5th Week in the MTC

MTC Update:

We are officially over half way through the MTC. In less than a month I will be in Poland! That is kind of insane! We get to teach our first all Polish lesson on Thursday and I'm quite nervous. There's a lot to memorize and learn. But I'm also a little bit excited. The spirit is always so strong and I learn so much every week at the TRC. As I push myself to prepare for Thursday I see my hard work in action as I AM able to communicate in another language. Something that I've learned as Sister Bailey and I have been preparing to teach in Polish is that the simplicity with which you are forced to communicate with by necessity is not a bad thing. In fact, it allows the spirit more time to witness of the truth of the message. I'll tell you how it goes.

Polish Fact of the Week: Ziemniak (pronounced gem-nee-ahk) means potatoe. For some reason they use this word instead of "pound it". Also the Hymn Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise has new meaning as it says that we will spread the gospel from pole to pole.

Last night we played a Polish version of Truth or Dare (minus the Truth option). We had just learned the command form and so if you could command someone in the room to do something with correct Polish grammar, they had to do it. It was pretty funny. Elder Lundin had to do the jerk for one of the other classes and Elder Kalinowski licked Elder Curtis' foot. I always appreciate it when our teachers put the time and energy into activities that help us better learn the material they teach us. It really does help. I'm trying to think of what else to write about. We really do just get up and study all day long except for gym time and meals we're always in the classroom. We study and learn (and joke a little) and then sleep and do it again the next day. But we really are learning a lot. It's quite amazing.

The Provo Temple is officially open again and so we got to go today. It is so nice to be able to go again. I love the peace and rejuvination I feel by going and can't wait for the blessing of regular attendance to be available to all members of the church.

I love you all. Thanks for brightening my day with your notes.

Siostra Allen

4th week in the MTC

(I feel so busy and then I sit down to write you and have the hardest time thinking of things to write about.
Polish is all consuming here at the MTC. I love it! Our teachers try to make things into a game so it's easier and more enjoyable to practive, but we are all naturally competitive so little exercises like a sentance in English that we have to translate correctly becomes epic. Everyone gets so pumped up; sometimes I can feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins as I try to figure out which case certain words need to be put into and if the perfective or imperfective form of the verb would be better. I hope this is a good thing. Occasionally we get a little too caught up in it though. One of the teams has won every single game of "connect three" that we've played and has now begun referring to themselves as Dynasty.

Polish fact of the week: Huli: a Polish person that thinks they're really cool. According to our teachers they wear nike shocks and nike shoes etc. Addidas is not an option. They also have a love of old-school American rap and Chuck Norris.

I was made the Huli of the week for our class on Saturday (we have one every week). The class gets to grill you with whatever questions they want and then they have to give you compliments. Apparently I break a lot of negative sterotypes about sister missionaries. I hope I can keep that rep up. You know how I love to disprove stereotypes.

On a more spiritual note, we've been working on our lesson on the Plan of Salvation this week. It has been so amazing to study and teach about this subject; about the plan that our Heavenly Father has for us to return to him and our Savior Jesus Christ's central role in that. Sister Bailey and I made pictures to correspond to each of the parts, and as we were practicing with two elders in our district we realized that half of our chart would be non-existent without the Atonement of Jesus Christ. At the beginning of 2 Nephi 9 it explains that without Christ there would be no resurrection and our spirits would have no means of escape from the power of the devil. We would literally be his servants. But that isn't our end. There is a plan established and our faith is not in vain. Christ atoned for our sins and as a result we can be found clean at the judgement bar of our Heavenly Father.

Something I struggle with is asking investigators to make committments. Sister Bailey is great at this and we've been discussing their importance and ways to give them that encourage the investigator to act. The devotional we had on Sunday had a great illustration of this with an investigotor taking steps as they did things towards the "doors of baptism". Just agreeing to do something hardly moved them closer to their Savior at all. They had to pray, to read the scriptures on their own, to go to church even when it wasn't convinient before real progress was made. This is our job. Christ is the good shephard. He is always calling, but so many don't know what the sound of his voice is like. We're just teaching investigators how to come unto Christ. We're teaching them what answers from prayer feel like, how to find answers to their questions in the holy scriptures, and the saving power of ordinances in renewing our relationship with our Redeemer.

I have to go. All my love.

Siostra Allen

3rd week in the MTC

So Sister Bailey is telling me that you tried to call her parents. That's so cool. Thank you so much for the letters and the package. I can't tell you how wonderful they are to receive. I'm glad all is going well, I keep you in my prayers and know that Heavenly Father will take care of you all. Please let me know how the boys enjoyed their camp out and how Scott's birthday was. I sent him a letter, which I don't think he got because I sent it to Las Vegas. Either way, I hope he had a great day.

(We've had a good week. There were a few little bumps, mostly me forgetting and loosing things, but we both figure it's because we've decided to work on patience as a district. I went to the podiatrist yesterday and everything is good to go. Their office doesn't charge for follow up appointments, and because we had already paid for treatment that's what they considered it. When they told me they didn't want me to pay anything I gave them a funny look and asked if they were sure about that. I don't think I've every gone to the doctor and paid less than a $15 copay. I know Heavenly Father is looking out for us. But my medical story of the week is nothing in comparison to Elder Oborn's. He's been having chest and back pain since right before he came into the MTC. When he went to the doctor before he came they told him he was just anxious and it would go away. It didn't, so he went to the doctor yesterday. They gave the same diagnosis but just to be sure they decided to do some X-rays with which they discovered that one of his lungs was almost completely collapsed. They were able to suck out the air that had leaked out of the lung and into his chest cavity and right now his lung have reinflated to 95%. Please keep him in your prayers, we really want him to come to Poland with us in 7 weeks.

Poland fact of the week:

At one point in Star Wars Jabba the Hut speaks Polish. He says "O co chodzi?" (pronounced Oh tsoh hogee) meaning "What's the point?"

The more I learn Polish the more blessed I feel. I know that Heavenly Father gave me opportunities that prepared me to do this. For example, there are a LOT of grammar rules for Polish and because of my background in English I know the difference between an adjective and an adverb and what a direct object is. Essential pieces of information to know if you intend on speaking Polish. Learning Spanish has helped so much as I'm conjugating and deciding what tenses things need to be in. And choir has aided my ability to pronounce words that are very different from English. I honestly don't know how I would be doing without all of those experiences. Either way, I feel very blessed everyday as Siostra Bailey and I read the Ksiega Mormona and can start to piece together what it's saying.

I have so much I want to tell you about what I've been learning here. Sister Bailey and I are currently preparing the second lesson for our TRC appointment on Thursday. I love how basic it is. It answers in such a clear and direct way the three most elusive questions about life. Where I came from? What is my purpose in life? and Where am I going? Knowing that I lived before I came here and choose this means of learning and growing makes all the difference. Knowing that this life is the time to prepare to meet God, where I can experience life and make choices and repent when I mess up is both comforting and focusing. And knowing that I have the potential to live with my Father in Heaven again makes everything worth it. I love that Jesus Christ is the center of the plan. I love that it emphasizes families. And I especially love 2 Nephi 9. Go and read it. It's probably the most amazing doctrinal chapter on the Plan of Salvation (next to Alma 12 and 2 Nephi 2).

In class we got to watch a talk by Elder Bednar about listening to the spirit. His answer was rather suprising. He said, "Be a good boy. Be a good girl. Obey the commandments and honor your covenents. And then don't worry about it." Most of the time we don't even know when we're being guided by the spirit. Don't let your desire for a concrete answer paralyze you. This life is about doing something. I loved this message. I think it's going to revolutionize the way I do my mission, look for answers, and live my life. As long as I'm listening and trying to do what's right I will follow the spirit whether I know it or not.

P.S. Extra Extra Read All About It.

Yes, we do have new dress guidelines. Skirts can be shorter and no nylons are necessary. The latter is my favorite rule.)

Love you all so much, write to you next week.

Tracy

2nd Week in the MTC

I got your packages and letter last week (very cute stationary, btw). Thank you soooo much. The elders in my district have officially voted you Team Mom because they loved the cupcakes so much. It is fun to hear from you, but I only have 30 minutes on P-day to be on my e-mail (And the computer likes to freeze a lot with the timer still going) so if you want to send me letters while I'm in the MTC just go to dearelder.com and type in the text of your e-mail. They print them off and put them in my mailbox each day. So I can read and think about you guys during the week and have more time to write you on Tuesdays.

I'm glad you guys are all having fun and that Provo and Schofield and Logan have been enjoyable. We did get to see the fireworks, our mission president gave specific permission for us to stay up passed 10:30 to do so. And we sang patriotic songs as we watched and then hymns after about the third Star Spangled Banner. I'm glad Sister Gale was able to get the phone to you. I was so suprised when I found it and not exactly sure what to do with it, but she jumped right in and said she would take it to you. Thank you for keeping my blog up to date. I enjoy being able to share this amazing experience with all those who want to read about it. I'm glad you were able to sell some of the things you were hoping to, and that KaryAnn might get a decent sized bed. You might even want to repost the other things in Provo area and transport them up since the market is apparently better here. I'm glad you enjoyed reading Graceling and our little bird on the front porch hasn't flown away yet and that you had a good sacrament meeting two weeks ago. I do love Sundays too and the rejuvinating spirit that it offers.

(The last week has been intense. We taught for the first time in the Teaching Resource Center with volunteer investigators who spoke Polish. We had to do three 15 minute introductions in Polish where we said we were missionaries and a little bit of our message and then we asked if we could teach the rest of the lesson in our native tongue and gave the first discussion. I LOVE teaching the first discussion. It is so wonderful that my job is to tell everyone that I meet that they are a child of God and that he loves them. That there is a plan to return to him. And that through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can be cleansed from sin. That I get to teach them that there is hope. That the gospel has been restored through Joseph Smith.

I am having trouble memorizing all of the Polish vocabulary. It's just so different from every other thing I've ever tried to learn. But when I get frustrated and think of how impossible it is that in less than two months I'm going to be IN Poland teaching in this language I just have to have faith that God will bless me with the gift of tongues as he has promised. And God always keeps his promises so I have nothing to fear. Sister Bailey is such a help to me. When I don't feel like studying anymore she goes through the vocab cards and asks me questions in Polish so I have to answer. It's easy to get disheartened about learning a language, but when you really think about it, two weeks ago I couldn't even read Polish and now I can say I have two brothers and I'm from Las Vegas. That I like reading and studyied literature (notice the past tense. yep, learned that yesterday). The words are so much fun too. Crazy at first and then just fun.)

For the most part I am doing fine. I have everything I need and the little things I might need to pick up I can grab at the MTC Bookstore. But if you are wanting to send anything to me, I now have a little better idea of what works best.

Long skirts (preferably with pockets) and they can have patterns or be plain.

I have enough collared shirts, if you see any blouses that you think would look good with one of my skirts though I would really enjoy some variety

AND JEANS!!! Jeans are totally fine on P-day and when we do service, so please, oh please send me the dark wash jeans in the vaccum box under my bed in Vegas. And any casual t-shirts that I can wear too.

Well my time is almost up, I love you guys so very much. I thank you again for the thoughtful notes.

Sister Tracy Allen