Um. Seven Weeks. Yep.

Buon giorno a tutti!

Wellllll well well guess who has been a missionary at the MTC for SEVEN WEEKS? Yep. Me. And also all of the other missionaries who got here on the same day as me. Zoiks, no? Yeah.

I have a hard time remembering what all happens during the week, but then again I sometimes don't remember what I ate for lunch, either. Alles gut. So last night was our weekly devotional and it was..........Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles!!! YEAH!!! His talk was. So. Awesome. I took two and a half pages of notes in my study journal during his talk and will have tons of things to think about based on some of the things he said. So so so great. We get together as a district after each devotional and each person gets to share a thought or two about what they felt/thought during the devotional, and last night it was so great to just have a contiunation of what we had all experience at the devotional and talk together as a district - as missionaries headed to Italy in two weeks.

TWO WEEKS. AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I. Am. So. Excited!!!! (can you tell?)

So a funny thing happened yesterday - we were all sitting in our classroom during our personal study time (I just finished Alma - go me!) and then all of a sudden the fire alarm went off! So the four of us sorelle left our classroom and headed outside to the parking lots. It was really cold out, but luckily I had a cardigan and a jacket. I took off my cardigan and gave it to Sor Sobeck, though because all she had was a short sleeved shirt and a scarf on. Once outside we heard ALL of the fire alarms in all the buildings going off, and we realized that it was an MTC-wide fire drill. So after we met up as a district outside, everyone had to march across the street to the playing field in front of the temple and meet up with our zone. Then we all had to stand around to make sure everyone was accounted for. This happened at about 9 am, and the sun hadn't broken over the mountains yet so it was SO COLD - especially since we weren't quite prepared to be out so long (although I did grab my scriptures). By the time we were allowed to go back to the MTC, the sun was officially over the mountains and things were starting to get warm. But also, our personal study time was over and we had to go to the next thing on our schedule. No fair! The best part of my day is when I have time to just sit and read my scriptures and it got cut short. But it's okay because devo was awesome and also this morning we spent 4 hours at the temple.

Oh. Yeah. We were at the temple for 4 hours today. It was awesome! Our new Albanian anziano hadn't been to the temple yet because the closest temple to Albania is in Germany (soon to be ROME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and so he went for the first time today. All the sorelle went to the same session as him and it was just so great to have that spiritual bonding experience with him.

So we finally met our new teacher last week - the one who is replacing Sor Swensen. His name is Fratello Merrill and he served in Milan! Apparently his Italian accent is a lot easier for my sorelle to understand than some of the other teachers who've served in the south. Sor Ivory always tells me that when we get home and I hear her speak Italian for real that I will just be disgusted with her southern accent - the northern accent is just clearer, especially Tuscany! Haha. It's weird to think that I'll be parted from my sorelle in two weeks. I've grown to love all of them so much. I can't wait to see how much they've grown after we all get back, and to hear them speak Italian with more confidence and clarity! Mom and dad, I told Sor Ivory that since her parents are coming to pick her up from her mission maybe we can all meet up in Rome at the end. We'll see!

Every Sunday we're supposed to write a 3-5 min talk on a topic that they give us - a talk prepared in Italian. Then, in church, they randomly pick 2 or 3 people to give their prepared talks in front of the branch. No one ever knows if they will speak until their name is announced. I've prepared talks every week and guess who was the lucky winner this week? Oh, that's right - ME! So I gave my little 5 min talk, in Italian, about baptism and why it's important and what makes our baptism different from other churches. My branch president said I did a really good job, so you can all take that for what it's worth.

Oh yeah, I got your package, mom! The cookies made it safely :) We've all been enjoying the treats you sent. Oh, and about the alarm clock you got - don't worry about sending it. They have alarm clocks for sale at the bookstore here, but I'll just wait and pick up an alarm clock that another sister in Italy has left behind. I really just want a digital watch with indiglo that can be on my wrist at night (I have no place to put an alarm clock that's easily accessible, really) and that is quieter so I don't have to wake everyone else up. I've used Sor Sobeck's watch a few times and it has been perfect.

Well, I don't really even know what else to write. Every day is pretty similar - I go to class, have gym, spend time learning new Italian words - even though each day I learn something different. I have takens lots of notes and had lots of thoughts as I've read my scriptures and listened to talks and participated in class and stuff, so that's we're all the reall things I've learned are. I've just recently realized that my study journal will likely end up as the most precious, tangible thing that I'll take home from my mission. It's so amazing to see how much help and insight Heavenly Father will give you if you just listen. Elder Scott talked about that last night - how it's SO important that when you have spiritual promptings and ideas pop into your mind that you write them down. It reminded me of a talk he gave in conference a few years ago about the very same thing.

Now my time is almost up. I love you all! Thank you, as always, for your love and support and prayers. They are truly making a difference in my life as a missionary. I honestly don't know how I've been able to do some of the things I've done here. You all are great!

Vi voglio tantissimo bene!

Love,Sorella Soh