Friday, December 20, 2013

Maligaya Pasko! (Merry Christmas)



December 20, 2013
Maligaya Pasko! (Merry Christmas)
It's great to hear from everyone. Things are still going well for me and I will be allowed to email on Christmas (Christmas eve for you I guess) between 9:15-12:45 my time. Dad, I don't think that I'm allowed to print up letters...sorry. "DEAR ELDER" ME! There's a board right across from where my district room where I can pick it up. ;) Thanks for the pictures.
I'm still doing great and we're actually moving on to the more gramatical part of our language training, so forming sentences has become a little eaiser, but now we need to figure out when each concept applies. Teaching has also gotten considerbly easier as well. Our very first teaching appointment was the second day we were in the MTC, in Tagalog, and everyone was freaked out and felt bad about how well they did. It's still stressful, but I feel like Heavenly Father has been holding all of us up and has been guiding us.
The new set of missionaries came to the MTC today and Ammon District (the one I'm in) was assigned to greet and direct the new missionaries through orientation. Wait, I'm suddenly one of the more experienced missionaries?!? It almost seems surreal that two weeks ago I was just as lost as the language training missionaries, and as homesick as the natives and the language traniees. Oh well, there'll be more noise going on around the MTC (the senior language class and the natives had left on Wednesday, and, unlike the Provo MTC, there were about 30 missionaries in both buildings).
The food still tastes great, but I think the staff is used to serving Elders. They give us so much food! I feel bad that I can't eat everything on my plate, but then I also feel bad asking for smaller portions.
It's still weird for me to believe that it's Christmas time here: I think this might be a Northern bias, but it doesn't feel like that time of year unless you have to wear at least three layers to be comfortable. But still, the nice Christmas tree in the main entrance is a great reminder of the time of year and what it means. There is a Nativity on it that I think mom would like. On Sunday, all the missionaries were able to go to the temple across the street to take pictures of the lights on the temple grounds. I love the temple so much, my district wasn't able to go this week because the time that we were schedualled (?) got filled up. A bit of a bummer, but we were able to go last week and the Spirit was so strong as we went through.
I love you all!
Sister Mikenna Jones

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