Wooo this week has been SO fun!! And it has flown by, holy smokes. I ran into a TON of people I know from BYU! Breeze, caroline, Johnny, Sam, and even a second cousin of mine?? Muirhead? pretty awesome!! Everyone is here! It's definitely the best place to be ;) Honestly though, I get kind of sad...well no, I guess I get pretty motivated because I think, "wow, I only get a few more weeks in the MTC. I'll never get this experience again!" This experience of learning SO much, pushing myself so much every day, laughing every day, feeling the spirit every day, and the best part, being able to teach and bear testimony of Jesus Christ in another language every single day. whoa. It's so awesome.
Weeeell a lot has happened!!
First things: parents, I owe you big time. Where much is given, much is required AMEN! Or should I say, A-muyhn!
Man, it's so true that when you struggle, the Lord will reveal hidden talents you didn't know you had. For example, to work. To concentrate. I'm the worst at focusing at home when studying! But here, when I'm obedient and go to bed on time, and stick to the schedule, and PRAY before I study, I can concentrate SO well. I study SO much but the time flies and my brain just absorbs! It's incredible, I can't believe how much Heavenly Father is helping me! wow. This past week I've been speaking in SYL (speak your language as much as possible) even though no one else really is. I can feel the difference! I think a lot in Cantonese even, instead of having to really concentrate.
Detail. Dad, you're one of the most detailed people I know in your profession. S Kartchner said, "gosh you're so detailed!" And that's SOOO important when learning Cantonese! Have I ever mentioned how many sounds and tones there are? Literally every other word has a slight change in vowel or tone. If you say it too high or too sloppy and low, or without a hidden "r" or not sharp and abrupt enough; or not forward enough or not a with a closed off, throaty final; or if your initials sound like a 'z' or a 'j' instead of a 'tz' or a 'ch' -- no one will understand you. it's crazy! So, thank you for teaching me how to be detailed. It's incredible because I've realized the way I remember words is by visualizing them. Many times we'll be walking around and I'll totally forget how to say something, but then picture in my mind the flashcard and then all of a sudden I see the word, how it's spelled, and know exactly where the accent is and what the tone is. IT'S SUCH A MIRACLE.
Music., Mom, THANK YOU for making me sing when I was little. Yes, thank you. Oh Debi McMindes, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING. I have a suggestion. If anyone wants to learn Cantonese, start by playing piano, harmonizing with your parents and singing fun little rounds at 8 years old to the song "I love the Mountains" and join the Honeybee Trio. Yup, I CANT TELL YOU HOW MUCH THAT HAS HELPED!!! Haha no joke!! In HBT, when I'd try remembering what note I'd have to harmonize with next or maybe what note a song would start on, i'd picture it in my mind on the sheet music and pretend to play it on the piano. Also, I'd remember certain songs just by the tune or remember crazy 2nd soprano parts by drilling the part over and over again. Weeeell, with cantonese, I picture the word (or note) and then I can hear it in my head. This especially helps with memorizing phrases or scriptures. I have 1/3 of Daaih Yat Chi Yih Jeuhng (The First Vision) down and it's because I can hear it in my head! so cool.
Animal. Dad: THANK YOU for teaching me how to work out!! haha here at the MTC, gym time in heavenly time. I LOVE IT!!! Some elders formed a group called the Wolf Pack. I cheered them on as they did their squats and pushups as I ran past every so often. Well they invited me to join and I totally did! So on Saturday, I led the lunges. Yeah thats right, Sista Boss was leading the Wolf Pack. Haha so we did Sneaky Lunges half way around the track, some slow, some fast, but every turn we'd dp 15 jump squats, and then run 3 laps. HAHA THEY DIED!! they couldnt even do it!! And everyone's legs were sore the next day! Oh yes. but then someone led pushup walks down one length of the track and I nearly died. shows that I don't lift...ever. I realized afterwards I had rug burn on my hands! lol! So thanks Dad for teaching me not give up and keep working hard! It's been so fun pushing myself super hard those 50 minutes of gym every day. Oh, and, I realized about this Wolf Pack... what's my Name???? WOOLF! haha oh yeah, im born to be wild. hahajk.
The other person I need to thank: Tony Horton. dad knows.He helped me beat the record at gym for longest wall sit! and so did S Kartchner, because she distracted me with stories the whole time. Guess my time? 9:16! haha yay. It was shaking like crazy, but it was so worth it. Those 5am work outs over summer paid off Dad..
So here's an example of the pride circle. You ready? Leih jeunbeihhou? (idk how to type accents on here so everytime I type in Cantonese it's wrong.)
Well, the beginning I was thinking, "HOW IN THE WORLD am I ever going to learn this language?" so I humbled myself. I knew I couldn't do this without the Lord. I know He has me here for a reason, so I know I can only learn this language through His power. Well this week at gym, I offered to say the prayer, and I said it in Cantonese. After the prayer, SOO many people from different zones and districts came up to me saying how cool that sounded and how smooth it was and how they all looked up during the prayer to see who was speaking. I felt so awesome!! Well, literally 2 days later, after I was feeling all cool and what not, I met a man from Hong Kong. boom. I couldn't say one word correctly. haha. Humbled once again. Man you guys, I know I can't do this without the Lord. He is helping me in EVERY way. even with having energy, with being happy, with working hard; He has been helping me since Mom put me in Kids R Music! all of this has been preparing me to learn this language. I'm so grateful for His constant support.
One more fun thing this week: Sister Kartchner accompanies me singing Abide with Me; Tis Eventide. So I sang and she played in our Sacrament meeting and holy smokes, the spirit was so strong. I loved it. When I sat down, one Elder looked at us with tears in his eyes and said, "thank you sisters. That's the strongest I've felt the spirit since being here. I needed that. Thank you." wow... I love the words so much. Abide with me, tis eventide. Thy walk today with me, has made my heart within me burn, as I communed with Thee! i know that if we constantly seek His help and His guidance.. if we constantly pray for the Spirit to be with us, He WILL bless us with His help and support! Man, there's nothing greater than having the Spirit of God.
We also sang at a departure devotional last night, and today, we're performing for the new senior couples missionaries coming in in about one hour! and then either next week or the week after they told us we'll perform again for something. we'll see! I love it. However, I do have to admit, it's much harder to sing to invite the SPirit than it is to sing fun 1940's songs! haha.
ahh sso many other things I wanted to say! one more thing about gym: i just discovered i shoot basketball left handed! You should've seen the moment I discovered it. I felt like 100 people just accepted baptism. I felt like I discovered who I am! haha it was so exciting. S K and I shoot some bball outside of the skoo every day. its way fun!
I'm sorry this letter wasn't as spiritual! ahh at TRC we got to teach a REAL investigator from China! REAL foreign exchange student! Our teacher asked who wants to do and S K and I were totally up for it! so, we went in there and taught about what the Sacrament is and how it's so important and the importance of the Atonement and making those baptismal covenants. This girl was from China, sooo, she spoke Mandarin. BUT, she had a friend with her who speaks both Mandarin and Cantonese! And guess what? the next day was her first day going to church, so it was PERFECT that we taught about the Sacrament! Wow, God knows. God knows.
Life is awesome. The gospel is SO true! I'm loving it here! I love all of your support, letters, and packages. I can't believe how incredible you all are! Love you tons! I love being a missionary! There's nothing better than changing your life for other people to help them become like Christ. and you know what that is? Motherhood! I think about Beck, Brooke, and Kait often and how incredible you 3 are. You're the greatest missionaries I know. I love you!
Love, Sister Bosler.
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