It's P-day

Well, It's finally P-day. I had to wait almost an entire week, but I don't mind. It just means that I have more to talk about, and I didn't have time to get home sick, and now I'm in the routine, so I think I'm going to be great!!

Things are going great here in the MTC. The pace is definitely fast and we are always busy, but it's been truly wonderful to have the chance to learn by the spirit. I feel like I've learned so much already and I've only been here a week. It's amazing to hear the foreign Elders and sisters learning their languages so fast. Our branch is half english, and half italian missionaries, and I feel like they have learned so much already. It makes me a little envious, but I know that I'm going to the right mission for me. I'm a little sad though to think that I really only have about two weeks left in the MTC time has flown!!! It hasn't been as hard as I expected it would be, though my body aches from sitting all day, and I usually have swollen feet by the end of the day. I thought that I wasn't supposed to have feet problems until I got into the mission field!!

Something interesting things for you all. My district is part of a pilot program going on right now at the MTC. We are the first group to be experiencing a whole new curriculum and way of teaching, and only a few districts in the MTC are a part of it. If everything goes well, then they are hoping to have the whole MTC on the new curriculum by a year from now. It's really exciting! We have bigger desks, a bigger classroom, comfy chairs, and nice technology in our room. We get a ton of teaching experience, and they are really focusing on teaching us to recognize and teach by the spirit. Teaching us how to connect with our investigators and never just use material without praying and following the spirit. It is amazing, and I'm excited to get out in the field to teach! because we are part of the pilot program, I'm pretty positive we have some of the best Elders in the entire MTC! I've watched some of the other Elders and ours just seem so mature! I am so grateful for that! Even the other Elders in our branch that are part of the pilot program don't seem as mature as the Elders in our district. I admire our Elders. Amazing that most of them are just 19!!

Oh, I have a question... Did the Parley P. Pratt building used to be residence halls? It's actually classrooms now, and it is where I have my classes, but not where I live, so I was a bit confused because I thought you and Meg said you both lived there. Just a question.

Also....you will never guess who I ran into on my first day here. Sister Gingrich (Katherine). I think she has been here a few weeks longer than I have, but I'm not really sure. I just talked to her briefly. She is going to Japan of course, and seems to be doing really well. Her classroom is actually just two doors down from mine, and so I see her quite a bit. We also have gym at the same time. I'm grateful for the gym hour, and my companion and I are up to running a mile and a half!!!

Aside from that there isn't really too much to say. The MTC is great! We have the opportunity to teach mock investigators and teach them for three or four lessons so we really get an idea of what it's like in the field. It's amazing that even with the mock investigators, we can feel the spirit testifying of truth, and feel the same happiness and the same frustrations that we will probably feel in the field. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! I've been really blessed too, I don't feel really tired or anything at all. I've been really blessed with energy and really the only thing that has gotten me down was feeling like we didn't connect with one of our mock investigators, or get him to connect with the spirit. Something I'm going to have to get used to. It will take some time for sure!! I did however have a really strange outburst of allergies last night during some of our class time. It was so strange, but I took some benedryl and I feel much better today.