(The photo above is from a "scripture war" between vying Japanese districts in the MTC. Apparently it's a sort of inside joke and stress buster during a long day in the classroom!)Dear Family:
Thank you for keeping me updated about/through Mumford Choro. It makes me think extra much about actually being in Japan. We are less than a month away from departure!
First, some random things.
They have an awesome intercom system at the MTC. A voice will come into your room and say "is anyone there?" and you can actually talk straight to the people at the front desk. It reminds me of elementary and middle school!
Please thank the Cooks. They sent me a package. I thought the Bath and Body Works Cherry Blossom mini lotion and body wash were especially thoughtful. I love the smell!
Does Gavin wear ear plugs when he plays the drums? He should. My companion has damaged hearing from playing in the drum line and I know that Jessica Ercanbrack has hearing damage from playing the trumpet. What's better: A lifetime of music or one cut short because you lose your hearing?
I LOVE the conductor we have on Sundays. We have a different conductor for each of our two choir rehearsals each week. I'm still trying to figure that out. Anyways. I think the name of the conductor I like is Brother Brenchley. To the sopranos he said, "only sing the high A if you can approach it with strep throat." Ha ha! The other (Tuesday) grandpa conductor said two things I liked. He said "More altitude in the vowel" and "fortissimo, not blastissimo." I've been tempted to buy a tape recorder just to tape our rehearsals and send them home. Oh! Bro. Brenchley described one of our songs in terms of a church music video. It was sooooo funny. This week we are singing "Blessings" by Benjamin Harlam. I would definitely check it out/buy it. It is actually "Come Thou Fount" but it is written 3 against two. I've never heard anything like it. The piano is the 3 and the vocal is the 2. It's for piano. Sis. Boone is our accompanist this week. She is totally cute. She doesn't always get the 2/3 in the piano quite right. We usually have a different pianist.
Tue. Nov 18
As you know, Elder Holland spoke. He totally lays it down! I don't have my notes with me right now. At one point he spoke about following the rules. He said something "If you don't follow the rules, you can go start your own church." I couldn't believe how blunt he was the entire time! He is super intelligent and highly eloquent and yet you understand everything he says.
Wed. Nov 19
The new Kohai came. The 4 sisters we received in our district seem down to earth. Our zone leaders Budge and Murphy Choro,along with Sis. Shaha and I spoke to the Kohai. We all bore our testimonies in Japanese. I remember when our Senpai did that for us. I thought how amazing it would be to say a testimony in three weeks!
Thu. Nov 20
Today the TRC went horribly. Sis. Shaha and I were floundering. There was a feeling of something tension-like in the air. We could hardly get out sentences and understanding the things our investigators said was out of the question. It didn't help that we had 4 investigators. That was overwhelming. We had trouble because
- Senpai left. Without our senpai we have no one to look up to.
-I had a cold yesterday so I slept for 1 1/2 hours during the day.
-This morning I auditioned with Derek AND Sis. Shaha had a doctor's appointment... so we didn't study.
I felt like crying during the TRC. Back at class, Tex. Sensei lovingly yet sternly lectured our entire district for slacking. He talked about setting goals. After the lecture, he said Sis. Shaha and I should stay while the others went to dinner. Sis. Shaha was in tears. He gave both of us a blessing. Sis. Shaha and I recorded each other's blessings. It gave me a lot of comfort.
One of our new elders in our district (the two-Spanish speakers) came with me and Sis. Shaha to the TRC as a third companion. He just listened. Thing is, he knows way more English AND Japanese than he lets on. I wish he would have helped us out! I think it's funny that we were a threesome companionship of two sisters and one elder.
Sun Nov 23
Things are low because...stress is high. We have an incredible amount of tango (vocab) to learn because we teach the 2nd lesson (plan of salvation) on Wednesday as opposed to Thursday (our usual TRC day) because Thursday is Thanksgiving.
I spoke in church today. I spoke about the Book of Mormon. As I was speaking, I felt so excited to get to Japan. Just think! Someday I will be comfortable with the language. My hair is getting excessively oily. I think that's because of stress. My body struggles to process food too. I'm bloated most days. I wish the MTC were more inviting. The windows are always closed, everything is brown, the chairs are hard, and floor is hard too.
I'll write the rest in an snail mail letter. I'm running out of time and I want to make sure this gets sent.
Happy Thanksgiving! I wish I could be there!
Love,
Sis McMahan
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