Tudo bem!?! Hope all is well! This has literally been the longest week of my life! It feels like I've been in here for a long time. Last Wednesday seems forever ago. But I am learning a lot! From minute one, I was learning Portuguese. My teachers only speak Portuguese. And whenever they say some english, our district freaks out. Its weird. That was definitely a surprise.
On our first day we had a workshop where some investigators came into a room with a big group of missionaries and we just took some to get to know them and answer their questions. One investigator was a big italian guy named Chicco. He was so funny! He had a baby son die only three days into the babys life. He is a Catholic, so his pastor told that the child was in limbo, and felt so guilty for putting his son through that. But we were able to tell that his son was in fact with Heavenly Father in the Celestial Kingdom and that everything was going to be ok. Chicco said it was like his heart was all wound up like a wash clothe, and when we told him that, it all released and he felt so much peace. That was beautiful experience and it brought tears to my eyes being able tell him the joys of eternal families.
Sunday has been the best day so far! Sacrament Meeting was good and so was Priesthood. Oh ya. had a couple meetings cause I am the DL! So that was fun. But the best was the Sunday Night Devo and the film that followed it. We were able to hear from Kelly Mills and his wife, who is the Director of the International MTCs. He was very funny! Also very inspiring! Then after the devo the missionaries have a choice of watching a couple different films. Things like Meet the Mormons, Joseph Smith Movie, other MTC Devos. My companion and I decided to watch "Characters of Christ" by Elder Bednar. It was a MTC Christmas Devo a couple years ago (before the age change). It was incredible!!!!! It was all about how Christ turns outward, when we (the natural man) turns inward. Also he talked about how our testimonies arent going to get us through life, we need to be converted to the LORD! Not to any apostles, bishops, ancestors, etc. THE LORD! Truly beautiful principle! I suggest that you all try and look for it, but I doubt you will find it.
Well thats all from my "small plates" (Spiritual thoughts) now for my larger plates (secular/day to day events).
To my JL Friends, I ran into Sister Aubrey Smith and Elder Michael Swanson. That was pretty awesome to see my JL kids here in the MTC!
I've seen Elder Powell everyday, and thats always nice to give him a hug ;) Got a picture with him on the temple walk! :)
Like I said earlier, I got called as a DL, which basically entails getting mail and leading discussion/choosing who gets to say the prayer.
Also nice to see Allison on my second day! Going to enjoy passing messages through her! ;)
Meu companheiro is awesome! He is from Livermore, Cali loves the beach, lacrosse, and snowboarding. Seems like an adrenaline junkie :) But he is super chill and easy to talk to. We get along well, and he basically carries us in the lesson. He took some spanish so that is helping him out a lot.
My district is 4 Elders and 6 sisters! All going to Portugal Lisboa! And another district in our branch is also going to Lisboa and got here the same day. So thats fun!
We get to teach lesson in Portuguese! Thats rough! We started teaching on the second day. But I am getting better. French is a huge blessing! Having that background knowledge of conjugation and sentence structure helps a lot! I just wish they would have offered Portuguese at Borah because the language is so beautiful! It sounds fun like Spanish but is less harsh! I am loving it!
Oddly enough I am thankful for the many attempts of my parents to use some form of a planner. I really like the planner they gave us and I use it every day. In my shirt pocket I usually got my name tag, followed by my white bible, followed by a little notebook, followed by my planner. I look like a true missionary! I kinda wish I had this 6-week planner when I was in high school. it is really simple and easy to carry. Borah should invest in this instead of those stupid agendas.
I love the MTC, this place is legit. Food here is okay, but it was kinda talked up. It is just cafeteria food. Not that amazing.
I love my mission, cant wait to get in the field! Praying for my visa to get processed soon! Lots of the Brasil missionarios are getting reassigned till visas get done. Get that in your prayers! :)
I know the church is true. I know that there isnt any other place I should be right now. I could be at school, working, or traveling the world, but this is where I am supposed to be. I have felt the spirit here more than I have in my entire life! I know that Joseph Smith translated the gold plates through the power of God into the Book of Mormon. Christ is my best friend, my rock, my saviour and redeemer. I know that there is no other name under heaven that can save our besides Jesus Christ. He turned outward in love and appreciation for us so that the law of justice could be met, so that we could return to live with out Father in Heaven. I love you all, you are all in my prayers, both in English and in Portuguese! Keep up the good work! Endure to the end!
Give them Heaven!
Elder Yoder
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