Last Day at the MTC

Hi friends!

 

Yes Mommy it is alright if I see Alan + Tammy in the airport, I do not know exactly when I am getting there and I am not completely sure on my flight at the moment.. I will probably end up leaving here at 5:00 and get to Salt Lake around 6. I believe it is Delta to LA and my flight leaves at 8:11 pm to be exact.

 

I am not sure what time I will be able to call, I am guessing there will be a lot of people (missionaries) fighting over the phones, so I will try to call both times if possible if not in one than most definitely in the other. Also I was just told last night that I will not be allowed to call from Hong Kong, but there is a chance I will when I arrive at the mission home. It depends on my mission president, but I will be calling again on Mother's Day and Christmas, those two holidays are not too far away right? I do not really know. :)

 

Pono I got your letter today, I appreciate the picture it is awesome :) and I will try to write you back soon, if not today I will from the Philippines, it costs about 6 cents more to send mail home from the Philippines than it does to send mail from Provo, kind of funny, but it does take a whole lot longer, so I would like for you all to send me an email to let me know when you get mail from me so I can see how long it takes for them to get there, I will put a date also.

 

So family I have a Christmas present on the way, it just got sent out today so it will hopefully be there by Friday but I do not really know how long it takes, I also was not near a garbage can, so I threw a small amount of trash in the package, forgive me :)

 

Julie I love you! Just so you know, but you need to get Kevin to write/email me soon! I have not heard from him in forever, he is my favorite cousin after all, well he is tied with all my other cousins who are reading this right now...

 

Krissy I got your email today, thanks for letting me know you got my letter :) I am looking forward to getting a letter from you in a month or so :)

 

And Daddy it is okay, I can understand you being busy, if it is easier to email for you, you can always do that, and I will take some time out of my writing to read those :)

 

Wowzers, I am leaving for the Philippines in 3 hours, thats weird.

 

Also family! I loved the Christmas gifts you sent, something cool that goes along with what you sent: So I read through the little thing written by Russell M. Nelson about Christ, and he came to speak with us twice on Christmas, and once yesterday it was super awesome, and he talked about, you guessed it, Jesus Christ. It was really awesome, he is I believe 84-86, and he is so high energy, when he was not speaking he was always on the edge of his seat and really a joy to listen to. I could really feel his love for everyone there.

 

I also learned some cool things the last couple days of class, we had subs, and it was a bit more relaxed for Christmas Eve than the average day here, and so we talked about some of the teacher's experiences while they were on their missions in the Philippines. I am so excited to go, on average they taught 10-15 lessons every single day, the people there are so receptive and the nicest people in the world, and I am so glad I get to experience it.

 

I am excited to be in a poor part of the world and really experience it for myself, I know I will learn so much while I am there, and gain a stronger appreciation for everything in my life.

 

Also last night we had the chance to hear from Stephen Allen who has been working in the missionary department for about 40 years, he has come twice for devotionals while I have been here and he is probably my favorite speaker, he really made me want to be a better person and work harder.

 

Also I believe my body has changed a bit in the past year or so.. I used to get cold really easily, now I am perfectly fine in a short sleeved shirt out in the snow. I think that might be a bad thing..

 

Mommy you told me to tell you what I am going to get with the Christmas money that you sent and I know one thing I want to get, a water buffalo horn belt, handmade. They are so awesome, almost all the returned missionaries here has one or two, and they really are super awesome.

 

Kaity Stambaugh, I heard you were talking to my Mom about when I had my wisdom teeth out. :P I will admit I do not remember anything, but I remember you being really happy cause I was being really nice. I have been working on things to be a better nicer person while I am here, and while I am not on drugs. And I can say I have not said a mean thing, in over a month to anyone, and I have not thought too many... :) Although.. there have been a few elders that have made me want to think mean thoughts, but I decided not too.

 

I love all of you so much, especially you Alivia, even though you have not written me yet. :P

 

Christmas is different away from home, but it really was awesome, and I wouldn't change anything. Besides I get to spend Christmas of 2012 with my family, so that really is not far away at all. I keep you in my thoughts and prayers, I wish the very best for you and I hope you had a super awesome Christmas

 

Elder Munk

Christmas Letter

I was a little slow to post this for Nate but here is his Christmas Letter, he did not send a translation so for those of you who want to try and figure this out, have fun and I will post a translation in a few days and you can check to see how you did:)  (Elder Munks Mom)

Kumusta po kayo?! Ako po si Elder Munk. Taga Redmond Washington ako, pero mabubuhay ko sa Pilipinas para sa dalawang taon. Magigiling masaya ako para sa opportunidad sa maglingkod. Mahal ko ang kasama ko at pinakamahal ko ang pamilya ko at sina TJ at Brendin. Gwuapo sila. Gusto ko ang magaral ng banal ng kasulatan at Tagalog. Pero hindi mabuti ang Tagalog ko, pero gusto ko and magsanay sa Tagalog ko. Kailangan ko and dictionaro dahil hindi ko alam and mas mga sulat sa Tagalog. Alam ko kung bakit naglilingkod. Huwag ng Pamilya ko mag-'worry' tungkol sa akin. Gumagawa ako ng Pinakamabuti dito :)

Well I will use a little english for those who do not speak broken up poor Tagalog. I am not sure how much of that it correct, but I tried :) I am currently at the MTC and will be till right after Christmas. I honestly do not remember to much about life before being here, it kind of feels like I have been here my whole life. But it is starting to speed up, and I am learning a lot and enjoying my time here.

Ayaw ko ang pagkain sa MTC. Nagiisip ako na mapapatay ng pagkain ako. Not to complain, I am being well fed here, but holy cow, I was very spoiled at home and I do not think I fully recognized that but I miss my mommy's and daddy's food. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and really get into the spirit of Christmas, I know sometimes the meaning of Christmas is lost with all the commercialism and things going on. But I hope all of you will be able to go out of your way to lift up others and make them happy. :) I love you all and will see you soon-ish :)

Last Week At The MTC

Kumusta,

 

So I am going to kind of go straight to my flight plans because I am so excited :) I am going to be leaving the MTC on Monday the 27th at 4:30 pm. My flight leaves Salt Lake at 8:11 and I will arrive in LA at about 9:15, I have a three hour layover where I will be able to call you family! If anyone wants to come over they are more than welcome to come to, its up to you, but speakerphone is good. I leave LA right after midnight for Hong Kong, and I will arrive there at about 7:30 am their time, which is like 3:30 in the afternoon for my family. I will be there for 2 hours until I leave for Manila, and it is a pretty short flight, about 2 hours, so at 7:30 pm your time family on the 28th I should be arriving in Manila, where I will get my assignment. I am hoping I get to go to Palawan, about 1/4 new missionaries will get sent to the other island. The only problem is I would have to buy my own ticket to fly there. The good news is it will cost about $10.

 

I am super excited to be leaving, I am sad to be leaving my MTC district, but this is where I am called. I will admit I know I am going to be lost for quite a while trying to understand people, but I have seen how the Lord has helped me with learning the language so far and I know he will continue to bless me as I continue to work hard.

 

I also made it into the MTC Christmas talent show, which is kind of exciting, there are a total of 16 spots. So I will be playing in front of 2000 people by myself.. I am nervous, I get nervous playing in front of like 4 people, so this will be an adventure. I have to go to a sound check on Christmas eve and the performance is on Christmas day. So wish me luck, cause it is not going to be easy for me. :)

 

I usually have time to read through at least some of my mail again before I come and write but this morning I did not have time to, so sorry if my thoughts are scattered, and I am super sorry if I do not respond to your letter now, I also dropped a bunch of them in the slushiness, so they are still all wet.

 

I got a few packages this past week and I am super happy, I love my family and I am excited to open my presents on Christmas, thank you :) I also got an apple pie from Grace and Rachel Chumley, it was devoured quite quickly, as soon as the Tongans laid eyes on it, there was no hope left, I did get two slices though :) Thank you so much for that. And thank you Krissy for sending some cupcakes, they did get a little bit mushed, but there were super delicious, thank you :) Everyone knows me as the tootsie roll missionary now, even people who do not know me, it is pretty exciting, I kind of gave up on the handshake technique, and throw them at people, my aim has gotten better, except for yesterday.. That was not a good tootsie roll throwing day. Do not worry though, I only throw them when it is appropriate to do so.

 

This week I think we have a total of 5 Devotionals, we had one yesterday we have one tomorrow, two on Christmas eve and one on Christmas, I think I might be leaving one out but I am not sure. I will have time to email before I leave on the 27th so I will update you on who spoke, and I will probably pick a favorite. I also appreciate the cards I got from Brother Adams and Sister Wilks. Also the Calverts sent me some pictures of missionaries out from the ward and an Ensign in Tagalog, the temple addition, so thank you so very much for that.

 

Wednesday might be the last day that I can get mail, I do not know, I will be here long enough on Monday that I think I will get written letters but the Dear Elders might be cutting it super close. So if you are going to write, Dear elders are the best if you do them like tonight, or sometime early tomorrow. I do not know what they do with them if I do not get them. I heard that they might actually just send them to the Philippines if they get here after I do, but I am not sure. I think it depends on the pouch mail... which I still am not sure exists for the Philippines I will have to find out someday. And I do not really know if my mission president will contact you when I get there. Or if you will have to wait till P-day to hear from me again.. So I promise I will be safe, do not worry about me :)

 

I would like to tell people that I can receive emails from anyone, but I can only respond to my family, I know it costs a bit of money and takes a lot of time, but I really would prefer mostly handwritten mail, because I usually do not have enough time to read all of my emails, and handwritten is just awesome anyways.

Well it is lunch time and my companion is being patient with me, so I am going to be nice to him and go eat, I love you family :) you are the bestest, I will be calling you around 9:30 probably :) your time, and I might call at some other times too, depends on how many quarters I can find. well, see ya later

 

Love you :)

Hello Family and Friends :)

 

Kristena! I am having Devin send you a short message from me that kind of explains what is going on, I am sorry I could not get back to you sooner, but you definitely did not do anything wrong, you are awesome :) I just wanted you to know, cause I do not know what you will see first.

 

Little Devin! I will admit I think I am on the verge of getting sick, it makes me sad, mostly just cause it is making my voice crack a ton, I might be coming out of it though with just a slight sore throat. But I have not slept the past 2 nights and I feel like I am dead, but I love it here, and I am doing the Lord's work, so its alright :) And Yes! keep up the German and everything during Winter Break, it is a break from school but not from learning :) And I might play guitar in front of the whole entire MTC (2000 missionaries) on Christmas, I am auditioning tomorrow :)

 

Tasha Munk! I have a commitment for you, which you can turn down, but I really think you should pursue it. I commit you to finish getting your license, and get a job that uses those skills that you have obtained. I challenge you to go around and check out all the places, and find the ones where you like the people working there the most, and apply to a couple and just give it a shot, I know it will be the best thing for you to do right now :)

 

Oh! one thing, dear elders do not come on Saturdays so I do not get those ones until about 9 pm on Monday nights, so if you can something important that you want me to reply to get it to me as soon as you can :) like friday ;)

 

Another thing, the last day I can receive mail or packages will be on the 22nd that's 9 days away from now, I will likely not get anything else because the only day I could would be the day I leave, and I figure I will be leaving before mail arrives that day.

 

I want everyone who reads this to say thank you to Brother and Sister Litchfield for me :) They sent me a package of tootsie rolls, and I am handing them out, handshake style of course.

 

I also got a letter and a Christmas tree ornament from the Hammers. I do not have a tree to hang it on, but I have it hanging in my room and I really appreciate it.

 

Quote of the week: "Only people who are on missions, or who have served missions can really fully appreciate mail." - Elder Peterson.

 

That is 98% true, I don't really know who else appreciates it, but holy cow, it is the best thing in the world, I love getting letters and I love the people who send them, maybe Devin, you could have a writing Elder Munk party at our house this week, so you can get them here before I am long gone and it costs a lot more to send them ;) (That's your commitment)

 

I think Papa Bear, my favorite daddy Steve Munk, will like the goal I have set for myself recently. I have decided to try to break my record of push-ups every night except Sundays while I am here, and for the rest of my mission. Since I have started it goes as follows: 62, 65, 72, 80, 90, 91, 91.5, 100. I will admit a half of a push-up does not count, but I gave it my all, and could not get up that last time, that was one of the saddest moments of my life.

 

And holy cow! Elder Ward, my companion had such terrible gas the past few days, I am surprised I am still alive. I do not know how missionary appropriate it is to talk like that, but blah, it was awful.

 

2 weeks from today I am leaving the country :) I am so excited, not really nervous at all, I do not see a point in being nervous, it will not change what happens when I get there, the language will still be just as hard, but I have the Lord on my side, so anything is possible.

 

 

I want you all to know that I love you a ton, I am pretty sure I will be happy to see you again when I do, but as for right now, not even thinking about it ;)

 

Elder Munk

Hello everyone :)

 

Family the pictures should be getting there in a few days, I ordered them like 2 weeks ago and they never came so I had to order them again and they are here. You will like a few of them I think, quite exciting pictures.

 

I love the message I got from Trevor "I want an xbox 360, and an Xbox 360 repair kit, that is clever huh?" I thought that was awesome, it made me laugh a little bit, but it is definitely true, I think all of them should just come with a repair kit.

 

Tasha I hope you are having fun in Nevada and tell them all hi for me, and give them hugs :) I am excited to hear that you have seen all the Star Wars movies now, that is quite an accomplishment :) I have gained weight here, 5 whole pounds, but I have lost a lot of muscle... So I have probably gained like 10 unwanted pounds.

 

Thanks for the message Grandpa I appreciate it :) I will admit I am learning the language faster than I thought I would be, but it still seems to be taking a long time. I need to work on being more patient. I am glad to know about Brendan going out and helping people with their driveways too, he is a stud.

 

Kevin! I have not heard from you yet! I hope to soon, let me know how your missionary papers are coming, I am excited to hear about it :)

 

I am glad Uncle Ron is doing okay, I love that man, and I will be praying for him, and I wish him the very best.

 

Devin John Munk. How could you forget me? You are a bum, well actually not really I love you. But do not let it happen again ;) Keep up the scripture study, it will serve you well, I recommend starting preach my gospel now. It will help prepare you for the future. I spent 6 hours yesterday studying the Sermon on the Mount. It is packed with so much good stuff I recommend reading it. And write me as much as you can now, because you will have to start paying soon.. Unless there is pouch mail, but I still do not really know... Only 2.5 Mondays after today until I leave, I may not have much time on the 27th to write home, but I can call when I am in the airport.

 

I have struggled a little bit teaching in Tagalog, it is not easy, but I had an experience I want to share with you from a couple of nights ago. Sister Maiello had us teach our companions 1 on 1 pretending they were our best friend except without the gospel in their lives. I had trouble deciding between TJ and Brendin because they are so awesome I did end up using TJ. I began to think about him and how he has been such a good example to me, then I thought about his life without the Gospel. My heart immediately sank and I was like, no way is he living without this. And I taught Elder Ward (TJ) a lesson in Tagalog. I said many words I did not know, but my teacher said were correct, I felt almost as if I was speaking in English because I cared so much about it, and put myself out there. I am working right now on building that same kind of love for the people I will be serving that really is the motivating factor in teaching the Gospel to people. And Brendin do not feel bad, I know without a doubt I would have felt the same way teaching you, I love you Brother :) (and my Family too :) love you all)

 

Kelly! I got your dear elder :) I leave on the 27th of this month. I have been learning a lot while I am here, about Tagalog, the scriptures, and a lot about myself. I am so excited to be going to the Philippines and I am doing all I can to be ready to go when the time comes. Keep doing well in school, I am so happy to hear from you :) and have fun in Arizona :)

 

Thank you for sending me TJ's blog post, and Spencers letters they are a lot easier to read on dear elder than email, I usually do not have enough time to read through it on my email. 

 

I love you all and will see you soon-ish :)

 

 

Elder Munk