Single digits BABY!!! (9 weeks left)

Hi everybody and my momma!
Life here is flying by. The days seem long but the weeks are going so quickly. But it seems like I'll be here FOREVER!! There were some missionaries in our branch that left a few days ago, and they came in the same day we did. That will happen four more times before we get to leave. So I thought I would share my schedule with you:
5am-wakeup because I need alot of Mongolian study time, but we're supposed to be up by 6:30am
7:45-Breakfast
8:15-Personal Study (scriptures, Preach My gospel)
9:15-Mongolian Class
11:00-Gym
12:30-Lunch
1:15-Comp. Study
2:15-Mongolian Class
5:30-Dinner
6:15-Language Study
7:15-Mongolian Class
9:00-Plan for the next day
10:30-Lights out!

So I thought that one could never fall asleep so early but on that scedule it is very easy. The days change a little bit and Sunday is a lot different because there is no class. We have a fireside on Sunday night and those are a blast! The speakers are laid back and it is in an informal setting. Also on Sunday is ice cream day, my favorite! Tuesday is the devotionals but we haven't had a apostle yet but we did have John Groberg last week. Wednesday we go to the Referall Center and on Thursday is P-day which is where we do laundry, personal study, comp. study, Temple, and class at night for a few hours. Friday we have a large group meeting for 2 hours where we talk about the gospel or some aspect of it. Saturday we do service in the morning. Usually we clean the bathrooms or vacuum. The MTC was really smart to do that because they don't have to hire as many janitors for that. The missionaries clean all the dorms and buildings. So that is what my schedule looks like. For gym, we have it with the elders in our branch and zone and some others. We are allowed to play with the elders in b-ball but girls can only guard girls and elders to elders so I pretty much play one-on-one and I can't find a girl who is good at b-ball. So I usually run, do the bike or weights. They have a small weight room but it's not to my satisfaction.
So last week we were supposed to teach our first lesson in mongolian. We show up at the TRC and there is no one there. My teacher realizes that it's Pioneer day and no one is coming in. We were so happy! But we have to teach tomorrow so it just it put off for a week.
The RC this week wasn't very exciting. No one called in and no one would answer their phones when we called out. Maybe next week.
Good news is that I'm over the cold and back to my normal self.
The food isn't bad here but they use the same menu every three weeks so we are going to see it four times. We can eat salads, wraps, sandwiches, soup and they usually have three main courses to choose from, and LOTS of desserts. I've chosen to only eat treats on Sunday when it's ICE CREAM DAY. On fast sunday, they don't cook or serve any food for breakfast or lunch and then everyone has dinner at the same time. It's going to be a madhouse! The food does start to get a little boring because it's cafeteria food and you can only get so good with that. It doesn't compare to homemade.
The interesting Mongolian fact for the day is that they LOVE free things. When they were ruled by the Soviets, they were given everything so they are use to it. My teacher said that they have to carry a ton of referall cards around because if they give it out to one person, everyone will want one. He said that he'll be talking to someone on the bus and give them a referall card. Someone will notice and they sneak a look at the missionaries and talk among themselves. Then they'll come up to him and ask for a card. And he can't just give a card to the parents but every person in the family has to get one. Some people will ask, "Can I have one for my kid?" and my teacher would think, "He's a 6-month old baby?! Why would he need a card?" but he would give him one anyway. Most of the time they don't read them but it makes it easier to give away. They don't like to give BofMs out in public because everyone would want one and most people wouldn't read it. I thought it was funny.
In our Large group meeting on Friday we talked about Faith in Christ and how our faith as a missionary can help someone else's to grow or strengthen. They showed a clip from Pres. Hinckley's talk of the three men who carried people across the Sweetwater River. They gave everything to serve the Lord and his children. The teacher then asked if we can have that same kind of service for the people we will serve. I thought about all the work I do in the MTC and how much I learn and what I learn will affect the people I'll teach. All my learning should be in the mindset that everything I do is for the People of Mongolia not me. I should work my hardest for those people. Because they are the ones that will be blessed by the gospel. I can change THEIR lives. This motivation will help me study better and work harder.

Sister Sumsion