Elder Jack Taylor says Hi (ALSO, WEEK SEDEM BABY!)

This week flew by.

I cannot believe how the MTC is shaping my life and the lives around me. (Sorry for cheesiness, it is inevitable when you only get to read the scriptures.) The first weird thing that happened this week was that while on our little walk during class, we all of a sudden heard a roar and music and we all jumped about five feet in the air before we realized that it was the BYU football game! Skutočny život? yes, real life! We didn't even recognize the song that was playing. It is weird to remember that life goes on outside of this strange place...

This week was a conglomerate mixture of really stressful things, really happy things, and really hilarious things.

I will start with the sad things I guess because chronological order for the win!

Brat Bateman really cracked down on us this week, and it really was a wake-up call. He talked about investigators and really focusing and on why we are learning this language. Sometimes it is easy to forget in the routine that we are here for real people and to really change lives. After that, sister parsons and I really were feeling overwhelmed and discouraged because we were so imperfect, and we were really wishing that we had been doing better.

BUT

that's enough of that because 

WAIT!

LIFE GETS BETTER ALWAYS!

Sunday was incredible! The ogden temple re-dedication was so wonderful and inspiring. In the first session, sister parsons and I were really praying to receive comfort in one of our sunday meetings. Not only did President Monson talk about Czechoslovakia, but he quoted my favorite scripture "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." What a wonderful day! Later, we had the best devotional from Brother Gordon B. Brown who literally spoon-fed us a million ways to be confident as a missionary. I felt so much more confident in myself afterwards and felt so motivated to do my very best. Then, to top it all off, we watched the MOST INCREDIBLE address given by Jeffery R Holland in 2012 for thanksgiving at the MTC. I literally can't put how incredible it was into words, but I just about died. Some quotes from it:

"You have to try to grasp it. This is as real as life will ever be. Nothing is as important as what you are doing now."

"You are understating EVERYTHING"

"We are all converts somewhere"

"It is NOT fun to go out and think you are going to lose. These prophets knew they were going to lose. Buck up."

Also, we got to SKYPE yesterday!! With someone from Slovakia! The sweetest member, too. She literally made us feel so prepared. We understood her and she understood us! I am SO excited now! I already love the Slovak people and am SO excited to serve them.

Okay now for a really good list of things:

1) We had an english fast (we could only speak slovak all day) on tuesday this week. Man that was so hard. But we were surprised at how much we knew! We were so exhausted after the day was done....ahhhhhhh

2) HILARIOUS STORY: We got new croatians and slovenes in our zone this week! But listen to this: We were all sitting in class learning this really difficult grammar principle (Ktory: Death), and all of a sudden this brand new elder bursts into our classroom, says hi, and asks "is this my seat?" We all literally just stared at him and Brat Bateman leads him out of the room into his own classroom. IT WAS HILAROUS. WE DIED.

3) Other funny thing about new elders and sisters: We always say, "Welcome to the MTC! Where are you going, Elder?" And they always say, "Uhhh, I think 12m? 9m? Class?" "Umm..we mean on your mission?" It is funny. Maybe you have to be there.

4) SLOVAKIA IS WHERE I AM SUPPOSED TO BE. Get this: They have these pants. They wear them when they are hiking and when they are working and going on adventures. Brat Zabriskie calls them adventure pants. THEY ARE PLAID WITH KNEE PADS.

I cannot even begin to explain to you how much I need these pants.

I need Slovakia, teraz.

5) I figured out how to make a milkshake out of my ice cream. Win man. Win.

6) There is an elder from Paris here whose name is Elder Snickers.

A couple of last little tidbits:

So grateful for the love and confirmation of my testimony that I feel here in the MTC! I am incredibly grateful for every time I bear witness of Christ, the overwhelming feeling I get of the truth. There is nowhere else I would rather be!

M. Russell Ballard came and spoke to us on tuesday! Yeah! 2 apostles in a row!! And it was incredible! He just talked to us like he was our grandpa and it was really the best. He was so good about telling us just to do our best. He talks about when he wakes up every morning, and about how sometimes it is hard, but he says "Nevertheless, I get up." This is so how a mission is! But even better was what he said next. Every time he does wake up, he immediately thinks, "Huh?! I'm still here? Better get up!" We really are all still here for a reason! God has granted us this glorious existence (Cheese, sorry) and really, the best thing we can do to serve him is to "Feed his sheep." I can't tell you how excited I am to go to slovakia!! It is getting so close and seeming more and more real. I freak out basically every day. 18 days!!!

Scripture of the week: "Say not, I am a child; for thou shalt go to all that I should send thee, and whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt speak." Jeremiah 1:7

Love and miss you all,

Sestra Abbott


Slovak words of the week:
to je na smiech: That is to be laughed at
bezdomovec: homeless person
eat it all!: zjedz!
crystal ball: krystallika gula
nap: zdriemnutie

Some funny language moments:

Someone in our zone in croation said "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be crucified' Instead of baptized. hahhaa

Sister Parsons said "we can live a miserable existence with god" instead of "live"

Sister Russell accidentally said "A pillar of Death gradually descended upon me"