Week #3 MTC

Family! How are you? Hope you all had a good July 24th and all! We haven't gotten any dear elders or anything since thursday, so I feel like I don't know what's happening in your life! Thanks for the cupcakes, I shared with the district kind of our own little 24th of July party, also I totally forgot that that was even a thing until we went to the field for workout and there were all of these people preparing for a temple to temple run! Forgot the real world existed for a second. We are totally doing that when I get back by the way! Thanks for the cinnimon bears and trail mix you literally read my mind, I was craving them that whole day and bragging them up to people and then wham there they were! So thanks so much for those I really appreciate it! Also love love love the dear elders they make my night every day!

Sister Schwab and Sister Collins

So week number three in the MTC has flown by my goodness it's was such a great week though! We have two investigators that we are teaching right now one is a buddist and the other is christian it's actually easier for us to teach the buddist because we can just keep it simple which is good seeing as our vocabulary is very slim at the moment. Teaching has gone well though we don't script our lessons anymore and usually we are able to respond and understand the questions that they ask. Which is good, we haven't really had time to prepare some though so sometimes we just wing it, but hey it still went pretty okay went that happened so that was good.

So we did new missionary orienation on wednesday again, and they were all english speakers going to new york and i don't remember where else. It went well, but you know they are only going to be in there for two weeks so yeah! Also saw Elder Robinson on Wednesday, he said he was doing pretty well so thats good! That first day is crazy overwhelming, gosh! I was like if it makes you feel better you are still leaving before me! haha! It's really okay though I know I need this time to prepare though I just want to teach the people of cambodia so so bad, I already feel that love for them! So hopefully this 6 weeks goes by pretty fast. I thinks its 6 oh jeez haha I don't know. It's crazy on the schedule we are starting week 4 the time has flown by! The days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days.

The Classroom

Also on Wednesday we were going to the MTC store to buy some more flash cards, we are always buying more flashcards, we got stopped by this lady showing new missionaries where to go. She asked hey where are you sisters serving, and we told her cambodia, and she bowed to us and was like "CUMMBRIORSOR" just for the record I just butchered that spelling but that's how you say hello in cambodia I know how to say it but not spell it. Anyways she served there 10 years ago with her husband. She just started to cry and talk about how we will love the people, the people love the missionaries, and how the food there is so so good. Plus everything is super cheap there. She just loved it so much you could just feel her love for it, it was so awesome to talk to her we are going back this wednesday to talk to her again. I think her name was Sister Hayes... I think. Anyways so so great!

Really other then that we've had the normal class time, our Lookros demonstrated a lesson in khami on tuesday and I was just sitting there thinking... oh my goodness I have no idea what's going on! Let me tell ya the lord is definitley making me learn patience which I really really need to work on, and listening because to understand I need to listen like all of the time. We started learning how to read this week... ha and I thought speaking was hard. Yeah you read left to right but to be able to pronounce you first find the constant, then look underneath for subconstant, and then you look at the side for the vowels... so really what you do is read in a circle but left to right. It's super hard and kind of confusing to explain. Yeah so I'm really going to have to work on that.

We read the BOM in class like at least two times a week together, and we just read 1 nephi 1:1 and oh my goodness it was totally different as a missionary, wow Lehi was the perfect missionary. He had such amazing faith in the lord!

Sister Schwab's District and her Lookro

We also did TRC on Saturday, and oh my goodness we were not prepared at all, we taught wesley a return missionary that came back 5 months ago. We just had him read some scriptures about prayer, and bore our testimonies on it. They gave us back an evaluation and he said "speak really well and were really prepared, but we should've committed him to something" something around those lines. ha we so weren't prepared I think he was just being nice. Yeah but TRC was pretty good.

So Sister Mon's visa still hasn't come through and remember she's been here for like 12 13 weeks so just keep her in your prayers we love Sister Mon and she's going to be amazing has such a sweet spirit.

Sister Mon

On sunday we had Brother Stephen Allens give a devotional and he was so amazing seriously so motivating. He just talking about how we are satan's enemy now... we are in a war with him because we chose to serve missions, so he's going to try and make us feel not good enough, and compare ourselves to other. He was like don't do that the lord called you and is so proud of you for going and teaching his children that don't know about the gospel. We also had Brother the old choir director back today and he is awesome, we sang child's prayer and his son sang the first part gosh you could just feel the love that god has for all of his children!

Yep that was pretty much my week it's been really awesome. As for the t shirts just like two maybe my long sleeve volleyball region 9 shirt, and another t shirt just surprise me, and as for the shoes and sandles sister collins said she bought echos so something around that or something haha IDK, and just some black toms would be good! Anyways Love you all so so much! It's been good down here in provo so far! We did a session today which is always good. Hope you are all doing well! Love ya!



Sister Schwab




Also super sorry about the meadows ward keeping them in my prayers also... on the prayer roll today I just put down meadows ward, idk if I'm supposed to or not but I did it anyways I figure the lord knows who I'm talking about! Super awesome about Mitch and Aubree they are going to be awesome parents. Tell Jess I love her and I know she's going to be an amazing missionary! She's going to rock it! I can't wait to hear all about it! Love ya!

Week #2 MTC Khnom serolin krumcrusas roboh khnom! Translation I love my family!!!!

Hey what's up family?

Handshake because thats what you do.

Alright so I also saw sister erickson a little bit jealous that she's leaving tomorrow, but hey it's all good one set of english missionaries down 3 more to go!! Woot Woot!! Love ya oh side comment an elder told me that I looked like snow white in this outfit... I was like-Okay elder okay haha

So this best week at the MTC. It's really just class, and its repeating over and over again. Which is good, but it's so hard sometimes to be in the same classroom for like 12 hours everyday. Luckly this week we get to do companion study outside though. Seriously that is going to be a game changer!

Star Valley Missionaries!

We taught our investigator this past week. Most of the lessons went good, and then... We taught about Joseph Smith and he wanted to know why his church isn't the true church and why god said there were no true churches on the earth. Well, I was just so confused at that point because I didn't even know. He asked that question because the lesson was all in Khami. So I seriously just sat there. Luckly Sister Collins tried to explain, and then we pulled out the scriptures to JSH and shared that with him. Yeah, so that made it a little better, but after that lesson I was super frustrated with myself, and not being able to understand or even say anything because this lesson is just so darn difficult, but after that lesson we just moved past it and focused on the next day. Which went really well we taught on the plan of salvation. It went good, and though it was our last time teaching Om Bon he did commit to bring his family to church so score! Yeah Om! Then did an overview of all of our lessons, and said that even though he felt confused in his mind, he had a quiet feeling in his heart. Which just testfies to me that even though this language is hard and frustrating with the Lord's help we can tough the hearts of the people we teach.


We had sister Edmunds talk to us on Sunday and she explained how the real problem with missionaries is when they think that they are the teacher. No, the holy ghost is the teacher. Which is so so true. You really just have to rely on the Lord with the language because there is no possible way that we could do it on our own, the lord has to carry us through it. In other new Om Bon is now our new teacher aka Lookkro Sorenson. Which was strange, and now our new investigator is Lookkro Garlik so that's pretty neat. So on wednesday we had to help with the new missionary orientation, and meet with the new missionaries and talk about rules and stuff. They seem like they are going to be really awesome Elders. On Sunday I ended up giving the talk on baptism, we all have to prepare a talk and then they pick someone random. I kind of knew it was going to be me, I was praying during the sacrament, and praying that the speakers would have the spirit with them when they talked and then I was like " oh shoot please bless me with the spirit when I talk" haha yeah I don't really remember what I said, I mean I was kind of prepared but yeah... I think it went okay.

Sister Schwab & Sister Collins

The cafeteria food is okay, everything is kind of beginning to taste the same when I eat it but it's alright, for exercise we usually just run and do abs or something. I really don't like playing volleyball, because well you know you don't really get the whole team sport chemistry thing when you are playing at the MTC. For mom I really like my clark shoes they are probably my favorite surprise surprise right. I love that new shirt you got me probably my favorite one I have. Thanks for all of the packages they make my day every time I love hearing from all of you! The donuts were so good! We had a donut party the night that we got them! Pretty fun.

Donut Party!

We all do choir on tuesday, and sunday nights it always good to get to know some new people and stuff. The spirit is always so strong here and even though it's hard and repetitive I know that I need to be here to learn this language, and I know that there are certain things about the gospel I need to know before I get there to. I feel like I'm growing everyday. As for all the other days of the week. It's really just class break class break class break. It get's a little tiresome sometimes it's all good though! The days are long, but the weeks are flying by. We did sealings at the temple today pretty neat! Never got to do those before. It's been all good here though just pressing on you know! haha no it's not bad I'm really grateful I have the MTC to prepare. I hope everything is going good down on your end!


Super happy for Tyson super cool for him! Tell Jess it's getting so close!!! Love that family! and tell Sethy to kick some trash at his golf tournaments the little stud! Love you guys can't wait to hear from you! Keep sending me the dear elders love them!! Yep everything is all good, sometimes I forget that I've only been here two weeks, so I shouldn't know the language yet, but it's hard to remember sometimes. Seriously everything is good! Love you guys thanks for everything!

Bowing with the District

Love Sister Schwab :) Khnom serolin krumcrusas roboh khnom! Translation I love my family!!!!

Week #1 MTC (neakphsopphsaaysaanaa (missionary)

Okay well week one in this mission has been pretty good! I feel really lucky to be in a place where you're surrounded by the spirit and amazing people all of the time. First things first, my companion. The amazing Sister Collins, seriously I feel so lucky to have her as a companion. She has such a sweet testimony, and funny story we are both criers. It's gets kind of hard she's from orem so it's pretty close to home which makes her super homesick, we've both gotten homesick but President Penrod said " I hope you all are homesick because how are you supposed to love the people on your mission if you aren't even missing the ones at home." He's really awesome! Always gives super good advice.


So my district is so amazing I'm seriously feel so lucky to be surrounded by such amazing people. Sister Collins and I are the only sisters in our district and in our zone there are only a total of 5 counting us. Plus Sister Maan. Okay Sister Maan seriously such an example and amazing person. she's from Myanmar and from her country only a total of 7 missionaries have served and two of them are her and her sister. Shes been here for ten weeks. She was on her way to thailand last week and had problems with her visa, so she couldn't leave. She came to the MTC not knowing english or thai so she's had to learn two languages, and she has! She's so great. Hopefully it works out with the visa if not she may have to serve state side instead. Even though anywhere she goes she will do amazing work.


So.. the language oh my goodness that language. it's crazy hard. In the romanized version which we are learning right now there are like backwards question marks and c and upside down a's and u's. Luckly our teacher Lookrum Garlik is amazing. He doesn't speak any english to us, so it's kind of frustrating sometimes, but it's getting better.... slowly but surly I guess. The language is what really gets me frustrated, but luckly we have personal study after the 6 total class time of khami so that's such a relief. Also brother weaver gave me great advice when I was interviewed by him on thursday, he said "you might not know how to speak cambodian but the holy ghost knows how to speak it perfectly. It was awesome such good advice.


Then we have our disscusion with our district and the spirit is always so strong while everyone shares their testimony. It's like having 7 brothers, we are already so close. And it's the same with Sister Collins and I we get along and work really well together I already love my zone and district so much. We have Elder Rom is our district who is cambodian and speaks it, so it's like a little miracle to have him there when we are working on the language. He's super encouraging and it's really nice and motivating.


After the interviews on thursday Sister Collins and I were called as the sister training leaders. So we will help all the sisters, help with new missionaries, and all that jazz. We have like 27 new thai missionaries coming in soon in like two weeks so we will help them when they come in. Really we just look after the other sisters and make sure everything is going well. We also are in charge of the relief society like picking people to teach and stuff. Since we only had three days to prepare I just gave the lesson this sunday on Faith. It went really really well, but I promise it's because of the amazing people here and how strong their testimonies are. Everyone said just make it to sunday and hey we made it!


There has been so many amazing experiences here already, but don't get me wrong it's hard, and it's going to be so so hard. It's going to be worth it. On sunday we went to a recorded devo from elder bednar and we all recieved a, in sister loftus's words "spiritual fatlip" we he said " Get over yourselves yeah it's hard but it's not about you! It's about the people" It was so amazing it really go us motivated for what's ahead.


We also have a Cambodian sister in the building that we live. She's so beautiful and so nice. She's really amazing. We love her already. It's crazy to already love the people who you haven't met yet, but I'm already gaining a stronger love for the people of cambodia I can't wait to share the gospel with them and let them know of the love that our heavenly father has for them.


Oh we taught our first investigator on friday, all in khami... We read it like a script it's really frustrating to want to say something but not having the words to say it. The second time we taught it was alot better. We taught Om Bon how to pray it's getting a little better everyday. There's no way we could do this... learn this language, and be here without the help of the lord. I'm so glad I got to email you guys!!!!


Love you so much fam! I'll try to send you some pictures.


Love




Sister Schwab


ps thanks for the dear elders I love them, and thanks for the jerky :)

Provo Dropoff

Well Sister Schwab has finally made it to the MTC, it looks like her companion is Sister Collins.  We received a picture this morning from some nice person who made our day!

Shay with her Family

The nice sister missionary who helped Shay with her bags

See ya in 18

Car ride to Provo

Sister Schwab and Sister Collins