On Tuesday (Aug 21) we FINALLY got an e-mail from Chris and on Thursday (Aug 23) we got letters from him. It was a long few days...we didn't know what day his P-Day was. For those who might not know, P-Day is short for Preparation Day. It is the day that missionaries are allowed to write letters, wash laundry, and other similar tasks. It will generally be the only day each week that he can write letters/email. We are already anxiously awaiting this coming Tuesday's letter.
This week we found out that he has five roommates, including the other missionary from our ward. He really loves his companion, who is a very friendly, outgoing guy. Chris describes him as a "spiritual giant." Four of the six will be serving in Taichung. One is going to New Zealand and the other to California but all six are studying Mandarin Chinese.
Chris is already able to say short prayers and bear his testimony in Chinese, after only one week! There are a few other sentences and words that he knows, too. He says that "Chinese is super hard. It is coming to me, but it's slow. I know I'll be great at it in 11 weeks, though! I know more now than I did the first month in high school Chinese." He signed his letter "Wu Jiang Lao" which roughly translates to Elder Wolf.
Surprisingly, Chris has joined the MTC choir! There are about 520 choir members.
He told us there are currently about 2,600 missionaries at the MTC and the day he entered there were about 600 other newbies.
Chris told us that he wants to lose 20 lbs while in the MTC. We are afraid that if he does, his pants won't fit! Hopefully, all the treats he's being sent will keep the weight loss at a reasonable level.
Hopefully Chris will get the memory card reader we sent him before he writes again. He has promised to send pictures! We can't wait!
We sure miss Chris, and the last 12 days have seemed much longer than that. However, he is where is supposed to be and we know he will be blessed for his selfless service and sacrifice. We are very blessed to have a missionary out there!
Oh... and he did sign his letter with "Shake my vanilla!"
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