MTC Chapter 5: Nothing a little spice can't fix

Sawadii Khaa, friends!

Another week down, which makes one month until we head to Thailand! I'm really excited, but I'm happy here, too. Life is good!

Our schedule at the MTC doesn't change from week to week, so we've settled into a pretty comfortable routine. Some would call it monotonous--but that's not how we do things here in the Thai district!

In case you were wondering, this is our weekly schedule! It stays the same every week. It's actually a pretty nice one, so I'm happy about that!

This week, we shook things up with a little rap battle. A missionary-themed rap battle, of course. And before anyone worries, we composed our entries while we got ready for bed, so none of the Lord's time was wasted on our watch!

It was Sisters versus Elders in our little match up. Tensions were high. People were hungry for glory. I'm proud to report, though, that, even under pressure, the Sisters delivered. Here are some lines from our rap: "For the souls of men, we're gonna be fishing // But not you boys till after our mission!" and "In case you thought we couldn't get more fly// Two years from now we'll spit these bars in Thai!" Here is our chorus: "Cing cing (pronounced: jing jing-- means truly or "for real!") // Just hear us sing, sing // Said bye to bling, bling // To serve our King, King// The THAILAND Sisters!"

Anyway, the judges (some of our friends from the Cambodian district) declared us the winners. They've got good taste. Yay Thai Sisters!

Elder Dollery's left-handed self-portrait... pretty good.

Ok, lest you think we're all play and no work, I'll tell you about our language study/class time now. Every day, we teach an "investigator" (one of our teachers, either Sister Cutler or Brother Omer) about the gospel. It's always a good experience, even though some lessons go more smoothly than others. We asked one of our investigators if he would be baptized in a lesson this week, and he said no...twice. In one lesson. We're building up our thick skin, but I still feel like I proposed to someone and got rejected. Currently nursing my wounded heart... Just kidding! Third time's the charm, right?

Our last TRC. The man on the far left is Brother Brown. He served two missions in Thailand and we LOVE him. He's the best!

Thankfully, our language is improving-- we can teach the basics (concepts like, "God loves you, We are His children, The Spirit can tell us all things, etc.) pretty handily at this point. When the discussion turns more complex we hang on for dear life but we always make it through, even if things are a little messy! The gift of tongues is a real thing!

I wanted to show off my script for you allllll

Flashcards! We just barely started learning the script alphabet this week.

So, something cool about a mission is that you get a companion by your side 24/7. Companions are a great source of support, and this is an awesome way to structure things. Sometimes, though, you and your companion aren't on the same page--and that's okay! One of my goals in the MTC has been to develop patience and understanding during these times. I don't want to resent my companion over differences in opinion or feel annoyed about things that don't matter. Every day, I pray for help with this.

Something that has really helped me in moments where I start to lose perspective is thinking about Christ. He never gives up on me. I sin every single day, and when I ask for forgiveness, He doesn't say, "Oh, you did that yesterday. Can't you stop already?" or "Sorry, that sin was just too big. I don't have any mercy for you." He always welcomes me back with open arms. He loves me perfectly-- despite all the things I do that must be really annoying. If I want to be like Christ, I need to show that same mercy and love to my companion. I want her to know that nothing she could do could alter my love for her. I want to be as patient with her as Christ is with me. I'm a work in progress, of course, but I'm trying! Just thought I'd share a little... If you have any thoughts/advice/etc. on this topic shoot me an email! :) (PS. Sister Baldwin is awesome--so this actually hasn't been a huge problem at all)

In other news, Sister Adams and I decided to spice up our lives by adding a new weekly tradition to our routine. Enter... Mormon Movie Night! Our iPads have Gospel Library on them and the Gospel Library has an awesome collection of Mormon Ads, Bible videos, and Church History documentaries. We watched the John Tanner movie this week, which, actually, stars Sister Adams's uncle! We had plenty of popcorn (thanks Aunt Theresa!) and it was a grand old time. Shoutout to wholesome media, and whoever decided that we need iPads!

Our room in all of its glory. Sister Baldwin sleeps on the bottom bunk & Sister Harris sleeps on the top one.

An excited khuuship! 4 weeks out!

I'll close with some statistics from the week: 2 Carolina Reapers were eaten by Elders in our district (they're these super  hot peppers. Elder Dollery and Elder Ratelle ate them one night and showed up to class the next day feeling sick (burned intestines...) exhausted (no sleep because the peppers were slowly wreaking havoc upon their systems in the night) and wise-d up (Elder Ratelle says he won't ever eat a Reaper again. Elder Dollery is pretty sure he won't). 10 new Thai/Vietnamese missionaries are joining our zone next Wednesday! 1 Book of Mormon verse was translated from Script to Romanized to English this week. 5 Thai teachers taught us this week (I love every single one of them. They're the best!) 2 ice cream nights came and went in the cafeteria (Wednesday and Sunday... best days ever) 89 (probably) rounds of four square were played this week. It was a great week.

Okay, I'm done this time, I promise. But here's a quote really quickly that I read this week that I loved, "Be meek and lowly, upright and pure; render good for evil... Be humble and patient in all circumstances of life; we then shall triumph more gloriously." (Joseph Smith)

I love you all so much! You inspire me. Thanks again for your letters, packages, emails, and love. I hope your weeks are awesome! Love you!

Sister Harris 

I forgot my nametag one time so I became Sister Adams for the day! It was great/confusing.

Guess who forgot her nametag part 2? Blessed to be Sister Adams for the day.

Bound for the TBM yay!

Look at the nice little message in our snow... Just MTC things!

Looking freaky fresh pre-workout so I had to capture it.

I'm so sorry for this mugshot but this is a quick documentation of a bet I lost. The last person in line at four square when gym time ended had to tattoo their forehead. Guess who lost? (Also--never fear. 100% temporary and 100% removable. Cheers!)

Sister Adams and I lose it at nights sometimes...long days!

Sawadii Khaaaaaaa