Week 3 + pictures! She is half way through the MTC!

Caro (dear) family and friends!
I'm half way through the MTC and still alive! When we got here the district leaders and sister trainers from the Thai branch welcomed us and gave us a basic orientation of the MTC. I remember thinking they were so mature and that I would never be at their level spiritually or in the language. Well guess what! I'm not there yet, but the Thai zone has asked the Italian sister trainers to orient their incoming sister missionaries. I don't feel like I'm at the level they were when they taught us but it's a really cool way to look at how far I've come. 3 weeks ago I felt like I was so completely out of my league and now I can speak what we affectionately call "Tarzan Italian" and I've been asked to help sister's transition into their mission.
A lot of people have written me about the language. I'm obviously not fluent, but I'm not super concerned. I am learning Italian so quickly. The gift of tongues is a real thing. I have learned concepts in Italian in a half hour that I never fully grasped in French. I also heard 3 elders from Brazil practicing their English today. They were working on the word BESIDE, and one of the elders said "that rock is beside that tiny tree" (he meant bush). It was the cutest thing I have ever heard. So I have confidence that my poor Italian will be endearing. For anyone going foreign speaking learning the language is not important, loving the language is. You can study for hours and hours and you won't learn a thing until you enjoy using it and incorporate it into your daily life.
Elder Richard G. Scott came and gave a devotional at the MTC last night. He is a phenomenal speaker and he was a huge blessing to our zone's prayers. He gave a special blessing to missionaries learning a foreign language. I think he had a little too much fun while he was exiting the building. Missionaries have the tendency to mimic the actions of general authorities, and he kept waving in a variation of ways as he left so he could watch us wave back. I think he felt a little like Simon of 'Simon says'.
Also I learned how to conduct music this week! My companion drew a very helpful diagram of a fish. Last thing. I will never sleep in a bunk bed again. I have been jumping off the top bunk every morning and I finally landed on my foot wrong. I tried to ignore it because I really don't want to do anything that will delay my mission but after about 15 minutes it was too swollen to walk. One of the sister's in my district is an EMT so she made me put a cactus cooler (a soda, and the closest thing we have to an ice pack) on it and elevate it for 15 minutes. Luckily I just had a nasty bruise for a couple of days and no serious damage. Needless to say, I'm being a lot more careful when I get out of bed.

Con amore (with love) Sorella Madyline Spencer