Bon soir!!
Today has been one of the best days at the MTC so far, P-Day. Praises for P-day. Not a single class today, took a grand nap, wrote a bunch of letters, went to the temple, and basically regained my sanity. :) I probably mentioned this in my last blog letter, but the MTC is INTENSE. We have rigid 16-hour days that are loaded with importance and progress so you have to bring your A-game every morning (not a problem for me, obviously) otherwise you could fall behind. Fortunately, my companions are pretty dang funny so I'm frequently amused which helps break up the intensity. One of my sister companions has a KILLER Irish accent and occasionally she will use the accent to say the French apology "desolee" and it gets me every time. I have had difficulty getting to sleep quickly because I'm translating my thoughts subconsciously into French & whatnot so I've been pretty tired. However, I bought a silky shut-eye mask and I believe my problems are over in that department. Today we went to the Provo temple and it was such a great experience.
The DearElder letters are a thing of beauty, thank you everyone!!
Things I have learned about Tahiti:
out of all the Polynesians, they are the most slender and the most tall (typically)
everyone has pretty much heard the Gospel, I have to find a way to teach it better than all the missionaries who have taught it before
I will most likely have the opportunity to live off of the main island, on a smaller island
most people speak French, only elderly people speak Tahitian (generally)
raw fish, pork cooked underground for 5-6 hours, watermelon, mangoes, coconuts, and rice are the main foods I will eat (um YUM)
I will be biking up mountains at various points
*more that I cannot summon right now because I just rolled out of my nap recently
I had the strange sensation today of realizing how close I am to my former BYU life while at the same time being totally separate from all of that. I know that a mission is one of the best decisions of my life so far. I'm so grateful for the experiences and people who have brought me to this point. I am so excited for all of the people I know and love who will be coming to the MTC over the course of the next few months!!!!!
The Polynesians still love us white girls, they keep feeding us and asking us to speak French to them. I officially made into the Big Leagues of Volleyball (playing with the Polynesians) so you could say that I'm pretty happy of myself. (Thumbs up for rock and roll: Youtube it)
This has been the most humbling experience of my life so far. I didn't consider myself an egotist but I have definitely learned that while I'm doing okay, I have a LOT left to do. This has been a huge, steep learning curve that I couldn't be more grateful to have. I know that this Church has brought me and my family and friends so much happiness and the reason I'm serving a mission is to bring that happiness to others. I just started reading Jesus is the Christ with my companions and our minds have been blown just by the Introduction/Chapter 1 so I'm sure I'll have a super eloquent testimony of Jesus Christ this time, next week.
I have taken the coolest pictures over the past 2 weeks but you'll just have to take my word for it because I forgot to bring my camera!! I will really see if I can make that happen sometime before next P-Day, but if not, stay tuned. I love you all and I have honestly felt so blessed by your prayers and thoughts, there is no way I would be this advanced in French all by myself. Thank you. I love life, even if it's through the eyes of a sleep-deprived student of the gospel. :)
love, Soeur Carter
P.S. J'adore le langue de Francais et je suis heureuse etre dans le MTC. Je suis en missionare de L'Eglise de Jesus Christ des Saintes des Dernier Jours et je l'aime!
