Sister Dakota Bartsch

She got a name Tag! It's official!

Well guess what, I've made it through 5 1/2 days of being a missionary. And I have survived. Did I doze off a little this morning? Yes. But I am making it through and doing my best. Literally the only expectation of myself has been to do my best. I've only gotten suuuuuuper discouraged one time so far, and that was when I wasn't really trying my best.

Anyways, my companion is Sister Scott.

Squishing Sister Scott's face.

They are going to MISSISSIPPI!

Riiiiiight.... here.

I love her to bits and pieces, but the concept of a companion is still tough for me. I have always valued my alone time (usually on my front porch of my house in Logan, some of you remember) and having a shadow is a challenge! Instead of trying to be alone, I have started to value moments of silence. One of our Branch Presidency's wife shared her testimony of the importance of silence, and it has really helped :) Sister Scott is an angel, though. Her and I think pretty much the same and teach together really well. So far we have taught two investigators and one member. The first investigator was a total bust. This was when I got discouraged.. but we took the failure constructively, hugged it out, and learned from it! Next we taught a member and the discussion was beautiful. We wanted to go over the promised blessings from keeping the commandments, but the lesson totally transitioned to Charity (the pure love of Christ) and we felt that what we talked about was something she really needed to hear! The Spirit took over and we improved her life. There's no better feeling, my friends :) We taught another investigator and things went MUCH better. Both of these investigators are actually our teachers, and they make teaching really intimidating. BUT we have improved, and I am so excited to keep improving.

Sister Bartsch and Sister Scott

The Spirit here on the MTC is beyond words. My growth has been ridiculous. My tears and fears were gone the second they put my name tag on (sorry, fam). I have never been outspoken about what I know to be true concerning the Church, but I am so grateful for such a comfortable place to practice speaking about it. I'm excited to tell you that it is easier than I thought! I think that since being set apart as a missionary I am much more able to articulate the feelings of the Spirit. It's so cool, I wish you could see! We got to watch a broadcast of Elder Perry's funeral on Friday and had a devotional with the Tanners. Susan Tanner used to be Young Women's general president. Lots of cool stuff!

The MTC is kind of like a maze. The first couple days I got lost probably 16 times. All of the walkways are covered, and seeing the sun is super rare-but glorious. Also, shower shoes are bizarre. I've never done that before..

It's definitely not all easy. I crash HARD every night. I've cried twice and teared up probably a billion times. I get frustrated and exhausted BUT it has all been so worth it. I happy dance all the time, run off all the stress in the morning, and hug my companion extra tight when she is driving me nuts. Loving my hilarious district and having fantastic teachers really helps :)

Anyways, friends. Time is limited and I must go. But if you are on this list, know that Sister Bartsch is praying for you and loves you very much :)

Sister Bartsch

PS I can read my emails anytime, but only respond on my day off. If you ever want to send a little note of encouragement- I would probably need it

Also, first person to send me icy hot gets extra prayers