One day more

Hello friends, family, and all other persons that might be involved,

"One day more! Another day, another destiny!" Now, imagine that song (from none other than Les Mis) being played while the images of planes crossing the ocean are displayed on some sort of big screen. Yep, I feel pretty much like a mix between Jean Valjean and Indiana Jones :) Tomorrow is the big day! Tomorrow, at 4:00, I go to the Travel Office, and from there on I head to SLC, then off to LA, and then across the Pacific. For a small town kid who's never been outside of the Intermountain West this is going to be the adventure of a lifetime! I've never been more scared, nor have I ever been more excited, for or about anything in my entire life! But I know that this is where I need to be. Allow me to illustrate my point using a brief but hopefully effective story:

On Thursday we had our big In-Field Orientation meeting--pretty much 9 hours of seminars and classes that prepared us as missionaries to work with members and how to find investigators out in the field. It was long, it was stuffy inside the classrooms, but I thought that it was a great and meaningful experience :) Anywho, towards the end of the classes my stomach started feeling weird--sort of that feeling you sometimes get when you haven't eaten food for a long time. It was a low, almost meaningless pain in the pit of my stomach. There were 30 minutes left to the seminar, so I decided that I could probably "man up" through the pain and make it thirty minutes without food.

About two minutes after thinking that, the pain started getting worse. It incrementally became stronger and stronger of a feeling; I found myself standing in the dinner line, fending off the urge to double over from the agony of my stomach. It hurt A LOT! There were moments when I thought that maybe my appendix was going to rupture or something like that (okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating the pain a wee bit, but it still hurt like the devil). After I finally got some food in me, I felt much better.

When I reflect on that pain, I'm also reminded of a memorable quote from a Mission Conference we had earlier this week, in which President Nally said: "The world is hungry...for the truth."

The world is HUNGRY for the truth. Those pains that my stomach was having were minimal compared to the spiritual needs and nourishment that this world is currently lacking. The Lord has called us all to arise and shine forth, and impart of that good word which we do have to the rest of the world :)

In 2 Nephi 31:20 we read that we are supposed to feast "on the words of Christ"--FEAST! There's more than enough to spare for everyone! And we're not supposed to do it in minimal amounts either--we're meant to FEAST. We're meant to delight ourselves in partaking of the goodness of the Gospel. I know that as we do this, as we become entrenched in the wonderful fruits of the Lord's words and His work, we truly can find delight. The only thing that can add to the joy of feasting upon the words of Christ is inviting others to come join us in the feast. Which is better--watching the football game by yourself, or with your buddies? Exactly! It's better when there are others with you! Though that might be an unorthodox example to attach to this message, the principle is still the same: We are meant to not only feast on the words of Christ--we are meant to invite others to do so! And with the renewed emphasis on "Every member a missionary", we are ALL invited to help others come and partake. The world is hungry for the truth, and we are meant to go forth and fetch those that are starving and bring them before the arrayed wonders of doctrines and ordinances and Gospel principles and words of living prophets. The crowning course of this feast, I think, will be the fruit of eternal life that is served at the end, the fruit that is described about in 1 Nephi 8:10-12.

Well, friends, it's almost time for me to bid a fond farewell to the States and proceed to the Great Unknown. I hope and pray that you'll all remember that the Lord is so very aware of your existence and that He loves you with all the perfection of a Heavenly Father! :) I know that this Church is true; I know that the work missionaries do is the work of salvation, and I know that any and all, set-apart or not, can participate in this noble endeavor. I know that the Lord is hastening this work; He is eager for His children to come home. In the words of Joseph Smith: "Brethren [and sisters], shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren [and sisters]; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad" (D&C 128:22) :)

Zai jian for now; God be with you till we meet again!

Elder Mitchell/Mai Zhanglao

p.s. Prepare yourself for some great and grand pics of Singapore/Malaysia/wherever it is that I'm sent! :)

Another week

Nimen hao wo de pengyoumen he jiating!

Hard to believe that yet another week has come and gone here at the good ole MTC. There's quite a bit of cabin fever going around in our district--we're all fairly anxious to get out into the field. My Chinese is nowhere near good enough for it--I'll provide a story in a couple minutes to illustrate that point--but I'm also super excited to just go and teach all day and make new friends and see new places. I'm finally getting out of Wyudahoming!!! It's a happy moment indeed--by the time I get to Singapore, I'll have stopped in LA and Hong Kong! That's right! I'm going all over da place :)

Now, about that story about my Chinese being no good--Yesterday at our Temple Walk we heard from a few Mandarins in the other zone that up by the fountains were a bunch of native Zhongguoren/Chinese! We hurried up there and found about four sisters being mobbed by every Chinese-speaking missionary in Provo. None of the sisters were LDS--they were visiting America, and the place where they worked also happened to be the workplace of a member. He (who served his mission in Singapore, but was a Malay elder) had taken them to church and was now giving them a tour of the Temple grounds. Anywho, none of these sisters were members; that much was clear by the way they dressed...not exactly Temple worthy. Not awful, but I'm pretty sure a Young Womens' Leader would have a coronary if she saw one of her Beehives in such attire. Whatevs. Anywho, we're talking with them--it was kool to be able to talk in Chinese to actual CHINESE people--and I decided to throw in my two cents' worth. I was trying to ask the question, "Nimen cong Zhongguo lai ma?" which means, "Do you come from China?"

Instead, I said, "Nimen qu Zhongguo lai ma?" Which doesn't make any sense at all. It's like saying, "Are you going to come from China?"

Yeah, pretty much a party.

Another incident like this occurred at the time of the Worldwide Broadcast. There was a man waiting in the drinking fountain line, and we started a conversation up with him. He was from Taiwan (I think), and he was asking us where we were going on our missions. Clever Sam replied with: "Wo cong Xinjiapo lai." Instead of saying, "I'm going to Singapore," I said, "I'm from Singapore." [I didn't realize that mistake until after this conversation, when my comps finally told me] He gave me the weirdest look, something that can only be described as: "There is no way this skinny little white boy is from Singapore. No way."

Whatevs. You have to learn to laugh at yourself, I guess--and I've certainly had plenty of those opportunities! ;)

Oh! Before I forget: We were talking with those Chinese sisters up at the Temple, right? So, the guy that was escorting them around the Temple finally asked one of them, "Have you ever seen hair like that?" pointing at my luscious mop.

The Chinese sisters emphatically shook their heads; one of them asked, "Is that natural?"

I nodded smugly. Apparently they don't have redheads in China. Bummer--they're missin' out ;) Either way, maybe my hair will make me a celebrity or something ;)

So on Sunday we went to a great devotional, and afterwards we decided to go to the movie/talk that Elder Holland gave here back on Thanksgiving last year. It was excellent! One of his main points was how grateful he was that we were born in this age and dispensation. I testify that this is such a great thing to be thankful for! It's so amazing to me that, of all the many billions of God's children in heaven, He's allowed us to come at this time and to this place for a very specific purpose and plan! I don't know His ways, nor will I ever pretend to--but I do know that He knows, and that He's got things prepared for any and every situation that will come our way.

The other day I was studying from Preach My Gospel, and was doing the Patience Personal Study Activity. It has you go to Mosiah 28:1-9--I really loved the second verse, particularly the word 'cure'. This word made me think of that scripture in Isaiah 61:1-3--this is pretty much the Savior's mission call and mission statement (the one in Isaiah). However, it can also be applicable to all of us. Missionaries, members, any devoted disciple of Jesus Christ--we're all meant to 'bind up the brokenhearted' and help those who are in need, spiritually, physically, emotionally. It's really great :)

I hope you all have a good week; one more email from the States, and then you'll be hearing from none other than Singapore Sam!!

Zai jian for now; God be with you till we meet again,

Sincerely,

Elder Mitchell/Mai Zhanglao

Another week

Another week has come and gone here at the good ole MTC! It's hard to think that already I'm at P-Day...only two more after today, then the field! One of the teachers I have who went to Singapore says that on his first day, the mission president had them go out street contacting and they filmed him doing it and sent that recording back to his parents! I dunno how my mission president is going to do it, but that'd be neat if he did that. You'd be able to hear my bright, beautiful mug speaking some Mandarin! ;) 

This past week has been quite a crazy one. For the first half we weren't allowed in the main administration/dining building on campus, because of the New Mission Presidents' Seminar; now we are though. Me and the two other elders in my district going to Singapore got to go to a malaria instruction class on Tuesday--turns out we get to take special pills every day of our mission so that we don't contract malaria! Oh joy! On Wednesday we got all of the new missionaries that came in; it was very exciting and fun! Our zone, after being split a couple weeks ago, has now doubled or more in size with all of these newbies. Pretty great :) 

Mandarin is coming along, at times fast, at times slow. It's a work in progress. I've discovered this week that I can hold my own in a lesson, and that I can understand and speak more Chinese than I originally thought I could :) It's still going to take a lot of time and effort to learn this language, but I have hope that it will come :)

I'm just so doggone excited to get out to the field! There are several downsides to being there: 1) The mail will take FOREVER to get there! 2) Humidity and heat--so far this hot weather here in Utah is already killing me. I dunno how I'll survive Xinjiapo. 3) Speaking Chinese all day, errday. I'm excited for this one, but also scared to death of it. My Chinese is nowhere near ready for anything like that...I guess it will be a kind of 'baptism by fire' experience :)

This past week on the Tuesday Devo our speaker was none other than Janice Kapp Perry!! One of the greatest of Mormon legends! She and her husband spoke, and it was really awesome :) At one point she had all of us start singing a medley of the various hymns/childrens' songs she'd written. While we were singing "We'll Bring the World His Truth", I just had the thought that Rory too had been called to serve. Where and for how long, I do not know; hopefully on his P-days he can come help me, though :) I also remember thinking of an image that just brought me comfort: In my mind (whether or not this was inspired by the Spirit, I dunno) I could picture myself lying in the mud, battered and bruised. Rory came; at points in my mind (don't think this is like a vision or anything like that; it's not. It was just a thought, a picture, that I had) anywho, Rory came. At points he was dressed in white, and at other points he seemed to switch back to his regular work clothes, with the discolored red/maroon shortsleeve shirt and his tattered jeans and USU hat. He was accompanied by the Savior, who both helped to pull me up. Me and Rory then went out and helped other people up out of the mud.
Maybe this doesn't make any sense, and I hope none of you think that this was a vision or anything like that. It was an image that I kinda crafted in my head while we were singing these rousing songs, and one that I thought I'd share with you :)

I've been working harder and harder on learning how to apply the Atonement in my personal life this past week. It's been an awesome experience! For those interested in learning more, I suggest reading two talks: "O Ye That Embark" by President Eyring, and "Missionary Work and the Atonement" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. They're both on LDS.org, so hopefully you'll be able to find them without too much trouble :)

I know that the Lord loves each and every one of us. As we strive to work out our salvation and make our wills align with that of heaven, I know that the Lord will provide strength, comfort, and help. He won't "leave us hangin'"; He will always be there to catch us, to buoy us up, to make us stronger. He will certainly pass us through refiner's fires, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the Book of Daniel--but let's not forget that He was standing right beside them in that fiery furnace the entire time. :)

The Lord loves you! I know He does! I love you, and I hope that as you feel the light and bounteous joy this Gospel brings you will strive to become more and more like our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ :)

May God be with you till we meet again,

Yours,

Elder Mitchell/Mai Zhanglao

Wo de pengyoumen, nimen hao!!! (I wish I knew how to put tones on the words with this thing; I currently don't, so that's a wee bit of challenge--anywho: That phrase means: My friends, hello to you all! [Kinda]) :)

Another week, another destiny! Only 3 more till we flight out and off to Singapore/Xinjiapo! One of the teachers, Bro. Moody, is a fellow redhead that went to Singapore as well. He's been telling us about some of the crazy food that we'll eat there. He's mentioned that grass is served quite frequently, as is dog and something known as gutterfish (pretty much the fish that dwell in the Malaysian gutters and sewers, where people throw their garbage and stuff). Fun fun fun :)

Life continues to go on; I hope everyone was able to watch or listen to the Worldwide Broadcast! There were so many great messages and sermons delivered there! One of my ultimate favorites was a line that Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve said: "The Lord's objectives are accomplished one soul at a time." I LOVE THAT! It is so true! In a few of our past lessons, we've had investigators ask, "If my family doesn't accept the Gospel in this life, will I be able to be with them in this celestial kingdom of yours?" And the answer: The Lord loves ALL of His children! Missionary work doesn't end beyond the grave! That was another topic that was briefly touched upon in the Broadcast. The Lord calls and sends missionaries on both sides of the veil to do His work and to give all of His children the opportunity to accept His Gospel. Those who don't accept the Gospel in this life will be given an opportunity to do so in the next.

Just sitting here, thinking about that profound and wonderful truth, brings great comfort to my soul in connection with my brother. I have no doubt that there is a mission call waiting for him in the mansions above, and maybe part of that call's area will be able to extend over that of my own mission; I hope and pray that he will be able to become a companion of mine in the jungles of Malaysia and the streets of Singapore :)

For those of you that haven't read it, I HIGHLY encourage reading Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk "Sanctify Yourselves". This is so inspirational and so motivating a talk, and it really drives home the fact that we're meant to help each other, as we are all members of the human family. Missionary work is not just for missionaries; it is for EVERYONE (This was yet another statement that was really driven home during last night's wonderful Worldwide Broadcast).

I testify that the Lord really does love everyone. Throughout this past week I've really come to accept and know that the Lord has a hand in all of our lives, including those people who have never heard of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He will provide a way for all of them, in one way or another, in this life or the next, to hear and hopefully receive the truthfulness of our message. I know that the Lord has a hand in China; I know that He is preparing those wonderful people. I know that He will find a way to bring all of His children back home. If this were not so, then nothing we teach and testify of would be correct. This is one of the foundational doctrines that our Church is based upon, and it is one that is dearly beloved in my heart :)

I hope you all have had and will continue to have an amazing week! Thank you for your many letters and emails; please keep them coming! There's no better way to drive off discouragement or loneliness than to receive a letter from a friend or family member! They're pretty much the best :)

I love you all! Wo hen ai nimen :)

Zai jian for now; God be with you till we meet again,

Elder Mitchell/Mai Zhanglao

Hello friends and familia!

Another week has gone by here at the good ole MTC :) This past week has been one of renewed effort to study Chinese and to improve in my attitude towards that there language. It's been a struggle at times, but positivity is so key! I'm so thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which allows us to pick ourselves up from the pitfalls of despair and rise to the heights of hope :) I've also had the joy this past week of getting sick--not hard-core, malaria/smallpox sick, but a congested nose and headache can at times feel just as bad as the two other diseases aforementioned. One of the teachers here made the comment that when we are sick, that is when the adversary will try to mentally bombard us with thoughts of homesickness and a longing to leave. I am thankful to say that I haven't had to deal with anything of that nature to that sort of degree they talked about. I hope that that means the Spirit has been protecting me.

Another goal of our companionship's for this week is EXACT OBEDIENCE. On Tuesday night's devo, one of the speakers spoke about a cow that would poke its head over a fence and eat the wheat on the other side. For those who don't know, when cows eat wheat they bloat. Big time. Eventually, if they eat enough of the stuff, it could be a fatal and permanent mistake. That being said, she (the speaker) addressed the fact that when we spiritually and physically don't obey even the smallest of rules--even if the cow just barely nibbles on the wheat--it could potentially create sickness. Spiritual sickness. I've felt that before whilst being here, and it is certainly not worth the disobedience in the small things. In fact, it is the small things that will make or break our testimonies. Reading our scriptures daily, praying morning and night with sincerity, thinking good and kind thoughts towards others, ourselves, and God, and being of service to our fellow beings in small and simple acts of random kindness--these are the things that will determine our destinies. They'll be the determing factors in what make our days happy or not, and they'll certainly be the deciding agents in the grand eternities. When we are exactly obedient to the little things, the Lord can bless us with so much more than we ever thought of or dreamed. I'm excited to work on exact obedience this week, and I hope that it will make a difference in my life and in the lives of my investigators :)

This past week I really fell in love with Helaman 3:27. We've been trying to get our investigators really 'rooted' in the Gospel--not just to think that our teachings are good, but to actually BELIEVE that those teachings will help to improve their lives. It's been a struggle, but Helaman 3:27 has brought a lot of encouragement and conviction in the quest to help our investigators feel even more of the love of God than they already have. It's pretty great :)

I've been here a month!!! Just four more weeks from tomorrow, and I will be on a plane to Singapore (or, in the Mandarin, Xinjiapo! :) ) I'm mucho excited, but also really nervous. I've learned a LOT of Chinese here, but certainly not as much as I want. I guess that's why we have two months of our mission here--to help prepare us to properly teach the people who need to hear our message :)

I hope that you'll all tune in on June 23rd to the broadcast from the Marriott Center--the MTC Choir is going to be great (trust me, I'll be in it ;) ) and the speakers--including members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve--are going to be phenomenal! :)

For now I bid you all a fond farewell; may God be with you till we meet again :)

Sincerely,

Mai Zhanglao/Elder Mitchell :)

Dear friends, family, poisonous reptiles:

I hope you all got the clever 'Ice Age' reference there :) It was pretty good, if I say so myself. It's hard to believe that yet another week has gone by!! In five days it will have been a month since I entered the MTC, and in six days it will be a month till I leave it! I'm nowhere near ready nor prepared to go to Singapore/Malaysia yet; there's this thing called Mandarin Chinese that is proving to be a fun yet determined roadblock. But deep in my heart of hearts I REALLY want to go. I just want to go and fall in love with the people of Singapore and Malaysia; I want to go and be their servant and their friend. I am anxious to just go and immerse myself in the culture, the people, and yes, even the language. :)

This week has been one of great spiritual rewards and blessings. I've put more effort into studying the language and the Gospel, and I can testify that the Lord blesses such efforts. I can also testify that the adversary enjoys trying to overthrow such efforts as well. But, in the words of a great song, "don't give up, never give up, we won't stop, give it all we got" :) (to be honest, I'm not sure which movie that's from, but my sisters would be able to tell me. I probably just offended them right now by saying I forgot :) )

We've taught several more lessons and are advancing in the language, my companions at a remarkable rate, me at more of a snail's speed. But yeah. All's well, I suppose, in that regard. There are times when I feel like I'm just moving so fast and rapidly in Chinese, and there are other times when I feel the complete opposite. Pretty great :) Positivity! That's the key, my friends! I've come to learn through happy and sad experience that to be positive is to get the most and advance the farthest in any situation presented to you, spiritual or temporal. There's a reason that the most oft-repeated commandment--and, as Elder Holland says, the most oft-broken commandment--that the Lord gives to us is 'Be of Good Cheer'!!! 2 Ne. 2:25--"Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy" :)

Lately the days have been supremely hot. I'll find myself in the midst of complaining about said heat and starkly realize: Singapore is even HOTTER than this, and is much more HUMID. Oh joy ;) But I'm really super excited to go! I've heard stories that go something like this: You sweat gallons, and you hope it rains so that you can get a free shower :) I'm totally fine with that :)

This week I've decided that I want to read the Book of Revelations. I'm not very far into it, since I don't really have that much time to do that sort of 'for fun' reading, but what I have read is amazing!!! It is so thought-provoking and awesome! :) I really like Revelations 21:4--"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." This scripture, along with a lot of the devotionals and other studies I've done here, has pointed my heart towards my brother and towards Singapore. I miss him a lot, as well as the friends and family back home, but I know without a doubt that this is where I'm supposed to be, and I'm very thankful for it :)

Friends and family, I know this Church is true. My knowledge is far from perfect, and my faith is far from being that of a spiritual giant's, but I know that the work I've been called to do is one that the Lord has ordained. I know that although I am weak, He is strong, and He can help me when I need that help. I know that I'm far from perfect, and that He still loves me. This morning me and my district had the chance to go to the temple, and the Spirit there was wonderful! I love being in the Lord's House and I encourage any and all to do whatever it takes to get there! It is so worth it! I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, and that he saw what he said he saw. That is an area of my testimony that has definitely grown since my time here in the MTC, and for that I'm eternally grateful :)

For now I bid you a fond farewell; see y'all next week!

Yours,

Elder Mitchell/Mai Zhanglao

Hello everybody!

Another week has come and gone; this one really felt like it flew by. I've seen a bunch of friends from home and from college here at the good ole MTC; that's been kinda fun. I really do enjoy seeing people that I know; it's like a little taste of home away from home. We've been learning Chinese more and more, and I'm beginning to understand a little bit more of it. It's a hard language in the fact that the tones are very precise; if you say a word wrong, then essentially you're saying a completely different word. That's so challenging for me; I'm so used to using the tone of my voice for different reasons, not for indicating completely different words and phrases! Ack! But I've been called to speak this language for a reason; I've had that truth emphasized to me several times throughout this week.

I've decided that I'm probably not doing my best to dedicate myself to the language; a goal of mine for this week is to be better at studying Mandarin and to familiarize myself more with the words and phrases I need to know, as well as with the sentence structure. The nice thing about Mandarin grammar and sentence structure: There is a very methodical and sensical way to construct sentences. It's nowhere near as confusing as it would be to learn English...but that doesn't mean it's not confusing :)

This past week has had several unique and unforeseen challenges, but it has definitely been quite a rewarding week at that. You can definitely tell when the Spirit is with you, and when It is not. On Wednesday the latest bunch of Mandarin missionaries came it; there were 36 of them! (About the same amount that arrived the day I did). Yesterday me and my companions were announced to the ward as new Zone Leaders. We're going to be the leaders that usher in the next wave of Mandarin missionaries that come in in June--the largest wave yet, with over 50 new missionaries!!! The Lord is certainly hastening His work, and we have the privilege of being a part of that hastening.

Last night at the Sunday Devotional, a man named Ted Gibbons spoke to us. He was portraying Willard Richards, and spoke of the closeness he'd had with Joseph Smith. It was interesting and very spiritual! My testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith has grown tremendously during the short time that I've been here at the MTC, more than I ever thought it would. He truly did see what he said he saw, and because of that, look at how much happiness has been brought into the world! Remarkable and amazing! :)

Please feel free to send me letters and stuff like that; I love getting them! Mail is pretty great :)

So this past week I had the chance to read the Book of Enos during Personal Study. There is so much of this wonderful part of the Book of Mormon that is personally and universally applicable! Throughout the first verses of the book, Enos mentions that he 'wrestled' and 'struggled' with the Lord during his mighty prayer. I think that sometimes people automatically assume that testimonies can and will come with the snap of a finger, and that all of our trials and temptations will vanish with that same snap. I'd just like to say from personal experience (particularly gleaned from here in the MTC)--That is false!! Many of us, myself included, have to work and struggle in order to come to know God. And when we increase our efforts, the adversary will certainly increase his. His whole goal is to make us miserable; but God will NOT forsake those that turn to Him with real intent and a sincere heart. Enos struggled to come to know God, and it wasn't easy. But it was worth it.

In verse 8 he hears the voice of the Lord confirming to him that his sins are forgiven, and that his faith hath made him whole. At the end of that verse, Enos could easily have finished his prayer and gone on his way...but then he felt a desire to pray for his brethren. He didn't have to, but, just as Joseph Smith once said, "a man filled with the love of God is not content to bless his family [or himself] alone".

In verse 10 we read: "And while I was thus struggling in the spirit." Look at the word 'spirit'. It's NOT capitalized! It was his own spirit he was struggling with, not the Spirit of the Lord. Enos, although he'd received a testimony from the Lord Himself, was still struggling with his own personal weaknesses and testimony. I can totally relate with this, as I'm sure everyone else can. It wasn't until after he prayed for his brethren and the Lord answered THAT prayer that his "faith began to be unshaken in the Lord". It wasn't until Enos lost himself that his faith was fortified, and it wasn't until he committed his heart to the Lord and to others that he found true happiness and that his strugglings with his own testimony were quenched. I testify that this principle is true, whether or not you're in the MTC :)

For now, I'll be going. Have a grand week everybody!

Zai jian,

Mai Zhanglao