January 27, 1988
Life is great here at the MTC. It's hard to believe I've been here two weeks already. One more left.
About my comp, he's a big guy from Arizona. About all he ever talks about are the relationships he had with girls back home. He tried to get to know me, but every time I started talking, it seemed, he interrupted me with his own story. Sometimes this guy really drives me bananas. I'm doing all I can, I just don't know how to deal with him sometimes. There are times, however, when things are good.
Last Wednesday, my comp and I had a big argument. We went to meet the new Laei District for which my companion was acting DL, and he told these missionaries that Laei would be their first district in the mission field. Because I am joined at the hip with Elder Fox (figuratively speaking) I attended the same ADL orientation meeting he did and read the same material that was handed out. I have no idea where he got this idea from, and I contradicted him in front of the new district. Big mistake.
We then took the district over to our branch meeting room to meet with the second counselor of the branch. We left them there and returned to our class room. On the way Elder Fox [names have been changed to protect the innocent] said something about not being able to believe what I said. I don’t remember exactly how he said it. Initially I thought he was referring to a joke I had just made in the branch meeting room. He clarified that he was talking about my contradicting him on whether Laei would be the new missionaries district when they got to Hawaii. I then compounded my error by saying “Well, they’re not going to Laei as their first district. That’s just the name of the district here.”
“No, Laei will be their first district.”
“No it won’t,” I said. “Their mission president couldn’t have called the MTC and told them where their first district was going to be. He doesn’t know that yet. In any case, three of them are going to different missions than the rest. And for all we know, Laei isn’t big enough to be a district.”
We walked into class arguing. It wasn’t long before I started feeling guilty. I suddenly remembered my brother telling the prep class that we should never contradict our companions in front of others. I had just done exactly that, and now I was feeling low.
Fox and I went out into the hallway and he apologized. I was the one who should have. He said he was trying to impress the new district, and he said he was wrong. This just made things worse for me and I struggled for something to say. I forgave him and we went back into class. I missed the opportunity to apologize for what I had done.
Then there was this morning He starts getting up at 4:45 so we can go to the temple, but I didn't want to go. I'm concentrating so much on my mission that I guess I'm not into the spirit of temple work right now. Last week I went but I couldn't get into the spirit of the whole thing. Last night, when our district was talking about going to the temple to do sealings, my companion didn't ask whether I wanted to go or not. This morning he didn't say anything until he was ready to go, and I said that I'd rather not go. So we didn't go.
At 6:30 I was up and ready to go to breakfast, but my companion had gone back to sleep. I woke him up and mentioned breakfast and he said he wasn't hungry. I couldn't believe it, that he would do that just to get even. He then proceeded to sleep until 10:30.
Now, you don't have to tell me I was in the wrong this morning, I already know that, but I did not do it to spite him.
One minute things are great, but the next there is a little contention between us. It's getting hard to tell which end is up. I don't know what to do.
I get a long great with my other roommates and the rest of my district, they are a great bunch of guys.
Last night, after the weekly devotional we had our weekly culture class. We talked about labeling and did an exercise where we each got a label to put on our foreheads; we didn’t know what our label said. We were supposed to do to each other what the labels said. Everybody started arguing with me, and afterward I learned that my label said “ARGUE WITH ME.”
We then watched a film about a third grade class that did an experiment where one day blue eyed people were designated as superior and brown eyed people were designated as inferior. The following day they switched. But what made the biggest impression on me was when I related this all to my past. I was labeled inferior in first grade because I was skinny (I was called “The Six Million Dollar Weakling) and had to wear Sunday shoes because I had crows feet or something like that. It took me almost ten years to beat that. Even now I am haunted by my past on occasion.
The spirit is so strong here it is incredible, I'm learning a lot. The food is pretty good and I am eating well. Ever since my first Friday here I just haven't had time to get homesick.
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