Another Week, Another Letter

Hello family! Well, I think I can safely say this has been the mostchallenging and the BEST week so far in the MTC. I'd been praying for thingsto get better with me and my comp, and lo and behold, nothing strengthens arelationship like having to team up on a common problem. In other words, wegot a new comp, who I'll refer to as Sister C, and helping her adjust to theMTC has been a bit of a challenge, but it's totally helped me and SisterGill appreciate our differences. Wahoo for perspective and growth! Another thing that helped is that I realized Sister Gill is sarcastic,and I am sarcasm-handicapped - I literally do not catch it. So the times ithought she was being a jerkface, she totally was just messing with me, andI simply didn't catch it. Anywho, last Wednesday brought a bunch of new elders and sisters. Wehave 3 new sisters going to various states in the US, and they aredelightful! So down to earth and emotionally stable and normal and fun. Theelders seem fine, and then we got a solo sister and solo elder going toDenmark, who are now in our district. So enter my new comp, Sister C. Thefirst day she was a little teary but seemed to be expecting it, so I figuredshe'd pull through like we all do. Thursday brought on a total meltdown. Herteacher walked her and her solo elder down to my residence hall to get me soI could walk her to the admin building to call our branch president. Thenshe and I went on a walk where she proceeded to weep about how she didn'tknow if she had a testimony, if her call came from God, if she really shouldbe here, etc. Basically she has all the mission anxieties I had, but onacid. Awesome. So we talked and cried a lot and managed to hold theemotional fort down until she was able to talk to our branch president thatnight. A sense of humor has been so crucial for all of this! For example,while Sis. C and I talked for about an hour outside Thursday, I was facingdue west the whole time. That night I realized my forehead - and only myforehead - was bright red with sunburn! Awesome! Let's just say I'm earninghot husband points, eh? ;) The next day Sister Gill pulled me out of comp study (we do comps tudywith the elder we teach with, not with each other) and we had a good talkabout how best to help Sister C. Basically she's not emotionally independentAT ALL. My tendency is to nurture and listen and hug until it's all better.Sister Gill's tendency is to tell her to suck it up and get on with life. Soshe pointed out we really need to combine forces on this one. And she was SOright. Since then I've gotten a lot better with problem ownership, which Ialready knew I needed to fix. So I listen to Sister C. when and how much Ican, but I've learned how to have boundaries and such. For example, duringgym when I felt like she and I were repeating things we'd already said thelast 20 minutes, I told her I needed to go run my next half mile, and it wascool. She's actually progressed a lot in one week, which is a huge testimonyof the power of prayer. That first Thursday she was utterly panicked and hadpainted herself into a tiny solipsistic corner - "I can't go home!!! But Idon't know if I can stay! I don't think I can do this but I can't leave!" -but since then I've heard her actually say things like, "You're mindsetreally does make a difference here. I just have to focus on the good." Thereare still dodgy times - like when she found out we don't get to call home onMother's Day from the MTC (but we do at the airport!) and almost broke downsobbing - but it's getting better. So family - THANK YOU SO MUCH for being emotionally stable. I'velearned it it so important to believe in yourself, and self-fulfillingprophecies are no joke. I've also been super blessed this past week.There've been so many promptings about what to say or how to help that Iknow didn't come from me. For instance, I felt like I should real ElderWorthlin's conference talk; in it there's a line that says, "Let us notforget that those who start slowest often go farthest." I distinctly feltlike I needed to remember that with her, and not be condescending orpatronizing - even in a loving way, even if she wants someone to wake herup every morning and micro-manage her life. In all actually she's doing somuch better now. I'm also glad I can keep Sister Gill from resorting tohomicide as a solution. So you know, we all do what we can. =) Everything else is still pretty awesome. I saw a friend from BYU atthe temple Wednesday, which was kinda weird but good. We weren't super closeso it didn't make me really trunky or anything, but it was fun to have himtell Briana hi for me. =) Also, a girl from my freshman ward came into theMTC this past week, so it was super fun catching up with her. I LOVE thepeople here. Even just today in laundry, I met an Elder who lived in theNEtherlands for 2 years, so I got ot practice my Dutch and learn all aboutthe culture from a normal person's POV (as opposed to missionaries). It wasso great! Also, thanks to Mom and Alisa for each sending me the Elder Hollandtalk! My elders think they should just give me the combo for the mail box.But seriously, I think I've gone maybe 2 days without mail since the firstweek. You guys are AMAZING! We had another English fast Friday and my brain was totally fried bythe end of the day, but it's all part of the learning experience. When I hadan MPC (interview) with my teacher, his message was, "Zuster Baxter, jy bengeweldig!" which means "You're wonderful!" Apparently my perfectionism is,well, apparent. But he told me I teach really well with Elder DeMass and thelanguage is going great, so that was cool. [incidentally, Elder DeMass gotcalled Elder Baxter the other day, so I'm feeling vindicated. I alsorequested that the other two elders stop asking if Elder DeMass and I aremarried when we're practicing tracting. Oh, missions and gender dynamics...=) ] I wonder if my teacher mistook some of my glumness over the SIster C.situation as self criticism. Nevertheless, it's always fun to have peopletell you you're doing great, so that's cool. Sunday was a beautiful day in Provo, and we took fun pictures at the temple.I promise I'll send pictures before I leave the MTC. =) Monday we taught areal Dutch woman in the TRC (in English, but with a Dutch language taskbeforehand) and I realized how impossible it will be the understand peoplethere when I get off the plane. I can usually catch what my teachers aresaying, but her Dutch was so smooth and fluid and fast. Oh well. I'm finallygetting it into my head that only by going through hard things can yourfaith really, really grow. There are so many crazy things going on here, but I love it SO much.I've had so many small confirmations that this is where I need to be, when Ineed to be here, and I am so thankful for a loving heavenly father who knowshow to speak to us. The Spirit here is incredible. Friday will be our onemonth mark, which is ridiculous - only 17 more! I just hope my Dutch comesalong quickly enough that I can actually be effective in the field soon. Family, you're incredible. I had a similar experience getting to knowroommates at college, but here I am especially thankful for how functionaland loving and happy our family is. We're real and we all have our moments,but I feel every good thing in my life has come from the example andteaching of my amazing parents and siblings, both older and younger. I wastalking to the wife of the counselor in our branch presidency about how muchmore I appreciate my parents and family now I'm here, and she laughedsomething about "Isn't it interesting how the older we get, the smarter ourparents become?" It is SO true. Mom, thank you SO much for teaching me abouteffective listening and how powerful wquestions are. With Sister C. I'veseen that one good question accomplishes so much more learning than 20minutes of my advice. I hope I can accomplish the same thing in the fieldwhen I'm teaching people about the gospel. Dad, thank you for teaching abouthow to just love people no matter what. Patience has been so critical inthis past week, but I'm thankful for a family that has taught me so muchabout love and tolerance and kindness. You all rock. Love, Zuster Christa Baxter