Dear Family and Friends,
A few weeks ago Elder Clement walked into class, and told us he had a song he wanted to sing. Sister Ackley and I were hesitant, but we gave him our full attention and listened to his song. It went like this, "What do you do on preparation day?...You Preparate, You Preparate." We definitely weren't expecting that--at all!! It caught us so off guard, and we laughed really hard. Since then we have all added pen-beats and various other musical accompaniments to make it sound even better. It has become our official "Preparation Day" song. I am glad that I have time to "preparate" today.
Last Sunday, in Relief Society, our speaker was Janice Kapp Perry. She talked about the influence and power music can have in our lives, and especially in our missions. Of course, she didn't talk for long--we sang. We started out with a medley of primary songs she has written, and we ended with a very special song she recently wrote. Apparently, she is working on a new album with music especially for sister missionaries. Anyways, she started out talking about "As Sisters in Zion." The lyrics were written by someone else, but Janice Kapp Perry wrote the music. She said that with the current abundance of sister missionaries, she decided to write her own lyrics to the tune. The new song is called "The Sister in Zion." The music is the same, but the lyrics are all about sister missionaries. Apparently we were the first ones to ever sing it, and it was a really neat experience. When the lyrics become available, could you send them to me?
Last Sunday, Sister Ackley and I decided that we wanted to sing in the MTC choir at least once. Practices are held on Sundays and Tuesdays, and the choir always sings in the Tuesday night devotional. The Elders also decided to come along, so it became a district affair. We showed up at the first practice, and we were pleasantly surprised to see that the song was, "Come Thou Fount." We were excited that we chose to attend choir when we were singing such a great song. But wait, it gets better. On Tuesday night we went to practice and we realized that someone "big" was coming. (The teleprompters are usually a sign, and when they started going over the floor with detectors it kind of sealed the deal! :) Russell M. Nelson ended up being our special guest. It was fun to be in the choir on that night, and we had saved seats which meant we didn't have to stand in line for an hour. One of my favorite quotes of the night was, "Goodness, men are to be have joy--look like it!" What a good reminder to smile while we work! Another funny one was, "I pounded the pulpit in your behalf when I told everyone to 'Ask the Missionaries.'" To me his message was wrapped up in this quote, "The church is not a place to rest; it is a place to progress." As missionaries, we lead our investigators to baptism; but that is not the end. We want our investigators to endure to the end--to go to the temple, and to receive wonderful blessings for being active members of the church. I am so happy that I am a member of this church, and that I have the opportunity to serve a mission. I am looking forward to sharing the good news of the gospel to the people in Mongolia.
This week Wilson Ax was very complementary to Sister Ackley and I after one of our lessons. I didn't notice it being very spectacular, but he said that he didn't notice our language at all (or lack of language). He also said, that he never remembers the sisters in the previous group giving lessons that well in the MTC. Now, there is a lot that I still need to work on, but that was good to hear. I like to know that I am on the right track. As we're scheduled to leave in two weeks, I hope that I know enough to help me be confident in saying something when I arrive!
Sister Ackley and I get along well. I am so lucky that I was blessed with such a wonderful first companion. We're surprising similar in a lot of ways--even to the point that we say the same things at the same time. Weird! We both appreciate cleanliness, we like to laugh, and we go to bed on time. We have a lot of fun together. There are still days when we don't agree on how to teach a lesson, or how to effectively use our time, but for the most part we get along really well.
This week we started EIL (English as an Internation Language) training. It is stressful, and it has made for a busy week. Apparently, they can't even finish the VISA process until this is done--talk about incentive. We have been working on it in the evenings which means we haven't had much companionship study, or language study this week. We have to have a teacher with us when we do it, because the course is through BYU Learning Suite and they have to log us into the great and spacious internet. There are ten sections in the course and each section requires reading from a textbook, assignments etc. I enjoy learning about it, but when everyone else is whizzing through the reading and the assignments I feel the pressure to keep up. I'm doing my best to learn while I complete the course quickly.
All in all, I am doing well. I can't believe my time in the MTC is almost over. I can't wait to leave, but thinking about all that I still need to learn and master is sometimes stressful. However, I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers, so I know it will all be okay. I love you all!!
Sister Magleby
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