Week 4 in the MTC

DaJiaHao!!!

Wow! Am I really done with week 4?! We have been here for almost 1 month, and have 1 month left to go!!

 

This past week has been a great week! Lots of great times!

 

1) Chinese: Well, it's finally gotten hard. I definitely am not moving through it as fast as I was when I first got here, so that just means I need to work harder, since I still have so much to learn! I bore my testimony in Sacrament meeting last week, in Chinese! It was great =] We have taught the first three lessons in Chinese now, though we break them up so we don't all have to learn all the vocab right away, so I don't know quite all the vocab, but as far as teaching a lesson goes, I can get through any lesson, minus using correct grammar =]

 

2) Our mu dao you men (investigators!): We are teaching two "investigators", Wei4 Di4 Xiong1 and Zhang1 Jie3 Mei4. Both are progressing really well! We invited both to be baptized last week, and while neither said yes, they didn't say no either. We will be asking Wei4 Di4 Xiong1 again tomorrow, and we have high hopes that he will say yes. He is really progressing well! Zhang1 Jie3 Mei4 came to church with her boys again last Sunday and she enjoyed it and her boys are beginning to make friends! She is definitely getting closer to being baptized as well. It is such a neat experience to be teaching investigators, even if they are just our teachers, but for me, I really take the experience seriously and don't look at them as my teachers, but as real investigators. I can't wait to get to Taiwan and to begin teaching investigators!

 

3) 8 hours of sleep is so not enough: We are to be in bed at 10:30 and wake up at 6:30. We don't do so bad at this, which is great. The week before conference we were up at 6 because of Choir, so it's nice to be sleeping in till 6:30 again, though this is by far not enough sleep! I wonder how I'll feel when I get to Taiwan and I'm biking all day and teaching lessons all day, and not just sitting in a classroom all day =] It will be crazy! Though, I know the Lord will bless me with the energy that I need =] For this is His work, not mine, and I know He won't let me fail.

 

4) Chinese Sisters on our residence floor: We have two Chinese and two Taiwanese sisters on our residence floor and we love to talk with them! One in particular comes over often and we just talk and talk. She is serving her mission English speaking, so often she will speak English and we will speak Chinese back to her. She is a convert of two years, and so she told us her conversion story, and it was so great to listen to it in Chinese and to be able to understand her!!! That was so awesome!

 

5) Easter: Easter was a fast Sunday for us. Normally on Fast Sunday, we have a Mission Conference Sacrament Meeting at 10 AM, but because of Easter, we had it at 9 AM and we had President Packer and his son Elder Packer come and speak to us, as well as Elder David Evans of the 70, though he didn't speak to us. The choir sang "Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer" and it was a really cool rendition of it. Pres. Packer talked about the Savior and about His resurrection. One of my favorite things he said was that we are given trials to make us stronger. I whole-heartedly believe that! We can all come out of our trials stronger than we went into them! The rest of Easter we had a lot of study time, since we didn't have lunch. Then we had a district meeting, which I've equivated to Sunday School, as we have a lesson, then we had just a branch sisters meeting with our Branch President and his wife (where they told us that we shouldn't flirt with the elders...good thing we don't =] ). Then we went on the temple walk!

 

6) Temple Walk: It was a stunningly gorgeous Easter Day! We were so excited for the temple walk! This was only our second one, and conference weekend, it was cold and rainy, so this was super exciting! There were so many families out at the temple! Made me miss everyone. BUT! We were about 15 minutes away from leaving, and I had just been hoping to see someone I knew, and lo and behold, I saw a family that I lived in China with, The Gouffs! Sis. Gouff and her kids had come to the temple to get some Easter pictures! I was so excited to see them! Their son is in 2nd grade and in a Chinese immersion program, so my companions and I talked in Chinese with him a bit, and that was so much fun! I was so grateful to be able to see them =]

 

7) TRC: The TRC is the Training Resource Center. Members of the community, both LDS members and non-LDS members can come and volunteer to be taught a message. We go in and teach them, in Chinese! We were a bit nervous, not knowing who the person was, or what their background was, but knowing we needed to share a message with them. It really makes you rely on the Spirit to teach, which I've learned is so important! We had a great first experience with the TRC and I can't wait to do it again next Saturday!

 

Well, I think thats about it! I can't think of much else!

 

Oh! To answer a friend's question: I am in the MTC for 9 weeks. Normally it's 12 (unless you are fluent, or pretty close, then it's 6) but I'm part of a new pilot program, and will only be here 9! I leave May 17th!

 

Thank you all so much for your love and support! I truly appreciate each and every letter and Dear Elder! You all are so wonderful, and I am so blessed to have such amazing and wonderful family and friends!

 

I love you all!!!

 

-Sister Busath

 

MTC Box #107

TAIW-TCG 0517

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT, 84604

 

OR

 

you can Dear Elder me!

www.dearelder.com

Week 3 in the MTC!

Da Jia Hao!! (Hello everyone!)

Wow! I can't believe I'm already done with week 3 of the MTC!! Its so crazy! This week went by super fast and I hope the weeks keep going fast because I can't wait to get to Taiwan! But once I'm there, they can feel free to slow down =]

I have tons to talk about today so hopefully I'll be able to get through all or most all of it!

We'll start with conference! I hope you all watched it! If you didn't I highly suggest you go back and watch it because it was all amazing! Especially Saturday Afternoon, because, you know, some really awesome missionaries, me in particular, sang =] For those of you who missed it or couldn't find me, go to LDS.org and click on the Conference section, then click to watch all of Saturday afternoon. We sing at 1 minute, 30 minutes and the very end. As for where I am, when you are looking at the whole choir, I am in the middle section, on the left aisle, 6th row up, second in from the aisle. I'm inbetween a sister with a bright pink cardigan on and a sister in a bright yellow shirt, and in front of a sister in a white blouse. The sister to the right of me was my freshman roommate, Sister Doying, and the sister right behind me in the white blouse is one of my companions, Sister Walbrecht. I am most seen in the first number (Glory to God on High). I'm in the first three shots of the sisters singing, so look for me!!!

My mom had some questions about conference that I forgot to bring, but here is a little about the behind the scenes of us singing. We had 8 rehersals, not including the day of. They were all at 7 AM every morning the week before conference. To be in it, you filled out a paper with your experience and it was pure luck if you got in. They didn't have time for auditions. If you missed rehersal, you lost your spot, so it was super important to be at rehersals. The morning of we met at 9 AM for a dress and grooming check and then left at 9:45. We were all bused up (7 or 8 busses) and went directly to the little theater to rehearse and have a snack. After that we were lined up to go to the choir loft! I've been to the conference center many times, and so I know how huge it is, but it is a wild experience being behind the prophet and looking out at everyone instead of being in front of him watching the choir =] We didn't get to meet the prophet (which was sad) and he didn't even speak in our session, which was also sad, but it was still a marvelous and once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget!!!

So that was conference. Another exciting thing this week that many of you may or may not have heard about was that David Archuleta came into the MTC! I knew he was coming in last Wednesday so I was looking for him. I didn't see him till the next morning in Choir. I figured he'd be singing with us, and I walked right past him. The following morning I saw him and his companion, said good morning and he said good morning back. I've seen him several times a day since. Mostly at meals. I've been told he is going to Chile, but I know for sure he's going to some spanish speaking mission. I do feel bad for him though because a lot of people have been very intrusive. We just have to remember that he is here for the same reason we all are: to serve the Lord. I admire him for his choice to serve the Lord! If you watch the end of the last song we sang in conference, Praise to the Man, he is zoomed in on at the last shot, so you can see that he really is a missionary =]

This last week my companion and I and our elders that are going to our mission got a letter from our Mission President, President Bishop (we all got individual letters =] ) It was a letter asking for the character for our last name. Mine in peng (second tone). This computer doesn't have chinese on it, so I'll have to write it out next week. We were all so excited! We even took a picture together with all our letters =]

Conference in the MTC was great! We watched the Sunday sessions, and inbetween we got to go on a temple walk! My companions and I hadn't been yet since we had been going to choir, so this was our first time. We went with our zhang lao men (elders) and it was so fun! We finally got to get some good district pictures, so I'll have to print them and mail them home. (I really wish we could attach pictures...can't wait till the field, then I can!). I also can't wait to do another temple walk =] I love it!

So today the older generation of Chinese speaking missionaries left =[ It is like 30 missionaries! Over half our branch!!! We don't know when we are getting new missionaries, but we don't expect it for another 3 weeks or so =[ So we are now technically the "older" generation, even though we've only been here 3 weeks! So crazy! Two of the elders in my district are the new zone leaders, and I'm the new coordinating sister. Our district is just so awesome and I love them all!

Chinese is going really well! I forgot to tell last week that we finished teaching Cai4 Pei4 Fen1. We had a big surprise with that one, but since I know there are some future missionaries reading this, I won't spoil the surprise, since all new missionaries have this same experience. I'll just say that after teaching Cai4 Pei4 Fen1, we got a new teacher =] We have two new investigators, played by our teachers. Wei4 Di4 Xiong1 is a 24 year old college student who thinks its interesting that we speak Chinese, and Zhang1 Jie3 Mei4 is a 36 year old married mother of two boys. We have had 3 lessons with Wei4 Di4 Xiong1 and 4 lessons with Zhang1 Jie3 Mei4. Both have "come" to church and are reading the Book of Mormon and praying. Zhang Jie Mei is really progressing and we plan to invite her to be baptized tomorrow! I'll let you know how that goes!

Well, I know that was a super long letter, but this past week was just super amazing!

I want to sincerely thank ALL of you for your letters and Dear Elders! I am absolutely amazed at the love and support I have from my amazing family and friends. I sometimes feel a little guilty when the District leader is passing out mail, because I always have the most (which I NEVER expected to be the case) but I am truly, truly grateful for every single piece of mail! I am blessed to have such wonderful friends and family! So thank you all!!!!!

Don't forget to keep Dear Eldering/Writing me! Because I do appreciate it, even if I'm not able to individually thank each and every one of you =]

With that, I just want to share with you my favorite conference talk, which was by Elder Scott in the Saturday Afternoon Session about the Holy Ghost. We weren't able to take paper with us on the stand, so I don't have any notes about it, but it is the one talk that I felt was so amazing! The Holy Ghost is such an amazing gift, and I am so grateful to have it! The MTC is just filled with the Spirit, and I'm so grateful to be surrounded by it all the time! It is also amazing the power that the Holy Ghost has in teaching investigators and truly converting them to the gospel. I know that without the Holy Ghost, I wouldn't be able to teach people the way I am able to!

I hope you all are having a wonderful week! I love each and every single one of you and I think of you all often!

Thank you for your love, support and prayers!!

Lots of love,

Sister Busath

MTC Mailbox #107

TAIW-TCG 0517

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84604

Here are all of the books she has to use and carry around.

And here is Andrea with our good friend Drew Austin.

Here is Andrea with the people in her district.

Andrea with her companion and roommates.

Week 2 in the MTC

Hello everyone!!!

Well I made it through week two in the MTC and it was definitely better than week one! Not that week one wasn't great or anything, but week two definitely went faster, and I think we've finally found a rhythm here at the MTC which is super awesome!

 

So first, I will be singing in the Saturday Afternoon session of General Conference! I don't know where I'll be standing yet, but I'll be wearing a pink/lavender colored short sleeve shirt with ruffles on the front, so look for me!!

 

Second, thank you, thank you, thank you for all of you who have written or Dear Elder'd me!! You don't know how much that means to me!! I absolutely loved getting all the mail last week =]]]

 

My sister wanted to know my daily schedule so here is roughly how most days of the week go.

6:30 - Wak up

7:20 - Breakfast

7:50 - Class

10:50 - Personal Study

11:50 - Lunch

12:35 - Class

3:35 - Language study

4:50 - Dinner

5:35 - TALL (computer language learning)

 

That is generally how mornings go. Sometimes we have workshops and gym in the morning, so we have class at 12:35 and 5:35. Sometimes we have class at 7:50 and then gym and other things in teh afternoon, then class again at 5:35. Sometimes its as written, with devotionals in the evening. It just kind of depends, but we always have meals at those times, and we always have class twice a day (3 hours each).

 

Some more fun things from this week!! We have a time each day, or every few days, where we study whats called the FUndamentals of being a missionary. I love this time because we get to discuss the scriptures with our companions and district. The older generation of Chinese speaking missionaries leave next Tuesday (so sad, I'm going to miss them!!!) which means we will be the "old" generation. So I was called as the new relief society coordinating sister. This means I get to do orientation for the new sisters in our branch when they come, and I approve splits for the sisters and get to go to a meeting on Sunday morning to let the Branch President know how the sisters are doing =] So fun! I also just want to say how much I love singing in the MTC! We've had choir practice every morning at 7 AM, which means we've been having sack breakfasts because we have to go straight to class afterwards, but I've loved getting up in the morning to go sing! It is so much fun and I can't wait till Saturday!!! I also love how our district sings like 15 times a day (we have a super musically talented district, I love it!).

 

So, Chinese. Since that is the language I'm speaking =] My district has all had Chinese experience, which has been awesome because we've been able to really hit the ground running. I have given 7 discussions in Chinese (though thanks to the help of my companions, they went much better =] ). I can pray, bear my testimony, invite people to make commitments, explain a lot about the restoration and the Atonement and about how God loves us (basically all of Lesson 1...we haven't taught past that, so I haven't learned vocab past that), all in Chinese. The gift of tongues is so amazing and I'm so grateful to have it! It seriously is so amazing how much Chinese I've learned in the past two weeks, though I know I could have learned more. We recently learned about making language learning plans, so I made mine and now I need to follow it. Our district is ok at SYL'ing it (speaking your language). They want us to always be speaking our language. We are doing better at it, but I know that we can do so much better, so I"ve really been trying to only SYL. Chinese is amazing and I'm so grateful to be learning it!!!

 

I also had to get a shot this past week. That was fun =]

 

This morning, we had choir, so we weren't able to go to the temple at our normal 6:20 am, so we went at 9 and just did sealings. I had never done them before and that was such an amazing experience! My mom has this block that says: "Missionary, noun, someone who leaves their family for a short period of time so others can be with theirs for eternity". I was thinking about that while doing sealings because that is really what I do as a missionary; I share the gospel with others so they can come unto Christ, and through Christ, be with their families forever. It was just a super great experience, and we can't wait to do sealings again! It was also neat because a majority of the names we were doing were family names of a man who was there, so that made it even more special! I just love the temple =]

 

Well, I think thats probably about it for this week! I can't really think of much else!

I did want to share a scripture that I found while studying about peace this week. Actually, if I had all the time in the world, there are so many things I'd want to share, but since I don't, I'll stick to one =]

It is 2 Nephi 4:27 and it talks about why would we want to give into Satan and allow him to tempt us, because if he does, then he takes away from us the peace that we can have in our lives. I was thinking about that, and it really made me want to be a better missionary, who does all I can to follow the rules, and do nothing to allow Satan to take me away from my purpose, which is to invite others to come unto Christ. The time I'm using is the Lord's time, not mine, and I don't want to waste a minute of it, because when I do, then I know I'm not able to have the Spirit with me, therefore, allowing Satan to take away my peace, and I like my peace, thank you very much =]

 

Anyway, I'd like to invite you all to read 2 Nephi 4:27 and think about what it says, and strive to do all you can to keep Satan from taking away the peace in your life.

I'd also like to invite you all to watch all 4 (or 5 for the men) sessions of General Conference on Saturday and Sunday. Or at least Saturday Afternoon =] I know that we will be hearing from a prophet of God, his counselors and his apostles. I know they are men of God and I am so excited to hear what they have to say to us, and what counsel they have for us, so that we can come closer to Christ and better learn how to follow his example!

 

Thank you all again for all your love, support, prayers and letters! I feel it and I am so grateful to be blessed with such wonderful friends and family members!

 

Don't forget to Dear Elder (www.dearelder.com) me or write me!!! For Dear Elder, just click on write a missionary in the Provo MTC.

 

My addresses is:

Sister Andrea Joy Busath

MTC Mailbox #107

TAIW-TCG 0517

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84604

 

Love you all!

 

-Sister Busath

First Week in the MTC!

你好我的家庭和朋友们!!

 

Hello my family and friends!!!

 

I can't believe I have been in the MTC for one whole week already! First things first! I found out today I will be singing in the MTC Choir that will be singing in one session of General Conference!!! I don't know yet which session, but hopefully I'll know for next preparation day (which is Tuesday, FYI!)!! I can so excited! My companions are singing with me as well, and so are two elders from our district.

 

So my companions are Sister Walbrecht and Sister Tiu (yes I have two!) Sis. W is from Virginina and we actually had found each other on facebook before the mission, so we knew each other, and we are going to the same mission. Sister Tiu is from San Jose, CA and she is going to Vancouver, Canada. I love them both and we are having a great time together! My district consists of me and my companions, and four elders: Elder Terry (our current District Leader, from Utah, going to my mission), Elder Burdick (from Draper, going to New Zealand Aukland Mission, Chinese), Elder Plate (from Washington state, going to my mission) and Elder Buckwalter (from Orem, going to my mission; his dad works in the MTC health center and the BYU healthcenter, so he is known around here =] ) I love my district! Our elders are so amazing and we learn a lot from them. All of us in my district have experience with Chinese, so we are able to move pretty fast. Our teacher is Bro. Nightingale, who I actually know from Hong Kong, so that was a fun surprise to see that he is our teacher! He is fantastic, and I am loving our class times! I've also seen some friends so far: Elder Austin (longtime friend), Elder Kent (from my AF ward), Sister Doying (freshman roommate) and Sis. Romanello (she's going to my mission =] )

 

The first day we got to the MTC we started speaking Chinese right away! We had two hours of class time, and then some more orientation stuff. The first day was great, but it was long! The second day we really dove into Chinese, learning how to introduce ourselves and the gospel. That was fun! We also had some more orientation type meetings. Friday, we met our first investigator, Cai4 Pei4 Fen1 (the numbers are tones). She is 24, from Taiwan, and a college graduate. So if you are paying attention, this is our second full day in the MTC, and we are teaching an investigator, IN CHINESE!! It actually went really well, we got our point across, were able to mostly understand her, and we spent a good 25 minutes with her as well! Since them, we have met with her two other times, and will meet with her again tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday. She is "going back to Taiwan" on Friday, so I guess we only have two more lessons with her. Saturday we had service in the morning (cleaning our floor and the floor below us) and then gym, so we didn't have to wear missionary clothes till noon that day! That was super nice. We also got to class at 12:35 on Saturday to a note that said, don't forget your investigator is going to be here again at 12:35...uh...we didn't know she was coming! So one set of elders went right away to teach on the fly, while the rest of us prepared (we all have the same investigator, and she listens to us all right in a row). That was fun =] Sunday was great! It kind of felt long, since it felt like church went on all day (sacrament and relief society are not right next to each other; we don't have Sunday School). There is a lot of personal study time. We had a fireside that night with a member of our mission presidency and then got to choose a film to watch. We chose to go watch Elder Bednar's devotional from Christmas Day 2011. WOW! That was an amazing devotional! The main thing I want to share with you guys from that is that we need to become more like Christ, and turn outward like he did (meaning, become more selfless!).

 

Monday began our first full week. We had class in the morning, and met with our investigator in the afternoon. We were well refreshed and ready for the week! We (our whole district) had to go to the BYU health center for chest x-rays for our visas, so that was super nice to get to leave the MTC (and we just walked there which was awesome too). Today is preparation day! We were up at 5:40 so we could go to the temple, then had breakfast at the temple, and came back to get ready for another medical appt at 10 AM. This time we had to have blood drawn. That was fun. After, we went back to our su she (apt) for personal study, then lunch, laundry and now we are here writting emails!!!

 

Well, thats the basic jist of what I've been up to! The spirit here in the MTC is amazing and I'm really loving being here. People say the food is horrible, but it really isn't too bad at all. OH! So something exciting. My mission is really big on running, so my goal is to be able to run for 30 minutes while I"m here in the MTC so I'm ready for my mission. So our first gym time, my companion, Sis. W and I made a goal to do some running. So 10 laps around the track is a mile. We ran 2 laps, and then walked a lap. We made a goal to run 4, then walk one, but we ran 7! So I ran 9/10ths of a mile. And then, we walked a lap and ran for 5 more, so then I did 1/2 a mile without walking! This is huge for me. I don't run...at al. Then yesterday I ran for a mile without walking! It may not have been fast, but I did it!!!

 

Quick spiritual message: I read this week in 2 Nephi 25-27 and love what it says! It talks about how we "talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies". This is what I'm doing as a misisonary and I love it!!!

 

Well, I don't want to run out of time! I wanted to send some pictures, but the MTC computer won't let me put my pictures on the computer, so I'll get some printed and send them home so you guys can see my companions and district.

 

Thank you all for the love, support and letters! I forgot to mention about dearelder.com

 

Go to dearelder.com and click on the button that says to send a letter to a missionary at the MTC. It is like writing an email, but they will print it out and give it to me. It doesn't cost anything while I'm at the MTC. So please, write me!!!

 

My full address is:

Sister Andrea Busath

MTC Mailbox #107

TAIW-TCG 0517

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84604

 

Love you all!!!

 

-Sis. Busath

 

Lets Get Started...

Shes gone! An anxious Sister Busath is finally in the MTC. Here are some pictures of our day...

 

We started with a fantastic lunch at Firehouse Subs. We had heard that their sandwiches compared to Togo's, our favorite sandwich shop in California. Andrea picked this as her 'final meal'. 

Not too shabby! We decided that it was better than Subway, but not quite as good as Togo's.

Here is our family, standing in front of the Provo Temple, minutes before she enters. This is right across the street from the entrance to the Missionary Training Center.

They no longer have the main entrance sign for the MTC, so taking a picture of the street sign was as good as we were gonna get.

We only got a few seconds to give our hugs and say goodbye. As soon as we got out of the car, they started grabbing Andrea's bags, and asking her questions about whether she had all the things that she needed, giving her suggestions of things often forgotten. This is her second to final hug with her mother, who couldn't resist to sneak in another hug as she was about to walk away.

She gave her last hugs to her other family members, and a heart felt handshake was given to Andreas (Our foreign exchange student.) We said our quick goodbyes, and got in the car and drove away.

But of course we caught up with her in the car, and took another few pictures. Don't those Elders look happy? And Andrea too? She was VERY excited!

There she goes... We love you Andrea, or should I say Sister Busath!

Addresses for my mission

Hi everyone! So this will be my last post before I leave, and then all the other posts will be my letters!

I wanted to give you all my addresses, in case you feel so inclined to write me =]

MTC: March 14, 2012 through May 17, 2012
Sister Andrea Joy Busath
MTC Mailbox #107
TAIW-TCG 0517
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604
USA


Taiwan: May 18, 2012 through August 27, 2013
Sister Andrea Joy Busath
Taiwan Taichung Mission
#498-11 Wu Chuan Road
Taichung 404-46
Taiwan

Packages can also be sent to both addresses =]

I will write you back if you write me! It may not be right away, and once I'm in Taiwan, I don't know how often they will forward my mail (as the address is of the mission home), but as soon as I get your letters, I will write you back!

Love you all!

T-1 week!

Well, I've finally made it to the last week before my mission. Its kind of crazy to think about! Last Wednesday while nannying, I threw it out there that I would be happy to go to Disneyland with them the next day (Thursday) to help with the kids if they wanted. Turns out they did want me too, they just didn't want to ask, seeing as it was only 2 weeks before I leave for my mission and they didn't want to take me away from my family. So, at 8 PM on Wednesday, I started packing for Disneyland! We left about 7:30 AM on Thursday and drove all day. We didn't tell the kids we were going, just that we were going on a road trip. We spent Friday in Disneyland, Saturday at the beach in the morning (because there was a bomb scare at Disneyland, so they closed both parks) and then the afternoon and evening at California Adventures, and then Sunday at Disneyland again, with driving home on Monday. It was such a wonderful trip, and I'm so grateful for the time I got to spend with them before I leave.

As far as mission prep is going, I have mostly everything. I just need to buy a few more random things, such as socks, a blanket, some other things that I should think up and write down so I stop forgetting them =] I will be meeting with my stake president on Sunday for the 1st and last time (its my home ward stake president, so he wasn't the one I did my mission papers with). I don't know what else. I'm excited and nervous, and I keep forgetting its coming so fast. I am ready to go and serve the Lord and take the gospel to the Taiwanese people. I'm ready to get back into learning Chinese (I really do love learning it, but only when I get to use it, which I will!) I'm excited to see a few of my friends who are in the MTC, and excited to meet new people who I will be serving with! Its an exciting time, and I'm ready for it to be here!