¿Que pasa?
Ah, so glad its P-day again. I have just had an awesome week. I have felt the spirit so strongly this week, really focused on making and achieving daily goals, and praying non-stop! I have just learned a ton.
First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPS! What are you now, 38? 23? I am sorry I couldn't be there to hug you in person and give you a present, but just know that I am thinking about you and that you should get a letter on Tuesday. Also, I think its Savannah's birthday this upcoming week too! Happy birthday! She should be expecting a letter this week too for her birthday, dinosaur pictures obviously included. Don't worry, definitely looked up dinosaur in spanish today...."dinosaurio". Where do they think of names like that?! Anyway, thank you so much everyone for your letters1 I love hearing about things in your life. Mom, I didn't get a chance to send pictures this week but I will try to get it out today when I drop off my letters!
Okay, so my week. Funny stuff first! So every Sunday, there is a "temple walk" where basically everyone gets to go spend an hour walking around the temple and being outside. Usually people take pictures and stuff, because its the highlight of the week. There was this group of Korean elders taking pictures together, and there were probably about 20 of them. So....Elder Schmidt and I went and joined in. Hahaha it was SO funny. There were like 20 Korean kids and then these two stark white kids on the far side. They had NO idea what to do! Haha we took jumping pictures, funny faces (context clues, they're super helpful when understanding Korean) and all this stuff. I can imagine some pretty confused parents in Korea when they get these pictures haha. Anyway, I got a few pictures on my camera too, so hopefully someone beyond me thinks thats hilarious.
Oh! So in spanish, to say things are cool, you can say like "Es lo mejor" which is like its the best, or "Es lo maximo" is also common. It just means like "Ahh thats the best!" But for some reason our entire district thinks its the funniest thing ever to say the equivalent in English. So whenever something is really funny or even just in stupid situations, we will say in English "Ahh thats the MAXIMUM!" in our best Brian Regan voices (his voice just makes anything funnier). Hahaha so last night we were about to fall asleep, and I was like "Going to sleep is the MAXIMUM!" and we all started cracking up. Hahaha it probably isn't that funny reading this, but trust me! Its funny. Also, loving the easiness of Spanish sometimes. Half the times I can make up words and they're right! Apparently they're called "cognates", so the words in spanish and english sound the same. There are also "false cognates" as well, which have words that sound the same in english but are TOTALLY different. For example...
occupacion - occupation
real - real
restauracion - restoration
testimonio - testimony
emberazado - pregnant?
Hahaha so luckily I haven't used "emberazado" yet but apparently quite a few missionaries have fallen into the trap....too funny.
Last thing, yesterday we watched this video (there is this whole series where they filmed missionaries teaching lessons in the mission field) and these two missionaries teach the Law of Chastity to this investigator, Jerman. They were awful at explaining it, because they refused to say ANYTHING specific. So when they ask him to explain it in his own words, he says, almost word for word "Yeah you know the holy ghost, and you can't deny it, but the marriage is man and woman".....WHAT??? haha the poor guy was so confused and just had no idea what they were talking about. he looked really disturbed by it too. Hahaha but the elder was like "Perfect! Will you live the law of chastity?" So he commits to it, and then a few days later he meets with them again, and tells them this story of how he is living the law of chastity. I'm paraphrasing, but here: "Yeah so I'm trying real hard to live the law of chastity man, i'm doing a real good job. The other night, I was at that party, you know? I saw my sisters roommate, and you know we never had a relationship but there was always some attraction there. So in my past life I totally would have like asked her out on a date or something, but I did a really good job this time and didn't even say nothin to her. I'm trying so hard to live the law of chastity. I really want to show God I am trying my best, im doing everything you guys say". hahahahaha the poor guy thought that you couldn't even DATE girls! It was SO funny. He has this little hispanic accent but he is speaking english, so it just was hilarious seeing him say that. Anyway, missionary humor probably isn't as funny to everyone else, but oh well. I thought it was hilarious.
Okay now for spiritual stuff. We are so lucky here in the MTC to get to study so much. Honestly, when else in my life will I have a solid hour and a half of personal study, hour of comp study, hour of spanish, and then classes and devotionals? I've just learned so much. A few things that I really liked this week during scripture study relate to serving God by serving his children. In a very literal sense, that's what I'm preparing to do in Chile. I loved a thought that I had on Sunday during someone's testimony. Essentially, we should think of ourselves like a pitcher of water. We ask God to fill us up with his love, so that when we go around throughout our day we can pour that water/love out to anyone who needs it. Its great feeling the spirit, but when we actively seek the spirit to bless others, thats when we really grow. And through that service, thats how we can come to know God too! I loved Mosiah 5:13 this week, where it says "For how can a man know a master whom he has not served?" Or something to that extent. Can I truly "know" Christ and God if I don't serve his children? It made this mission way more real for me. I know its something I have been taught before, but I'm a little stubborn and take awhile to learn things. It's interesting, because it totally corresponds to my thoughts earlier in the week. As i finished up 2nd nephi this past weekend, I loved when Nephi says in 33:6, just in passing, "MY jesus", How incredible is that? HIS jesus. Nephi had obviously been so close to the spirit and served SO diligently that Christ wasn't only Christ to him...he was HIS christ. His relationship with the savior was so intimate and personal, and thats something I want. Right now, I think of Christ as the savior of the world, but I don't know if my personal relationship is quite at that point yet. I hope that through these next 2 years of losing myself in serving, I can learn to know my Savior like that - that I can learn to know my master. I just love reading the scriptures right now, I have learned so much!
Anyway, this letter is way too long, I'm sorry. Chad Etch told me my letters were essays....#sorrynotsorry. I just learn so much and want to share funny stories! So if you're reading this, thanks for reading all of it. You're awesome. Love you all, family and friends! Until next week...
Con Amor,
Elder Brady Tengberg
*Here are a few pictures that I pulled off Brady's facebook. His friend Taylor Lythgoe, who is also in the MTC, took these pictures. I will upload more pictures of Brady once he send them home! Many of the guys pictured below are people he lived in the dorms with. How fun that they all get to be together one last time before going all over the world!
hugs from the Lythgoe's
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