Here I raise mine Ebenezer!

Wednesday November 26, 2014

Okay.  A buttload (or for those with more sensitive ears-a boatload) of stuff happened this week!  I honestly can't remember most of it, but trust me, t'was a busy one:)  On Friday, I think it was, after gym we were all showering and realized that not one of the six of us had a key to get back into our room (we usually have a doorstop because it gets a little tedious unlocking the door every time you leave to get something/brush your teeth/"freshen up" (if you know what I mean:) so anyway, we ended up standing in front of our door, still dripping zusters in my district in want of something definitely more modest than just a towel.  It was a great relationship building exercise:)       

Elder Harp thinks that black and navy is a fashion sin and so all of the sisters in our district decided to wear only black and navy, of course!

On Saturday one of the zusters in my district and I were talking about how much we miss popcorn and how good it sounds right now. Then, a sister from a different mission peeks her head out the door, I assumed to chastise us for being too loud while she was trying to study, but instead she was like, "You sisters want popcorn?  We're leaving on Monday and have a ton of popcorn and we were wondering what we were going to do with it all!!"  Apparently she lived directly above us, so when they came to bring us their popcorn it was quite literally popcorn from heaven:)  So we're going to have a popcorn party tomorrow night to celebrate Thanksgiving:) 

Speaking of which, couldn't be more excited; for the morning devotional we are having a GA (General Authority) speaker (and I'm pretty darn sure it's gonna be President Monson for a various number of reasons) 1. because it just seems fitting that President Monson would come to the MTC whilst I sojourn here 2. because all the leaders/volunteers/choir director are making a huge deal about us singing "Come Thou Fount", apparently the first time in MTC history and 3. because on Tuesday we had Elder Oaks speak and so now they've set the bar pretty darn high-there's no going back now:)  So that's exciting.

Like I said, we're singing the MoTab (Mormon Tabernacle Choir) version of "Come Thou Fount" and I get to sing the first soprano which makes me feel like a hearty German woman:) (which I guess I am).  Okay so choir is the most amazeballs thing ever; the director takes it to a whole new level.

We sang "Nearer My God to Thee" for Elder Oaks yesterday and he taught us that that song is based on the story where Jacob leaves home after being told that Esau wants to kill him and he sleeps in the desert with a rock for a pillow that night.  During the night, he has a dream of a ladder and angels descending to help him up the ladder into the presence (de tegenwoordigheid) of God. So the song, "Nearer my  God to Thee" is about how through our trials (Jacob having to leave home because his brother wants to kill him), we come closer to God and how Jacob was willing to suffer trials if just to come nearer to God (so by my woes to be nearer my God to thee).  Genesis 28

So my mind was blown then, and then after the devotional we had a rehearsal for Come Thou Fount and I learned that in the second verse where they say "Here I raise mine Ebenezer" alludes to the story in 1 Samuel 4-7 where the Israelites lose the ark of the covenant to the Philistines and are losing all their battles to them. Samuel tells them that if they would repent and recommit to their covenants, the Lord will bless them with victory.  So, everyone repents and the Israelites win. 

Samuel positions a massive stone high up somewhere as a reminder to the people of their commitment the Lord and he called it Ebenezer, meaning "stone of help". Thus, the raising of the stone is a representation of the Israelites commitment and repentance to the Lord.  That's why Charles Dickens calls his main character in A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge and after his "life changing night" he goes by Ebenezer because he is re-committed, a new person.  The same goes for missions, and my mission in particular; that here I raise my own Ebenezer, showing my Father in Heaven my commitment to Him and my willingness to be whatever instrument He would have me be:)  So yeah, choir's pretty great.

The countdown has begun; we have 12 days left before we leave for The Netherlands-we're hoping to get our flight plans on Friday:) SO excited!  All of the Swedish and Norwegian missionaries who were here when I arrived left this Monday and we have all new ones now, so we (the Dutchies) are the veterans of our zone now. 

Johanna with her Sister Training Leader who left for Sweden on Monday

Toasting with Martinelli's to upcoming flight plans!

The rest of the sisters in the two Dutch districts are finally understanding what I meant when I said I have a man voice-apparently they didn't take my word for it:)  One day for choir I want to sit with the basses (just once) and the ladies in charge of seating and stuff (who aren't always very nice by the way) will be all "sister, this is where the basses sit-you need to sit with the sisters" and then I'll say, "no, I'm pretty sure that this is my part" Can you imagine an MTC broadcast with one sister singing bass with 200 elders? I think it would be pretty darn funny:)

So Mapa's got her mission call? Where is she going? (Salt Lake Temple Square, Sign Language)  And baby Ruby was born, yay!! So happy!! 

Everyday is a confirmation to me that this is where I'm supposed to be-I hope that through this experience, I can become a tad closer to what the Lord would have me be:) There's a lot of Napolean Dynamite and Nacho Libre quotes floating around here:)  We've changed one to be "Did you not tell them that you are on the Lord's time? So yup yup:) 

Have jullie (ya'll) a merry little Thanksgiving! I am oh so grateful for all of you and for the many wonderful things I have! (since you don't always get what you want)  Be happy!  There's always a reason to be!  And thus I close once again with the immortal words of Bill and Ted, "Be excellent to each other" Turbular:)

Ik hou van jullie en ik weet dat het evangelie waar is en door Jezus Christus wij kunnen all dinen doen!  (I know Dad, it looks dreadful and sounds worse than it looks!)

Love you bunches!

Zuster Dobler!!! (dun-dun-DUN!!!)