Week 7 done at the MTC and I'm not gonna lie, this was the hardest week for me yet but it was full of tons of great experiences and growing opportunities, so it has also been the best week yet! We got to listen to Elder Anderson on Tuesday and that was so cool! He talked about making it so that nobody else can dim our flame of faith and it took me back to the countless hours of football practice where our coaches would tell us, "the only things we can control are our effort and our attitude" and I think that applies well to missionary work as well. As long as I'm doing my best and keeping a positive attitude, Heavenly Father has promised that He will help me with everything I need. (Mosiah 2)
I've been feeling some stress with the language lately and feeling like I'm falling behind but I know the gift onftongues is real and I've been doing my best to study hard, so I know the Lord will help me with the rest.
I do not think I'll be able to help host Parker tomorrow unfortunately. I think they usually have the English Elders handle that so maybe Elder Willes will get to be a host! I'll keep my eyes out for Parker and make sure to take a picture with him when I see him.
Tell the brothers to soak up school while they can. We had a few people speak to us about experiences they had in high school and it made me miss my days at CC. There is nothing like high school so make the most of it and enjoy every second. You'll never regret having too many friends or being too nice to anyone. Also getting good study habits down will help so much on a mission and later in life.
We usually do endowments when we go to the temple, but today we did a sealing session because our MTC teacher, Brother Sugihara, (The coolest teacher ever) wanted to introduce us to his wife so we got to be his "children" which we all loved. Yes, have the brothers do the baptisms and I can try to do the others. Elder Nielson has 20 names he wants us to do also but we would love to include others if you send the names too. I found a few names also if you want to check my familysearch account and print those too!
The thing that helps me the most with Thai is practicing with flash cards and then looking for opportunities to use the new word I learn in real life examples. The thing that is hard for me is the Thai grammar. It's pretty different from English so it's a little tricky to get that down but I'm working on it.
Nobody else has a flash drive but I'll keep asking around to see. Whatever you send would be great, I don't need anything fancy.
Yes the cookies were amazing! They were gone in about 30 seconds so that was awesome. Also tell the Edwards thank you because they sent some cookies too which was so sweet of them!
We're super excited to get out to Thailand! We have a post-it notes countdown in our room and we take a day off when we go to bed each night. I think I'm doing good! Don't need anything else.
The thing I love most about the MTC is my district. Everyone is so awesome and gets along so well with each other. It's so fun to study Thai together because if one of us doesn't know a word, chances are good that one of the other 10 Elders does. We have tons of inside jokes and we spend a lot of time laughing when we aren't studying.
The hardest thing about the MTC is the routine. It's hard getting up and doing the same thing each day. It's hard to remember which days are which because we feel like we just do the same thing everyday but gospel knowledge is built line upon line, precept upon precept, so I'm sure this is the best way to learn.
Some cool things from this week:
I saw the Thompson family! They were here on a tour. I'm sure you saw the picture but it was so fun to see them! They spotted me from down a hallway which was pretty amazing!
The eclipse was fun to watch. It lined up perfectly with our exercise time and Elder McDonald brought some eclipse glasses so we all got to watch it. The best part was the sand was cooled down so we could play sand volleyball!
Congrats to CCHS on their big win on Friday! I have been wearing my CCHS t-shirt all week and I wore my blue and silver tie on Friday! I will be wearing my blue and white tie this Saturday in honor of BYU. We have exercise time Saturday night so maybe I'll sneak out for just a few minutes to catch a glimpse of the game! Hahaha ,just kidding.
This week we taught a Skype TRC which is where we skyped a member in Thailand and taught them a lesson! Our guy's name was Tan and he seemed really cool. I actually understood most of what he was saying so that was good. Then at the end we saw that he was with the missionaries and we got to talk with a few Elders who were out serving! It was awesome to see them and I can't wait to get out there.
We got our name tags in Thai this week! I'll send you a picture. They're yium mag (very awesome)
Sickness is attacking Zone 7 and most of the Elders in my district have a cold. I've felt a little under the weather but not too bad. Some Elders have some throat viruses and are being taken care of. Hopefully they recover quickly!
The most spiritual thing that happened this week happened on Tuesday of last week. Elder Nielson and I were walking back from the temple and I was feeling a little down. Nothing had happened and I was just feeling a little out of it. Then this girl walked up to us and asked us for a blessing. I had never seen her before but she said she went to BYU and her family lived in Texas and she was struggling with some stuff. Elder Nielson and I happily agreed. Elder Nielson let me give the blessing and as soon as I put my hands on her head I felt this crazy amount of love that Heavenly Father had for this sister. I started sobbing (which never happens so you know this is special) and so did she. I don't remember much of what I said but what I do remember is saying that Heavenly Father loves her and that she is a special daughter of God. I finished the blessing, she thanked us several times, and then she was gone. It was an awesome experience and something I will never forget. It made me remember why I'm out here. It for sure isn't for myself. It's so that I can serve others and help bring them closer to Christ.
Thanks for all your prayers, packages, letters, and support for me! I'm absolutely loving being a missionary and I'm so excited to keep growing my testimony and my love for the Savior. I love Joseph Smith's testimony of Him:
22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
23 For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begottenof the Father—
24 That by him, and through him, and of him, the worldsare and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.
He truly does live and I am honored to wear His name on my chest every day. I love you all so much! Good luck with school this week and with everything else that's coming up! I pray for you all every day.
Love,
Elder Borg
District 7E, the best district in all the land!
Elder Borg wearing solar eclipse glasses, August 21st
Hayden's district received this letter from a former Thailand missionary
The Thompson family (pictured: Lauren and her brother, Parker) ran into Hayden while they were touring the MTC on August 19th. Also pictured: Elder Nielson
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