May 25th 2013 letter

0500 southern training camp.

 

Moral:

i have broken out worse then i have in a while, I have black bags under my eyes, the haircut is a bit puffy in the back, i found out i have allergies in Utah so my eyes are always blood shout and stinging, and i got a stupid little grin on my face all the time!! Life is good and god is good people!! We slowly but surely advance in all aspects and my body will eventually get used to this! I continue to build up anticipation for the deployment! now i have extra motivation to learn Japanese too! my backup plan this whole time was to convert them wish my charming looks... now that they are gone i revert back to the spirit.

Mental advancement:

I can officially attach any adjective i know to any noun. That doesn't sound like much but it is going to help so much in lessons! its funny..
sensei: "today we are going to do base "te" speaker wanting something"

Law choro in the corner: "Yata, Yata, Yata!!" (i don't even know if a say it right.. its suppose to be like hurray they tell me i was just saying yoda until someone helped me out)

its the little things people.

spiritual growth:

I beginning to wonder how repetitive i am in these things because of  how repetitive the lord has to be with me. Biggest lesson i have learned over and over again is turn out to the those around you.

You want to sleep better? give your blanket to your bunk mate. want to learn Japanese better? help out your companion with some vocab you know until he gets it. The lord sometimes isn't so subtle in his messages. As i have slowly began to help those around me i am just.. happy. I keep sending these letters home and i pray i don't sound as preachy as i think i am but help someone out! you will be blessed!

supplies:

turns out my supposed "navy" socks are black... they are labeled as navy but i cant tell the bloody difference. But I asked the shimitachi (sisters) and they said i still look stylish so i am good! now i don't even have to sort the things!

physical state:

still doing my push ups and pull-ups with volleyball and bump in the evening. I got a bit over competitive at a game of bump and the cold that has been working on my about coughed up my lung. But all is now well in Zion. fun fact for you: bump.. the fun lil game we all know and love.. people here call it lighting. i have heard that before. Alaskans call it "shooting game" boring. Californians call it speed. New Zealanders call it "chop block" (i told him about football) this kid from the south had another name! i will update you if i find any more!

rations:

you would think that a place such as this would overload us with carbs and sodium. The carbs part is completely accurate. however if i don't watch myself i find i will start licking the cracks in the sidewalk in search of old deicer salt. but i have started to salt my potatoes more and the pregnant woman behaviors are dying down. also.. another fun fact for you (i am just in a mood this morning) there is a normal potatoes (we all know and love and have been under appreciating all these years) fake potatoes (the ones occasionally filled with bugs that we test out future son in laws with), and another type... they serve this last type here. I think it might use the same pearls as the second the second type.. but they add something.. my first impression was Elmer's glue but i haven't died so i don't know. i could not only sculpt a tree out of the stuff with individual needs but i could also glue together my poster with it. And it doesn't taste half bad honesty. If a zombie apocalypse happens this stuff could be big.

 

Funny story:

this weeks little treat actually occurred right after i sent the last letter.

on p-day we are allowed to go get a sack breakfast we go through this little room and pick out four things we want. (cereal, soda, bagels, toast, ect.) well i always get a p.b. and honey and some bananas, and an orange juice! (refer to last letter for why i would be excited for a manufactured and bottled orange juice)
well my companion Thayne Choro got some cereal, a soda, a milk and a bagel.

side note: he eats like a well mannered bird. always perfect posture, he never touches his food, take small bites, always used a napkin after each thing he eats, beautiful. i should be more like him.

so we go back to our residence and start folding our laundry and eating our breakfast. I just start wolfing it down (nobody here as much as me.. like all the chorotachi are a bunch or lite weights) and thayne choro folds his clothes then politely sits down to his little banquet. I am now on my bed watching him. He eats his little bagel, delicately spoons down his cereal, and then opens his milk and takes a long elegant swigg, only to have it come to a gagging, sputtering stops as the cheesy, cottagy substance he has poured in begins to make him gag! normally you laugh and pity the guy who gets the nasty milk to an extent, but watching the guy who is normally kind of a germaphobe and is normally so dainty at eating hack his guts out back into a tiny little milk bottle... I died. i was laughing so hard i fell on the ground.

we got a free second milk after that. And now thayne choro is suspicious of all dairy in this joint.

love you all

love each other for me!

go play hard for me!

-Cameron Phillip Law Choro

May 18th 2013 letter

0500 hours south training center

Time has ceased to flow according to the laws it was once bound by. i feel like i have been here a week and i am going on a month. There is so much work to do before i will be ready for the field but so little time left. but i also am dying to get to japan. Every time i hear another thing about the place i want to deploy that much sooner! all will be well though.

Physical training:

I am campaigning for an early morning running group, most of my district seems eager but when the alarm clock rings they seem to not have quite the fervor they had the night before. "Die joe boo" (that is a complete butcher of the spelling but it will be a lot easier to say it for you.) its totally my favorite phrase and you can say it for anything in English you would say "its ok." I still do my morning pushups and i now walk as far as i can on my hands once a day, and i am up to a pretty consistent 100+ feet. its keeps life fun.

Mental training:

Japanese is a lot like math, once you learn a new concept and get it down, you realize you can apply that concept to something much horrifically harder and its like... dang... hahah but i am learning! the gift of tongues is real! (not in the way you would hope the gifts of tongues to be do i have it but i know that the amount i do end up remembering is only happening with divine help) I am really good with vocab and memorize lists of words everyday, but my grammar is rather horrific and slow... all will work out though!

Spiritual training:

We have these little fake investigators that we teach lessons too in Japanese. (at first when i was told this i died a little bit inside (when i say a little bit i am referring to my dignity)) it was actually the third day we were here we had to teach our first lesson. (i read out of this book the whole time pretty much) anyway! we have to use a lot of analogies in our lessons because while drawing and saying broken words kinda works to explain a money lender, the atonement is a bit ruff for stick people and arm signals. but my biggest questions over the years have all three been answered in a matter of 4 weeks. And its not i read some new scripture or heard an apostle speak it (we get those guys here on occasion and they Are soooo Awesome) But i learn them because i must explain them and predict the question people will ask. its hard to explain but I love the lord for the vision and peace his answers bring.

Rations:

To my mother, unfortunately "p-days" in here aren't what you think of as a normal p-day but i promise to splurge once i get in the field. I am in normal clothes for tell 10:00 and then i study go to the temple and prepare for a class and lesson that star at 4.. we cant even leave the mtc grounds except for the temple. Its good for us though and makes us more prepared for Japan. Which we badly need. The food though is getting... similar. There are three types of food in my mind here. There is some type of cheesy dish typically, some type of something with fries, and some type of rice thing. You never would have thought ravioli (and this is the fancy stuff) could taste so similar to a enchilada.. but when it falls into one of those categories it somehow just has the same basic vibe as all its brethren.) the milk though is fantastic, continues to be unrationed, and is still free! i figured it out and i am drinking about 3/4 a gallon. I have turned to fat free in hopes to preserve my womanly figure. There is something else i have always heard rumors of but have recently experimented with and found to be true. Something.... is wrong with the orange juice. The machine stands alone in the corner collecting dust, waiting... always waiting for the uninformed fresh pup to think "yeah i would like a little fresh cup of sunkist"

Supplies:

All that is need is here! sounds like i should buy the stuff i need? i am on it. I bought a sweet backpack.. same brand as my scripture bag too. I continue to hold up my stylish reputation.

i am getting sent to the slaughter house today. on my own accord but to the slaughter house none the less. "its free!!" they tell me... you get what you pay for is what keeps yelling at the back of my mind.. its time like these that i miss my mama. I will send a pic of the new hair cut.

Leaders:

My heroes are my senseis these days! i have two of them and both are returned missionaries from japan and both are the happiness, most realistic, maturely spiritual, Japanese speaking, handsome cusses i know. They give me a target to aim for. They also fill my head and heart full of these stories of the people i will be serving and make my want to sneak on a plane early. nobodies perfect i guess.

Funny Story:

Thaye Choro and i had to go get shots. we are pulled out of class in the middle of class time so the streets of the mtc are empty. just the two of us all around. We then come upon this scene.

5 shimi (sisters) all bunched around this poor soul who at first impression i thought had the black lung here coughing was so hard, but on closer examination i see she is actually being sick in the grass... the other shimi are rubbing here back and consoling her.

the scene is one of sadness, pity and love. I need to explain that thayne choro understood this completely and even he is not cruel enough to mock this poor sister. However, thayne choro is not bound by the same social past as us washintonians are. he proceeds to say this very loudly as we are within 20 feet of them. (he means in in the most sincere apologetic voice he has) "oh no... Don't tell me she got into the orange juice too!?" bring my weak self who has yet to master self control, i am the one that begins a horrified/astonished/overcome giggle fit.... thayne choro is disgusted in me. As well as the 5 shimi who look up from there poor sister and see me laughing from the direction the comment came. sisters are still women and are still scary when wronged. we took the long way to the nurse.
This might be a "you had to be there" story.. but i am having a giggle fit at the computer right now so worst case scenario i will document it for my 40 year old self.

Love you all and pray for your strength!

-Elder Cameron Law

p.s. go convert your friends! tell them you know how they can be happier and show them how!! no one thinks that's weird or will hate you for it!

May 11th 2013 letter

Southern Training Camp 0500 hours

Day 18

preparations continuer for war against the adversary. Our weapons are powerful but our ability to use them in the foreign environment need a lot of work. Moral is high among the men with the occasional break down but work keeps them focused on the main goal.

Mental levels:

Scriptural knowledge has never been this high or improved this fast! its funny how a month ago an hour of scripture study would seem so long i felt like i could study the restoration, read the book of alma, and sing myself an opening hymn. Now i feel like i cant even really capture the concept of prayer. Tjhe gospel is simple but vast and i am like a kid in Disneyland.

Spiritual levels:

Slowly but surely i am getting a grasp on how to to be led by the holy ghost. Or maybe I am getting the concept of How crucial it is or you will fail in the work. But mostly i just have random spots of inspiration in this area more as a tender mercy from the lord to say "It is possible so don't give up yet" then to any real genius of my own. But I continue to advance.

Language training:

Japanese Is pretty much the coolest language in the World. It has very few exceptions so far compared to English but i think is about as hard to learn because it has so many little things you can do to change your verb. (this is coming from a guy who has been studying for two weeks so i have know real say on things) long story short the language is beautiful and hard but i am sooo excited to get better at it.

Physical condition:

I am pretty sure my cardio (what little i had) has gone to crap, but i do at least one set of 100 pushups everyday and an abb workout so as long as i can still do that i think i will keep at least a decent muscle tone up. Exercise is like a healing balm in this place. Outside this place too i guess.

Rations:

Supplies maintain a steady level. Just that list of birthdays and shorts. I am starting to notice a bit of a pattern in the food here... they didn't even try to hide it very hard.. But i get all i can eat ice cream twice a week and all i can drink milk every meal! life is good.

My companion:

Elder Thayne... You guys don't even know! i have never meant anyone who is like this guy! the things he says to people... HE loved the book and pencils!!! but honestly i was kind of hoping he would feel how much i care and hope he is having a happy time. But instead he thinks that he has just passed me up in the eyes of brother and sister law... and that they love him soo much. So i will have to work on that.

Shipments:

I got you candy bars yesterday (totally made my day) and i became the absolute coolest cat in the district. (no that i wasn't before too)

Funny story:

this weeks funnny story is more to give you a theme of my every second with elder thayne. this is the exact way in which he approaches every here at the mtc.

We are in the bathroom. (no this isn't one of those stories we were washing our hands) and there is a ton of guys in the bathroom (in every building they have taken out one third of the guys bathrooms and made them girl bathrooms and its ridiculous!! (they used to be 50- 50 now there are way more girl bathrooms)) so we see these two elders from sumoa who are trying to learn English. I being my loving self slowly introduce myself to one and I begin a slow conversation to him about where i am from and where i am going. (this guy forgot how to say thank you. they were that new.) it was a  lovely learning time and made me feel better about Japanese. I turn around to see how my companion and the other new English guy are doing. Elder Thayne has this guy looking sooooo confused. For the last % minutes he has been explaining how he is from Antarctica and will be returning to serve a 2 year mission to the lord there and that because of low population levels of late in Antarctica he and his companion will be the only missionaries there. The things this guys says!! no mercy! he will do that kind of thing in the middle of our lessons to fake investigators! hahah but he makes my life lighter to handle and i love him for it!

Love you all more!

-Elder Cameron Law

May 4th 2013 letter #2

I kind of get to go on the computer twice on p-day here at the mtc and so if you check your e-mail early in the morning and reply i can actually double reply to you. Right now i don't really have much more to say besides that i got to go to the temple and it was much needed and very nice! We also got to eat lunch there which was a tender mercy all its own. and i was thinking about who would all be receiving my letter and i have decided i will make it up to you whether or not to share my funny story with everyone... I promise we are not crude like that! we have all had to change our habits in little ways to be better representatives of Jesus Christ. Its just what are the odds! anyway... make sure i am immediately informed of all cousins and friends receiving mission calls and putting in papers and when they report to the MTC i will be in here for a while and want to be able to keep an eye out for them. (there are so many people in here that i would not be surprised if i never even saw one of them!) Love you all and am still doing well

-Elder Cameron Phillip Law

May 4th 2013 letter

On Sat, May 4, 2013 at 6:12 AM, Cameron Law < cameron.law@myldsmail.net> wrote:

The Southern Training center 0500 hours. Week two

So i would have e-mailed you guys on Tuesday but they changed our schedule on Monday and we didn't get a p-day till Saturday... not that any of us murmured or anything about that ;-) I am going to make a disclaimer for now and the rest of my letters that i am neither go to spell everything right or proof read this bad boy because 1. i cant spell, and 2. with so little time for each e-mail quantity seems more important than quality.

Team Members:

my companion is a skinny guy, red hair, 6 foot 2 inches, from Utah (everyone but one other elder from Vegas and a sister from California are from Utah in my district) he is sooo funny. He makes a sarcastic doomsday type comment about everything and it just is funny.. he is 19, worked at McDonalds full time for the past year, enjoys "drawing and fixing stuff" as his hobbies and loved to play the trumpet in marching band in high school.  He knew he was going to japan because he loves rice, loves anime, and his uncle and aunt were a mission president there before. He is a great guy helping to set a new example to the rest of siblings. He also has a twin sister that will be getting a mission call soon. We get along super great and agree ( he mostly just doesn't care that i control what we study which works, NOt that i wouldn't let him chose if he wanted to!) on everything except he always wants to wear his suit and a long sleeve shirt ( i have no idea why, and i always want to wear short sleeve. so one day we sweat our guts out and cant move and the next we "look like baggy primary kids" but honestly it just works for us!

My district is soooo great! they are pretty much around you as much as your companion! 6 elders and 5 shimi (sisters) we are all going to sendai except one frozen chosen and i am so excited to see them around for two years!

Supplies:

food is plentiful to say the least. The operation to feed all the missionaries as much as they want to eat three times a day seems daunting.. the food is cafeteria food but for cafeteria food i am impressed. Some people love it and a lot of people hate it but i am quietly content. (how can i complain when i don't have to make it or do the dishes. The best part is i can drink as much milk as i want with any meal and nobody even complains! ;-) I think i now have most of the other stuff i need... the book store has a lot of random things that are helpful and i try to utilize that as much as possible.. I am sure i am forgetting something right now but i got 8 weeks to figure it out.

Barracks:

Tight. haha with so many new people wanting to serve the lord they are packing them in. The room we are in has four little closets, four little writing desks, four little dressers, and six beds with six elders. but honestly I am already used to eat and you are so busy that you pretty much just get dressed and sleep in the residence.

Training Language:

Challenging. Japanese is complex to say the least. but instead of getting disheartened we try and have a resigned, "i have no idea how to speak Japanese" and then every time we do something that resembles the language we go "Yata" which i think translates to like "hurray"... but honestly the older elders could just be making us yell "fecal matter" for all i know. But while some days are really frustrating with the language most of the time its actually kind of fun! 

Battle (against Santen) training:

(side note that scriptures in Japanese is saiten. "Today from my saiten i learned... makes us all laugh every time.) Pretty much all Japanese lessons and study somehow relates back to the gospel but we also do have some ego training too. It goes really well and i have already written more cross-references in my scriptures in a week then i normally would do in a month at home! i love the scriptures and the peace and vision they bring. there are some amazing speakers here too! plus with sooo many missionaries there are always awesome musical numbers that i have found tend to be my favorite part. (sorry dad i actually tried to push choir but my doriyo (companion) wasn't having any of it..)

physical training:

I am still not quite used to the limited gym time.. but when i work out hard it is sooo much easier to be happy and have energy. i like to play volleyball! some games are better than others because of the big diversity in the people playing but we have fun.

 Mental state:

I used to be funny. I know you are suppose to be humble but back in the day (two weeks ago.. i think) i had moments of glory in the humor department. Now i am straight up weird.. your sense of time in here is crazy! ever moment feels like eternity and yet a day goes by in a second! we will be studying class and someone will ask "wait... Is it dinner or lunch next?" and nobody knows the answer until we look it up and it turns out that it is 9:00 at night.. but I am happy! getting better all the time and my companion is too and that gives me a point of reference and comfort to know that i am not wasting any of my time here.

Funny story section (if anyone has a good military type title for this tell me):

I laughed soo hard yesterday. We have these little translators that have all these different settings and one of them is to type in what you want to say in English alphabet and then it puts them into hiragana and then the resulting word is given its definition in Japanese. (super useful tool but i can talk about that later) so my companion Thanye Choro has a first name, crazy i know... and that name is timothy. (he always refers to himself in the third person and always says timothy and i have to kindly remind him his first name is elder once again another story for another time) anyway so he gets all excited to see what his name means in Japanese. The classroom is silent and me and him are whispering together in the corner as he precedes to type in his old first name. Pubic Hair. hahahahahahahahahahahahahah his name means that!!! I died. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time... he was so distraught too! and then we got saying what if that was someone last name and they had to introduce themselves at doors like that and it just got spiraling out of control.. ahh.. you had to be there. anyway i have so many stories like that of this kid.. the things he says! anyway. I will try and give you something like that every week about him.

Love you all and can honestly feel the prayers!

-Elder Cameron Phillip Law

p.s. if anyone want to hear more or less about a specific area just tell me. I just kind of rambled about life now so if you are desiring something specific the letters are for you guys not me and you should tell me what you want