Hello friends and family!

This (almost) week has been good. The MTC is very busy, and there is always a lot to get done.

So far, learning Thai is very tough. Everyone else in my district is starting with little or no experience, and I am very glad for the preparation and studying that I did beforehand.

I am learning a lot. The MTC has it's own culture, and it takes some time to become familiar with how things work, like navigating campus, getting used to the very specific scheduling, and staying with my companion. There are also the little things, like:

- The orange juice will make you sick (I haven't seen any solid proof of that, but something about it definitely doesn't look right).

- Print off letters so reading them doesn't count as computer time.

- For devotionals, enter through the front of the gym to avoid crowding and to get a good seat.

- Upon entering the showering area (in the bathroom on our floor), the shower on the immediate right will always be scalding hot, regardless of what the dial is set to. The one in the back right fluctuates between hot and cold every few seconds throughout the duration of the shower.

It's pretty neat to be surrounded all around by people with similar commitments and goals. Here, the spirit is never far, and there are many opportunities to feel it. We had a great devotional given by the man who put together The District videos (and I think also the Mormon Messages). His topic was on helping investigators (and ourselves) gain a personal testimony of the gospel. It was very good, and there are things that I will apply.

My companion and I are teaching a mock investigator named Molly in Thai. Our first lesson went very well (though no one else felt good about theirs), and the second one did also (others felt better about that one). The Holy Ghost was definitely present, and I was touched by how it was there to witness of the truth, even though we weren't teaching a real investigator and we probably sounded like oriental cavemen.

I've been told that the days are long, and the weeks are short, which I am finding to be true. I have also heard that at the MTC, missionaries have the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows, and that changes by the hour. I suspect I will see more of that.

Until next week!

-Riley Parish