May 25, 2012

Hey everyone!

 

This week has been pretty normal, except that I got temporarily reassigned on Wednesday! On Monday, I will be leaving to serve in the Colorado, Colorado Springs mission untill my visa arrives. I'm really excited. I can't wait to get to Colorado.

 

Other than that, this week has been pretty normal. On Sunday, the Provo Temple President spoke at the Fireside. He talked about temples, and how special and sacred they are. He also talked a little about why all missionaries need to go throught the temple before their mission. I think it was one of my favorite talks that i've seen so far.

 

On Tuesday, Elder Rasband, of the Presidency of the 70 gave the devotional. His talk was about how important it is that missionaries ahve the Spirit with them, and how we can make sure that we do. I really enjoyed that one also.

 

Wednesday was awesome. I was assigned to be a host for the new missionaries that arrived. That was really fun. I helped them through the check-in process, and took them to their residences and classrooms. I was actually the host for an Elder Day from Calfornia. He is serving in one of the Salt Lake missions. Now I've met two other Elder Day's, but I have no idea if we're related in any way. Just a couple hours after I hosted, I got my reassignment from the Travel Office, so that was really cool too.

 

That's about everything exciting that's happened this week. I can't wait until Monday, when I finally get into the field. Colorado is going to be a lot of fun!

 

Love,

Elder Day

May 18, 2012

Hey everyone!

 

Everything is still going great here. I'm starting to understand Portuguese really well. Speaking it can still be a little difficult sometimes, but I'm making a ton of progress, and I'm having a lot of fun. I've only got a week and a half until I should be leaving the MTC, either for a reassignment or for Brazil, so I need to learn as much as I can, as fast as I can. I'm not worried about it though, and I'm really excited to get out of the MTC, and into the field.

 

L. Tom Perry spoke at devotional on Tuesday! I had no  idea that he was so tall, or that he was 92 years old. He definitely doesn't look that old. He doesn't sound like it either. He gave a really great talk on the Priesthood, and how powerful it is. For most the talk, he was pretty quiet, but at the end he said really loudly, "I know the power of the priesthood!" When that happened, I saw a few people in front of me jump awake. It was pretty funny. That was the beginning of his testimony, and the rest of it was just as powerful. Now that Elder Perry has spoken, I have had the privilege of hearing five Apostles in the seven weeks that I've been here. I've been trying to remember each talk as well as I can, because I don't think I'll have an opportunity to hear from Apostles so frequently again.

 

I was finally able to submit my final visa application on Wednesday, so it shouldn't be very much longer until I get my visa. There's still a chance that I will get reassigned, but I'm confident that I will be able to go straight to Brazil.

 

Other than those two things, this week has been a lot like the other six that I've been here. I love you guys!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Day

 

P.S. My new mailbox is 129. Anything sent to me should be addressed to that mailbox number. Thanks!

May 11 2012

Hey everybody!

I think that this has been one of the best weeks here so far! Fast Sunday was really good. It was really cool to hear all the members of my branch bear testimony in Portuguese. It was even cooler to be able to understand what they were saying. For the Sunday night fireside, the head of the Missionary Public Programs department spoke. He gave an awesome talk about charity, and why it's important to love the people you serve.

On Tuesday, Elder Hinkley visited the MTC. I was walking out of my classroom to go to lunch, when a security officer asked my companion and I to hold the door for some people that were coming through. When they walked through, one of the men that walked through said, "Thank you!" Another man started talking to us about where we are serving. When we said Brazil, the first man turned around and said, "Well in that case, obrigado!" When he turned around, I realized that it was Elder Hinkley. He walked with us all the way to the cafeteria, and I got to shake his hand! Elder Christopherson gave the devotional that night, and he spoke about the nature, and relationship between the God Head. I've seen four Apostles here now, and they have all given awesome talks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will get to see Elder Holland, or Elder Bednar while I'm here.

On Thursday, I met a few people who are going to the Raleigh mission. They're really cool, and I've been able to spend some time with them and tell them what it will be like. I also ran into someone who knows the Tuckfield's. His name is Elder Lucas, and he's going to a mission in Mexico.

I finished the Book of Mormon last week! I started in first Nephi when I arrived here, and now I'm done! I started over a few days ago, and I'm going to try and finish again before I get to the field.

Hopefully next week will be as good as this last one was! I miss you guys!

Love,

Elder Day

May 4, 2012

Hey everyone!

 

I'm now almost two thirds of the way finished at the MTC! Time really flies here. It really doesn't feel like I've been here for over five weeks now. Everything is going really well, including Portuguese. I'm learning it a lot faster than I expected. I can speak better Portuguese after less than three weeks of study than I could speak German after a whole school year! I've taught a little less than ten lessons in Portuguese now, and they've all gone really well. Tomorrow, I have my first TRC (Teaching Resource Center.) I'm really excited for that. I will get to teach members from the community who come to the MTC to be "investigators." They are all really good at it, and it creates a really authentic feeling.

 

On Sundays, after the fireside, they screen Church movies, and old talks from General Authorities for the missionaries to watch. Last Sunday, I watched a talk that David A. Bednar gave during a Christmas devotional at the MTC a few years ago. I think it was one of my favorite talks that I've ever seen. It's called, "the Character of Christ." I don't know if it is available to the general public, but if you can, I really suggest listening to, or reading it. It is all about, as the name suggests, the Character of Christ. Elder Bednar said that what makes Christ so special, is that in situations where all of us would turn inward, and be selfish, Christ turns outward. He mentioned examples from the prayer in Gethsemane, and also from when He was on the cross. Even while Christ was hanging from the cross, He was ministering to the criminals next to him. He was always more concerned with the well-being of others, than he was for himself. There are other great examples of this that he mentioned, but I don't have time to type them all now.

 

Everything is still going really well here, and I am really enjoying myself. I love being able to spend sixteen hours a day studying, learning, and teaching about the gospel of Christ, and there is nowhere else that I would rather be right now. I love and miss you guys!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Day