HALFWAY THROUGH THE MTC!!

As of this past Wednesday, I am halfway through my stay at the MTC!!  It's kind of a crazy thought, actually.  Part of me feels like it's only been a couple of days since I got dropped off at the curb, and the other part feels like it's been years.  I don't feel like I know any Tagalog, but hopefully it'll start coming soon...if not, I guess that's why we have trainers in the mission field!

Sister Latham's mom sent her a halfway-celebration-package with sparkling cider, and another of her friends sent cupcakes, so we had a celebration in our room last night.  We had way too much sugar and talked and laughed, so it was super fun.  The elders in our zone kept telling us that they were going to be having a nerf gun war, so we were all jealous, but oh well.

Sunday nights we get to watch movies, and this past week we watched Meet the Mormons.  It was really good, but there's one scene where a mom is dropping her son off at the airport for him to go on his mission.  I swear just about every missionary in there was crying at that point.  It was an emotional event.  David Archuleta sings this song at the end of that movie called 'Glorious', and it is literally my new favorite song.  When we're on the computers doing training or whatever, I'm listening to it.  I've probably listened to it 20 times this past week, and I don't even care.  I was struggling and feeling insecure about my language and everything, and that song just brought me a lot of reassurance.  It was really cool.

I GOT A TURTLE!!! Not a real one...those, sadly, are not allowed in the MTC.  My nanay (mom) sent an adorable stuffed animal sea turtle to me, and he's so cute!! I named him Snooze, cause he looks as tired as I always feel and I never get to hit the snooze button.

During the devotional on Tuesday, the speaker and another guy performed a piano duet.  It was a beautiful peace, and I actually received some really neat personal revelation during it.  I realized that I am like the piano, and God is the composer and performer.  I'm the noise maker, but I need to be in tune with Him and the Spirit so I can know the kind of music he wants to perform.  My weekly quote actually goes right along with this, and is from the choir director.  It was just a night full of lots of personal little reassurances and it was awesome.

So I'm kind of late, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY SYD!!! It was last Sunday but I was behind on my dates and stuff.

So, this week, I made the unfortunate mistake of falling up the stairs...AGAIN.  It's so sad!!  Sister Latham was laughing so hard at me she could barely walk.  It wouldn't have been so bad if it wouldn't have been in front of a crowd of people.  But, oh well.  The girls in my district were all talking about their most embarrassing moments, and one of the girls said she just never really got embarrassed.  I said I was the exact opposite...I'm so clumsy and dweeby that I embarrass myself all the time, so I'm just used to it and nothing stands out to me X)

Our teacher, Sister Riddle, had her last day here yesterday.  We're all so sad to see her go!!  She's super fun and we all love her, but we're excited for her.  She's starting her career job, which is awesome, but we wish she could have stayed a little longer!!

I have figured out that life for a missionary is just full of miracles.  A couple nights ago I was keeping myself up worrying about home, and stressing about what was going on.  I just kept feeling that everything would be ok.  My Heavenly Father sure is patient with me, cause it was kind of a cycle.  I'd panic, then feel peace, then panic, then feel peace.  I repeated that pattern a couple of times before I finally fell asleep, but I just keep getting the reassurance that everything will be just fine.  It's so cool to feel that love and concern from my Heavenly Father.

I found out this week that apparently Jabba the Hut (you know, Star Wars) speaks Tagalog!!  I have no idea if that's true, but I am so going to find out when I get home!!

The quote for this week comes from Brother Egget, the choir director: "What are you worried about?  You're not doing anything important.  All you do is go around and tell the truth."

The scripture of the week is D&C 67:13-14 "...continue in patience until ye are perfected.  Let not your minds turn back; and when ye are worthy, in mine own due time, ye shall see and know."

Mahal ko kayo!!

XOXO

Sister Payton Pectol

God's Love is Wrapped Around - Week 3

Kumusta!!

Well this week has been interesting.  Not too many things have happened, mostly just studying.  I feel like the language is going over my head, but when we we're teaching an "investigator" (one of our teachers role playing) we somehow managed to teach a 45 minute lesson.  I think it was because Sister Latham did most of the talking, but I'm not complaining haha.

So, because Sister Latham is the district Sister Training Leader, I go to get mail with her twice a day.  Dear Elder letters are free and get to the MTC the next day...just throwing that out there ;)

dearelder.com

Sister Payton Maree Pectol
MAR25  PHI-QUE
2009 N 900 E Unit 142
Provo UT 84602

You know, just in case somebody wants to write me something XD

We go to the temple every pday, and last week we got to do sealings.  It was so cool!  It was my first time doing it proxy for someone, and it was a really cool experience.

So, during the week my eye started bugging me, and before I knew it my lower eyelid was swollen and irritated.  Apparently I'd gotten some bacteria in a glad and it was infected.  (Don't tell my mom, she'll get worried.  Joklang, momma )  The MTC doc just wrote out a prescription for an antibacterial eyedrops, so it's totally fine now.  No worries :)

Somebody said this week that every time missionaries get rained on, our future spouses get hotter.  If that's true, after serving in the Philippines I'll be coming home and marrying someone who looks like Ian Somerhalder or Hunter Hayes or something!!!

There's an elder here at the MTC who literally looks like John Travolta.  You know, from Grease?  Yeah, it's a little trippy.  Every time we see him, we start singing "Greased Lightning" or "Summer Love" or something.  It's pretty great X)

There was a day this week when all the girls in our room had kind of had a bad day, so we were talking after lights out, and one of the girls said she needed to throw something.  I told her she could throw her pillow at me and I would throw it back so she could sleep, but she said that wouldn't be good enough.  She told me she had an apple that she'd like to throw, so I (thinking she was being sarcastic) told her to go ahead and throw it, but just to make sure she hit the wall and not me.  All of a sudden, an apple splats the cinder brick wall right next to my face!!  Half of the apple landed in my lap, and the other half spewed across the floor.  IT WAS SO FUNNY!! After I got over my mini heart attack, I was laughing so hard I about fell off my bed.  I'm on the top bunk, so that might have been a little painful.

I was really struggling last pday night, so I got a blessing from one of the elders in our zone.  It was so powerful, and it was such a testimony to me of the power of the Priesthood, because I hadn't told him everything I'd been struggling with, but it felt as though he knew and was able to bless me with the comfort I needed to continue.

My week did improve a bit after the blessing, but there was one night that was really rough.  Two days before I entered the MTC, there had been a bit of a family crisis, and I was really worrying about that.  The night before I'd had nightmares about it, and then that day I was really struggling with the language.  When I got into bed I was just sick with worry about everything going on at home, and I was trying so hard to cry quietly.  I don't know if I was noisier than I thought or if she just had really good hearing, but suddenly one of the girls in our room was climbing up to the top bunk next to me and asking me if I was ok.  I said that I was just worried about things at home, and she asked if I wanted to talk about it, and I actually didn't but all of a sudden it all came out and then I was sitting on my bed sobbing my eyes out with Sis Hamson holding me, Sis Goodman (who'd asked if I was ok) rubbing my back, Sis Latham at the foot of the bed, and Sis Gibbs and Hansen standing by the bed.  They were all gathered around offering me comfort, and talking about the things that they were worried about at home too.  Somebody suggested a prayer, and Sis Hamson gave it.  It was one of the most sincere pleas I've ever heard.  I was already an emotional trainwreck, but that got everyone else crying too.  She talked about how we were all worried about things at home, and that we felt like we were the glue in our families, but that we needed Heavenly Father to be that glue cause we couldn't be there to support them.  It was an absolutely amazing prayer, and honestly offered so much comfort.  I'm doing fine now, and it was such a tender mercy!

So, the quote of the week comes from a letter Sis Latham got from her dad:  "I hope all is going well and you are learning the things you need to  but more importantly feeling the things you need to feel."

Scripture of the week is Alma 36:3 "...I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."

I love you all!!

XOXO

Sister Payton Pectol

Week 2 at the MTC!!

Kumusta!!  We're finally not the newbies, yaaayy!!!

This week hasn't been too crazy, just basically studying.  This is currently how I feel about Tagalog:

Saturday, after we got to email home, we got to go through the temple with two girls in our zone to get their endowments.  They'd never even been to a temple before, so it was so exciting to be able to experience that with them, they were so happy!

Sister Latham and I were talking about our missionary scriptures this week and realized we'd picked the same one!  Just with different references :) mine is 2 Nephi 22:2, and hers is Isaiah 12:2

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation.."

We thought it was pretty awesome that we'd picked the same verse :)

We joined the MTC choir on Sunday, and it is awesome!  I'd never really participated in anything that involved me singing before (except when the young women would sing in church) so when the ushe asked me what I sang I just gave her a blank look and said "I couldn't tell ya!"  So, she stuck me with the 1st sopranos.  I didn't really know what that meant at that time, but I do now.  AND I AM NOT A 1st SOPRANO.  Thankfully everybody around me was singing so loud they couldn't hear me, or they probably would have been cringing.  Actually, everybody around me was singing so loud I couldn't hear me.  We sang at the devotional on Tuesday, and since I was in 1st alto instead it went much better for me haha.  It was a beautiful devotional, and I was able to get a lot of inspiration from it.

I've been enjoying the MTC, but the last couple of days I've definitely been homesick.  Last night I was having a really rough time, and after lights out and we were all settling down for bed, I'd just started to cry when one of the other sisters in our room started talking about how in the Philippines they start celebrating Christmas in September and how excited she was for that.  It went from that to planning to celebrate Christmas instead of Valentine's Day, to talking about our romantic lives (or lack thereof) to singing songs from the Grinch.  IT WAS SO FUNNY.  We all just ended up laughing to the point of rolling, and it was exactly what I needed.  It was awesome.

Our Tagalog teacher, Sister Riddle, told us this week that she's going to be leaving us in a couple of weeks cause she found a career job.  Which is great for her, but we are all feeling a little deserted because we absolutely love her.  She's so much fun, and she answers all our questions about what it's like to serve in the Philippines.

Weekly scripture:  John 15:16.  "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it you."

Weekly thought: Life is like riding a bike.  To keep your balance, always look forward and just keep moving.

XOXO

Sister Payton Pectol

First week at the MTC!!

Kumusta!!  Wow this week has been crazy...I said my last goodbyes before the mission at the temple and on the MTC curb.  I'm sorry to say I really wasn't at all emotional, I was just excited.  I was sad that everyone was sad, but I was just looking forward to mission life.

The first day was kind of hectic, I was bustled off the curb and into a building to get my name tag and keys and all that stuff, then shown to the building I'll be living in for the next 6 weeks or so.  Me and my sweet escort had to haul my gigantic, heavy suitcases allllll the way up to the 4th floor...it was exhausting!  I didn't have any time to unpack though, because right from there we were shown to a room to hear some talks from the MTC presidency and their wives.  It was a cool experience, it was really neat to see all the elders and sisters there.

Once we got to our classroom, I met my companion, Sister Latham, from California.  She's awesome and we seemed to hit it off right away.

I also got to meet my district; we're a pretty cool bunch ;) we just have one elder, and the poor guy is seriously outnumbered.  I think it would be so hard to study this stuff by yourself; I know Sister Latham has saved my bacon more than once lol.

We jumped right into learning Tagalog that day.  And let me tell you, it was completely overwhelming!  Tagalog is intense, and we had to teach a lesson to an investigator in Tagalog on our 3rd day!!  It was so scary!  Sister Latham and I had made a good plan, but when we actually went in to teach we couldn't understand much of what he was saying, and I doubt he could understand us very well either.  Hopefully my Tagalog will be much better before I have to teach again!

This is the sisters of my district holding the "Your Purpose" sign in Tagalog...WOW what a language!

I got a package in the mail from my mom, and I was so excited!!  It was so fun to be able to have that from home.

I'm pretty sure I've already had a miracle.  Because I've been stressed out about the language and the learning and all that stuff I've had a hard time sleeping, but I am actually not too tired.  I guess it's just the power of a mission!!  Either that, or it's going to slam me in a couple of days...I'm just thinking positive here X)

There have been a lot of spiritual moments in the couple of days I've been here, but there are a couple that really stand out.  I was feeling very overwhelmed by the language and I felt like I would never get it, when I came across D&C 50:16 during my personal study:

"He that is weak among you hereafter shall be made strong."

That was exactly what I needed, especially since I was feeling very weak at that time.  I also came across a beautiful sentence in Preach My Gospel:

"We have been called by a prophet of God to share what we know.  We know that our message is true."

And I do know that my message is true.  I know that I am here for a reason, and even though it's already been difficult, I am here to learn something and to teach others.  I am so excited to see what else I will be learning, and to be able to strengthen my testimony and that of others.

XOXO

Sister Payton Pectol