Wo xihuan ni de lingdai

Hey everyone! Week 4 and a half or something like that. We kinda lose track of time over here. Every day is still lots of work. Workout to classes to meals to more classes. But the progress and growth in every aspect of my day compared to the beginning of my time here is staggering. Today compared to the beginning is definitely much better. 

...and after writing that sentence, I'm realizing how much Chinese grammar is starting to take a toll on my English. Forgive me.

As far as Chinese goes, we're getting decently proficient at teaching. I can go into a lesson without anything prepared and kinda crash through it. I did ask one of our investigators What is mother was, in opposed to How she was doing. That was kinda awkward. I also forgot how to tell one investigator that I had been at the MTC for four weeks and had five left, so I picked the best word I knew and told her "women kefu le si ge xingxi", with respective tones. You Chinese speakers out there will get a kick out of that. Those of you who don't will probably be frustrated with me. Enjoy. 

I'm starting to really love the language, though. I love it. And with every passing day, I'm more and more excited to go and teach in Australia. I've got the most incredible truth, most indescribable joy. I get to share it. Just have to get through August first. 

Music was a big part of my week. An Elder in my district - Elder Pinnock - asked me to help him with a musical number in sacrament meeting. We sang Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy, him mostly on the melody and me jumping from harmony to harmony. Very fun. And then for choir, the song we're preparing for next Sunday is the MCO Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer. Hands down one of the most beautifully powerful pieces I've ever been able to sing. It really brought some comfort after a long day. 

MTC food is starting to get old. To all of the missionaries coming out soon, I promise it's good. Just...only so long. I envy all the English speakers. Even though we generally just make fun of them all. It's lots of fun.

Speaking of English speakers, fun story. I could not, for the life of me, remember the word "xihuan". So I decided to use it every time I pass someone. I've taken to saying, "wo xihuan ni de lingdai," which roughly translates to "I think you English speakers smell funny", every time I pass someone between classes and then laugh at their confused faces. 

Causing a little harmless confusion is great fun.

We got to the temple for the first time today since we arrived. Absolutely beautiful. God has a plan for us. I'm so very grateful to be part of it. I'm also so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the restoration. Truly is an inspired work - the most inspired work - no other text in the world will bring us closer to Christ. I challenge you all to open it this week and take a look at Moroni 10:4-5. The promises enclosed were such a blessing to me this week. Spent a lot of time in there.

Also, I was supposed to have it memorized in Chinese by yesterday. Only got about two lines in.

Oops. Zao Gao.

Anyway! I love you all. Your emails and letters and packages make me smile every day. I feel your love and your support and it means the world. I love seeing pictures, keep them coming. I'll send some of my own out this afternoon, along with any other letters. For those of you who get annoyed when I take too long to respond *cough* Eliza *cough* I'll happily remind you that I do have other things to do today besides email. But I'll do my best. 

Keep doing good. Do as the Savior did - therein lies happiness. 

Love you all.

Elder Blackhurst

The beloved flag.

A picture.

Our view of BYU.

Elder James playing the piano.

                         The gang. Just being us. Right before a fireside.

          One of the murals. Moses parting the red sea. Absolutely stunning.

Work hard, play hard, but we don't have fun

Just kidding. We totally do.

Nǐmen hǎo！Another fantastic week. MTC life is same as anyways - lots of studying, lots of classwork. I've had a number of requests for my daily routine, so here's kinda what I do everyday:
6:30  Wake up
7:15  Breakfast
7:45  Exercise
9:15  Planning
Following planning is always a large chunk of time - three or so hours. Di yi shi ge ren yan du, di er shi tongban yen du, di san shi Zhongwen yen du.
12:15  Lunch
1:30-4:30  Classroom instruction More study time until dinner.
5:30  Dinner
6:30-9  Classroom instruction
9:30  Zone prayer
10:30  Lights out

So that's my normal day. Schedules vary throughout the week, but that's the bulk of it.

I've mentioned a few times that here at the MTC, we teach
investigators as practice for the mission field. Forgive me for not specifying: these are teachers and actors who are doing their best to embody the personality, language and problems of someone they personally met in the mission field. So everyday, I teach a lesson in Chinese. Having been here for only 20-ish days, it's still a struggle. And as our Chinese improves, our teachers take on more… Let's say, temperamental roles for our mudaoyou. But, we are persevering. I had a nasty incident in a lesson not being able to tell the difference between "four o clock" and "dictionary". It's a struggle. Still. I'm learning to love this language for what is is (and sometimes for what it isn't: namely, English grammar). One of the highlights of this week was something they call TRC. The idea is that they find Chinese or Taiwanese members in the area who speak Mandarin and bring them in to just converse with the missionaries. It's the best thing. My companion and I had the opportunity to teach three middle aged women, and then a 25-year-old man who named himself Teancum after the Book of Mormon hero. It was the most incredible thing. I love this culture and I love these people and I'm so excited to become a part of it. Especially in a place like the land down under.

Speaking of "culture", here's a funny story. The MTC is split up into branches, which are split up into zones, which are split up into districts. All of the elders in our zone are on our floor. Because elders arrive every three weeks, districts leave the MTC at a staggered rate. So, last night, we prepared to send off the nine week missionaries to their respective missions. Branch 2 has a few particular traditions I got to be a part of. They mostly consisted of the old zone leaders passing down the torch to the next two... and by torch, I mean the cardboard banjo, a paper dragon, pink crocs, and a
"dragon scroll" that suspiciously looks like it's a roll of bathroom towels someone stole and started doodling on. But they claim there's a dragon on the inside, so I guess we'll have to wait and see. It kind a looked more like a really bad wedding ceremony than anything else, but I'm not gonna ask questions. It was a lot of fun. And we're going to miss those others a lot. I know my District is eager to step in to the
place they're leaving. It's a fun bunch, and we've got the best zone in the world. Can't wait to introduce the next batch of newbies this Wednesday.

I think this week was a pretty special reminder of how important it is to use your particular gifts and talents and blessings to bless the people around you; I say this, especially to all of my beloved singers back home, who I miss so very dearly. Music is a special thing. Love it. Cherish it. Go record the things you're doing in the music you're
making because those are things you you'll want to hold onto forever. D&C 25:12: For the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads. We've all got some talent. Make someone's day better. (Also, if any of you have any MP3 recordings of the more reverent pieces we've sung in the last several years, I'd love you forever if you sent them to me.)

I love you all. Xiexie for the packages and support and prayers. It's humbling to see and feel the blessings of missionary life. I miss you all lots. Keep doing your best. Keep turning out and serving when pride says turn in. Can't wait to hear from everyone.

Elder Blackhurst

The name tag

TRC Review. For those of you who can read Chinese, there you go. For
those of you who can't read Chinese, there you go.

Our room. Please notice Elder Staten's pants. Que Napoleon Dynamite.

 That's us! District 2-F. Elders Cambell, Nisson, Staten, Sowards,
Bunn, Crimm,Blackhurst and James.

Our classroom. We're all very focused, all the time.

This morning. P Day. Part of our district and part of the district
next to ours.

...I'm not really sure what I'm doing in this picture. But hey, the
temple is lovely. Also, it kinda looks like a cupcake.

The whole zone. Love these elders. Definitely the best zone in the world.

Chinese hasn't killed me yet

Week two from the MTC! Still going strong. Second week has been an adventure. Lots of work, lots of language study, all good. To all of you who asked about the Chinese in my last letter, Hé Zhang Lao is my Chinese name. It roughly translates to "He who speaks poor Chinese" or something like that. I actually wouldn't know, because all my teachers only speak Chinese. Kidding aside, I love the language. Five lessons in and my vocab improves every day. It's not easy, but we're getting there. One day at a time. 

So, memorable events from this week. Last Thursday we had an "english fast". Our entire zone spoke zero English from the moment we woke up until after dinner. That was an adventure. We also all sing a lot, Chinese and English. We go flat on every song or switch into minor on songs that should be major without fail. Also, the elders in the room next door bought a triple combination, tore it out of the cover, and are putting it back together in chronological order using a hot iron, a bottle of tide, two tie stays, a quarter and three binder rings. Needless to say, it's a fun bunch of guys. 

I'm grateful every day for the beautiful buildings we have. The rooms for language open up to the mountains and the sun peeks in during early morning lessons. And the murals...every floor has this huge mural depicting a scripture story. They're incredible. If any of you are in Provo during the next six weeks, the MTC is giving tours of the facility. I highly recommend coming and taking a look if you get the chance. No, I can't give you the tour, and no, I can't come say hi. Still, worthwhile to come visit.

A sweet experience this week. We were reading out of 1 Nephi 1 as a district. We had just started when I had the most distinct impression that, if we were looking for revelation from God, we should begin with prayer. I asked if we could, we knelt, we prayed and asked for His guidance. I really don't want to be one of the missionaries who preaches in his emails...but my dear friends and family, I cannot express how powerful the witness of the Holy Ghost can be. The feeling I had and the hightened ability I had to understand a learn from the scriptures... God testified to me. This is where I am meant to be. There's a work I have to do and I am so very grateful to go and serve.

Thank you so much to all of you who have sent me emails and packages and letters. It's such a treat to get something during the week, so thank you so much. Also, my roommates appreciate the treats. So, xiexie.

Have a fantastic week, friends. Miss you all lots.  

He Zhǎnglǎo

Elder Blackhurst

The District

Elders Crimm and Bunn

Elders Sowards and Staten

Elders Nissen and Campbell

Us in our natural habitat

Hé Zháng Laó Week One

Nǐhǎo from the Provo MTC! This last week was absolutely incredible and I'm so grateful to be here. After such a short time here, I could hardly feel more at home. I'm in a zone with a dozen other Mandarin elders and they're starting to feel like a second family. My companion, Elder James, is headed to Scotland and will be here with me for the full duration of my nine weeks. He's a cool guy, and I'm looking forward to working with him, along with the other incredible Elders I'm surrounded by. 

I'm learning to go with the schedule - never a spare moment in our day. Qidao is always first, followed by breakfast. Several hours of study time; I've learned to absolutely love personal study. Every day has several hours of tedious language study - a whole lot of Zhongwen and virtually no Yingwen. Lunch and dinner in there somewhere. More studying. There's an hour set aside every day for exercise, so I actually worked out this week. (Yes, dad. Don't be so surprised.) Tuesday-Saturday so I'm going to have to learn to fill that time. Lots of running and basketball. 

The MTC itself rocks. The new buildings are gorgeous, and all of the districts get their own classrooms. Every floor has these huge murals...they're spectacular. I didn't get a lot of pictures this week, so I'll be sure to send them in the weeks to come. I've only gotten lost twice- thank heavens Elder James has a reasonable head on his shoulders and has the sense of direction you're all very aware I lack. But I'm figuring things out.

Chinese is going to kill me. There's no easing into the language here. I've already had to teach two Chinese lessons to an investigator and they were among the most humiliating half hours of my entire life. Still. My vocab is improving. I can pray in Chinese. We're getting there. I hope this time next week, I'll have a grip on the language. Everyone says that the first week is the hardest - I'm banking on that. 

Still, I love it here. No other place is so full of people who all have the same purpose as me - preparing to invite others to come unto Christ. Never before have I been so aware of what that means. One sweet spiritual story: last night, we had the opportunity to watch Elder Bednar's Character of Christ address. One of the most powerful talks I've ever heard. The truth in those words was confirmed to me. There's such a powerful peace - like the world around is a hurricane, and the presence of the Holy Ghost moves you into the eye. The trials are still there, but you don't feel it. Your vision is improved and you recover the strength you need to dive back in. The MTC is a little eye in the storm. I'm learning, growing. In a few months, I'll be ready to take Australia by storm. With Christ at my side, I cannot fail. 

Anyway. I love you all. Please keep emailing me, I appreciate the support. P Day is Monday, so that's when I'll respond, but I can read anything I've been sent during the week. I've also been instructed to mention Dear Elder, which is some sort of letter service... I'm not quite sure. Look into it if you care about sending actual mail. Besides that, things are pretty great. I know this is the place I'm meant to be. Hard, for sure, but with Christ, there's nothing I can't do. I testify of that. 

Have a fantastic week, friends. Miss you all. 

He Zhǎnglǎo

Elder Blackhurst

Jonathan Hooper (teaching at the MTC-found me the first day)

My companion Elder James from Provo, Utah
Sweden/Ireland Mission, speaking Mandarin