Hi Everyone!

I was so excited to hear about Justin! We aren't able to see pictures sent through these emails, but I can kind of imagine what he looks like after two years in Ghana. Give him a hug for me! We'll have to plan a little meeting once he gets back to Provo...

Anyway, things are great! It's hard to tell one day from the next. The schedule is practically the same every day, but it's amazing to think about where we were two weeks ago and see how much we've progressed in the short time that we've been here. The Italian zone has class in 10M, so I see my friend Emma Wilson (teaches French here) all the time. And Rachel Mclaws came into the MTC this Wednesday, so that's one more Humanities major to add to the list! It's been so fun to see friends going through these same amazing experiences. The missionaries from the previous zone are leaving on Tuesday, and then it will just be our three districts here. I've got a long way to go, especially with the language, but I know it will come. I just can't wait to get to Italy! Not that I don't love the MTC though...mmmm...

We finished teaching our first "investigator", Michela, which means she became our second instructor. We were all a little worried at first because she had been pretty hard on us during our lessons. The Sicilian accent didn't help much either. But things have been so good! During her first class with us she taught the restoration, and presented it in a way that I had never seen before. The words from my favorite talk by Richard G. Scott sum up my thoughts pretty well. He says "In early life I found that I could learn gospel teachings intellectually and, through the power of reason and analysis, recognize that they were if significant value. But their enormous power to stretch me beyond the limits of my imagination and capacity did not become reality until patient, consistent practice allowed the Holy Spirit to distill and expand their meaning in my heart. I fount that while I was sincerely serving others, God forged my personal character. He engendered a growing capacity to recognize the direction of the Spirit..."

In preparing to serve a mission I thought a lot about what I could do to be the most effective teacher. I like things that are based on logic and reason, and at the beginning of my time here I taught lessons that were focused on trying to explain the truths in a way that would make sense to our investigators. I would present things as well as I could with my limited vocabulary and then try to answer questions. Our last lesson with Michela was our best yet, but language barrier aside, something was missing. This week we got two new investigators, Paula and Pietro. I prepared in the usual way and felt pretty good until our instructor told us we wouldn't be able to bring any notes into the lessons. I was terrified. We went into the first lesson with Paula, and it was a disaster. My companion would tell you otherwise, but I felt so bad afterwards. I was able to understand everything Paula said, but when she tossed our pamphlet aside and started asking us tough questions about our beliefs and other religions, I didn't know enough Italian to answer her. I studied so hard after that lesson, trying to memorize as many vocabulary words and phrases as I could. We had to teach her the next day, so right before our lesson we prayed to have the Spirit with us. I won't go into detail, but it was night and day different than our first visit with her. We ended up talking about things we hadn't prepared for, but somehow were able to answer her questions and get the message across. I still have so much to learn, but I know that I need to exercise more faith, stop relying on my own knowledge and let the Spirit be the teacher.

Things didn't go too well with Pietro either. He is a "referral" and his wife has been a member for four months, so we thought it would be pretty easy to teach him about the Plan of Salvation, eternal families and commit him to baptism. Fratello Hatch did a good job concealing his amusement as he watched Sorella Durfee and I exchange looks of embarrassment and perplexity as we search for words to say. Oh well. Va bene. Once we get a better grasp on the language things will be great!

The TRC was fun, we've been to the temple a few times with our district, but my favorite thing about the MTC so far has been listening to talks from general authorities. Michael might recognize some of these..."Becoming a Missionary" and "Character of Christ" by David A. Bednar and "Miracle of a Mission" by Jeffrey R. Holland have changed my entire perspective about missionary work and what I want to do with these next eighteen months and the rest of my life. I am so greatful for the guidance the gospel gives to our lives. I don't know what I would do without the knowledge that I have.

I love you all so much! Thank you for your letters, for the pictures, and the news about Italy! Have a great week!

Jenni