I AM ALIVE!!

This is Ali posting Morgan's letters, feel free to email her at morgan.waldrom@myldsmail.net

Mabuhi pamilya! 

Kumusta po kayo?!?!  Masaya po!!  (How are you?  I am happy/excited!)  So Saturdays are my preparation days!  I get to go to the temple in a few hours and right after I send this email it is this glorious thing called nap time.  YAYAYAY.  I am exhausted.  I love the MTC sososososo much.  One of my teachers gave a great example of the MTC experience with two arrows.  One arrow goes at a straight incline which is what many think the MTC is like, just gets better.  But the other arrow goes up in a squigly line incline.  This is the true experience, I keep getting so excited and then I kinda panic in my mind.  It always goes back and forth.  I am amazed by how this is such a roller coaster!  Everything is so jam packed and fast but I guess I wouldn't want it any other way!  Seriously, Tagalog.  Hello best language ever!  Many times I think to myself, is it possible to change my mission call to something English speaking because life would be so much easier cayuse I would nail those lessons!  But I wouldn't change my call for the world. or that is what I have to keep telling myself. 

Ok, but lets start from the beginning.  The MTC is a less awkward and lame EFY.  Which as the family know, I hated EFY.  Mostly for the chessy dumb stuff, but the classes were always my favorite.  But on Wednesday Adam and Tiffany took me on a wonderful picnic on a beautiful day in provo and dropped me off at the mtc.  Thank you so much Vail Fam, it was such a good time hanging out with you!  And then I had an awesome sister Host who was going to Ukraine Russian Speaking.  She helped me get my nametags and my residence.  I dropped my stuff off and then went straight to class where Brother Roxas was speaking straight Tagalog.  It was very different but I picked up the language pretty quickly.  Basically the rest of the day was orientation kind of stuff.  Oh wait!  My kasamas!  Sister Hellewell is from Idaho and Sister Mafi is from Tonga!  I have two cause I am special... but Sister Mafi's first name is sooooo coooool. Famalama!!!!! I love them both already with all my heart.  My district is also so great!  There is not a person that I don't feel comfortable with!  What a blessing. Wednesday night we met our sister training coordinators and zone leaders.  Mom and Dad, remember how I mentioned I had a friend going to the Philippines a couple weeks before me, well he is my zone leader!  It was nice to see Elder Allman's familiar face. 

So basically my time is taken up by class, personal study, language study, gym time (which I use my time very wisely, I am already sore) and eating.  The cafeteria is the same as the Cannon center at BYU which is not always my fav, so I expect to be shedding the pounds with this small appetite of mine and exercising!  We met our branch presidency on Thurs night and President Anderson seems so great.  We have to prepare a 3-5 min talk every Sunday, Dangit.  But his councilors are wonderful.  I was interviewed by one of the councilors and they asked all the missionaries if they left a boy or girl at home!  How weird is that?!  I just thought it was so funny.  And they took serious notes on what each of said.  My district makes me smile a lot.  At first everyone was a little stiff.  I kind lossened up fast cause I noticed how tense everyone was... (WAIT a missionary just walked into the computer lab wearing a fleese vest with kittens all over it!  I love the mtc.)  But I think once I started saying my weird comments people started getting really funny too.  We have a tongan elder in my disrict and he is pretty funny.  Oh and my district leader makes the BEST facial expressions.  You have no idea how those little things get you through these long days (so far).  My companions now joke a lot and have fun together. 

Cool story.  Sister Mafi bore her testimony at our branch presidency meeting, this is her first time in the US, and she talked about how her mom was really ill when she left for America.  But when she called her mom right before she went into the MTC she said she was feeling so much better and already saw the blessings to their family because Sister Mafi was serving.  Oh how I love her.  I love all the Polynesians in my Zone and surrounding classes.  There are so many going to the Philippines.  They are so strong in the gospel and all know how to make people smile and laugh.  What an amazing quality to have. 

Ok, so this has been the worst/funniest part of the MTC.  We taught our first lesson in Tagalog last night.  Ummmmmmmmmmm.  We thought we were prepared.  We forgot an opening prayer, pounded through what we had prepared, and then he asked us questions where A. we did not know what he was saying, and B. we did not know how to answer.  Sooo that was a problem.  I was scrambling through my books and notes hardcore.  Yikes.  We tried to teach him the atonement but that was HINDI MABUTI!  (no good) So we are going back tonight with a lesson on prophets and how our church is different.  The major problem is that we know phrases and vocab but we have no grammar or structure which makes it 10 times more difficult.  I know that each lesson should get better, but not going to lie, that was a little discouraging.  But I haven't forgotten Hinckley's quote of "Dont get discouraged, things will work out."  I am praying to let my cares go and focus on the language.  My prayers are growing to be stronger and better, but I know I still have a lot of improving.  I have already adjusted to the lifestyle of not letting any minute go used unwisely... which is not how I lived before, right Mom?  I was queen of procrastinating.  The mission is already changing me!  hahaha

But I know this email is lame cause I dont really have amazing expierences of teaching others yet, but just wait, that will happen in 6 weeks.  I already have a great love for our investigator, but I hope he doesn't hate me cause I can't communicate very well.  But here is my testimony in Tagalog:  Alam ko po na ang simbahan ni Jesucristo ng mga Banal sa mga Huling Araw.  Alam ko po na totoo po ang ebanhelyo.  Maghalaga po ang Panalangin.  Perkepto po ang Diyos.  Buhay po ang Tagapagligtas.  Nagbayad-sala po si Jesucristo para sa mga kasalanan natin.  Go stick that in Google Translate. 

I miss you all, but honestly I am not homesick at all.  I think fondly of it and my family, but it has not been a struggle yet, thankfully.  Please email and send me updates on life!  Oh and way to represent Waldrom fam with 3 letters on my first day!  Whoop whoop!  Mahal Kita!!!!! 

Sister Waldrom