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