Week 6

Family and friends!!!!

Okay on P-Day we don't have gym, but it's okay because my heart rate shoots up when I'm emailing you because time is so limited and the computer will kick me off if I run out of time and there are like 7 billion things I have to say and I just get all excited and shake-y...so it totally counts as my exercise for the day:).

So the Phii Thays (the district of 8 elders who'd been here for six weeks when we arrived) left to Thailand yesterday....Closest to tears I've come since I came to the MTC. Everyone was crying but me. I think something happened to my tear ducts....Anyways it was so sad and so happy and so sad. And it made it seem so much more realistic that I am on a mission and going to Thailand in five weeks from tomorrow. We are only here for 9.5 weeks...they're kicking us out early because we should be here for 12. But I'm not complaining. So we played baseball the week before they left for old times' sake. And there were a few home runs...but not by me. Bases loaded and I was one of the load-ees (...what??? haha) and the elder who hit the home run totally caught up with me before I even got home. Hahahaha so funny. Daddy we maybe need to work on baseball when I get back...because they kept telling me to "stay square" while I was batting but I didn't know what that meant. But I at least made it to first each time. Yay!!

Oh yes and sleep talking...I woke up the other morning and two of the sisters in my room were laughing and kinda talking soft and I thought, "Shoot, what did I say last night?" Haha. And so I asked. Sister Carper said, "Uhm, Sister Roper, thanks so much for the lesson on repentance last night! I learn so much from you, even when you're sleeping!" Oh my goodness. I was in denial for 28 seconds until Sister Monterrosa, another sister in our room said she's heard me too. I guess I said something like, "Repentance is a really important thing to do....Now how do you feel about repenting?" Or something. Hahaha oh my goodness. I took it as a sign that I need to do some more repenting, which can never hurt:). My only question is...how do you stop sleep-talking??? May ruu. (I don't know).

Everything is great as always. My district is getting more and more unified. The six elders and six sisters all get along real well and always find out interesting things about each other, like the other day Elder Whitaker taught me about irrigation and different kinds of sprinkler...like rotating ones and ones you have to sleep under at night so you can move them.... And Sister Carper said "Hallelujer" last week and I about died laughing.

I love Thai more than ever. I can't wait to get rocked in Thailand for a few months, though, where the people don't speak as slowly and clearly as our teachers. I bore my testimony to Sister Cluff this week and her eyes got a little misty:). She's the best. She brought me lemon bars and pb bars and she always gives me a huge mom hug. I love those.

This week I've been learning a bit about charity, the pure love of Christ. And how sometimes we have to sacrifice what we want to say to someone or do to someone in order to receive the gift of charity. I learned that it's a commandment, not just a nice suggestion. 2 Nephi 26:30 says, "The Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love. And except they have charity they were nothing." It's important to lead with charity, in a companionship, in a district, in anything. John Gooden, some important coach apparently, said, "It's better to lead with a banner than to chase with a whip." The greatest, the GREATEST motivator in life is love. It is so, so true. I love love:). And the millions of good things that come from it.

So....I know we are all capable of finding and setting our own goals. But may I suggest one for this week: pray for charity. And then operationalize how to receive it. Find something to love about someone you don't like. Or even remind someone you love that you love them. It is a gift that only comes when we ask for it and work for it. D&C 11:10:).

Okay I love you all. Thank you for being easy to love:). And for finding something to love about me.

Love,

Sister Roper