MTC week 3

Hey,

General Authorities come every P Day devotional. We all watched General Conference in the gym with the entire MTC there. It wasn't too bad except for the immense amount of heat. We do go to the Temple every P Day and then walk up to it every Sunday. I sent the letters to Nana and Opa, and the one to Grandma Johnson. I ordered pictures today and it takes about 2 days for those to come in so I'm going to send Tori's letter, Grandpa's letter, a letter to everyone, and the pictures when those all come in. So expect those later this week or early next week. By the way, DearElders from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday don't get to me until Monday, so it might take a while for me to get them.

The MTC here is going really great. Some days I forget nearly everything about Italian while other days it just come naturally and easily. The gift of tongues works really strangely. I am writing in my journal everyday and keeping another journal for super spiritual experiences so I don't mix the two of them. I guess that is sort of what Nephi did back in the day with his records as well. I'll send the info for my plaque with the letter and the pictures. Still trying to pick a scripture out since there are a lot here that mean so much. My companions might help me with that. They are both doing well. We don't always get along or want to do the same things but that's why we are learning all of this now instead of out in the field. But I do feel more like I just get along well with everyone in the district equally while everyone else has their companions, I don't particually think that a trio is for me.Each of the guys all have their own strengths and we all try to help each other out. Even after just 3 weeks, I feel like we have all been friends for a really long time.

I did hear about the temple being built in Fort Collins. Really wasn't expecting that either. I am hoping that it won't go up until after I get back so that I can be there for the dedication. Danny and Seth are also both super excited about it when I talked to them. The Sunday dress day thing sounded cool but I already wear my Sunday best here at the MTC nearly everyday, so I guess I participated.

 A lot of the missionaries here though are coming down with the flu as well, so it might just be that time of year. No one in our district has gone down but you never know.

The older district left this morning for Italy. Now we have a 3 week wait until the new Italians get in and we'll be the older district. It's always weird to see people leave on Tuesday then have a brand new batch come in on Wednesday. We're still trying to figure out how to be Hosts for the new guys but no luck yet. We don't really get the opportunity to see anyone else but Italians during our time here at the MTC. The hour of gym and the few hours of meals don't give us enough time to meet anyone new. This is probably why our district has grown so close is because we don't have anyone else.

Not much else has really gone here. We're expecting an apostle or Thomas S. Monson to show up tonight for the devotional since we know they were all here for General Conference. Other than that we just go to class and study. No time for anything else. We do have to teach our first full lesson in Italian tomorrow so that should be fun. It's the second lesson so tonight and tomorrow morning are going to be really hard trying to learn all the words due to us only knowing first lesson words in Italian. But a lot of what we learn can be transferred between different things. We don't learn basic vocab like places or foods or body parts or whatever you learn in a school, but more Gospel principles and Mormon words that are used in a lot of different settings. Just by learning the first lesson in Italian, I've made my prayers and my testimony that much more powerful. Memorizing things such as the baptisimal prayer, first vision, and the missionary purpose have also helped. I think this week we have a goal to learn Moroni's Promise in Italian. Reading the Book of Mormon helps a lot too. I've finished it twice since being here and am already in 3rd Nephi for a third time. After this read through I'll tackle it Italian twice then move on to either the Bible or D+C. Learning the doctrine and reading the scriptures help a lot when learning the language due to the promise we are given that if we learn the doctrine, our mouths will be opened. But I still feel really inadicuate at speaking the language. Going to Italy will really help.

Well, my time here is up and we need to run off to dinner. All of you are still in my prayers and I think of you all every night. I don't have any pictures of anyone or anything. Could you send some of family and friends out in a little book? An address would also really help in getting out more letters. Even though it's only been three weeks, it has only felt like 3 hours. Guess I'll be home in no time at all.

Love to all,

Theodore