FIRST WEEK DOWN, 5 MORE TO GO!

It is crazy to think that a week has already passed by since I entered the MTC! I am so impressed by the organization here. From schedules to teaching missionaries a new language, everything is meticulously thought out. I am also very glad for God's hand in my life. Ever since I have been here, I have seen the little things that he does for me to either put me on a certain path, or to give me comfort. 

For example, when my family dropped me of in the parking garage of the MTC. I got out of the car to meet my host and was met with a familiar face. It was a girl from my French class in high school! Seeing her brought me so much comfort! As she walked me to my residence building, she explained that she had the feeling earlier that morning that she would be helping someone that she already knew and that that person was me. She expressed her gratitude how God is so involved in her life and in the lives of others.

 The MTC is so spiritual! I can't remember the last time when I felt the spirit so strong for such a long amount of time. We had a member of the Quorum of the seventy come and speak to us on Tuesday night. And last night, we had the opportunity to hear from Elder Bednar from the quorum of the twelve apostles! It is amazing seeing people who have devoted their lives to the gospel and who are so spiritually inclined. Something that Elder Bednar said really stuck with me. He said something along the lines of when we are listening to leaders of the church, or even General Authorities speak; that we shouldn't focus so much on what they say, but what the spirit says to us. For the duration of his talk, I did exactly that, and I learned so much from the spirit about how I can become a more effective missionary. One specific thing that I learned, is that my mission is not about me. It is about the people that Heavenly Father has prepared to hear the restored gospel. I learned that if I am afraid about how I am portrayed when I am teaching a lesson, then my focus is in the wrong place. I need to put all selfish thoughts aside and say what the spirit needs me to say in order to touch the heart of who I'm teaching. Only if I am focused on the right things, will the Lord then help me with the language and tell me what to say. My companion, Sister Rawson, and I have taught four lessons so far to an "investigator" in Norwegian. It is difficult to communicate what we are trying to say, but it is incredible how much the spirit is there and how much we have progressed in the language in a matter of days. I am often surprised by how quickly I can learn different essential parts of missionary work like memorizing scriptures, praying, and testifying in Norwegian. I know of a surety that the Lord is helping me and that I would not be able to do it on my own
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On a lighter note, here are some funny/cool things that have happened in this past week: 

• On my first day here, I went to open my apartment door with my key for the first time and it wouldn't fit! My host was convinced that we had the right key and she somehow forced it into the lock. The door opened, but the key wouldn't come back out! No matter how hard we pulled, it remained in the door handle. I had to get to class, so we left it. Haha! We didn't know what else to do! When I got to my classroom, I learned that Bailey Rawson (my San Fran Compan) was going to be my companion in the MTC! After she got to class, she handed me the key and she said "I believe this is yours?" I had completely forgotten about it!
• Sister Rawson and I have already gotten locked out of our room. Yeah, that's all I have to say about that...
• Pronouncing Norwegian is so hard! We either sound like we are Italian, Indian, or Count Dracula. Anything but Norsk! There was one night where our class, which consists of Sister Rawson and I and Eldste Ewell, was struggling so bad! Instead of asking the question "will you be baptised?", we asked "do you want to shoot up?" I also accidentally said a swear word in Norwegian because it is very similar to the word for church. I am so grateful that our teacher is easy going and fun, because whenever we make silly mistakes, we all just laugh.
• FUN FACT: There are only 3 Nords ( Norwegian missionaries) in the entire MTC. It is just Sister Rawson, Eldste Ewell, and I.
• The Christmas lights are now on at the MTC! It reminds me a lot of temple square or the Ritchie's house! They turned them on after Thanksgiving yesterday and they are beautiful!
• I GET TO PLAY VOLLEYBALL EVERYDAY! (Except Sunday of course) It is so much fun!  People keep on telling me that there was an Australian Elder that left a couple weeks ago that was really good, and that people are saying that I am his reincarnation. Haha!

Anyways, that is it for the week! I love and miss you all so much! I hope you have a great week!

                Love, Sister Starkie

First Day at the MTC with my San Fran, and now MTC, Compan!

We found fish shaped ring pops in the free food pile in our residence building!!!

A picture of the beautiful sunset and the spiders on our apartment room window that the other sisters left behind.

The sign that Sister Rawson and I see every day before we have to climb up the five flights of stairs to our classroom.Great excercise!