Blog of Elder JT Lamoreaux

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Another week at the MTC

Sept. 18, 2014

Hi Everyone! Konnichiwa!

I hope everyone is doing great still!
this week was hard for me. definitely the hardest one yet. Both me and my companion are sick and it's horrible. We've missed some things but hopefully things are going to turn better for us. It seems like everyone here at the MTC is either sick, injured or both. There was some hard times, but this week was also one of the most spiritually uplifting weeks yet.
On Sunday, i was volunteered to sing in a 4 person group for sacrament meeting with our branch. We sang "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" it is definitely my favorite hymn that is not in the hymn book. in one verse, i sang the melody while another elder was singing the harmony, then in the last verse i switched to bass. With me being sick, I was able to hit really low notes. on the last note of the song, One sister went an octave higher than the soprano note, the other sister did it normally, the other elder sang the bass note and i went an octave lower. It was pretty sick to say the least. :)
Then on Tuesday, we had the Weekly Tuesday night devotional. Elder Richard G. Scott came. He was the first general authority we saw here and it was such a cool experience. He talked about prayer and the different ways we can receive answers. He said sometimes the lord doesn't answer you. That's when you need to use faith and act for yourself. The Lord trusts you enough to make your own decision on that particular matter. That is something i am striving to get better at. At the MTC, you pray a lot. i need to work on being attune to the Spirit and relying and trusting on the Lord to do what is best for me. The lord won't do anything that isn't for your benefit. Even though you can't see the light at the end of this long tunnel, Heavenly Father can see it and he knows what is best for you.
So that's some of the cool experiences I've had this week. Let's talk more about my awesome district.

We have 8 elders and 4 sisters in my district, district 27C. By the way, Choro=Elder, Shimai=Sister. Everyone one of us is going to Kobe. So we have Pinero Choro and Allen Choro. They are companions. A funny thing is, i used to work with Pinero Choro at Zupas months ago. It's so cool because back then, I would never have guessed he would go on a mission, but here, he has grown so much. He is going to be a great missionary and it shows me how one can have a change of heart like Alma the Younger. Allen Choro is from American Fork. He has 10 siblings and is a miracle for him to even be here. He has Type 1 diabetes and while he was submitting his papers, everyone told him he couldn't go out of the country becasue of his diabetes. He always knew though that he would go to Japan. He knew it for years, so when he got his call to Japan, everyone was surprised except for him. There just so happens to be a diabetes specialist in our mission next to the mission home. The Lord knows what is up and this is a testimony to me that there are no such thing as coincidences. Heavenly Father truly knows and makes a path for us.
Next is Lee Choro and Madruga Choro. Lee Choro is from Boise Idaho and he has lived in so many countries around the world. He has an amazing story as well. He dropped out of high school when he was a Sophomore. He later applied to BYU and made it in. He spent this past year studdying at BYU and now he's here on a mission. The crazy thing is, he turned 18 just this last July. He is super smart and i am so impressed with him. Madruga Choro is from Brazil. He is the funniest guy i think i have ever met. He has super interesting stories and he tells them so well. he is also very insightful and deep despite the broken English he knows.
Next is our roommates, Otani choro and Bateman Choro. Otani Choro is half Japanese and half Chinese. He knows much of the language already and is a very helpful teacher for us. He is from Bay area California and likes surfing. He went to BYU this past year and is very smart and spiritual as well. Bateman choro is from Lone Peak High School. He played baseball for them. He is in the same ward as Erik Mika and was friends with the Haws brothers and the Emerys. He is also a funny guy and has worked so hard on the language. He came from 0 japanese experience and now he is really good at it. he is probably the most improved one here, and it helps to have a Japanese companion. Oh and he is dating the voice of the Church's daughter. The one that says every conference "This is the 184th general........." He is dating that guys daughter.
Now for the Shimaitachi. I don't know as much about the Shimai so bear with me.
Helms Shimai and Hatch Shimai. Helms Shimai converted to the church last year and she is from California. She is a very proper sister and has a strong testimony. she also has a boyfriend that is 27... Hatch Shimai (@theratchethatchet) is a really funny girl. She is also from American Fork and went to Utah State last year. She is very insightful and spiritual and tells really funny stories.
Arnold Shimai and Madsen Shimai are the last companionship. Arnold Shimai is from Lindon and Graduated from Timpanogos in 2012. She likes sports and started off really quiet but is now showing us her true self. she is awesome. Madsen Shimai is from Brigham City and she is super funny. She struggles with Japanese but she laughs about it. I love that bout her. she brings such a good spirit to class and she will be awesome.
Well that's my district. i love each of them and i'm so glad they are with me. They are literally like my family and i love spending time with them. they make this MTC experience much better.
That's about it for this week. i'll send a letter to my parents and would ask them to type it up and send it out to everyone because it has more private things that i don't want to risk being shown here. That'll make more sense once you read the email.
Til next week! i love each of you and love hearing from you!
Ai shitte imasu!
Elder Lamoreaux

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