So since I didn't really have time to actually talk about life here or anything last week, I'm going to try my hardest to cover two weeks of information in this email. But, I mean, it's two weeks of MTC information, so even then I feel like this will be depressingly uninteresting. Allons-y!
So! Eight days ago, it was Christmas Eve. I hear that for people NOT in the MTC, that means something. Something exciting.
...So I'm joking, but not by much. I mean, we still went to class in the morning, and did gym and a workshop in the afternoon, suspiciously like every other Monday I've had here. But! It was a little bit different, because instead of doing another class in the evening, we got to watch "A Christmas Carol". I actually enjoyed it, but then I am slightly worried that my standard for entertainment has taken a nose-dive of sorts recently. But yeah, that was how I could tell that December 24th was a special day.
Then comes Christmas! In the morning, we had a devotional with Elder Russell M. Nelson, in which the MTC choir sang two songs. Unfortunately, I showed up at call time, and was informed that the choir was full and not accepting any more members. So that was really unfortunate. But hey, I just sat in the regular audience and sang along anyway-Turns out I knew about 80% of the words. That's not bad, right? Then in the evening, my companion had an upset stomach, which confined us to the residence when we were scheduled to go watch "It's A Wonderful Life". I eventually dragged him there about an hour, hour and a half late, and we got to watch the back half of the movie. Which was actually pretty good-I would be interested in watching that when I get back. But yeah, that was Christmas! It's weird to think that I only have one more of those with a tag on.
Then this last week was pretty uneventful, right up until Saturday-Sunday, when for some reason, my nose decided to see how much mucus it could produce. I've got to say, I think we were all impressed by the answer. Yeah, I've had a runny nose/sore throat for the past couple days, but I'm feeling okay. In fact, I'm definitely feeling better than some people!
For about 24 hours now, the MTC has been freaking out. First, at dinner last night the MTC made an announcement over the intercom that we were to not shake hands or hug anyone until further notice. The rumor started that swine flu has arrived in town, and it was supported by the fact that one of the sisters in our zone was violently sick, confined to the health center. Then, last night, Elder Anderson took a quick trip to the E.R. after suffering from a bad case of the puking-your-guts-out. They basically gave him a anti-nausea drug and sent him home. Now, this morning, They keep on making announcements pretty frequently-Don't handshake, don't hug, don't touch your own face, and wash your hands a lot. The most recent think I've heard is that it's likely either food poisoning or the flu. Of the non-porcine variety. Now, you may think that such news would be a source of concern for some people, but I'm pretty sure that my Mom told me that if I take my vitamins every day and drink lots of water, then I'm invincible. At least, I'm pretty certain that's what she said. So yeah, I'm doing well.
Oh, and I almost forgot! So, turns out that yesterday, it was 2012, and today, it is 2013. Now, if I remember correctly, that makes both days kinda special, for some people. Not the MTC!! I don't know if new year's is too close to Christmas or what, but they are doing absolutely nothing to acknowledge the occasion. Fortunately, one of the Elders down the hall in my residence had some party stuff (just the little noisy whistle-things and the poppers), and so we had our own little celebration of new years! At 10pm. Since we can't be up for any new years later than that. But hey, happy new years, South Carolina! Incidentally, this leads into one of my favorite quotes.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Elder Adams, who I think I've mentioned before, is something of a new years grinch. So yesterday, he was making his case, saying that we're not celebrating an actual event, like we do with most of our holidays, but that instead we have just arbitrarily picked a day to celebrate once a year, for the sake of celebrating once a year. You had to know that part of the argument beforehand.
Anyway, last night, we're all sitting there counting down...to 10pm. "10...9...8..." Suddenly, Elder Adams prances through all of us, and shouts at the top of his lungs "I can't wait for things to be different!"
I really appreciated that.
Oh, and I want to talk about music too.
THE LITTLE THINGS: So, earlier when I said that we did nothing for Christmas Eve, I lied. In our morning class, the four of us and Soeur Pace went around to all the rest of the classrooms in our district and sang carols. It was very simple, poorly prepared, and occasionally pitchy, but I loved it. That, for me, was my way of saying "merry Christmas" to the world, and to myself. Also, singing in french is fun!
Then, this past Sunday, I was feeling lousy and decided to skip MTC choir rehearsal, but instead I got some music that Mom has sent me, found Elder Millett and some other willing volunteers, and we just started singing for the sake of singing. It was a lot of fun. Guys, music is awesome! I think that's going to be my "little things" entry for this week, even though it's a really big thing for me. I just wrote the title for this paragraph before writing this sentence. Fun little behind-the-scenes fact for all of you.
SPIRITUAL THOUGHT: So I think I found one of my new favorite scriptures. In Helaman 6: 37, we are told about how the Lamanites were able to destroy the threat of the Gadianton robbers from their midst. Go read it, because I don't have it on me. But the general idea is that it says that they tracked them, and then ended up destroying them by preaching the word among the more wicked part of them. Let's just take a second to let that sink in. I mean, wow! We're talking about the organization that basically will be responsible for the destruction of the entire Nephite civilization, and they were DESTROYED by the power of the word! Alma 31:5-Alma, knowing that the virtue of the word had a more powerful influence than the sword or any other thing, decides to preach his enemies into submission. And then to cap it off, 2 Nephi 7:8-Let my enemies come near me, and I will smite them with the word of my mouth. I am literally a warrior of God. I will literally destroy the enemies of God. It's just that I will do that with a weapon, an amazing weapon, that allows me to save the children of God at the same time! The Word of God. It is amazing. And, incidentally, not reserved for missionaries. Is that cool or what?!?
Anyway, that's all I have for now. Keep praying for me, because I couldn't get by without you guys. T-minus 20 days!
I love you guys.
-Elder Kamalu Santos
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