Halfway There, Livin' on a Prayer

Whooaaaa we're halfway there, WhoooAAAA livin on a prayer!!! (I realize that song is not in the hymnbook, and thus I should not be singing it, but I just thought it was so applicable and I couldn't resist.) It's officially our halfway point of the MTC! So weird. But really exciting at the same time. Our Daisenpai got their travel plans today! They're leaving at like 2 in the morning not this Monday but next. That's gonna be us before we know it! So let's think, exciting things of this week: My Doryo had a really bad headache all last week so we finally went to the doctor on Tuesday. He diagnosed her with a sinus infection and prescribed some meds that we had to go pick up from the BYU health center. I gotta say, it was so weird actually leaving the MTC grounds. We walked to the edge and the gate was just open. For some reason I thought that was super weird haha. I think I was expecting a guard or something at least. Sometimes we forget that we're here on our own free will. It feels a bit prison like at times. But it was fun to change up the schedule for a little bit and have a change of scenery, even if it was only across the street :) The Nihongo is really starting to come together. Sometimes as a district, we go on eigo danjika (English Fasting) which basically means we speak only Nihongo for whatever amount of time we decide. It's always surprising to me how much Nihongo I can actually speak when I want to. And also how much I can understand! I'm not saying I'm fluent by any stretch yet, demo (but) Nihongo wa kantan desu yo! (Japanese is simple!) At least, that's what we keep saying to ourselves. In Nihongo, they say everything SUPER politely. And you can't really say anything directly. It's the weirdest thing. There's a polite conjugation for pretty much everything and then there's honorific too. Basically, you can never really say anything directly. Instead of saying "Do you want to come to church?" you have to say "Do you think you want to come to church?" And the conjugation for the "must" verb literally translates to "if you don't do this, it will not become" which only implies that someone must do something. You can't tell someone they must pray. You have to tell them if they don't pray, it will not become. Also, it's really rude to say the word for "you". You have to use people's names all the time. I'm convinced that when I go to Japan I'm just going to be offending people right and left because I'll use the wrong conjugations or forget to give people their titles. Demo, Daijobu! (basically means, but that's ok! We say it after we do anything wrong or have any complaints. "I've eaten this same meal three times this week. Demo Daijobu!" "We gave our investigator the wrong scripture, AGAIN. Demo, Daijobu!" It's basically our version of "all is well") Our Kyudosha (Investigators) are progressing quite nicely. Even though our "lessons" are the most stressful part of the MTC no keiken (experience) it's certainly where we learn the most. Kino (yesterday) Cook Sensei was all "Ok guys, you're getting new investigators for next week, lets meet them!" At which time we usually watch a video about our "investigator" saying how old they are what they like, etc. But this time, he turns on the computer screen and up pops pictures of all of us. Yep, that's right. We're the new investigators. We now get to teach each other. Guru guru pa! (basically means, mind blown) Sounds a little scary, but I think it'll be a really good experience to start thinking more from an investigator's point of view, as well as seeing how other missionaries teach. I'll have to let you know how it goes. It's strange the way that my mind works these days. I get hymns stuck in my head all the time. Everything we ever do relates back to the gospel. The other day, I was playing four square when I realized it is the PERFECT comparison to the pride cycle. Think about it. You start our all humble in D square, and then you get to C and still feel good, then you get to B and start only focusing on getting the person in A square out, and then when you finally get to A square you get prideful and stop working hard which leads you to miss some easy shot because you think you're all that! Then you end up in D square again, and thus the pride cycle begins again! Pretty good anaolgy eh? I sure thought so. My roommates think I should use it in a lesson sometime. I'm not entirely sure that the Nihonjin would understand the comparison. Do they have 4 square in Nihon? Anyway, that's the life we live here. Trivia question for you: Who was the first prophet to enter the MTC? Think about it, and I'll tell you at the bottom of the page :) One of my favorite parts about the MTC has been the choir. The first day we were here we decided as a district to do choir every week. It's so insane going to the Marriot center on Tuesdays and being a part of this MASSIVE choir. We sing beautiful music and sometimes its the most spiritual part of my Tuesday. Besides that, the choir director is abslolutely hilarious. Tuesdays are probably my favorite day because of choir, and because of the Tuesday night devotionals which are always simply spectacular, but mostly because we have a district devotional afterwards with just us 14 missionaries. We all talk about what we learned, felt, or thought and just grow closer as a district. Life is great. This gospel is great, and Nihongo is great! Sounds like things are going well back home! Love you all! Ai Shitte masu! Wells Shimai