#9 - The Fish and The Chickens

Bonjour!  

This was a crazy p-day!  I was trying to get myself organized for Tahiti, and in the end it just looks like a wild hog got loose in my room.  And the point is that I didn't write a big letter for a weekly update.  I'm sorry, fam!  I can guarantee that next week will be a nice, juicy letter, though, because I asked my branch pres if I could just keep a list of things I want to say throughout the week and then send it off.  He said that would be fine.  So I'm going to try and just jot down thoughts and things throughout the week. 

But here are some things I can say this week:

- I am leaving for Tahiti in 10 days.  It feels so surreal.  I am so excited.  I am so nervous!  It's so weird because I still feel like I have no concept of where I'm headed.  I can't even imagine what it's going to look like or feel like, or anything!  But I am much more excited than nervous!  I wonder what the first meal I eat there will be.  Probably fish.  Oh!  And guess what?  This is the scariest thing ever!  You know how I HATE chickens?!  Like haaaaate chickens?  Well apparently there are chickens everywhere! Just roaming around pecking feet!  (Actually, I made up the pecking feet thing.  But I really am worried about that.)  Those are the things I'm worried about.  The fish and the chickens.  And the fact that I'm not even close to speaking Tahitian.  But those are just little things.  So it's alright.

- Speaking of Tahitian- it is so hard.  If you want to do a fun activity and learn more about speaking Tahitian, try this:  Spend 5 minutes trying to teach about the Plan of Salvation without using the words am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been, has, have, should, will, or could.  Because those words don't exist in Tahitian.  Ha ha!  It's so crazy!  Ít's so cool, though!  It's such a sincere language.  Nothing fluffy.  My favorite Tahitian word is "faahanahanahia." It means "glorified." Doesn't that word just seem glorified?

- So, I love the mission so far.  It has been wonderful and fun, and I have learned a lot.  I should let you know, though, that it's not always a piece of cake.  Everyone says that when they get home, and it's true.  The MTC is wonderful most of the time, and a little bit of the time it is so utterly, 100% hard. One day this week I was plain old annoyed.  It really was a rough day.  Soeur Barker was sick so me and Soeur Green were doing gym in teh hallway of our residence.  It was miserable.  But then guess what?  The other two soeurs came along and started working out with us, and pretty soon we were rolling on the floor, laughing so hard!  And I thought, "Friends are the best thing in the world." In the end, friends are all that matter.  If you are reading this, it means you're my friend.  And I want you to know that I truly, truly love you.  I''m so thankful Heavenly Father gave us friends.

Much love! -Soeur Mann

#8 - Mistakes Are The Plan

October 16, 2012

Hello, everyone!  Here I am.  Less than three weeks until I am actually living in Tahiti.  On a mission. Hooray! I hope everyone is happy and safe and having a nice, cozy mid-October week!

Here are some things I want to say:

I still love the MTC.  Have I ever mentioned "The Nook"?  The nook is a little area outside our classroom with a big huge window facing the mountains.  When I look back on my MTC mission, I think there are two things I will first remember.  1. The lemon poppyseed muffins in the cafeteria with sugary stuff on top.  (Only half kidding.  They've been a big part of this.)  2.  The Nook.  Actually, there are definitely other things that I will remember before that, but The Nook will truly be a good memory forever.  I have learned a lot just by sitting next to that window, looking out at the mountains, and thinking.  Right now the view is gorgeous with all the fall colors. We spend so much time studying by that window that many days I watch the sun just waking up over the mountains and set on the other end of the valley at night, broken up by class time and meals and things.  I've really learned the importance of pondering.  Some of the best moments of clarity and understanding I've had here have been sparked by five minutes of reading and then lots of minutes just looking out the window. There are a lot of restrictions here- no music, no internet, no newspaper, all that, and it is hard sometimes, but it gives you a lot of space to think.  

I would just like to share this funny moment that happened last night. Every day, Elder Gervasi grabs a bag of chips and keeps it under his desk to eat at night when he gets back to his room. Last night he stood up to say the prayer, and somehow Elder Calves snuck the bag of chips onto Elder Gervasi's seat.  Elder Gervasi finished the prayer, sat down, and actually sat on his very own big of chips.  I'm sorry, I know that's not reverent to do during a prayer, but that was just too funny.  I couldn't stop laughing for a good five minutes. 

I've been thinking a lot this week about mistakes.  Here's what I've learned.  There is a goal to this life, and it is to become something.  We're supposed to learn and discover and gain wisdom, and then we're supposed to use that wisdom to become something great.  One of the ways we learn best is by making mistakes.  I've read 2 Nephi 2 over and over and over this week thinking about this idea.  The chapter says that all things exist by contrast- without sadness, there is no happiness; without dark there is not light, and all these opposites.  Without contrast, nothing exists.  So basically, you've got to know some bad to know some good.  I've been thinking about the fall of Adam and how we all treat it kind of like it's this really sad thing, like, "Dang.  I can't believe Eve messed up and ate the fruit, and they had to get cast out of that pretty garden and start working." But the scriptures say that this was all part of the plan.  Isn't that interesting?  How could the fall be part of the plan? I think I'm beginning to understand that mistakes are always a part of the plan because mistakes are the plan.  You learn by experience, you learn by contrast.  This is not the same thing as purposefully making bad choices.  It's not right to live lawlessly and thoughtlessly and hope that you learn something.  The point is to honestly try your best, and when you learn something, you live it.  But the truth is that you're going to make mistakes, even if you're trying.  And that's why the Savior atoned for us.  I really have a testimony of God's perfect love, and I really believe that Christ can allow us to overcome mistakes.  So my point is this- life is supposed to be lived with faith, not fear.  It's okay to really try your very best, and if you make mistakes, it's okay.  God knew you would, and He will help you learn from them if you let Him. 

I love you all with all my heart!  Have a happy week!  Much love, 

Soeur Mann

#7 - Two Sister Manns

October 9, 2012

First of all, conference was amazing!  I wish everyone could watch conference from the MTC- it was so cool!  And of course, the very best part: Sisters can leave at 19!!!  What do you think 2000 missionaries did when the prophet announced this?  I will tell you.  We honestly and truly cheered!  Ha ha! :)  And then I cried and cried.  Soeur Green cried too, and she turned to me and said, "Why are we crying?" I know a lot of people were touched because they know that this new announcement will change missionary work- hopefully we will get so many sister missionaries in the field!  But when she asked me, all I could say was, "My sister!" I just knew how she was feeling right at that moment, and I was so happy! Hallelujah!  Two Sister Manns in the field!!!  :)

Tahitian is crazy.  The other night we were all prepped to teach our "investigator" in French, had a good little outline, and then we look in the peephole of the room we're supposed to teach in, and our teacher is not our teacher!  He is wearing flip flops, board shorts, and a black, curly wig!  And we knew exactly what that meant.  Dear ol' Frere Coulson decided to play a little trick on us, and we knew that the second he opened the door, he wasn't going to speak French.  Just imagine our panic. We tried to remember every possible thing we know in Tahitian, said a prayer, and then knocked on the door!  And indeed, he answered with, ""Ia ora na!" So we just went from there.  It was absolutely ridiculous.  A lot of pointing.  A lot of blank looks.  And afterword, a lot of laughter.  Woohoo!  Tahitian!

Here's a little thought I had this week.  Everything in the whole world is weird.  If you think real hard about anything, it seems bizarre.  Think about eating food. We put stuff that grows out of the ground in our mouths, chomp it up, and eat it. And it keeps us alive.  How weird is that?  The reason I'm saying that is because when it comes to the gospel, sometimes stuff seems weird or too good to be true.  But I think the first question you can ask is, "Why not?" Because there's really no reason.  And if you start there and then start praying and studying and living it, you'll get the answer: "Of course."  The gospel is real life.  It really is this good.  

Much love to all of you!

Soeur Mann

#6 - Crazy, Beautiful, Fascinating

October 2, 2012

Alright, folks.  

Let’s talk about Tahitian.  I don’t even know where to start with this.  Okay, one thing:  The word for “day” and “sun” is the same.  And “months” and “moons.”  Do you understand what that means?  It means I am learning a language where they actually say, “It has been many moons since I've seen you.”  This language is the real deal! (By the way, I think that phrase will be very natural to me, thanks to my Native American heritage.)  It is such a crazy, beautiful, fascinating language.  Tahitian is all about circumlocution, which is where you say a word by describing it.  For example, there’s no word for “waterfall.”  You just say something like, “The place where the water falls from a high place.”  It takes a long time to say things.  It’s funny because I feel like French and Tahitian are total opposites.  French is all about exactness.  You have very, very specific grammar rules, and you always know the number, gender, and specific tense of everything.  Tahitian is the open, get-the-feel-of-it language.  And both are so beautiful. 

On Wednesday, I was feeling a little (a lot) overwhelmed because two languages just seemed insane.  But while I was running during gym, I had this very clear thought come to me and remind me that this mission call is such a cool blessing from a sweet Heavenly Father.  He’s given me the chance to learn two beautiful languages.  I asked my teacher a few nights ago, “Will I use a lot of Tahitian?  Am I really going to use this?”  He assured me that I would, that lots of people speak Tahitian.  But last night he came back and said, “I want to change my answer to your question.  You’ll probably use Tahitian a lot.  But even if you don’t, even if you only teach one other person in Tahitian, would it be worth this effort to bring them the gospel?”  And it absolutely would be.  It’s so cool to be doing something that really, really matters.  And you know what?  The language is going to work out just fine!  This week our district made a goal to only speak French.  We can speak English during gym or if it is necessary to explain something about Tahitian (We really do learn Tahitian through French!). And yesterday was a long day of French-speaking.  You know how babies can create their own baby-friend languages?  Sometimes when our district speaks French, it feels like that.  Like we’re just babbling along and barely understanding each other.  J  But last night I experienced two little miracles: 1. One of the French elders taught me a lesson, and 2. I had a conversation with Sister Pea, a new sister here from Tahiti!  And you know what?  It worked!  I understood them, even with their accents.  I've got a loooong way to go with both languages, but it’s going to work out!

Two songs that everyone should listen to again: “The Prayer” by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman, and “Savior, Redeemer of My Soul,” from the movie 17 Miracles.  I’m always singing these songs in my head because we've heard them here.  They are so beautiful.

I think when I get home, if I can, I’ll get licensed to teach French along with English and Psychology!  I wonder how hard it would be.  Wouldn't that be cool though?

I’d like to say something.  The MTC is definitely not a prison.  It does have a lot of rules, but it’s fun.  The teachers are funny, the employees are funny, and the presidency is funny!  They’re all just normal people.  It a different life, but it’s still fun.  I’m glad I’m a missionary during the PMG stage of missionary work.  I've heard lot of people say, “Missionaries are robots.  The MTC turns people into robots.”  That is so far from the truth!  They tell us constantly, “Teach from your heart! Teach what you really know!  Share your sincere, personal testimony!”  Missionary work is just real people helping real people.  Elder Holland said in a talk that, “ Missionary work is not separated from real life.  This is the closest to real life you’re ever going to get.”  All day, every day is about service and love and the things that matter most.  It’s awesome.

I LOVE the Book of Mormon.  I to talk to Levi Williams here (wonderful!) and he changed my life.  He said that I should never read the Book of Mormon without a purpose.  And it really has changed the way I study.  I am gaining a deeper and deeper testimony of the Book of Mormon every day.

This week I remembered one of my favorite quotes.  It’s from  C.S. Lewis, and it’s longer than this, but one part says, “Your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.”  There are so many beautiful things in the world – landscapes, art, literature, music, and they are all fascinating and important.  But people are the only thing that really matter

I love you, I truly, truly love you!

Seour Mann