Ten Years Ago

A little more than ten years ago (which explains why the top picture looks so cwappy), I entered the MTC on my way to my mission in Bolivia . Overall the MTC was a good experience, once I let go of my need to always play the devil's advocate. I did gain some weight while there, but I like to joke that the parasites took care of that for me. By the end of my mission I was back to normal. And even though I did have two parasites while in Bolivia (E. coli and Giardia) I think the fact that we walked almost everywhere had more to do with the way I looked when I got home.

This past week, I got to go back to the MTC when my little sister went in on Wednesday on her way to her mission in the Netherlands. I think it's a good sign that I had positive feelings when I walked inside the gates rather than an overwhelming claustrophobia. I will admit that I cried through most of the orientation, probably because I'll miss Christa and probably because I know that she's headed on a journey that will make her the happiest she's ever been and the saddest--sometimes all at the same time. I'm looking forward to hearing about her adventures over the next few years.