Week 7 in the MTC and the walls are closing in :) Elder Phillips is ready to get to Hong Kong...two weeks left!

Hello Again Everybody!

     This week has been pretty swell.  We are always meeting new people from Hong Kong here and they're always so excited that we are going to speak their language and serve a mission there.  In just two weeks I will be getting ready to fly out to Hong Kong.  The time is passing very quickly.  I'm nervous about not being able to understand people when I get there, but I'm sure it'll be fine.  Here's my complaint of the week to the MTC.  I went to get a turkey and swiss sandwich at the sack lunch line today, and you want to know what they had?  They had ham and cheddar.  What a disgrace.  I ate the sandwich grudgingly and repented in my own soul for betraying the turkey and swiss sandwich.  Then I dedicated myself to never eat another ham and cheddar sandwich again.  Does it sound like I'm going crazy?  I sure am :)

     I'm mostly joking about that, the MTC is a wonderful place.  It's like Disneyland (famously called the happiest place on Earth).  It's like Disneyland because you go for a short time period and spend most of the time waiting in lines.  Plus there's all these rules.  Why can't I jump out of a ride at Disneyland?  Maybe the ride was boring me and I just wanted to stretch my legs for bit.  Why can't I go to bed at 10:31 at the MTC?  Maybe it's because the destroying angel passes by all the buildings of the MTC past 10:30 pm and if you're out and about you get smitten by him.  I do like it here though.  But my farewell song is still going to be Ye Elders of Israel so I can sing this line:    "Oh Babylon Oh Babylon we bid thee farewell!  We're going to the Mountains of Ephraim to dwell!"  Lot of jokes today.

     Here's the best thing that happened this week at the MTC.  I watched a recorded talk by David A. Bednar called:  "The Character of Christ."  It was a great talk.  The thing that I took away was that while the natural man will always turn inward when he faces trials, Christ turned outward and still served other people even when he went through the greatest pain and suffering the world has ever seen.  That's how I want to be.  This mission is for the people I will help in Hong Kong.  I didn't put my mission papers in thinking: "This is such a great opportunity to learn a new language so I can make more money later in life!"  Or this: "Maybe if I go on a mission the Lord will give me blessings for my future life so that I'll be able to marry a supermodel that makes me turkey and swiss sandwiches all the time!"  I hope it's clear to everybody why i chose to do this.  It's because I am converted to Jesus Christ and his gospel, and I know it is the path that everybody needs.  No time for a scripture or hymn this time but next time I will do it!  Hope nobody is offended by this.  Hope nobody that's high up on the MTC chain of command will read this.  Love you all!

 

Elder Phillips

Bei Jeung Louh