Week 2 - 2/11/2013

Wow, time flies! I can't believe it's already been a week since I wrote to you! Well not much has changed, just chugging along. The schedule is so much easier when you are used to it. But I'm always tired, I don't think that's gonna change anytime soon. We wake up at 6:30, are in class at 7 and plan/ study scriptures/ study the language until breakfast at 8. We have 3 hour blocks of class twice a day, hour meals, 1 hour of personal study (aka preach my gospel/scriptures), 1 hour language study, 1 hour companion study, and 1 hour of additional study meaning we get to choose. And we get 50 minutes of gym time which I spend playing basketball and I love it so much. When we get back to our residences at 9:30, we are just exhausted as you can imagine, but it feels good to have worked so hard. We have companionship prayer and lights out is at 10:30. Then you repeat, every day. It's great. It really helps that I love my district so much. There are times we can work really hard and focus and then there are times that we just laugh our heads off and have a nice break so we don't lose our minds. The Language is coming along nicely I think, we quiz each other all the time now and we have replaced words like yes, no, why, what, thanks, you're welcome, breakfast, etc. with oo, dili, ngano, unsa, salamat, walay problemo and pamihaw and it's just amazing how much it has become an instant reaction. Hopefully as my vocabulary expands I will be speaking less and less English everyday. We taught a few more lessons to our "investigator" and tomorrow begins the teaching in full Cebuano with nothing, but the scriptures in Cebuano and us. It's gonna be really hard, but we had a workshop and one of the teachers said, if you go in there with notes, who are you relying on? Your notes. But If you go in there with nothing, who are relying on? The Lord. And there is no way we can teach anything if we don't rely fully on the Lord. It's a leap of faith for sure, but I think everything is gonna work out just fine! I'm pretty excited. 

One of my favorite things about being here at the MTC the power that I feel when we are all gathered together for a devotional or something and we sing a hymn. It is the most powerful thing I have ever felt and it's so amazing to know that because of the people in this one place, MILLIONS of lives will be changed forever. Because a speaker came to talk to us last night and said "The work you are doing is the most important work you have ever done and will ever do in your life. It spans generations. It has an exponential effect. Everyday you WILL change the face of the earth." Wow. I can't think of anything I would rather be doing. 

On that note, Thanks for the Happy Birthdays!! Even though it's tomorrow! haha What would make my birthday unforgetable (which it already will be guaranteed) is if I received Dear Elders from everyone. In fact, If you could instead of replying to my email just send me a Dear Elder instead? They print those off and deliver them like letters and reading the emails takes up my precious email time (30 minutes) which I am running short on right now! I love you all, thank you for all your support!

Gugma,
Sister Pike


P.s. Josie, the word for use is "gamit" pronounced like your last name and I think of you every time! haha I'm sad I didn't get to share more funny stories, I'll try to remember them for next week!