#BESTFAMEVER

August 10, 2014

Grazie to those who that sent me letters.  You guys rule!  Everyone in my district was like freaking out that I got three letters in one day!  So thank you for putting forth the effort to write me and put them all in separate envelopes so that I looked SUPER cool and loved!  AND a big thanks goes to whomever sent me the smallest but cutest fan on the planet (I'm guessing it was mother).  But, at first we thought it was so small that it wouldn't work...like it is super little and doesn't make hardly any noise, but today we left it on ALL day (our room is SUPER hot) and when we came back tonight, it was actually cool!  So we are giving all the credit to the fan!  And to #mommaburt thanks a bunch!  Much LOVE!

So I failed to mention in my last letter that our P-day isn't until Wednesday, so I have to wait til then to email.  So ya, #sorryboutthat!

Anyways...I am doing really well today!  We had a super awesome and productive day!  The MTC definitely is challenging - that's definitely real, especially at first, but I feel so incredibly happy here!  Here they do this thing where you have to teach a lesson to an investigator the third day that you are here IN your mission language.  You can only imagine how hard that is after only three, technically 2 1/2 short days.  Our lesson today went really well.  We are teaching this girl named "Chiara".  Yesterday our lesson went fine, except for I froze up a lot and forgot what we practiced, luckily my comp rules and helped me out.  She took 3 years of Spanish so that is really helping her.  She is extremely kind and patient and encouraging with me though, I really do love her!  But our lesson today went so much better.  We practiced, studied and prepared a TON, and then we decided not to take our notes in and just go for it.  The Spirit was so incredibly strong in there, and it definitely wasn't because of what we were saying, because half the time we really didn't know what we were saying...but that didn't matter.  We had the Spirit with us because of our preparation, and it went really well.  We were super stoked afterwards and just WAY happy!  This is such an extremely happy work!  Bringing joy and hope into people's lives - how incredible!  I can't wait when it is for real with real investigators!

Sister Schoenhals and I at the temple.

Soooo, anyways...I didn't mention that we do live on the main MTC campus.  The other campus is for Spanish speaking missionaries.  Campus is beautiful, and we are starting to figure out our way around.  I love seeing friends from school and stuff!  There have been lots of people I know here, it rules.  The Spirit of the MTC is incredible and indescribable.  I just feel it so often.  It's fun because Elders and Sisters will walk around and ask if they can bear their testimony to you in their mission language, so you get to hear all sorts of neat languages!  We bore our testimonies to random people today and it was just really neat!  One of the coolest parts of being at the MTC is constantly being surrounded by good, wholesome, people that do nothing but lift you up and encourage you to do your best.  It's nice to walk around and know that rather than hear someone swearing or talking bad about someone, you'll hear them saying hello to you and asking you how you're doing.  It is just such an incredible atmosphere, no wonder the Spirit abides here in such great abundance!

Mi Italiano is definitely struggling!  Learning a language is hard stuff, peeps!  Especially when you only have a teacher for one out of your 2, three hour class blocks.  But we are trying to make the very most out of every second and I know that if I work my very hardest and put my trust in the Lord, great things will happen!  Also, obedience is KEY.  They pound that into your skull here, but it's so true.  I heard a quote today that made me think of it in a new light..."Obedience brings blessings, but EXACT obedience brings miracles."  I just loved that.  And we need to be being obedient for the right reasons or it's in vain.  We must be obedient to please God, not because someone told us to be!  And, yeah!  That is my 2 cents for the day!  I am very sorry, but I don't really have time to write you all back individual letters, but know that I love and appreciate you all.  Your love and support means the world to me, especially out here on the mission.  YOU ALL RULE.  OH, so on Tuesday I get to take a field trip down to Salt Lake to get my Visa, so that's exciting!

At the train station for our field trip to Salt Lake.

Our district on the train.

LOTS OF LOVE.
Sorella Burt