Last Email From The MTC

Well. The time has finally come. I am in my last few days here at the MTC and to say that typing that is surreal is an understatement. I guess the best way I can describe it is when you are about to graduate high school and all you think about for months is leaving and being done but when the time actually comes it is SO HARD to say goodbye to all the people you have come to know and love and to say goodbye to life as you currently know it. This will be my last email from the good old USA. I'm not sure when my p-day(email day) will be in the Philippines, but hopefully not too long because I'm sure i'll have so much to say just from the 18 hour flight, not even considering the whole being in a new country for the first time thing. Don't get me wrong, I really am so excited but it's also so crazy and nerve-racking to actually really START my mission. I just need to find some cute Filipino family to help out once I get there and I'm sure I will feel fine!:)

This past week has flown by faster than any other. We had one of the best devotionals we have had since I've been here on Sunday. I don't have my notes so I'm not sure his name but he was one of the 70 and he talked about how we need to set goals and follow them and all this motivational missionary stuff. (sorry like no detail wish I had my notebook.) One point I really liked was that he said missionaries need to do three things. SMILE SMILE SMILE. That was my favorite point because I don't have to know another language to do that. I've had a lot of practice loving people so at least that is universal and I can do that even if I am 9,000 miles away from home. :)

Sunday night we watched the Joseph Smith movie they play in the Salt lake center. I LOVE THAT MOVIE. I'm not sure if that's on LDS.org but if so you all need to go buy some oreos and popcorn and have a movie night. It is seriously so great. Plus I love watching movies here at the MTC with all these 18 year old elders because if there is any sort of slight romantic things in a movie like holding hands or something they will GO CRAZY. We are so deprived. It's okay though,I'm not complaining haha:) 

THEN that movie happened to be playing in the gym a couple times we went this week so of course I watched it another 2 times. I wonder what people thought when they saw me like crying on the elliptical. Like, HEY! I'm not THAT out of shape, this is just a really great movie. haha oh well. 

Here's a fun fact about the MTC, you can be here for 6 weeks and they won''t tell you anything about the culture of where you are going until a few days before you leave. And even now they won't tell us some things. Like apparently they don't tell you about the TP or bucket shower situation until you get there. Coincidence? I think not! haha they don't want people backing out before they even get there. I did learn something this week about my future home though. Apparently they don't have seats in some of the homes and they have muddy dirt floors so instead of sitting criss-cross apple sauce to teach a lesson, you will just do a squat. In a skirt. For like 30 minutes. All I have to say about that is I am so grateful for the following: long,flowy comfy skirts, my byu zumba instructor who insisted on doing 4 minute segments of straight squats every class to build up our endurance, and my byu contemporary dance teacher who had us work forever on gaining and improving balance. I am a little out of practice but those things will definitely help me in the next 16 months! haha :) The best part of learning about the squats was watching the Elders try to keep their balance. Imagine a game of rolly-polly that like 5 year olds play but with huge Elders and you might begin to understand how hilarious the situation was! One of the Elders even rolled into a desk and knocked everything over. Don't worry, he was fine but their attempts and commentary were the funniest thing. 

Yesterday we had in-field orientation which is a 7 hour training for all the missionaries leaving this week. It was so great! Kind of weird to hear all English for a day but I learned so much and am so so so excited to get out to the Philippines and start meeting everyone and try and help every single person I meet.

I just want to say that I love you all so much. Thank you so much for all the love and support the past 6 weeks! My testimony of prayer has grown so much in the last 6 weeks and I know without a doubt that God answers every single prayer. He loves us so much. Please go to him if you are having a hard time, or a good time, or anytime. He just wants to hear from you and help you. How blessed are we to have a way to communicate with our loving heavenly father through prayer!

Have a wonderful week! 

I will write to you soon from the Philippines!!

-Sister Turner:)

Pictures

Pictures of Sister Journey Turner at the MTC   in Provo Utah.

I'm Going To The Philippines!

Family and Friends. 

I am going to the Philippines. Okay so I know we have all known that for a while but yesterday I got my FLIGHT PLANS. So it's actually official now and I am so excited i can not even explain. I will be leaving the MTC and AMERICA on September 4th(that's less that 2 weeks!!!!!!) and then flying to Tokyo Japan and then to the Philippines. Sister W, Elder W and I are flying together because we are going to the same mission. I cannot wait for an 18 hour flight with Elder Winkler. hahaa I will laugh all the way there:) The other people in my district are on a different flight to Japan but we are all arriving there at the same time and then are on the same flight to Phili. So we feel pretty cool and are excited for our "district reunion in Tokyo." What is my life. THIS IS SO COOL.  

Any who, So you can probably tell from my extensive use of caps and exclamation points, getting our flight plans was pretty exciting but I guess I will try to remember the other things that happened as well!

This was just a really fantastic week. Well every week is great but this was especially wonderful. One of my goals this week was to think less about myself and turn outward to pay more attention to those around me and what needs they might have even if they aren't openly advertising about needing help. I have been blessed this week for God to place me in the right place at the right time and was able to help out some people when they were having a tough time. I can't really get to much into it because I know this email is seen by a lot of people and I don't want to say personal things about other people but basically I was able to help comfort and assist several people this week when they were going through some tough times. I feel so blessed that I was able to help them and pray with them and for them and be a part of the overwhelming spirit that comes from Heavenly Father through prayer. I know without a doubt that God loves every single person and he has all the love in the world to give us and if we will just turn to him we can feel that love! Helping these people this week has allowed me to also feel that overwhelming power that comes through prayer as well as the true joy that comes through earnestly praying and seeking for the benefit of others. I realized that even if I can't speak Tagalog perfectly or teach lessons in the best way, being a missionary is more about loving the people around me as Christ would. I have this opportunity to be God's hands to reach out to his children when they are having a hard time. But That's not just me or the fact that I happen to be a full time missionary. We ALL can find true joy in helping others around us if we just try. I testify that you will never feel God's love for you more than you will as you seek to help others. So I have a challenge for you if you are reading this! Go find someone who seems like they are having a hard time and sincerely look to help them in any way you can. Don't just serve them but REALLY try to love them as God does and understand them. I promise you your life will never be the same and you will be happier than you ever have before if you turn outward instead of thinking about yourself or worrying about your problems. Try it, I dare you. Then tell me about what happened:)

Sight seeing news: This week at the MTC I saw my friend Krista Ek from BYU, Paige Newman from Georgia who is a teacher here and walked by me while on the phone with her mom so i said hi to both of them and it was awesome. Also Elder Max Sultan! It was so awesome to see him because I don't think I've seen him since seminary graduation! He is doing great and will be a fantastic missionary in Arizona I can tell:)

Oh and I got 3 packages in 3 days this week. 3 FOR 3!!!!! IT WAS AN MTC MIRACLE!!! 

Thank you so much Mom,Dad and Jazzy Jay. Love you all. 

On Sunday Jenny Oaks Baker came for our Devotional. She is a professional violinist and the daughter of Elder Dallin H Oaks. It was a really neat little concert of her playing her favorite songs with her cute musical children and telling stories of her dad growing up. 

Okay so before I tell the next story, I want to let everyone know that I enjoyed a few very nice days of good health after my last cold. However, one of the Elders in my district had this super bad cough that he finally went to the doctor to have checked out. He came back to announce to us that he had a "highly contagious upper respiratory infection". Thanks so much Elder. Since we literally spend 10+ hours with him a day in one tiny little classroom one by one we have been getting sick. I was one of the first to go but I thought it was fine and just a cold like last time. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. I started off with a really bad cold and cough which got progressively worse until it climaxed on Wednesday night when I woke up in the middle of the night with probably the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life in my right ear. I thought my ear drum had shattered. I just took some extra strength Tylenol (which didn't help at all. false advertising) and prayed and sat in my bed all night not being able to sleep. It was probably the worst night of my life so far. The next morning we had 6:30 service. I was feeling pretty bad but some funny moments happened! First, we were vacuuming the floors of one of the buildings and I couldn't hear out of my right ear at that point but I could vaguely hear sounds so the vacuum noise sounded like dub step and it was hilarious. Oh and also Some Elders walked in on me and Sister W in the bathroom so they could clean the mirrors. It was pretty awkward. Here's kind of what happened *elders walk in talking and laughing and sister W and I freeze* "ummm... is anyone in here" and then Sister W responds in the best not laughing voice she can "Yes. there are people in here" The Elders then proceed to leave and stand outside the door so we had to walk past them to leave.haha it was awful but hilarious. I am sure they learned their lesson and will knock from now on. 

Anyways, Thursday afternoon my sickness was not any better, I couldn't hear out of my right ear and my eyes were so painful I couldn't keep them open. At that point I made the executive decision to go to the Health Clinic here at the MTC and was told I had a severe ear infection, eye infection and upper respiratory cough. So I guess it's a good thing I didn't try to tough that out. haha Luckily I was able to go to the pharmacy (off campus adventures!). The main reason I tell this story is to express my EXTREME gratitude for modern medicine because I feel so much better now! Also shout out to my awesome companion who helps me do eye drops 4 times a day. Also didn't want my parents to freak out when they saw a bunch of medical charges on my debit card. Don't worry! I am totally A-okay! No matter how bad I have felt, I have been able to do everything so I haven't gotten behind and I am really grateful for that. 

One thing that was kind of hard this week was saying goodbye to all the Elders I have grown to love so much! Everyone left for the Philippines and now my district is the oldest here. I can't believe that! I will miss them so much but I'm so happy they got to start their adventure in the Philippines! It's crazy how you can love people so much and they really do become your family after a short time. After all those Elders left, we had a group of 27 Elders and sisters come in. Sister W and I along with the Zone leaders were able to do an orientation their first night and it was really fun. I love helping out and getting to know all the new people. It's so crazy because I feel like I just got here but looking back I guess I have come a long way since my first day here. 

Last night we had an awesome opportunity to serve the sisters in our zone! Two of our brand new sisters knocked on our door in towels and explained how all four sisters in their room had been locked out. Sister W and I then rushed to the front desk in our PJ's past curfew in the rain and we were literally the only ones on campus. We went and got their key and then ran back. I was grateful for the opportunity to pay it forward since the exact same thing happened to me last week haha. 

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week! Look for someone having a hard time and help them out. 

MAHAL,

Sister Turner:)

Half Way There

Kumusta Everyone! 

Okay so my thoughts are so scrambled this week. I cannot believe it's been an entire week since last time I wrote. I don't have anything with me and I haven't really journaled this week because we have been so busy but I will try my best to remember all the adventures! Also all the missionaries in this computer lab are funny and distracting and talking to me so I hope I don't  do that thing where you type what you are saying not what you are trying to type. haa

I can't believe I have hit my half way mark at the MTC! I have survived three weeks speaking tagalog and not having hidden valley ranch dressing. I've sure come along way. (Sidenote- mom and dad can you actually send me some Hidden valley before I leave to take to the Philippines?? Thank you!)

One exciting adventure to happen this week was that in the afternoon during gym time sister W and I did a companion exchange so that she and another sister from our district could practice for a musical performance that they will be doing tomorrow. The first day we switched, the other sisters in the district and I  decided to go up to the sand volleyball court by the temple to play with the elders. Now if you know me, you're probably shocked at the improvements I have made in my life and the fact that I even tried to play volleyball after years of near death hit in the head during recreational sports moments. But It's important to support my zone so I will go and do! Anyways, it was actually the most fun I've had playing sports with boys. Excuse me, Elders. Because They were so nice and encouraging even though with the sisters playing their game was pretty much ruined. haha And there was a lot more screaming and laughter than before. One of the comments I really appreciated from an Elder giving me advice on how to hit the ball. He said "You've just gotta punch it! You don't have to be gentle! It's not burping a baby." haha Now I know. Thanks Elder!:)

Then on Thursday we were doing another companion exchange and after our workout, I went to take a shower. It wasn't until after my shower that I realized I had locked myself out of my room with ONLY a towel and shampoo and my companion (who has the other key) was gone and wouldn't be coming back because I was supposed to meet her at lunch. It made it even funnier because as I stood outside my room and contemplated a way out for this predicament, Sister Read and her companion walked by. haha some things never change. (Got locked out my my BYU dorm too.) When I knocked on the door of the other sisters in my district and luckily one of then was awake so we used the literal huge red phone hanging on the wall of our lobby (think, Emergency super hero phone) to call the front desk to tell them the situation. They said sister falcon could come get the key if she had a companion to walk with her but since I had no clothes and Sister Falcon is 5'3 her dresses were a little too short haha and by that I mean a lot. I couldn't go. So Sister Falcon and another random sister walking down the hall walked up and got my extra key for me so I could get in. God Bless sister Falcon! 

Now for a few funny moments from Sister W and I's lessons sa Tagalog this week:

One of the lessons we walked in and Sister W was wearing a necklace with the temple on it and our investigator comments about how pretty it is and asked what it is. We answered "Templo". Which is the extend of our vocabulary for temples. Then Leticia asked what a temple was. In English I probably would have said "A house of the Lord where we go to made promises with God". But In Tagalog I don't know any of those words so we tried to charades a "house ng Diyos". Then she said "Oh! a temple is a simbahan.(Church)." Then we end up said "yes a temple is a mabuti mabuti simbahan. (good good church) haha then we just tried to move on as fast as possible so she wouldn't ask more questions. 

Later this week with that same investigator, Sister W was trying to explain Baptism by immersion and how we are baptized when we are 8 years old and up. She wasn't sure how to say "and up" so she just said up to a hundred. So at the end of our lesson, she asked Leticia if she would prepare to follow Christ by being baptized and she seemed really hesitant but said she would pray about it. Anywho. Afterwards we find out that Instead of saying "We are baptized when are 8 and up" Sister W actually said "We are baptized by going under water 800 times." hahahhaha SO BAD. No wonder she was hesitant about answering us. Who would want to do that?? 

Also another funny shoutout. In class one of the ELders and I were doing sentence practices and I asked the question sa tagalog. "Will I become more heavy if I continue to drink chocolate milk every day?" and he responded "Hindi! (No) You will become more happy if you drink chocolate milk every day.' AGREED. I like the way this kid thinks! haha 

Also sidenote but sorry. I feel like my funny moment stories probably aren't that funny to read and I think everything is funny after so many straight hours of studying but I figure I will share regardless because it's little moments like that that are my favorite.

One really neat spiritual experience I had was that last minute we had to switch to teaching our hardest investigator because of a scheduling problem and we had literally an hour to prepare the entire lesson sa tagalog. And I was freaking out! But right before we went in to teach, I prayed to so so hard to be able to make it through that lesson and as I walked into the room I just knew that I was going to be okay. And I knew that I wasn't the one teaching that lesson, it was the spirit and everything would be alright. And it was one of the best lessons and more enjoyable ones I have taught. It was really neat to see the huge difference that the spirit can make between freaking out and having peace.

Every week I sing in the MTC choir during devotional and every time a bunch of people come up to me afterwards and say how my face was on the big screen. WHY DO THEY SAY THAT. We aren't allowed to look at the screen even though as the choir director says "It's the biggest temptation we will face our entire time at the MTC". So I never do and then I never know what I look like to the other 2,000 missionaries and general authority people watching. I wish i could just live in ignorance and not know that my face is blown up the size of the turner field stadium screen. Oh well. haha 

Anyways, at choir this week we sang the song "Nearer my God to thee". I really love this hymn but especially because we talked about how Heavenly Father has us go through a "refiner's fire" sometimes and that's how he makes us better. They talked about how refiner's fire makes silver better because the heat makes it moldable, purifies it and hardens it. I really liked how he went more into depth by saying Heavenly Father knows us and he knows our breaking point. He will put us through heat so that we can be purified and become better but he will never let us stay in that heat for too long that we will become brittle and break. A silversmith once said that the way he can tell that the silver is ready and purified completely is when he can see his own reflection in the silver. I love that! We can't control what happens to us in this life but we can always control how we respond to it, and we can choose to allow it to make us better and reflect christlike attributes in our response or we can choose to allow it to break us down. So far on my mission, I have realized that sometimes when we pray for help and that help doesn't seem to come, it's not because Heavenly Father isn't listening or because he has forgotten about us, but because his plan isn't the same as ours. I testify that the best way to find happiness is to change our prayers. To be willing to follow his plan for us. I think that that willingness to trust and blindly follow Heavenly Father as he leads our path is what truth faith is. I'm striving to have more of that:)

I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that God lives and loves us and listens to our prayers.ALWAYS. I know that Jesus Christ walked alone and went through the worst pain and suffering when he died on the cross for the sins of the world so that we never have to walk alone. I know that God loves all of his children equally and he wants his children in the Phillipines to know him and have the joy that living his gospel and following his son Jesus Christ can bring and that is why I am learning a language that is crazy hard. And that is why I am "giving up 18 months of my life". And that is why I am happier than I have ever been in my life. 

"Oh sweet, the joy this sentence gives: I KNOW that my redeemer lives."

I love you all!

Mahal Kita,

Sister Turner:)

p.s- Sorry I am out of time, thank you for writing me! I love hearing stories and encouragement from back home, it really helps, I'll try to respond to more emails next week!! Hope everyone has a wonderful Linggo(week)

4 And A Half Weeks Left

So Sister W and I had a great one week long run as district music coordinators until we were released on Sunday and called as the new sister coordinating leaders. It's basically the female equivalent of a zone leader. We are in charge of helping all the missionaries in our zone with any needs or questions especially all the sister missionaries. Basically my job is to be everyone's friend and so that means it's the best job in the world. I love my zone so much. As a leader, we have a ton of meetings and last Sunday i was literally in meetings or teaching classes from 8:30AM to 9:30PM. haha Shoutout to bishops who always work that hard every single Sunday (and more). Spiritual work is hard work and i really appreciate everyone who works so hard and is so dedicated to their callings. Thank you for being great examples to me!

Our zone now has 6 sisters and about 50 Elders so I feel a little outnumbered but mostly I just feel like I have 50 little brothers. The Elders are all so sweet and funny and I love talking and getting to know them. It's funny because the Elders always play this game at meals called "what are the odds" where they say something like "what are the odds I carry everyone's trays for them" and then they say between one and something else and if they say the number at the same time they have to do it. It's really silly and they get pretty creative after being at the MTC a while. haha They say the orange juice here makes you sick and you shouldn't drink it but I think the real culprit probably the bugs and napkins and spoonfuls of salt they eat from that game. haha:)

Also the Elders in my district are so awesome and Elder W and I always laugh so hard whenever we are paired together. I honestly don't even know what it is but we DIE laughing like laugh-so- hard- your-stomach- hurts- and- you- can't- breathe. Probably because we are both so awful at speaking Tagalog and partially because he has the best laugh like those ones that are super contagious. Like I will go to work with the Elders and try and be super deadpan and serious as their investigator as they teach me and they will start laughing at me because apparently I have a funny face (rude.) and I will say 100% serious "This is anything but a joke. Do you think my eternal salvation is a joke" and then they just laugh even harder which makes me laugh and it's so great. and once we start laughing the whole class starts laughing which is bad because we distract class but good because the more you laugh the longer you live.(apparently) This week, I was feeling a little down and I think Brother Kaka could tell so he puts us all into pairs to work on vocab and he puts Elder W and i together because he says "You two always laugh" and I go "Then why would you put us together?" and he says "Because it's funny." haha We did laugh and so did our teacher and so did the class and I swear there is a power in laughter that can make any bad day 100% better. 

Also side note but I am totally moving to Australia after my mission. Just putting that out there. Everyone I meet from Australia or New Zealand are the coolest people in the world. I just want to be like them! haha

Oh and this week sister W and I were running at the gym and while you run you can watch mormon messages and it is my favorite thing ever. I actually like working out now haha go figure. And as I was watching the message, I saw the one with my friend Olivia Madsen! I was totally bragging about how i was friends with a mormon celebrity to all the people in the Gym and then the next day I got a package of delicious homemade brownies from her and her mom! They were so great and I shared them with my district and teachers and got some brownie points! haha see what I did there. Thank you so much! Lot you guys! Also got a package from my uncle rodger last week and it was so great! Thank you so much!:)

This week was really great in progressing in Tagalog, no matter how slow because I am starting to understand basically everything the people we teach say and answer their questions in my super broken Tagalog. It's so exciting. Don't get me wrong, I have a long way to go. Even our teacher starting laughing at Sister W and I this week because he said our Tagalog was just super super bad. BUT HEY! At least we are trying. We did this thing called TRC(teaching resource center) where we went and shared a little spiritual message and conversed with RM's acting as themselves sa Tagalog. It was so great, even though i messed up a lot. haha It was funny because the first guy we talked to, I accidentally asked "Ano ang what" which is essentially "What is what" or "how do you say what" As I said it I realized my mistake and we all cracked up. After that i came to find out that there are cameras in the rooms we teach in and our teachers watch it to critique. Do you know how awful that is as a super paranoid person to have your fears validated by being told that there are literally cameras you can't see watching you all the time. NOT COOL. NOT COOL AT ALL. 

The next girl we talked to told us about how on her mission she found out who she really was and she knows we will too. So far my mission has taught me that I cannot speak Tagalog and I don't really know anything in English either. It kind of feels like every single talent or skill i thought i had is actually a thing I have to change about myself and nothing is right. BUT The Lord has 18 months to make me better and what he wants me to be and so I'll try to just be patient. Makes me kind of think of how when you clean your room or reorganize it, it always gets worse and you see how bad everything is and it's so messy, even messier than before you started. But once you work at it for a while everything fits into place and it's much better than it was before. That's kind of what i feel like Heavenly Father is doing with me. He is showing me weaknesses i didn't even know I had and everything seems a bit of a mess now but i know that once he is done changing me i will be  better than I ever could have been on my own. 

I know the language is starting to come along though because some of the words I say often like hello, thank you, your welcome, etc. are starting to become first nature and I accidentally answer sa Tagalog first which is so AWESOME. Also this week, I was walking past an Elder and he says "Hi, how's it going" and I literally couldn't even answer him because what he said sounded familiar but i had no idea what language he was speaking. Someone hasn't said hello to me in English is way too long. haha So even if progressing a little bit in my language means I become a weirdo who can't respond to people when they say hello to me. i will GLADLY take that. Seriously! So happy for small improvements haha. 

This week I had a really neat experience that made me realize that Heavenly Father really does know and love me and that I am supposed to be here at this time with these people learning this language and going to the Philippines.

I also got to see my BYU friends sister read and sister rhodes so that was great. 

Better run, going to try to send pictures this week! 

Muhal kita!

Sister Turner

p.s- sorry if i didn't respond to you this week, i'll try to get back to you soon! Love ya!

Pananampalataya Kay Jesu Cristo (Faith in Christ)

Hello everyone!

Okay so first of all funny story from this week. I guess they changed me MTC address from what they originally told me so now it is the same but September 4th as the departure date and unit #48

It was funny because some of the letters went through my first few days but the majority of them were redirected and got here all on Monday.(That's why I didn't answer your questions last week, sorry Mom) It was crazy because I walked in and had 12 Dear Elders and everyone heard about it because I guess that is an unheard of thing for 12 letters in one day! Now everyone says "oh it's mail time! Sister Turner gets to hear from her fan club!" haha it's so silly but I really do love hearing from everyone and thank you for writing me! Everyone who wrote me, even if I can't respond right away, know that I am totally in your fan club too and am rooting for you in all you do and pray for you all everyday! Thanks for the love!

Last Saturday after I wrote you all, we went to the Provo Temple because we are allowed to do that on P-days. I love the Provo temple. It is such a beautiful place both inside and out. Funny thing that happened though was that I got lost because I had never been there before and everyone just kind of took off because they had been there many times before. Then I couldn't find my companion and then I couldn't find my clothes to change into because the key to my locker was gone and then I lost my purse and it was just one thing after another. haha those poor temple workers. Trying to help a tired, clumsy sleep deprived sister Turner:) I think Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he put Sister W and I together though because I lost my keys at the temple and a few days later she accidentally flushed our room key down the toilet. haha Perfect match! Except we need to step it up or we won't have any backups.

Sundays at the MTC are so great! We had our first sacrament meeting in Tagalog which was kinda neat and then we went to relief society which is a meeting where all the sisters go and hear from a super awesome speaker! This week was SISTER SHERI DEW!!!!!!!!!!! what what. Mormon Celebrity. 

Sister Dew talked about how God won't force us to learn, we have to exercise our agency or ability to choose in order to learn. Action is always required. Spiritual work is work. She talked about how one of Satan's most effective tools in leading us astray is to make us think that we should look around us at what other people in the world are doing to see what we should strive to become. But in reality we should always look up! It was really amazing,she is an incredible person!

It was such a great meeting also because one of my best friends Sister Jex sang a solo, she sounded so great and I totally cried. I am so blessed which such amazing friends!!

This week Sister W and I were also called as the sacrament meeting music coordinators and are teaching the little Sunday school type class this week so that is exciting. 

Sister W and I have committed to always "SYL" or speak our language. We speak in super broken Taglish and it's funny because I'm almost certain that my Tagalog is not improving, my English is just getting worse. haha so Now I speak both broken Tagalog and broken English. Jokelang. It's going pretty well considering. Tagalog is a beautiful language and I am excited to be able to understand and communicate with it more. (Hopefully soon!)

One of our teachers, Brother kaka is from New Zealand and he is seriously the coolest person to ever live. Actually I don't really know him at all but he is a really great teacher! haha He has a super cool accent and reminds me alot of Jaron Beckwith in how he is just so nice and friendly to everyone. He is super chill and he told us that "Learning a language is hard but learning tagalog is easy". I really want to believe that! haha The other day he was teaching us something and I asked him what language that was from and he said English. haha embarrassed-po. I told him I don't know how well I can learn tagalog if I don't even know English and he said I should probably just give up on English and focus all my efforts on Tagalog. "Maybe you'll have better luck with your next language sister Turner". Thanks Brother Kaka. Thanks a ton! haha

He also asked us why we were learning Tagalog. Then he showed us a bunch of super cute pictures of the Filipino people and he simply said "You are learning this language to help them. You are doing this to let them know that God loves them. This isn't just vocabulary memorization. This is for THEM. Whenever I am feeling frustrated with the language, I just think about those people in the Philippines who I could maybe help by sharing this message of God's love for them and the plan of happiness he has made for them and I become so much more motivated to learn crazy congregations and vocab where one word is the length of the alphabet haha. It's great. Teachers here are so awesome. 

Oh also this week was interesting because I had this super bad cold (still do) and learning Tagalog while taking a bunch of cold medicine and not being able to sleep at night is definitely an interesting experience but God has been giving me so much strength I know, because no matter how bad I felt, I was able to complete everything I needed too! So blessed! Also Sidenote but Dad will you please make me some of that chicken rice soup stuff you used to make for me when I was sick when I get home because I have been wanting that so bad all week! haha Love you!:)

I love the three hours of study time we have in the mornings for personal, companion and language study. The MTC campus is seriously one of the most beautiful places in the world and it so nice to study outside. This week, Sister W and I were sitting outside doing language study and a couple of Elders came up to us and asked us if they could practice teaching us a lesson. Of course we said yes! During the lesson, one Elder sang a hymn and it was so beautiful. I bet it looked weird this One teenage boy serenading two sister missionaries with a hymn but the spirit was so strong when he sang it was amazing. The MTC is a pretty great place.

Okay so I am about to run out of time so I will just bullet point a few other things.

-Sang in the choir for Tuesday night Devo and it was amazing. I have so many cool stories I guess I'll have to tell when I get home because It's just too much! ah! haa

-Brother John Groberg from the other side of heaven spoke to us and it was one of the most spiritual and amazing firesides I have ever been to. 

-Sister W and I were super nervous right before our lesson to our investigator because we didn't know any of the words in tagalog and the investigator only speaks that. We decided to hum a hymn before going in and we both started singing "I need the every hour" at the exact same time without planning it. It was so neat and our lesson went so well after that! (We are getting really good at charades and kind of good at Tagalog)

I love being a missionary. I love being at the MTC and I love all of you.

Have a wonderful week!

MUHAL KITA

Sister Turner:)

p.s- didn't even have time to explain the title of this letter. haha oh well. :)