WEEK 4!

Hi Everyone~!

 

I was going to copy and paste my most recent letter to my Branch President, but I wasn't able to. There was a really neat experience I had with faith.

 

Firstly, Katie Cook you are an angel! Thank you and your sweet mother so much for the "greenie package"!

 

Mary M and Jen, a letter is on the way, thanks for your patience! Love you both :D:D

 

Bishop Christensen, I am so glad your thinking of and praying for my brother and I. I do plan on writing you soon :) Keep up that beautiful humble spirit. You've been an example in my life.

 

1. So many have asked and I've neglected to tell you about the language! Okay so, yes, it's a different alphabet-Characters, really, but it's not bad. If you think of it like a secret language. A for this character, g/k for this one, etc.! It's really fun :)

 

Also! If you want to hear my companions take on our adventures at the MTC, read here at: anna.roueche.org

 She's super funny and you can get stories I didn't remember to share :)

 

This week we were learning about onions and adjetives. Onions are sentances that include a gerund of some sort (it really feels like I need to re take English sometimes :). A gerund 'thingifies' a verb. So like "Running is fun" is a gerund in Korean. We're also learning about indirect questions, such as "We will teach you about how Heavenly Father calls Prophets." In Korean, it's something like "We Brother (you) Heavenly Father Prophets calls (with a few jaws or characters to change the verb into an adjetive + "JI") will teach IMNIDA~! It's awesome and very backwards. But awesome! I'm just learning the best thing we can do is practice a TON! :)

In the lessons, sometmies our investagators ask questions that my companion and I want to answer, but we just don't have the vocabulary to yet. So we say "Daume!" or "Next time!" So that we can look up what ever they had questions about. We're really learning to adapt. :)

 

I also wanted to tell you all about the neat expereience it it being here at the MTC with all other languages and cultures represented. Just this morning in the sack lunch line, my compnaion and I struck up a conversation with some elders going to Madagasgar. They were in for 9 weeks to learn Malagasy. Hahah I love that name. Any how, we were talking about the differences in our language: how it's formed, tenses, and vocab. Guess what we discovered?

In Malagasy, every word that's a verb starts with the letter M. Nearly every noun begins with K, and to chance the tense to past or present, you just put an H or another letter on the beginning of the word. Easy as pie.

And in Mandrin. The Elders and Sisters here don't learn the writing system. They don't learn how to read. They just learn how to speak, supposing to pick up the written language once they are out in the field. And in Mandrin, they don't have past or future or progressive tenses at ALL! They just say. Yesterday i ran. Today I ran. Tomorrow I ran. CRAZY huh?? I'm really jealous...Actually, no, I'm not. They do have so SO much fun and our Mandrin missionaries always SYL! They are an example to me. But Don't catch them on the volleyball or kickball fields. They are absolutely.........energetic?? I'm not sure how to describe it....It's just something youhave to see :)

 

Okay update really quick!! I'm almost out of time. Our old districts are leaving for Korea next Tuesday! That means our district will be the old experienced ones. That's a bit mind blowing to me. We have a new batch of missionaries from all over (expect Korea) coming in August 8th. President Shin asked me to be the Coordinating Sister (kind of like a female Zone Leader), and I totally said yes! SO we get the opportunity to do orientation for these new fellow missionaries next Wednseday and I'm really excited! Thought I still feel awfully new myself :) I also get to do nightly visits and work with our Branch Presidency a lot more now. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to serve.

Keep our newest missionaries in you prayers? I know they'll be exicted and really nervous!

 

finally, I wantded to share a quick thought. Elder Allen (who does everything missionary related) spoke to us on Sunday for our Fireside. His address was really interactive, having all of us stand up for different reasons (I'm thinking this is an execellent strategy for the sleepy ones of us ;) and sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Recording of "Come, Come ye Saints". During his message, I was on fire. Firstly, I love the spirit of music and the power it brings to the message. And secondly, his message was awesome.

I don't have time to post them here, but if you can on your own, look up the words to that hymn and imagine yourself as a missionary in the MTC or field. It gets discouraging. Sometimes you see your classmates progressting so much faster in the language than you are. Sometimes your overwhelmed with your own weaknesses, or you feel really alone. The power in the message of that hymn...

"Though hard to you, this journy may appear, but with joy wend your way!

All is well, All is well!!"

 

I do know that when we place our trust in Jesus Christ, our Savior, no matter what happens, all is well. I love this Gospel. I love the Lord!

Thank you for your bright exapmels and may angels watch over you and your loved ones alwyas.

This work will go forward!

 

Always yours,

Sister Brooksby