Tuesday, August 23, 2011

apparently, my sister made a blog for me that is better than this one.  So I'm going to stop writing this one.  :)  Its on my facebook, so just stalk me!  Muah!



NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

yay for week 2 at the MTC

WEEK TWO!!!!  It feels like MUCH longer, but things are going well.  30 minutes to email is really not ever enough time, but when I sit down to write, I forget everything I needed to say...  hmmm...  writing me on Dear Elder is the best thing because I dont have time to read emails on here because I use my time to write!  Thanks for the dear elders Ive gotten so far.  even though I cant write back until P-day, theyre fun to get randomly throughout the week.  MOM BROKE HER FOOT?????  HOW ON EARTH??!  Did Rob pick her up and spin her around again?!  I leave for one week and you guys cant even take care of Mom for me.  geez.  I am going to try out to sing a solo for the fireside on Tuesday night and my Deaf companion is going to sign it with me.  signing and singing at the same time is hard, but we are figuring out the grammar.  That should be fun! 
 
My FIRST Sunday, they called me up to the podium to speak.  great.  They randomly call on missionaries and for some reason, my president thought that I needed to be the first speaker so I had to get up in front of everyone and give a talk about Repentance.  it actually wasnt too bad!  Kinda scary to be called on at random, though!! 
 
Sooo....heres a funny story.  I wasnt feeling well after breakfast yesterday and I decided to take one of my nausea pills.  After about an hour, I was dizzy and feeling like a zombie.  I wasnt even able to walk I was so tired.  I fell asleep in class like 12 times and I couldnt understand what anyone was signing because I couldnt focus.  We went to gym and I thought maybe if I worked out my tiredness would go away, so I got on the bike.  I fell asleep while biking.  Pretty sure I accidentally took a sleeping pill instead of my nausea medication.  They look very similar.  hahahaha.  So I gave up and we skipped gym so I could take a nap because I was completely NOT functional.  hahaha.  so dumb.  I made sure to look at the right pills last night but my district was making fun of me the whole day, which they had every right to do.  I have never been so tired in my life!!!  Guess thats what sleeping pills do to ya, huh???  haha. 
 
My companion sister Embley is improving her ASL.  She gets frustrated sometimes but I am learning patience and doing a lot of one-on-one tutoring her with the language.  Heavenly Father loves His deaf children in Oregon and He wants her to learn this language so she can find and teach them!!!  YAY! 
 
I have such a strong testimony that God loves all of His children.  He sends us out to different countries and different languages to teach the people!  Its such a great work!  We have some so-called- investigators that we are teaching....which are really just our teachers in the other room who are pretending to be investigators....  anyway.  We taught a lady named Veronica yesterday.  Shes deaf.  She is also an illegal immigrant from Mexico so she DOESNT KNOW ASL.   We taught the resurrection, the atonement, prayer, and about Jesus Christ JUST BY GESTURING!!!!!  It was amaaaazing.  We had to act everything out.  Just face expressions, pointing to pictures, acting out concepts.  In the mission field, there are so many deaf people who grew up with hearing families who didnt sign so they are LANGUAGELESS.  We have to find those deaf people and teach them but we cant use any kind of language, so its interesting.  I hear that in my mission, I will do this with 60% of my investigators.  Most of them are so uneducated that they just didnt learn language and they cant speak English.  Or else they know some other kind of sign like Italian Sign Language and so we have to adjust to the individual.  Soooo hard.  and interesting.  I love it though and I am getting better!!!
 
I forgot to tell you about my first day!  I forgot my meal card, and we werent supposed to go back to the classroom, so the PRESIDENT OF THE MTC payed for my dinner!!  hahahaha.  They all love us because we sign. 
 
The three elders in my district are....19.  Well, sometimes theyre 12, but I love them anyway.  haha.  Elder Wardle has 2 cochlear implants and he cant ever stop talking.  We have to tell him to turn his voice off more than any of the hearing people!  Elder Roper is from Gilbert, Arizona.  Hes hearing but he took 2 years of ASL in high school.  Elder Alder is the district leader.  Hes Deaf and hes from (Brett will love this) Preston, Idaho.  Im really glad we have a small district.  Its kind of crazy that there are only 6 of us learning ASL in the whole MTC, though. 
 
Im so happy I dont have to wear nylons.  Did Stacey pop yet!???!  I miss Roxie. 
 
I love you I love you!!  Could someone tell me if my blog is working?
 
Sister Wilson



NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.


Tuesday, August 9, 2011

HELLO FROM THE MTC!!!!

IM ALIVE!!!  Everything here at the MTC is so so so amazing.  :)  Please tell everyone to write me through DearElder.com.  Its a much better system because I dont have to limit the amount of time I can read the letters.  They only give us THIRTY minutes to read and write emails on P-days, so writing me through dear elder will let me have an easier time.  I love you all!!  I'm eating a lot of food.  its so great.  not.  really.  Ive had a few hypoglycemic attacks and cant seem to eat enough protein, so sending nuts or other snacks would help!  or popcorn!  Microwave popcorn, if anyone feels so inclined.  We have a microwave and girls are always making popcorn at night and I cant ever eat any of it cuz it isnt mine.  haha.  Cafeteria food is....fine.  There are days when its super gross and days when it isnt awful.  I really miss fresh vegetables.  They give us these gross mixed frozen stuff... blegh.
 
My ASL District:  ASL is amazing. I already loved the language before I came.... My district has 6 of us learning ASL.  3 Deaf and 3 hearing.  I have 2 companions!  Sister Sellers is Deaf.  She signs but she can also speak near perfectly.  Shes so outgoing and fun that she talks to everyone around us.  Its kind of funny that we are a novelty.  Everyone instantly thinks I'm super cool cuz I know sign language and Ive been interpreting quite a bit so people sit and watch me when they sit behind us at devotionals and I'm interpreting.  We get a lot of questions about ASL and Deaf people, which I LOVE explaining over and over!!  It makes me so happy to know that people are interested and I love to share the Deaf knowledge.  Tell Brett I dont have a ground- AC.  so no fridge for me.  :)  Sister Embley didnt know a LICK of ASL before she got here a week ago.  She has been learning and growing so much!  Shes the only one in the district with NO asl background.  On our third day, she was able to say a simple prayer!  AMAZING!  The Lord wants her to learn this language!  She was originally called English speaking to California, but 2 days before she left, she got switched to the Portland Oregon mission using ASL.  The Lord must need her.  Its interesting because Sister Embley and sister Sellers cant communicate AT ALL.  Sister Embley has a severe speech impediment and she doesnt know sign language, so Sister Sellers cant read her lips.  and Sister Sellers can voice to her but cant understand what she says back so I have been the constant interpreter.  Its so perfect.  I know that this companionship is the way God wanted it to be!  They could be companions without me and I couldnt be without them.  I love it. 
 
Because we are ASL, we get reserved seats to EVERYTHING.  hahahah.  Front row seats to devotionals from the apostles, BABY!  YEAH!  so fun.  Merril J. Bateman was like 10 feet away from me.  :)  marvelous.  OH!!!  I need to tell you all that WE ARE THE VERY VERY VERY FIRST GROUP OF MISSIONARIES TO BE TAUGHT BY THE NEW PREACH MY GOSPEL PROGRAM!!!  They just re-did the program and we are the first to be trained in it!  It is sooo inspired by God!  Its so wopnderful!!!  I love and miss you all!!  The church is true!  Please pray for sister Embley to be able to learn the language, she's really struggling and its sooo hard to be thrown into a district where everyone signs and she doesnt understand. 
 
Went to the temple this morning for P-day and it was amazing.  I love love love the temple.  I challenge all of you to go very soon!  Its so amazing there!  I'm learning to take short showers and get up early. Been soooooooper busy and tired.  a lot of emotional experiences in the MTC.  Its amazing how close you can get to your district when you spend all day every day with them in classrooms.  They have all already seen me cry like 4 times.  We bear testimony and support each other.  I love it. 
 
I need Erin and Amy to send me their addresses!  I cant write anyone unless they write me first! Or send me their address through dear elder! 
 
Love sister Wilson!!!!
 
9 weeks here I come!  one down, 8 to go!



NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.