Another week down at the MTC. Language is coming along alright, it is still tough but coming slowly. I think we are starting to go a little crazy since we have been here for six weeks and have about three weeks to go.
My cousin, Ethan Barrus, arrived at the MTC. He is one floor below me in the classroom building. He's headed to the Philippines. Fun to have some family here!
Our teacher accidentally said, "Legalization of Marinara" instead of Marijuana. That got us laughing good. Later on he showed us a video called, "Thailand stop drinking ads." Thai people try to tell the people that drinking is not a good idea through hilarious commercials. Look them up.
We had part of our class outside. I watched as the sunset reflected on the mountains, and turned the mountains an orange color. It makes me appreciate being outside more, and I am definitely spending a lot more time outside when I go to college.
We got to host some senior missionary couples yesterday. If anyone didn't know, you can serve a mission with your spouse, later in the future. It was really fun and they were very kind. I got to take their luggage, escort them to their rooms, and then take them to their orientation. I was surprised to see so many connections I had with them. One couple is from Tropic, Utah, where my Aunt and Uncle live. Another couple lived in Lafayette, Indiana for a few years. The husband of one couple sang in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It was fun to tell them that an apostle is speaking in a devotional the next day, and it was fun to see them get excited over that.
We had two apostles speak in the last week, and another one is speaking tonight: D. Todd Christofferson, and M. Russell Ballard. Dallin H. Oaks is speaking tonight. Something like this never happens, since there are 12 apostles, I heard usually one of them comes once every few months.
Last night we got to Skype people in Thailand. My companion and I gave a 30-minute lesson in Thai. It went alright, and I ran out of material to say, so just said, "What do you like in Thailand?" That didn't turn out too well. Well, it sure was better than what the other elders in my district said. One Elder accidentally said to a Thai mom: "How often do you have children?" That Thai mom started laughing. A lot. So did we.
I got to play piano for the Malaysia and Indonesia elders during church last Sunday. They sang the hymn "God Be with You til We Meet Again" in their languages. It was beautiful, and now that everyone knows that I play piano I get to play piano for some other missionaries this Sunday while they sing.
The elders going to Malaysia and Indonesia left yesterday. I will miss them and they were so fun to be around. There's a video of Elder Williams and I when I tricked him into thinking we were taking a photo. Going to miss the happiest guy ever. I'm going to describe a few elders:
Elder Williams: The Smallest Samoan I have met, but he is probably the happiest I have ever met. He laughs a lot and always has a good time. I got a video with him.
Elder Christiansen: from Southern Utah reminds me of my family in Southern Utah. When I hugged him goodbye he said, "I haven't met someone here who loves Southern Utah as much as you do."
Elder Ostermiller: One of the best football/baseball players in Idaho, got full ride scholarship offers to play for UNC and a bunch of other D1 colleges, but he had to decline, since he told the coaches that he was going to serve a mission. He can throw 90 MPH too, and he can make both of his eyes look in different directions.
Elder Smith: One of the most entertaining people I have ever met. He always says things that make me laugh all the time.
Our zone (numerous groups of districts) covers numerous countries in Southeast Asia. Countries include: Thailand/Laos/Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, Mongolia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. I wanted to think of some cool way to keep all of us united after we leave for the countries. Then an idea came to mind. I went to my suitcase and pulled out a bag of small minion (from despicable me) toys. I was planning on placing them in a vent or something but this idea
was better. I gave one minion toy to a Malaysian Elder, and an Elder going to Indonesia. I told them to take pictures with this minion in your country, and I will give one minion to one missionary per country in our zone. Then we all could send the pictures to each other in a big group message. This will be fun.
While doing a temple walk last Sunday, we found a sister missionary from Thailand. She took a picture with all of the us Missionaries going to Thailand. It was really cool. One is missing in the photo, he was off doing his own thing.
Spiritual highlights
As always, there are always spiritual things going on at the MTC. There was a lot of things that happened, but I couldn't think of anything that stuck out.
We watched a video called "Our true identity" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, and had a lesson about it. Watch that video if you have time, it's really inspiring. Our teachers told us that we all have strengths and weaknesses, and that we shouldn't feel like an ugly duckling if we stand out from our group.
Our teacher placed a chair in front of the classroom, and called it the "Chair of love." He then said that one of us will sit in the chair while everyone in the class goes around and gives compliments. It really increased the confidence of all of us, and it made us feel more united as a district. Go and give compliments to as many people as possible, you never know how much it can mean to them.
With Love,
Elder Brinkerhoff
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| My junk food drawer - a great way to make friends! |
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