Monday, March 4, 2013

March 4, 2013



Well, this week has been nuts!! The MTC is nothing like I imagined it to be: cold and stone and no fun at all. It is just the opposite! It is really fun and I feel like I can totally be myself even though i am Sister Blake here! Well actually Siostra Blake! My district is great! There are 12 Polish speakers here. 6 elders and 6 sisters. All 6 sisters share a room....it's PRETTY crammed in there! haha My companions name is Siostra Barth. I actually was friends with her on facebook before I came here! So it's really fun that we're companions! She's super cute and really nice! She's a movie enthusiast so obviously we get along quite well! The other sisters are super cute and nice too! And the elders are great as well!
 
So the first day I got to the MTC! Holy COW!!! It was a whirlwind of emotion all day!! I was so excited! I saw so many people I knew and contiune to see at least 4 or 5 people I know every day! But that first day it was really comforting to see people i knew because it was all so new! I went into my classroom and my Polish teacher was in there and immediately started speaking Polish to us! I didn't even hear him speak English until Saturday night! After we had dinner on that first day, they told us what some of the rules were and what our schedule would be like...it all was flying RIGHT over my head! And it was really overwhelming! It was at that moment when I started feeling a little overwhelmed. But after unpacking, settling in, sleeping here, exercising and showering here, it started to feel more normal and I started accepting that we were actually going to be living here. And now I really like it a lot!! The language is SO tough! But my teachers are great and so hilarious! They make every class fun! We laugh ALL the time! People say that they have identity crises while they are here, but I feel like I can still be completely myself! I love it! I love living with so many girls! Not just in my room but on my floor too! Everyone is so friendly and nice and so fun to be around! It's super funny: in the showers, if one person starts humming a song, the bathroom all of a sudden turns into a choir! I'm talking harmonies! It is so fun and funny! Every night I like to write down three blessings of the day and one funny thing; that way i can remind myself that the MTC actually is a really fun place to be! The other day a blessing i wrote down was that for dinner i got to have Teriaki Stix!! YUM! and the funny moment was the Starszy Owens (an elder in my district) knows an actual person named Superstar 5 Jemimah Jud! AHHAHAHH I was laughing about that one for a few hours! But it is indeed tough. Not really physically trying, obviously...although we do have 1 hour of gym time which is so fun to get the body moving after sitting all day!) But it's hard because i know that if I think past today...I will become so overwhelmed! So I have been taking it one day at a time! And it has been working beautifully and keeping me happy! :)
 
It's actually quite smart, the reason why the overwhelm us so much the first few days is for that purpose alone: to overwhelm us! They want us to feel in over our heads so that the only thing we can do is rely on the Lord. And that's just what I've been trying to do. Especially in class. Sometimes there are times when I just don't get it! Or I just CANNOT pronounce that word! But there's this picture of Christ above the door that i face, and every time i start feeling discouraged in class, I look at that picture and immediately feel his love for me and know that He is proud of me! He knows that I am in the MTC training to teach His children in Poland. I was called to teach those people in Poland!....and it just so happens that they speak a different language than me...So I have to learn another language to be able to communicate with them! It's been kind of neat to think about that! I know that the Lord wouldn't have called me to Poland if he didn't think that i could learn the language to communicate with them! He knows I can do it! But I know I cannot do it without His help! Our mission president said yesterday: "From obedience comes blessings. From EXACT obedience comes miracles." I NEED A MIRACLE! This language is so hard and I NEED to be exactly obedient so I can have the Spirit FULLY with me so that i can recieve these miracles!
 
I can't wait to see my growth by the time I leave this place! In the language and in my spirituality. I know I will grow so much! I love being able to study the scriptures so much every day! It seems like there's not ENOUGH time in the day to study! My study time is that part of my day that flies by the fasted! I crave for more! I am so grateful to be here and am so grateful for the support and love you all give me!!!

Until next week!
Love,
Siostra Kendall Blake

Kendall's Polish Classroom

Kendall and the two other sister missionaries that are going to Poland

Sister Blake and her companion Sister Barth



Friends from BYU that are also in the MTC


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