My MTC Schedule

May 20, 2009

Hey Mom & Dad!‏

C'kemi! How are you? Okay so before I forget, I will tell you a little about the MTC. We're basically on a tight schedule, but it is definitely a fun experience. We wake up at 6:30 every morning so we can be in class by 7:00. Usually the first thing we do is personal study then breakfast at 8:15 then some sort of class until 1:00 lunch. We have a teacher some days and some days we'll do language study or companionship study. Thursdays we go to the RC (Referral Center) which is like the call center for the church commercials so it's like actual missionary work on the phones. It was kind of scary the first time, but it's really just talking to people so I learned that it is actually really fun. Thursdays we also go to the TRC (Teaching Resource Center) which is where people that served their missions in your country come and you teach them as if they were investigators. I'm nervous because tomorrow is the last time we will be teaching in English. The rest is just Albanian from here on out. Yup. Pretty intense. Fridays are the days we have the most class time. The only breaks from class from 7:00 A.M. to 9:30 P.M. are for meals. All the rest is class. And Saturdays are basically the same. Sundays are pretty cool. We have priesthood at 9ish and sacrament at 12:30 followed by district meeting (Sunday school) at 1:30. But other than that you basically just study on Sundays. At night on Sundays we have firesides and church movies and then Tuesday nights we have devotionals which are basically the same thing. They get really awesome speakers for those. I've already heard M. Russell Ballard and Russell M. Nelson. Pretty cool stuff. Mondays we have something, but I can't really remember what it is right now ha ha. Oh yeah it's service. We wake up and clean bathrooms at 6:35 a.m. Oh baby it's fun. Ha ha and then Tuesdays we have something else that I can't remember which brings us to Wednesday which is my P-Day when we go to the temple and write letters and do laundry and such. Yep! So there ya have it. My MTC schedule. Ha ha pretty exciting, huh?

I totally got your letter, but I totally forgot to bring it with me to the e-mailing place so I really can't remember anything. Everything is just a blur here at the MTC ha ha. So I'm glad you went to my friends farewells. They're amazing! I've definitely been thinking about them these past few days and especially today since T and Fjeldsted are both out there now. It's crazy sauce! And I can't wait for Braden to get here. I need to know his reporting time so I can go say hi. Oh! I also need the McCord's address! And Q-Tips! And Listerine! =) Ha ha sorry. Thank you so much for the package you sent me! I feel so much more normal carrying around some guitar picks. =) I don't know if you tried to send me my driver's license, but. . . . I didn't get it so if you tried I don't know what happened to it. But thanks so much for everything in the package, especially the CD. I love music. And we don't have much time to listen to it out here so I appreciate it a ton!

This week is our last week teaching in English at the TRC. From here on out it is Albanian! We can teach in Albanian already, but it's really really slow. It is a hard language! It's fun to learn though and it feels really good when you say something right. =) I love the hymns too. Some of them are so so so weird, but others sound really beautiful. Like C'do or me Duhesh Ti (I Need Thee Every Hour) or Kur Prap Tako'emi (God Be with You Till We Meet Again). My teachers are really great too. I feel really comfortable with them and they are very patient and understanding. They definitely strengthen my testimony. It's so fun to hear about the Albanian people and what the country is like. We saw some pictures of the country this week and there are some places that are SOOOO beautiful. I hope I get to serve there. =)

Okay so my roommate just reminded me we have to go with him to get his haircut so I have got to get off. Dad, I enjoyed your letter and your story actually fits in to one of the principles we have to teach in the first lesson so it was great!

I love you guys and I miss you! I think of you often.

-Erik