha not many people thought that was funny but I laughed every time :) It's fine, I know you are all aware of my dry sense of humor. After service we had gym time! Love it. My zone and district leaders always join and let me beat them up. I'm not that great, but I love working out with them because they push me and I always finish first haha. 1Cor 9:24 "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain".

Now today is P-day and all of my laundry is done! I feel so productive since it's only 8:30ish

Keep the letters coming! I love hearing from all of you!

xo,

Sister Sloan

Per your request I will give you a list of my struggles.

•   Having patience with my companion and different teaching styles. Moses 7:18 talks about Zion. I am trying to be of one heart and mind as I learn to have and teach with different people.

•   Retention of vocabulary and grammar forms. We have hardly touched the surface of things to learn with the language yet it is so overwhelming what we have learned.

•   I smashed my right index finger in gym the other day. I was helping spot my zone leader with a bench press using dumbbells, when I went to set it down on the ground I was not as close as I thought and my finger was caught under a 50lb weight. That hurt and my nail in black and blue. I am fine though.

Thank yous:

THANK YOU FOR THE PACKAGE! All of the candy is gone. The Nutella is close to being gone too... I know you are all shocked.