Last P-Day in the M.T.C.

Ciao tutti! Hope everyone is doing well! I am doing fantastic! And better everyday. I leave this coming Tuesday for Rome, Italy, and this time next week I will be in my new area! The feeling of excitement is unreal. We recieved our travel itinerary Friday of last week and have had alittle bit of "senioritis" since then, but continue to work hard because I know I need every bit I can get. We are flying British Airways an we leave SLC at: 11:10 a.m. arrive in Chicago at: 3:05 p.m. Leave Chicago at: 7:10 p.m. and arrive in London at: 9:05 a.m. Depart from London at 10:55 a.m. and arrive in Rome at: 2:20 p.m. Should be quite the day but it will be a good day! Then I will recieve my first area and have the chance to email, so everyone knows I'm safe! haha This has really been a great week, on Sunday we got to be apart of the Brigham City Temple dedication. It was an amzazing experience and got me that much more excited for the Rome Temple. As much as I love the food here in the M.T.C. I cannot wait for that first meal in Italy! And I am guessing right now my first area is going to be in Sicily, or Sicilia, and if it is true I am going to end up with a sweet accent! packages and mail are alot more expensive to send to Italy so send them now! :) Thank you all so much for all the love and support you have shown me thus far. My family truely is such a blessing. This week has been busy trying to squeeze everything in but this has to be one of the most exciting times of my life and so happy that I get this opportunity. Just a couple more classes left and another fast sunday, we have had 3, then the real work begins, and the real excercise begins! For anyone who is wondering, I have lost 1lb. so far! So pray for me that I never get a car in Italy! Love you all So much and have a great week! Love, Anziano Bird

Ciao Tutti!

     11 more days!  It is pretty hard to believe.  It has gone by so fast and I know the rest of it will as well.  It is so surreal that in such a short time I will be in Italy!  Speaking nothing but Italian.  I have had so many great experiences in the M.T.C. and have met so many great people.  It makes me look foreward to Italy even more and all the amazing people and experiences I will have there.  We have the opportunity to teach alot of lessons in here but I cannot wait for that first real lesson.  One of the Sorelle in our district got a letter from one of the older Sorelle already in Italy, and the experiences that she is having just sound amazing.  We will be doing alot of contacting each day which I am super excited about!  And as great as the food here in the M.T.C. has been, I am ready for that fresh and most delicious Italian food.  I got the opportunity this week to be a host to the new missionaries.  And now they door the curb drop off so you help them get their bags out and make sure their cell phone isn't in thier pocket :) then you take them to get all thier supplies and show them thier room and explain stuff to them, then drop them off at the class.  It was so fun!  I got to help out 3 Elders.  We get the opportunity to do it again next week which I am so excited about!  There were rumors that we were getting our travel plans today but haven't seen them yet. :(  We have the opportunity this Sunday to watch the Brigham City temple dedication which I am so excited about.  It will get me even more excited for the Rome Temple.  Got to speak in Sacrament meeting this past week, first of many in Italian to come! haha  Got to visit the outside world for an hour this week also!  It was different, but kinda nice to get out.  I love you all so much!  Can't wait to send ya'll pictures of me in Italy!  Hope ya'll have a great week!

Love,

           Anziano Bird

{Mormon.org}

Elder Bird has set up a Mormon.org profile, so I thought I would give you a little look at what his profile says!

About Me:
 Hi. I love to snowboard, fish, and be around those I love and care for. I am so blessed to have the About me opportunity to serve a mission in Italy. I know that this is a restored Gospel and the only true Church on the earth. And I am so excited to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and all he has done for us. And be able to guide people along the path and help them to know of how the Atonement relates to our everyday lives and to invite them to come unto Christ.
How I live my faith
 I am currently serving in the Rome, Italy mission. I am so excited to get the chance to teach the Italian people what I know is true, and bring the happiness to their life that this Gospel has brought to mine. I am blessed to have had the great examples in my life to show me the way and teach me the correct principles that I should live by and help me to stay on the strait and narrow path to return to our Father in Heaven.
 Why I am a Mormon 
I am a member of this Church because I have seen how it can bless my life and the lives of those around me. After reading the Book of Mormon with real intent and asking to know if it was true, I came to know that it is. It is truly the most correct book of any on the earth today. I have chosen to serve a mission so that I may bring this light and love that I have discovered into the lives of the Italian people. And to think before my mission 2 years seemed like a long time. It is not. Especially when you think of all the Lord has given and done for us, this is the least I could do. I love my family and friends with all my heart and hope that by hearing my testimony grow throughout my experiences in the mission field that they will begin to envelope themselves in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and come closer to Him in everything they do.

7th week!!

Hello everyone!!

7th week already!  Its hard to believe sometimes.  We got new Anziani and Sorelle in on Wednesday so now we are the old group.  Its alittle like the end of middle school going into high school.  You are the big dog on campus and then you are a small fish in a big sea once you get to high school ( or Italy).  With everyday that comes I get more and more excited!!  I know I say this every week but the chance I have to go to the Temple every week is just amazing.  As most of you know it was my birthday this week!!  It was honestly a great birthday.  I ended up getting alot of letters and packages!  Thank you all so so much for your love and consideration.  It means so much to me to know I have so many people who are thinking about me.  My experience here at the M.T.C. has been better than I ever expected it would be.  The teachers here really push you in learning in all aspects which I am so grateful for!  Reading the scriptures as a missionary is one of the coolest things ever!  The scriptures apply to all of our lives so much!  This week (on my birthdday) my Uncle Brent and Aunt Cathy entered the M.T.C.  That was one of the best presents of all.  Being on a mission makes your love and appreciation for you family skyrocket!  And so being in here and seeing a familiar face, especially a family member, it is just an awesome experience and I am so happy at the choice they have made to serve a mission because I truely think it is something everybody should experience.  In our devotional on Tuesday the speaker mentioned something interesting.  He said the world is such a crazy place and doesnt know what it will be like when we get back, but, there has never been times in the history of the world when there were as many members of the church, missionaries, Temples, Priesthood holders, and he went on and that just really hit me and I thought it was a great statement.  He also said you can tell if a missionary is sucessful or not by how many times they bore thier testimony.  It is another week or so then we get our travel plans and I sure hope my visa went through because our roomates headed to Jamaca and they didnt recieve thiers so they are headed to Washington State.  Love you all so much and have a great week!

Love,

        Anziano Bird

{Over half way}

Hello Hello! Hope everyone is doing great this week! I am doing amazing! Can't say enough good things about the mtc. It is amazing all the people from around the world you meet and instantly have a friendship because you are here for the same reason! To whoever reads this all I need for my birthday is letters/dearelders! I want to set some sort of record for the amount of mail I get. haha I really do wish everyone could come spend a week in here and experience this atmosphere!! now that I am over halfway I think about Italy more and more each day! I am so blessed to be going there and know it will be an amazing experience!! Especially with the temple being finished, I think about having the opportunity to be there is amazing! sorry this is so short but I love ya'll so much and I am doing so amazing here, and appreciate all of the support and love that ya'll give me! hope everyone has a great week! Love, Anziano Bird

{PICTURES}

We were SO excited to get Jared's SD card in the mail today! So here are a FEW of the couple hundred he sent!! More to come! PS: click on the picture, to make it bigger, and more clear!