Blessings Flow

Óla!!!

Wow! I can´t believe that I´m a missionary... It´s been a crazy week. I got to Brazil last Wednesday, and it’s been a super packed schedule ever since. The first four days we pretty much sat in a class room all day and learned the language. 

Learning the language is not what I expected though. This first week we have solely learned about the gospel in Portuguese. No grammar, no conversational vocabulary. Just the gospel, which is great. It´s crazy that I’ve learned so much in the last week. I can bear my testimony and pray with ease haha. The gift of tongues is real!!! Even with the gift of tongues, the language is super hard. They have a saying the mtc which is fala sua lingua or speak your language (which is now portuguese). 

I´m in a trio with Elder Hair and Elder Callahan. Both of them lived in B9 during freshman year. They both are awesome and help me learn the language. They both are hilarious and we always have a good time. We live with two amazing Brazilian Elders. Elder Santin and Elder Alves de Silva. I think my favorite part of the day is talking to them at the end of the night. They teach us new words, tell us about Brazil, and make us crack up. Elder Santin can kinda speak English, but Elder Silva knows pretty much nothing. Overall, my comps and roommates are awesome.  

I love the Brazilian mtc!!! From day one, you are fully immersed in the Brazilian culture. You eat with Brazilians, are taught by Brazilians, live with Brazilians and so much more. Every day we have actividades fisicas for an hour. We can go to the gym, play volleyball/basketball or run around the one lane track. It’s funny. The only rule is that there is absolutely no jumping. Let me tell you it’s nearly impossible to play a game of basketball without jumping. The food here is good, but they are not very good at portion control. Every meal you get two meats, a vegetable, fruit, a salad, and rice and beans. Also every breakfast is ham and cheese sandwiches, which I still haven´t adjusted to. 

So far the missionary life is very difficult but great. Every night I go to sleep feeling exhausted. I´ve learned so much about the gospel, the language, and the people while I have been here. The spirit is so strong each and every day. Thanks for all the prayers and support.

Love,

Dave