Week 7 Just one month left!

Nimen Hao!

 

How is everything? Everything here is going great for the most part! The snow just postpones any chances of outside of gym but other than that its great!

So last week I forgot to mention that we are a pretty big deal and by that I mean we are famous. Desert News I think? Came and took pictures of  us in class. It was super awkward but check out the news our familiar faces might be in it.

This week we got new missionaries so we have been pretty busy preparing for them. We go to take them around the su she (Residence Hall) on day and get them aquainted with the new missionaries, and be their first missionary friends. Thursday night we had to go to talk to them about planning, companionship and everything else underneath the sun. Its insane to to think we are the "old" missionaries now and we only have 4 weeks left in the mtc from today. ai ya! It freaks me out a bit to think that I'll be in Taiwan soon and trying to understand three words. Doesn't feel as if I have enough time in the day, but that's the thing we all have the same amount of time as anyone else but we never have enough time. I've learned the mtc can be a place of frustration and joy I guess you can say. Its just a matter of trying to figure out what to do is best all the time.

This Sunday's Fireside was awesome. (Its a large meeting with a speaker). It was a musical fireside so we sang basically the whole time. We sang amazing version of Called to Serve. There is such a power to the music we sing. Oh! I forgot to mention last week we had tobasco saturday. We wore Tabasco ties and and sat around a tabasco bottle. I hit deng zhang lao's shredded wheat with some tabasco without him noticing. Classic. (The four of us wore ties in our district)

Spiritual thought of the week is from 2 Ne2.1-2 and sort of Alma 14.9-11. The reason we have bad things happen to us and good people is for 1. our own gain. *(learning we don't know why it will happen till the future) 2. Because God can accept His children in his arms and fairly judge those who have done bad. God gave us free agency to choose for ourselves right or wrong and if God didn't let us chose than He wouldn't be a fair God. That's one of God's greatest gifts is Agency.

Lots of Love,

Elder Townsend

 

Week 6!

Hello one and all

This week has been good! We taught the first time in Chinese and it was crazy! I can't believe how well it went. Considering we got the message across, the spirit was there, we could understand, and it was just a good time! Still need for improvement, well lots of improvement. It’s neat to know the spirit speaks in every language. I love the experiences here, they are all so unique as well as the people. Deng zhang lao for example. He said he wants to create a flowbie for black people to make their corn rows. It’s his next project. He still talks in his sleep at night and well is... Deng zhang lao. Today we went to the temple and it was an interesting yet spiritual experience. This man during the session starting having spasms. The session was stopped and one of the men came and asked if he was ok. He said this happened occasionally and he would just sit it through. He also said he would suffer through it. He mentioned how he went to the doctor's and they said there was nothing to do but sit through it. My heart went out to this man as he was fighting the suffering he said. It made me realize our Savior felt that suffering and he knows when we are in the greatest pain. The spirit hit me hard as I saw as the Savior did in a way. I wish I could have taken that pain from him. It also showed me how much the Gospel means to this man, he refused to leave and insisted on going through the whole session. He loves the Gospel so much he was unwilling to give into his schophrenic spasms. (He also mentioned he had schizophrenia) I just challenged myself at that point to always be committed to the gospel as he is, not letting anything stand in my way. I challenge all of you to commit yourselves as this man has demonstrated.

With love,

MTC Life

Elder's Gubbay (twins), Elder Wyatt, and Buster. Old zone leaders and now the new. Buster has said that they are the hero's in his life and is humbled to step into their position. He said that Chinese will be their fourth language. Wow, Buster and Elder Wyatt have big shoes to fill. (literally...guess it is time to start singing the verse "when I have grown a foot or two" -I hope they call me on a mission!

Elder Palmer Clegg (BYU friend)

Mandel (BYU buddy)

 The whole Chinese zone!

Elder Wyatt, Bust, Elder Luck & Elder White.
I am beginning to wonder how that suit is holding up wearing it 24/7. He was told to bring just one but I am afraid it will be worn out and stinky before March 24, 2011 arrives!

Week 5!

Ni hao!

This week was a bit crazy with all the new zone leader job. By the way, what a zone leader is my companion and I are in way in charge of all the chinese elders in our branch which is a a section of elders and sisters. To start off with we had an elder disappear. Luckily we found him. He forget to tell his companion where he was going and got baCK late. Who would have thought it would be hard to lose a 200+ Somoan? Then other little things came up but it was no biggie. This week I was surprised at how much chinese I actually know! I can have a simple, I say simple, conversation. The district is going well, I can't remember anything crazy deng zhang lao has done. Oh wait, he heard that oranges gave nightmares so he went looking for one. Well he came back with a grapefruit and proceeded to peel it like an orange. He doesn't remember the dream he had but he started screaming in chinese german and something else at 3 am. He doesn't remember a thing. My companion and I had a great lesson in the trc again. The spirit was strong and powerful. We also have an awesome mission president here at the mtc. President Brown is the coolest man ever. He is fun and loving and is good to all of us. He will come and talk with the missionaries during lunch but the problem is that those missionaries tend to end up bearing their testimonies when he speaks... Luckily I haven't talked to him.

Spiritual thought.

In America there was a boy who was confused about religion. He wanted to know how he could save his soul. He studied the scriptures to find out. He came across a scripture that hit him hard. It said if any of you lack wisdom let him ask God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not. James 1.5. He took that advice. He went to a grove of trees near his home and prayed. Now I reaccount his experience. "I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, the light descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me calling me by name and said pointing to the other. 'this is my beloved son, hear him'".

Do you believe This boy, Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ?

Why?

I testify that this boy did see God and Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith DID receive an answer to his prayer. God loves all his children and WILL NEVER LEAVE THEM ALONE. This boy followed them and restored the Christ's church once again upon the Earth. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

Elder Townsend

Week 4!

Hello Hello.

New this week at the mtc... We had a great lesson at the trc. We committed her to baptism. Still getting used to everything. This week my companion and I were called to be zone leaders. It’s crazy. Time flies. The previous zone leaders were the best ever. I love them so much. They are some of my heroes in my life. I am very honored and humbled that they recommended my tongban and I to take over in this position. The bad thing is now we have to serve for 7+ weeks. It will be great.

This past week we convinced deng zhang lao (Elder Vandenberghe) to sleep in the closet. He lasted 30 mins. Deng zhang lao has also wrote to the branch president that he read in the health guide they should report problems. He then proceeded to write he has an excessive urination problem. Ha today he went to the health clinic to get it checked out. Probably due to his diet of chocolate milk, cinnamon toast crunch cereal and rice, is my guess why he might have those problems.

Thanks again to everyone for their letters. They are awesome. Hopefully I can send some pictures out once the machine is up. My tongban and I also met a pretty cool lady at the temple the other day. I think her name was Keioko. She was Japanese. WE had a great conversation and she asked if she could take a picture of us. SO we let her. That leads to this week’s spiritual thought...

We are all God's children. We are all in this together. WE should take the chance to talk to everyone for you never know who might need it or how it might help them. Think of the Savior as he walked the streets of Jerusalem. He talked and taught. He shared his message of love with the sick and broken hearted. I challenge each and everyone of you to say hi to everyone. Take time to get to know them and let them know you care. Just as Christ possessed charity we too must possess it continually.