Chapter 4 - I forgot to give the last chapter a name

Hello, world! How are you all?

As usual, I really don't know what to type. The Provo Temple has been closed for the last month, but today we were finally able to go do a session. It was really great. Afterwards we got to work in the laundry room for a few minutes. I got to iron stuff with a super cool ironing machine.

I've found this week that the promise that the Holy Ghost can be with you always is a very real promise. I'd been struggling with teaching lessons, and I hadn't been feeling the Spirit guide me at all during them. Finally, Elder Harper and I sat down and had a super intense, spirit-driven planning session for one of our lessons. I had been thinking we were going to talk about the Doctrine of Christ, but as we were planning, Elder Harper suggested that we could teach about eternal families. The spirit hit me hard, and for the whole rest of the planning I was almost crying the whole time. When we got into the lesson, the spirit was super strong (and we sang "Families can be together forever") and the lesson went really well. I hadn't been allowing the Spirit to guide me outside of the lessons to plan, and was thus blocking myself from the full blessings of His companionship. I guess I had doubted that I could receive revelation for my investigators before I knew what they needed. I was wrong. God knows what everyone needs. All we have to do is open our hearts and listen, and, as said in 2 Nephi 31:5, He will show us "all things that we should do." I know that this is the Lords work. He is guiding it. And if we sign on as His disciples, He will not leave us without help, comfort, and guidance.

Well, that's all for this week. I tried to take pictures, but there really isn't much to see here at the MTC. So I got one of my companion and one of the Elders in my zone that are going to the Lisbon, Portugal mission (we have people going to Portugal, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Brazil, New Jersey, and Toronto). Also, I found out that Portugal's national slogan (or something) is "Heroes of the Sea"

I hope I get to spend time on sailboats! I love the ocean.

Chapter 3

Olá! Como estão vocês? This week at the MTC was very similar to the last two weeks. Lots of class, studying, and Portugês. I guess I'll just share some of the highlights of this week.

On Wednesday I got to host some new missionaries. It was cool. I also ran into three people I know that I hadn't seen yet: Elder Bartholomew, Elder Taylor, and Sister Rogers. Last night, one of the Elders in our room woke everyone up at one in the morning. He was talking in his sleep, and he was talking loud, and in Portugês. I think he invited us all to read the Book of Mormon, but the three of us were still half asleep, so we don't remember exactly what he was saying. I also managed to earn the nickname of "DJLofty" because I can beat-box (not well, though), and I know a lot about music theory. When i go into music production after my mission, that might end up being my name, because then my MTC zone will know how to find me.

Brother Pimantel, the second counselor in my Branch Presidency, was interviewing me yesterday. We were talking about being too self-critical, and talking negatively about yourself. He shared a quote with me from Brigham Younge. "If you ever have a bad thought about yourself, send it to Hell, because that's where it came from." Satan is the one who wants us to doubt ourselves and to think we can't make it. And even though God knows that we aren't perfect, He will never tell us that we can be anything less than that, because He knows perfectly our divine potential. If there is one thing I have learned here at the MTC, it is that God is with us always. We can lean on Him in any situation. No matter what we are going through, the Atonement can help. The enabling power of the Atonement extends to any activity you could possibly do through out the day. And God is always waiting to help. Because of the laws of Heaven, God can only bless us when we obey His commandments, or when we ask for blessings. So ask! He will never get mad at you for asking for things. More likely, He will give them to you. Just have a little faith, and act on it.

Well, that's my rant for this week. If anyone wants to hear about anything specific that's going on, feel free to tell me what you want to hear. I never really know what to put into these emails.

I decided to just take some pictures right now, and I realized that I did take some pictures earlier, and here's why. On the first day we got here we saw something in our room vent. We got it out, and it was a barbie. We thought little of it, and just put it back. But this week, it rained, and the heaters got turned on, and so something started to smell like it was burning. We didn't know what it was, and we thought it was coming from the vent. Elder Harper was looking in, and all of the sudden he called out,"Guys, there's something else in here. It looks like a bottle." We spent about ten minutes trying to get it out, and when we did. We found a paper inside. It had two lines, talking about a vent in the showers. At this point, our whole zone was there, and we all went to the showers and started checking the vents. Sure enough, there was another bottle. After another ten minutes of trying to find a screwdriver, we got that bottle out, too. It had a clue leading to the vending machine room downstairs. We looked around, but didn't find anything. I don't know if the next bottle was already found and taken, but we kept the first two and the barbie.

So, here are pictures of my zone. The one in the red shirt is my companion, Elder Harper. Behind him is Elder Baker. Next, Elder Jones, Sister Anderson and Sister Metcalf, and Elder Lemon and Elder Cox.

Chapter 2-- He's still not actually in Lisbon yet

Ola, everyone! Tudo bem?

This week has been just about as amazing as last week, if not more. I'm not sure what to tell you, other than that I'm learning more Portuguese, and learning way more about the Doctrine of Christ. I also know without any doubt that God is listening, and that He is guiding everything. On Saturday, I was reading through the Restoration lesson, and I got the Creation, and I stopped, and just thought to myself "Why do we need to teach the creation? It's super cool, and it was a great act of love, but does it need to be taught?" And then, the next day, in Priesthood, we learned about the Creation and the importance of it. So, if you are wondering, yes the Creation was an act of love. God had a plan for us, one that required us to leave His physical presence (but not His spiritual presence, entirely), get bodies, and be tested and gain experience. But instead of just putting us any where, like some little classroom/testing facility, He created an entire new universe, full of wonderful things, and beautiful landscapes and animals and plants, and He made it so we could pass through the woes of mortality on a world that made us happy just by stopping and looking around at it. I love the Earth, and I am so grateful that God made it for us. Having pets, growing flowers, hiking, camping, and all sorts of other things are unnecessary for Salvation. Their purpose, rather, is to make us happy.

Anyway, my branch is still the best, and my companion is still awesome. He absolutely destroys everyone in four square. It's actually kind of scary to play against him.

I also have received the opportunity to arrange new harmonies for a hymn, so that's fun. My district is hoping to perform the new version as a special musical number for a devotional.

I have nothing else to say, and I still can't send pictures yet. Sorry.

Stay firm in the Gospel, and remember, no matter what happens in the world or in your life, Jesus is coming again and soon. All bad things (I almost typed band things) will come to an end, and life will be perfect. So just hold on until then. Dues ama nos!

Chapter One

Ola everyone! I really have no idea what to put in these emails, but I try to make it interesting. First off, a whole lot of people told me before I went out that my mission was going to be super hard, and the MTC would be, too. They were right. But what people seemed to leave out, for some strange reason, is that it would be twice as fun as it was hard! My companion (Elder Harper) is awesome, my district is awesome, the language is awesome, and everything is just coming along super well. I love it!

So, on the first day, I was welcomed to the MTC about six hundred times by as many people, we started learning Portuguese immediately. The only word I learned that first day was fixe (pronounced feesh) which means cool. However, Thursday we learned a whole bunch more, and by Friday, we knew how to pray, bear testimony, and we taught our first lesson. It was rough, but I had no idea that I could learn so much in just a few days. The gift of tongues doesn't just mean that you can all of the sudden speak a new language and have no idea what your saying. It includes being able to learn quickly and remember tons more than normal. The Spirit is here at the MTC, every day, and it is teaching me both spiritual things, and the language of Portuguese. It's incredible.

Elder Harper and I were assigned as our branch's music coordinators. It's been interesting, trying to find special musical numbers, and trying to decided which hymns to sing (all in Portuguese, of course) but it's been fun. Elder Harper is a great singer, and can play the piano pretty well, too.

Elder Harper, my companion, is from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He's super cool, super funny, and he's tall and strong as well. He honestly reminds me a lot of Ben. I don't think I could have gotten a better companion. The MTC wouldn't be half as enjoyable without him, and my stress levels would be through the roof and out into space if he weren't always making me laugh.

The rest of my district is amazing. There are six elders and two sisters. They're mostly all musically talented, and all of them have strong testimonies and are all happy and optimistic.

Our branch president, President Dansie, told us that there is one main reason we are here at the MTC, and the reason isn't to learn a language. It is to become like Christ. We, as missionaries, are authorized representatives of Christ, and as such, it is our duty to be as much like Him as we possibly can. That, of course, is only possible through His grace and the Atonement. Everything we learn about here in the MTC is about become like Christ, and inviting others to come unto Him.

I know that Christ lives. I know that His gospel has been restored, through Joseph Smith, who was and is a prophet of the Lord. Thomas S. Monson is a Prophet, and he holds all the keys of the priesthood to preside over the whole earth. We are here to prepare for the Second Coming. Jesus is coming again. And because He is coming, all bad things are only temporary. The ending of all of our stories is happy. That is the source of our hope. No matter how bad, difficult, stressful, or painful things get, we know that in the end, all of that goes away, swallowed up in the Atonement of Christ, and we return to live forever with God. That is my testimony, and that is what I hope to share with the people of Portugal.

I'm super excited to be able to keep learning Portuguese and become more like Christ. The MTC is a sacred place. I'm not sending any pictures right now. I may or may not have left my SD cards are home (oops). I'll hopefully be able to send pictures next week. Until then, hold fast to the gospel.

I love you all! Tudo bem! Make it to Sunday, and welcome to the MTC!