So, we have officially entered my last week at the MTC! It's so strange, but it's finally here! I'm leaving in a week! I had my last trip to the temple today, and it was gorgeous. It was a little bittersweet, because, although there is a temple in Stockholm, I have no idea how often I'll actually get to attend the temple, so this is going to be my last temple visit for a while.
This week has otherwise been great. Yesterday, we had a minor adventure early in the morning. We woke up and had a bat outside our door, just laying on the ground. At first we thought it was fake, but Syster Stewart decided to touch it with a fork, and it twitched. I thought I reacted pretty well to a bat in our Residence, but Syster Stewart disagrees. Apparently shrieking, running into our room, and refusing to come out until the bat was gone is not a positive response- although for anyone who's ever seen me react to any sort of rodent or animal I'm expected to touch, you will know this was a huge step forward from me. I successfully avoided the urge to climb on my bed and scream for about 1/2 an hour, which is pretty big for me.
So, things are a little different this week at the MTC. Usually, a new district arrives the
Wednesday after the last one leaves, however, since that means that the New Swedes would be leaving the week of Christmas, this means that they're arriving today and tomorrow. Our teachers have been telling us we're not allowed to confuse them by refusing to speak English to them, but I'm pretty sure we'll still be speaking whatever Swedish we can to them.
Oh, and the fantastic news: I'M FLYING OUT A DAY EARLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We got our flight plans last Friday, and we'll be flying our from SLC INT early Monday morning, and arriving in Sweden early the morning of the 12th. And even more fantastic news: I HAVE MY VISA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They tell us to be quietly dignified. Technically, nothing audible happened there, so I think we can choose to overlook it. The only downside to this is that it means I most likely will not be allowed to email next week, so it may be a while before the world will enjoy another of my lovely updates. There's a slim chance I'll get to email when I first arrive, but I wouldn't say to count on it.
Anyways, I think I'll tell you about my experience with native Swedes so far. For TRC every week, people come in and we teach them lessons on the gospel. So far, we've taught a fair number of native Swedes, including a family from Göteborg last week, who were amazing to teach. There was an amazingly strong spirit there, even though we'd only known them for about 20 minutes, and they were so excited to learn we'd be in Sweden in just a few weeks. We've also been having fun getting to know Syster Bussman. She's a sister from the northern part of Sweden going to Russia. We've had fun getting to practice our Swedish with her, and while she's shared swedish candy with us (it's VERY different from American candy), she nearly started crying when I told her she could have some of the knäckebröd I have in the residence. She's been absolutely adorable to get to know, and has only fed into my excitement to get over to Sweden.
I love the fact that I'm a missionary. It's a struggle; it's not easy, but it's so amazing. I know I'm where I need to be, and I'm excited that in a few days, that means I'll finally be in Sweden!
Med kärlek,
Syster Maxwell
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