March 26, 2012

Sawad dii khrab! How are you all? Oh and by the way, males use khrab,
females use khaa (just letting you know mom :) ). It's a polite word
you put at the end of a sentence, it doesn't really mean anything. I'm
doing great here in the MTC. The language is coming along nicely,
we're well ahead of where our Phii Thais were at this point. We've
really started hitting the Script hard. It takes a while, but I can
read it fairly easily if I take the time. The hardest part is that
there are no spaces in between words, so you just have to know where
one word starts and one ends. It's pretty tough to do, especially if
the word you're reading isn't in your vocab yet. But it feels so cool
when you can read a sentence. Our teachers tell us the best way to do
it is to just memorize the "shape" of all the different words, and not
read them one character at a t time (which is actually what we do in
English as well).
Our investigators are doing well. We've invited both of them to be
baptized and they've both accepted (though we're not too sure if they
REALLY know what that means). Phii Pragad seems to get most of what
we're talking about, but Phii Dom is pretty out of the loop I think.
We taught him about prayer a couple of lessons ago, and then yesterday
we asked him if he had kept his commitment to pray daily. He said he
loved prayer so much, and me and my comps were pretty shocked at his
enthusiasm, until we found out why he loved it so much. Apparently he
had to quit his job because he hurt his knee, so he's been going to
the horse racetrack and "praying to know which horse to pick," and
he's been winning a lot of money. He said God "understands him." When
we figured out what he was trying to say, me and Elder Bartling about
died laughing. But now we gotta figure out how to explain it to him
that gambling's not good! This is going to be tough, but good
practice.
Last Tuesday, Elder Oaks came and spoke at the devotional. It was
awesome to hear an Apostle speak! He spoke a lot about the Spirit and
the Sacrament. One of my favorite things that he said was that the
Sacrament is for renewing our covenants, but it's also for feeling the
Spirit and making sure that we have it with us. It gave a whole new
light to Sacrament meeting on Sunday.
Last week (not sure which day, they all blur together), one of the
Sister's in our districts brother-in-law brought us Thai food from her
mom's restaurant during study time. It was sweet! Yellow
curry...delicious. Then we started hearing a ton of people walking
down our hall, wondering where that awesome smell was coming from. We
tried to keep it a secret, not too successful though haha.
On Satureday we had our first TRC lesson. It's where we teach members,
usually returned Thai missionaries, a lesson and our teachers watch us
on video monitors. It was really cool, and really helpful. It was also
nice to not have to worry if we were going too in depth on a certain
topic, because they already know everything.
Guess what? I'm District Leader now! And Elder Bartling got made a
zone leader. I'm really excited to show the Lord what I can do in a
leadership position, but I also know that I'll need his help to be
successful.
I didn't make the MTC choir for conference. Bummer. I just didn't have
enough experience in singing. Oh well though, I'm still way excited
for conference. It'll be cool watching it as a missionary, I'm sure
it'll be a different experience.
I'm slowly getting over my sickness. It's not too bad, it mostly just
bothers me at night. I just get congested and have a sore throat. I
bought some Mucinex, and the ibuprofen makes sleeping bearable. I'm
sleeping better now. The only things that keeps me up are Thai phrases
running through my head, or Elder Bartling talking in his sleep (a lot
of the time in Thai now).
So I found out that even though my mission covers three countries,
missionaries aren't allowed in Laos or Myanmar, so I'll definitely be
in Thailand. And Thai missionaries aren't allowed to extend, but we're
out 3 weeks longer than our departure date, just because of the way
transfers work.
A lot of you have been asking what my daily schedule is. It changes
from day to day, so I'll send a copy of it home, so you know what I'm
doing at any particular time :)
I'm getting my first haircut today. Ah! Pray that it comes back!
Mom - thanks you so much for the cookies and shorts! Those are exactly
what I needed. There's only one thing I need right now, a list of
everyone's birthdays (you know how I am). Oh and about the bank, I'm
pretty sure we put your name on my account, and I know I never took it
off. If you need any info or anything, let me know.
Brooke - thanks for the cupcakes! Great early easter treat, just what
I needed after a long day. It sounds like you and Derek and the boys
are doing great! Give Linc and Cart a big hug and kiss for me.
Dad - Thanks for the letter! It was so great to hear from you. And
keep those sports updates coming. I know Peyton went to Denver
(disgusting), and I know Kentucky, Louisville, and Kansas are in the
Final Four, I can't remember the last one.
Trevor - Happy Birthday buddy! You're getting so big! I love you!
Lauren and Lance - I hope you both had great birthdays! I heard your's
was a great surprise Laur ;)
All my other siblings and family - Hope you're all doing good! I love you all!
All my friends - Thanks for all of the letters and support! I love
hearing from you, and I hope to keep hearing from you. Red and Kyle
and VK, can't wait for you 3 to get here! It's so awesome, there's no
better place in the world right now. Preston and Landon, ya'll better
be getting on your papers! Prest, I heard you're getting in to golf
now, very nice.
Well I love you all! Hope to hear from you soon! Thanks so much for
all of the love and prayers and support, I'm praying for you as well.
Chokh dii!

Elder Sharp

March 20, 2012

Dear Family,

Sawad dii khrab! How are you?! I'm doing fantastic. Thank you so much
for all of the letters and dear elders and packages I've been getting.
I'm so lucky to have the family and friends that I do. Mom, the rice
krispies were fantastic, and so were the oreos Carli and Landon.
Delicious! So what's new? Everything's great here in the MTC. The
language is coming along great! I can have somewhat of a normal
conversation, and I'm beginning to learn to read and write in script
(Thai language). It's crazy hard, but cool. Apparently my district is
way farther ahead of the Phii Thais (older Thais) were at this point.
It's crazy that all 16 of the Phii Thais will be gone in a couple
weeks and then it'll just be the 7 in my district. So, we taught our
investigator a couple more times, and then he said he was going back
to Thailand for a funeral of his uncle. Turns out...Top wasn't an
investigator, he's one of our teachers! It was funny to realize we all
got punked (I kinda figured he was a member anyway, who would trust
new missionaries with real investigators haha). His name is Brother
Chiu, and he's great. We're learning a lot from him and Brother Olsen.
Now we're teaching both of them as investigators. Bro. Olsen as Phii
Dom, and Bro. Chiu as Phii Pragad. I'll let you know how things go.
Sunday night, E Bruce McIff of the MTC presidency spoke in the
fireside. It was a great talk about being healthy as a missionary, and
one point I really liked was "Choosing to be Happy." So that's what
I'm trying to  do. Even when things get tough, I'm choosing to be
happy instead of it getting me down.
Me and my companions and the other compainonship in my district have
been working out a lot lately, trying to get Buom (swollen in Thai).
We want to put on some muscle before we go. I'm feelin' good about it.
That, along with all I've been eating, I've gained 5 lbs! (The food
here isn't as great as it was in the beginning, but I'm still piling
it in). I'm almost to 160, never been that high in my life. Yeah
buddy!
Me and Elder Cox taught the District meeting lesson on Sunday. It was
on the Holy Ghost so we lead a discussion out of PMG. It was really
great, and the Spirit was way strong. We've grown really close as a
district, and we all love each other.
I'm so glad to hear that everyone's starting to feel better! Hopefully
it goes away for good! I'm starting to get a small sore throat, but
hopefully it goes away quick (pray for me!).
Last Tuesday, they passed out a survey in choir to see what kind of
experience people had in singing. You know what that means...GENERAL
CONFERENCE! I'll let you know if I get in, it would be so sweet!
Book of Mormon challenge is coming along great. Mom and Brooke, great
to hear you're doing it with me! If anyone else is, I'd love to know.
Can you believe this weather? It went from so nice to so cold! Why?!
At least it's hot in Thailand. We went to the temple this morning, and
we all about died walking up there. But I love the temple. I took my
Patriarchal blessing with me, and I got so many insights and
promptings while I was reading it in the Celestial Room. It was
amazing!
So what's going on in sports? I've heard the Duke and Mizzou both got
upset in the first round, and that BYU lost. Marquette, huh mom?
Interesting. That's sweet though! I've also heard Peyton is going to
the Broncos. Please tell me that's not true. I could not stomach being
a Denver fan. Yanks and Utes updatew would be great too.
Carli, how's work?! That's awesome that you're working at Macey's.
Tell everyone you see that I say hello!
Brooke, sounds like Sunday school will be awesome. That's so great!
I'm sure you and Derek will love every minute of it. And it sounds
like the boys are ready for summer, be sure and keep me updated on
Linc's golfing.
Lauren, sounds like mom and Brooke gave you a great surprise by
visting you. Oh and....HAPPY BIRTHDAY (tomorrow)!!!!!!!!! I hope you
have a fantastic day.
All my other sibs, hope evertyhikng's good with all of you and your
kiddos! Be sure and keep me updated on all there sports and dancing
and evertyhing else they do!
Lance, Happy Birthday today Bro!!!!! Big One-Seven. That's crazy! Hope
it's a good one!
Kyle, congrats on the farewell talk! I heard it was awesome. I can't
wait until you get in here! You'll love it!
Red and VK, can't wait until you're in here too! It's so awesome.
Prest and Lando, Keep getting ready, and let me know where you're going!
T-Rope, congrats on the call man! Calgary, Canada won't know what hit them.
To the rest of my friends, thanks for all of the support, love ya!
A couple things I need... some lotion, and then some spandex shorts or
boxer briefs for gym time. Thanks!
Oh, and Dear Elder is probably the best way to write me, unless you
send an e-mail tuesday morning. But either way is great, snail mail
(and packages ;) ) are great too!
Well I love you all, and I hope all of you are doing well, because I
am! Tell Grandma Sharp and Grandma and Grandpa Buchanan hello for me!

Love, Elder Sharp

March 13, 2012

Dear Family,

 

Hello! How are you all? I am doing so great. I love the MTC. So tired though, constantly. I definitely haven't gotten used to this sleep schedule yet, but I'm working on it. It's just hard to fall asleep that early (but yes, red has made it easier).

So you're all sick? I'm sorry! That's terrible. Luckily I've dodged it, I feel totally fine. I'm surprised I did since I was hugging so many people last week. Can you believe it's been a week?! It feels like I've been here for a month, but at the same time it feels like I was just walking up the path yesterday. So like I said, I saw Elder Jared Hansen about 20 seconds after I walked away, so that helped, and I see Elder Gerrard all the time because he's just at the end of my hall in my residence. It helps to see a familiar face. So I just got back from the temple, it was amazing. Such a great spirit there, especially being with my entire zone. We're all so close, I love all of these guys. My comps, Elder Bartling and Elder Cox are great. They're nothing like me, but we work and get along really well together. We've been teaching an investigator named Top (I don't remember if I told you that already). It's gone really well. We've taught him 3 times, and I really think he's starting to get the message. The language is coming along pretty fast, I can pray and bear my testimony and say quite a few more things. But don't worry, I'm staying humble, because I know I couldn't do it without the Lord's help. My teacher, Bro. Olsen is great! He's only about 24, but he can teach us so much so fast, it's amazing. The food here really isn't that bad, and there's SO MUCH of it. I've never eaten so much in my life. I'm definitely going to put on weight. I'm at 154 right now, I'll keep you updated on the progress. My district has made the goal to finish the Book of Mormon at least by the time we leave the MTC. That's about 10 pages a day, with time to spare. I encourage you all to do it with me if you want! I know it will bless the life of anyone who does it, I've already seen blessings come into my life from it. My first Sunday was great! Being able to take the sacrament, and then just focus on the Spirit instead of the language was very relaxing and stress-relieving. Thanks so much for the package! It was nice to have a taste of home in those cookies, and I was very happy to get my letter writing stuff and photo book back (whoops!). So how is everyone? How's grandma and grandpa? Carli you start work soon? That's awesome! Good luck! How's Sharp's Tarps? And I'll bet Lauren and Carli are glad the end of school is coming up soon. Are all of the kiddos doing good? I hope so! And I hope you all get better soon! Thanks for all of the prayers and support you've given, they've definitely shown through the time I've been here. Carli, could you send me all of the mission addresses of our friends who are out please? And to all of my friends, I love you all, and I would love to hear from you! And to my friends who are preparing to serve, keep going strong. There really is nothing better you could be doing right now than serving the Lord. I love you all! Keep me updated on everything that's going on, and I'll keep you updated as well. Chook dii!

 

Love, Elder Sharp

 

P.S. DearElder.com is great, so write me on that!

March 12, 2012

Dear Family, (and friends)

Sawad dii khab!  Sabaay dii may?  Khab.  Hello!  How are you all?  I am doing so fantastic.  It’s my second day here (they didn’t tell us we could write a letter home last night, so I figured I’d just better follow the rules, but they said we could tonight).  I love the MTC!  It’s a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun.  I’ll start off with day 1.  Of course I was nervous and sad to leave you all, but about 20 seconds after I walked away, Elder (Jared) Hansen comes and gives me a big hug.  That was truly a miracle, it made it much easier to go, and after that I was in a great mood and ready to learn.  I then got escorted to my room to drop my stuff off, then directly to my classroom where I met my teacher, Brother Olsen, and my companions, Elders Cox and Bartling (yes I am in a trio), along with the rest of my district, Elders Campbell and Haughton, and Sisters Church and Itri.  I love my companions.  They really aren’t much like me (not at all), but they’re great guys who will be great missionaries.  Elder Cox is from Cache Valley, and Elder Bartling is from California, but lived most if his life in Kaysville. 

In class, we were thrown into the fire.  Bro. Olsen will only speak Thai to us, which is probably the best way to learn, but it’s tough!  But it really is amazing how fast we’re learning.  We then saw demonstrations of teaching on 3 real non-members (they said they weren’t real, but who knows?) and got to ask questions.  It was sweet!  My zone is sweet too.  We’re know as the Nung Thais, which means young Thai learners, and the older guys are the Phii Thais (older Thais).  They’re all really helpful and awesome.  First night wasn’t bad, I just couldn’t fall asleep forever.  But I wasn’t to sad or anything like that at all, so that was good.  2^nd day, first full day was awesome!  But so tiring.  We got a lot of classroom and study time, which was really helpful  We already know how to pray in Thai!  We start teaching an “investigator” tomorrow.  I’m nervous, because even what I’ve learned is still really choppy, but with the Lord’s help, we can do anything. 

The food is great, the room is great, I got a bottom bunk thank goodness!  I got a package from you today, but I wasn’t able to get it, so I’ll get it tomorrow but thank you!  Thanks to everyone for the letters and such that you gave me before I left, and for the letters I’ve already received here, they’ve been such a great strength to me.  Thank you for all of the prayers!  I’m praying for all of you as well. 

Anyways, I love you all!  Keep praying for me!

Love,

Elder Sharp

P.S.  My P-Day is on Tuesday, so I’ll write all my friends then, and of course send an e-mail.

Last Night at Home

Hey friends and family!  This blog was created to share the next two years of Corbin's experiences on his mission in the MTC and in Thailand.  He will be entering the MTC tomorrow.  His MTC address will be:

Elder Corbin Sharp

MTC Mailbox #212

THAI-BAN 0524

2005 N. 900 E. 

Provo, UT 84604

We will keep you updated with pics and his weekly letters.  Here are some shots from tonight after he was set-apart.  We are going to miss him!