MTC Week Four

Dear Family, my family, 

     I am writing you from... a computer lab in 7M..... yep..... how interesting..... and let me just say, I love emails!!! I could sing a song about it!! (please wait....) Ok I just did to my companions! Don't worry, it's normal and they've gotten used to me singing out loud randomly :) So really quick to you father.... yes you dad, if you ever think that there's anything in my emails that shouldn't go on a blog (like personal stuff, family member stuff) then feel free to take it out and post the rest of the email on the blog! no worries, I'll just trust in you're judgment :) but also I do want people to read about what I'm doing so... up to you :) So that's awesome you're renting out the basement again!!! yay!!! I'm sure they'll be just as amazing as the Gombergs were :) So practicing mandarin eh?? hows it going!! I wish I could write to you in mandarin.... but uh... ya... not happenin, so just imagine I can actually speak Chinese haha! We watched "The Testaments" in Chinese yesterday and... I'd say I got a solid...... 17.5% of what they said haha! Everytime Christ spoke I understood it perfectly because it was church vocab I understood!! yay!! but then Korihor spoke... yikes. I need to learn Chinese. So yes I got the violin and can I say it has brightened my whole time here!!! Never before has playing the violin become such a stress reliever and such a solace for me :) I also got all the music!! This Thursday I have an audition to play it places, so hopefully that goes good!! oh ya and with the music.... If you could send the piano accompament to Joseph Smiths First Prayer and to I know that my redeemer lives that could be great :) Oh ya! and same day dear elder letter? awesome! there was so much awesomeness going on with that day, I almost exploded from how awesome my parents are!!! 

So... I got better from being sick :) and the Mandarin is going good!! my teacher asked in this next lesson teaching the investigator that I stay silent the whole time, so that my companions can struggle their way through it without me to rely on haha. Well that will be an interesting journey ;) I love my teachers so much!!! they are so spiritual, and everything they say always lifts me up to new heights!! Hm. Now I have in the Heights stuck in my head.... odd..... well, pacencia yi fei. (totally spelled wrong) so ya!....My companions... well.... we'll get back to that ;) 

Dad, that sentence you wrote to me " We'll bid you adieu for a short while and look forward to your wit and biting satire on MTC life." literally cracked me up!!  thanks so much!!!! 

So.... onto the dear elder you sent me ;) So thanks so much for the Chinese Hymn books!!! my district loves them, and they all say thank you!!!! so next rant is on electric razors. Basically the best thing that has ever happened to mankind. Ever. I have no idea how I have lived without an electric razor all this time!!! It came to me like.... mana in the wilderness. yep. thats all I got. amen, Hallelujah, and moving on. That cool violin thing you sent is awesome! and once I figure out how to use it, it'll be of great use to me!! :D So I don't know the mission address.... I'll find out and let you know :) oh and ya... a missionary plaque scripture... I found one, but lost it, so let me get back to you on that... again haha. (sorry world!) Thank you so much for all the inspiring words!! from family and others!! they mean so much to me, and I legit-ly love all the advice all the time!!! Sorry to all those who wrote me a letter and I haven't answered yet... sorry!!! I need to be called to repentance!! 

Speaking of repentance.. funny story time with Elder Dawson!!! So we were at the showers.... showering.... yep. And when I got out, I was like washing my hands and stuff, and these elders that had just gotten into the shower started doing a remake of a song, which happens to say the D-word in it. I was shocked they sang it, but I just cleaned up my things and was going to leave, when this short guy from Arizona storms into the bathroom, stands in front of the stalls where they are showering, and says "Elders, we are missionaries representing Christ, and I am appalled at the kind of language you are using right now. So you all need to shape up, be quiet, and you all need to repent." ..... I mean I have heard of calling nations to repentance, but he literally just... called them to repentance! awesome!! needless to say, me and that kid get along really well now :) and the elders in the showers took it well, apologized and went back to their rooms. Awesome. I love this gospel so much!!!! Where else can is say "Ni Xu yao Hui Gai!" and not have people look at me funny?? haha!!! Ah... sometimes I think I'm funny. Ok, so onto a day by day of my week :) 

Tuesday: MARIAH GOT INTO NOTEWORTHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yep, highlight of my day!!! haha, I was so freaking happy!!! and so excited!!!! Ah!!! This is what I wrote in my journal "I'm so freaking happy for her!!! She's practically living Pitch Perfect!!!" yep. amen. Ok and then I don't know if I wrote about this last week, but me and Elder Ricks have an agreement where whenever one of us calls the other by their first name, they get slapped for it. Funny thing is, Elder Ricks keeps calling me Danny, But I haven't called him Nathan yet, so basically I've slapped him like 30 times now, and he hasn't been able to for me haha, hilarious ;) 

Wednesday: Hard day. Hard hard day. "Ok so today was hard.... I don't know what to do with my companions!!!!! AH!!!!! They are so frustrating!!! ok simmer down... simmer...." That was what I wrote haha, ya... it was a hard day. We get along a lot better now, because we had a talk and some hardcore companionship inventory going on, so were cool now :) Another thing that happened on Wednesday was that Sister Grigg accidentally shot silly string into Sister Wang's Eye.... awkward, and funny haha. oh ya, and Wednesday I reached 14 times crying. wow. potato.  Pray for me.... pray pray and pray some more, I also had some troubles teaching my investigators, so that was rough... but there you go! 

Thursday: Journal Entry "Today.... Talk about a roller coaster of emotions!!! happy, sad, happy, sad, potato, acompanist, happy sad, I'm gonna kill someone, happy, sad, hey thats funny, happy sad, I want to sing, I don't know what to do, lord help me, happy, sad". yep... wow, ya that day was awesome because I got all the stuff from my parents!! yay!!! and I got an accompanist for my audition next thursday!! lets hope I do well!!!! 

Friday: I don't know what to say... things went good.... yep.... onward 

Saturday: I GOT TO SEE BRYAN AT TRC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so freaking happy, and so surprised!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I also taught a family home evening lesson where I accidentally told everyone that they were sinners and needed to repent. awesome. I was kinda sad right after I saw bryan... but then Elder Smith made me a paper heard, and it kinda made my day back to better!!! It's amazing how much the little things can help :) 

Sunday: Best. Day. Of. The. Week. Bad day for crying though, because I went up to 17 times.... yikes, I think I'm scaring Elder Bird, he's worried about my health with crying that much haha! Sundays are just so spiritual and amazing, I love it!! we had this guy give a devotional on how it was making "Ephraims Rescue" so I hope everyone goes and watches that, because I cant, and I'm sad! (not really haha) but ya. We went on a temple walk, worked on patience with the companions, sang Joseph Smiths First Prayer in Choir practice, and just had a party!! Oh and I started reading "Our Search for Happiness" by M. Russel Ballard, and its so cool!!! He has a lot of cool insight on the book of mormon that I have never thought of before!! 

Monday (Today): Wow... P-Day.... It's amazing how the time flies by!!! We went to the temple this morning, and then did service :) we folded sashes for an hour.... ya... not the most fun thing in the world, but hey, its temple service, gotta love blessings!!!! yep.. the day is still young... who knows what could happen...... 

So I was doing some scripture study lately (wow I say "so" a lot...) and I found this scripture in Mosiah 18:21-22 (I think this is the one I want on my mission plaque), which is amazing!!! it says "21. And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another. 22. And thus he commanded them to preach. And thus they became the Children of God." I has been my goal to try and align my will with the lords, and I read these verses during a time when I was having a hard time with my companions. I realized then that I would never be able to teach the lords doctrine how he would have me do it, unless I let my heart be "Knit Together" in love an unity with my companions. It hit me like a high five to the face with a sack of potatoes. I read that, and I realized a new approach to love my companions, was to just listen to them!! I always think that my opinion is right, and so listening to them talk about things I think they shouldn't, or act in ways they shouldn't has always bugged me. However, I realized now, maybe I should just listen to them and see where they're coming from!! Phenomenal. I see the truth of how you can't change others who bug you, but you definitely can change yourself into figuring out why they act the way they act. I love this church, and I love the gospel. I thought I knew the love the lord had for me before this, but now, all I can think about is how much he loves me now!! Its so much more!! I love the lord, I know this church is true, and I know that if we love the lord with all our might, then he will open the gates of heaven with love towards us. I love my family, I love my friends, and I love my savior. 

CTR, 

Elder Dawson