Xin chào, mọi người!
P-day has once again snuck up on me! Time has started moving so fast here, it's very weird. By this time next week, I will already be in Vietnam, and I will have a companion I don't even know yet! Sister Luth, Sister Phetsomphou, and I will be separated by Laos and Cambodia. Tragic.
After church on Sunday we were rather bored and hungry, so we had an impromptu pioneer day celebration—this included bread, jam, beef jerky, a single cinnamon roll split between the seven of us, some lemon heads (100% accurate to the period), and a couple minutes of walking aimlessly around the MTC. We are all going a little insane in here, I think.
Monday marked the beginning of some hard goodbyes! Four of our elders left a week earlier than the rest of the district, and the little testimony meeting we had before they left made a lot of us cry. Before I got to the MTC I was very worried about how things would be with my district because hanging out with 12 guys all the time sounded slightly like a nightmare, but I ended up really loving them. We've been stuck in the MTC together for so long that it's going to be weird to be apart and we are sad to be leaving each other, but we are also so excited to finally be in the field. A quick message for my district: Chị yêu thượng các anh cả! Chị sẽ nhớ gia đình đẹp quá của mình. Các bồ tèo luôn luôn và mãi mãi. Nhưng mà "đôi khi" là gì??? (For those of you who google translate this, please know that google translate makes it sound WAY sappier than I wrote it to be or just translates it slightly wrong, I promise I am not 100% stupid in Vietnamese)
Maybe I am actually just sad because once I am in Vietnam I will no longer be the highest ranking missionary in my district! Absolute power corrupts absolutely, I guess, and for the nine weeks I have had complete authority over all the Vietnamese speaking sisters at the MTC. And gosh, I’ve learned a lot of life lessons along the way. You might be thinking, “that’s just you, right?” and to that I say, “yes, Jim, but I am not easy to manage.” (please read this in a Kelly Kapoor voice) In all seriousness, though, I am so excited to have a trainer and I am also so excited to have a companion who can speak Vietnamese with me! I love my companions a lot, but it'll be so nice to be able to speak the language more.
On Tuesday we had early arrivals again! It wasn't a super big group for most of the night, but it was extremely chaotic because as people were getting ready for bed we realized that no one had any bedding! We eventually got sheets/blankets/pillowcases for everyone, but it was a very confusing time because sheets ended up being stolen from some empty rooms in the floor below us (it was a whole ordeal) and we had to make many trips to the information desk to ask for help. Shout out to the information desk people, because you are literal angels on earth and I adore you all. I will miss coming to bother you a thousand times every Tuesday night! Being in charge of early arrivals was one of my favourite things about the MTC—it was always chaotic and exhausting, but it was also so fun to help the new missionaries and meet people from all over the world.
On Wednesday we got to escape the MTC zoo for a couple minutes to pick up a prescription from the BYU student health center! This was quite exciting, it felt like a prison break. It's very weird to think that in a couple days we will leave the MTC forever; we're going to feel so free in the airport!
I had my final helping others appointment on Thursday! It actually went really well, even though my instinct when I don't understand the person I am teaching is to just laugh awkwardly and move on—one time I was looking at an HOA recording (my least favourite activity of all time) and had to watch myself give this poor man a thumbs up, laugh, and keep talking even though I had no idea what he said. Mortifying. This is quite embarrassing and I need to find a better way to deal with not understanding what people say to me. I am hoping that being immersed in the language in Vietnam will help!
On Friday evening we finally got our travel plans, so I officially know when I get to leave the MTC! I will be out of here at 4 AM on Wednesday, and despite how sad I am to be leaving my district and my teachers and my companions, I am so excited to be actually going to my mission! I am, of course, also very nervous, but lately my mission plaque scripture has been running through my mind—that's Joshua 1:9, which says, "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." The idea of living in a very far away country for a year and a half is a little intimidating, the language is hard, and talking to people is scary sometimes, but I know that God is with me so I don't need to be afraid. The next time you hear from me, I will finally not be in the MTC! Thank goodness.
Shipping off to 'Nam in T-minus 108 hours,
Chị Heiss
Bonus content:
Google Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/HKR23DtXgexxAjM5A
Things I have wanted to Google:
- sarah f adams (lyricist for the hymn nearer my god to thee)
- Pasteurization process
- brunei history
Songs that have gotten stuck in my head:
- all because I liked a boy (sabrina carpenter)
- all you wanna do (from six)
- put your shoulder to the wheel
Quotes:
"Someone just pronged me, with a fork" - sis rogers
"Suprise, it's yours...I whip out a child!" - sis rogers
"Talking about San Marcos invites the spirit of the Devil" - me
"I am going to rain fire and brimstone upon you" - anh cả wardle
"Peanut butter over the priesthood" - sister luth
"Oh...your feet...hello! I guess I'm talking to all three of you?" - sister tuiaki
"You're going to die tomorrow morning" - cô thanh, pointing aggressively at anh cả moore
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