Olivia and Marthaserendipitously
(they only had to wait for about an hour)
met up with Sister E on her way from the MTC to the Temple
8.9.09
FATE, kinda sorta
Olivia and Marthaserendipitously
(they only had to wait for about an hour)
met up with Sister E on her way from the MTC to the Temple
the Last HURRAH :: final MTC Email :: 08.27.09
:: Flight plans! [We'll spare you the details. In brief, SLC to LAX to Hong Kong to Jakarta, which in hours flying + layovers = ~forever & a day.]
:: It is indeed true that we call before we depart, but no one knows exactly how it works or just when exactly we get to call. So . . . sometime on Monday.
And finally, one last update from District 52B in the MTC:
::We have been practicing all week for our musical number in Sacrament Meeting this Sunday, Lead Kindly Light. This would be fabulous if half our Elders weren't tone deaf, and trying to rally them for choir practice was such a rodeo. I am also now lovingly mocked for using phrases like "more musically interesting" and "crescendo like the burning flame." Yeah. Never becoming defunct chorister for 19-year -old boys EVER again.
:: Elder Garrett has officially gained 27 pounds in the MTC. Elder Nixon is so proud.
:: Speaking of which, Elder Nixon is also going CRAZY. We need to get this Wyoming cowboy some wide open spaces, quick. He is currently wearing a paper bag on his head like a chef's hat.
:: We're still driving Brother Ross nuts with our idiomatic swap-overs in the language. Phrase of note this week? "di luar biru." Which is very much NOT "out of the blue" in INDO.
:: I'm the slavedriver in the packing arena, too. Managed to cut SisLily's suitcase from 28 shirts to 14, and that's only the beginning. Just trying not to make her cry at this point.
Okay, 17 minutes and I'm off. I'll leave a few minutes to get back on this afternoon in case you guys have anything quick to say, but until that letter and our phone call, Sampai Jumpa!
I love you.
E
20 August 2009 email excerpt
~laundry room letter writing~
Rhondeauvians (Naomi & Daniel) take part in thefun and games at an Indonesian Independence Day party.
I love Indonesians. Already. I'm so glad you got the chance to meet them, to know them, to feel some part of the things I've been feeling this past week. Day after day it's a mixed blessing of terror and anticipation, counting down only 10 days until this is over and the mission really begins. But having met the Leo family, and daily speaking Indonesian, it only feels right. And that makes me feel strong. And it all comes together in a lovely little round of determination and a lot of hope. I can't bear to leave, I can't wait to go. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. There is always a bit of both, with so much to love.
I've been so blessed here.
There's really not much to say about this week at all---just packing in the preparation so we might have some chance at getting through our first few months in Jakarta. We're past the point of outlines and memorization though, so it's hard to keep focused. P-Day's been strange, sorting through clothes, deciding what to take and what to leave behind. And every day in class being reminded that there are only 10 days. 9 days. 8 days. Etc. So, you know. Life goes on, as it tends to do. Only it feels like it's going much too fast these days and then not quite fast enough.
--------
kasih selalu,
xoxo
E
But part of loving is leaving behind, and that makes it all the sweeter. Elder Nixon and Elder Garrett brought us our mail today (we have a P-Day arrangement that involves our envelopes for a Dr. Pepper or two) [Editor's note: Dr. Pepper at the MTC?!? Huzzah!]. Nixon hopping across the sidewalk so as not to step on the cracks. Greenwell and Meek caught up with us at lunch, sharing their swedish fish and chatting dalam Bahasa Indonesia. In the laundry room I wrote letters and talked to the Mongols, who told me that Mongolians do not understand the dual-consonant pronunciation of "OK" and simply say it "oak." You know? Just the simplest little things that I wish could live on forever, but know they're only so sweet and simple because they're meant to pass away.
I've been so blessed here.
There's really not much to say about this week at all---just packing in the preparation so we might have some chance at getting through our first few months in Jakarta. We're past the point of outlines and memorization though, so it's hard to keep focused. P-Day's been strange, sorting through clothes, deciding what to take and what to leave behind. And every day in class being reminded that there are only 10 days. 9 days. 8 days. Etc. So, you know. Life goes on, as it tends to do. Only it feels like it's going much too fast these days and then not quite fast enough.
--------
kasih selalu,
xoxo
E
13.8.09
Kabar ::: the News
Dear Family,
With Monday's passing we've officially hit the downhill sprint---there's less than a month left here, and we're all feeling the strain of it. On the one hand, we don't ever want to leave this. The familiarity of the MTC, its quirks and charming failures, the family we've found in our little District, the security of always knowing where you're supposed to be and who you should be with. It's going to be quite the farewell when it comes time to split with the Singapore Elders, and all the more heartwrenching when the five of us Indos say sampai jumpa in Jakarta. On the other hand, we're chomping at the bit to hit the field. Every new day here as we learn and teach gives us only the smallest taste of the full joy in missionary work.
Last week we began teaching a progressive investigator---each companionship is assigned one of the teachers and we teach them as if they were actually investigating the church, which puts our lessons in a whole new perspective. We're not just going off outlines anymore, but by situation, need, and (always) the guidance of the Spirit. This has been nothing short of phenomenal. SisLily and I are teaching Disan (aka Brother Merrill), and just yesterday morning taught him about Christ's Atonement and what it means to have faith in our Savior. What is mostly incredible about this is that there we were, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the French tutor room with the same guy that had minutes before taught us the grammar behind KAN and I (you don't want to know, trust me), and it couldn't have felt more real. It gave me an ever-more solid sense of the term "anxiously engaged," and brightens my hope of what's to come.
In other learning news, the language has taken a new turn as we made it a District Goal to begin speaking Indo non-stop every morning from 7:00 to 12:30. Penalties include a push-up for every English word that happens to slip into conversation, or the dunce cap for anyone who dares murmur an entire sentence in our Mother tongue. The process has been fascinating to watch---the strength of speaking a language to learn it is incomparable. We're all on somewhat of an Indo high, which means that we don't so much play with the language anymore as we do butcher it. Seriously, some of these sentences we cobble together could make anyone cringe---but we all love to laugh about it, too and the point is to be understood if not absolutely eloquent (note: we are far from the latter).
This also means we've improved much of our real life vocabulary with really non-relevant words to the life of a missionary but apparently essential to the conversations we've had this week. They're all incredibly fun language-wise, however, so we've got to share. Among them:
gossip: buah bibir, which literally translates to "fruit of the lips"
crush: cinta monyet, or "monkey love"
and
mata main: flirting, lit. "playing eyes"
We also do a right terrible job of translating English phrases over to Indo, which makes our teachers cringe but they simply cannot stop us.
In otherwords, we're doing wonderfully. Still so much to learn and to love. In a letter to Leah this morning I told her about how it's so easy, to talk about what you love---the turquoise door and orange brick at 1920, the way Olivia sings harmony to any melody you throw at her, how Daniel cares for Lucy---and that's what makes missionary work the same. I love to talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ. I love to teach that He lives! and that He is here for us now and always will be. It makes the missing all the easier, though that's not to say it isn't there. I miss you every bit of every day, wishing not that I could come home but just that you could be here with me. It is a beautiful work and a beautiful Gospel---thank you for bringing me up in this Light and such Love.
selalu+selamalamanya,
Sister E.
With Monday's passing we've officially hit the downhill sprint---there's less than a month left here, and we're all feeling the strain of it. On the one hand, we don't ever want to leave this. The familiarity of the MTC, its quirks and charming failures, the family we've found in our little District, the security of always knowing where you're supposed to be and who you should be with. It's going to be quite the farewell when it comes time to split with the Singapore Elders, and all the more heartwrenching when the five of us Indos say sampai jumpa in Jakarta. On the other hand, we're chomping at the bit to hit the field. Every new day here as we learn and teach gives us only the smallest taste of the full joy in missionary work.
Last week we began teaching a progressive investigator---each companionship is assigned one of the teachers and we teach them as if they were actually investigating the church, which puts our lessons in a whole new perspective. We're not just going off outlines anymore, but by situation, need, and (always) the guidance of the Spirit. This has been nothing short of phenomenal. SisLily and I are teaching Disan (aka Brother Merrill), and just yesterday morning taught him about Christ's Atonement and what it means to have faith in our Savior. What is mostly incredible about this is that there we were, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the French tutor room with the same guy that had minutes before taught us the grammar behind KAN and I (you don't want to know, trust me), and it couldn't have felt more real. It gave me an ever-more solid sense of the term "anxiously engaged," and brightens my hope of what's to come.
In other learning news, the language has taken a new turn as we made it a District Goal to begin speaking Indo non-stop every morning from 7:00 to 12:30. Penalties include a push-up for every English word that happens to slip into conversation, or the dunce cap for anyone who dares murmur an entire sentence in our Mother tongue. The process has been fascinating to watch---the strength of speaking a language to learn it is incomparable. We're all on somewhat of an Indo high, which means that we don't so much play with the language anymore as we do butcher it. Seriously, some of these sentences we cobble together could make anyone cringe---but we all love to laugh about it, too and the point is to be understood if not absolutely eloquent (note: we are far from the latter).
This also means we've improved much of our real life vocabulary with really non-relevant words to the life of a missionary but apparently essential to the conversations we've had this week. They're all incredibly fun language-wise, however, so we've got to share. Among them:
gossip: buah bibir, which literally translates to "fruit of the lips"
crush: cinta monyet, or "monkey love"
and
mata main: flirting, lit. "playing eyes"
We also do a right terrible job of translating English phrases over to Indo, which makes our teachers cringe but they simply cannot stop us.
In otherwords, we're doing wonderfully. Still so much to learn and to love. In a letter to Leah this morning I told her about how it's so easy, to talk about what you love---the turquoise door and orange brick at 1920, the way Olivia sings harmony to any melody you throw at her, how Daniel cares for Lucy---and that's what makes missionary work the same. I love to talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ. I love to teach that He lives! and that He is here for us now and always will be. It makes the missing all the easier, though that's not to say it isn't there. I miss you every bit of every day, wishing not that I could come home but just that you could be here with me. It is a beautiful work and a beautiful Gospel---thank you for bringing me up in this Light and such Love.
selalu+selamalamanya,
Sister E.
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