HELLOOOOOO,
well let me tell you about MY week! it was wonderful! i got to the mtc and they decided that since i was a week behind i should just jump right into classes! so i skipped orientation and went right to gym with my district they are way fun. my companion is elder bigelow we get along great and we also have a third comp elder johnson he is pretty sweet. as you can imagine my first day was a little confusing but i got through it just fine. i have been at the MTC for three days and portuguese and i are great friends im pretty much fluent i have surpassed my whole district and they want to move me to a district that has been here longer.... no im just kidding it is the most frustrating thing ever to learn portuguese!!!! because im not trying to learn it for me im trying to learn it for my investigators in Brazil. that is a lot of responisbilty! but one thing they really stress is to let the spirit help you to learn. so im keeping the faith and trying to have a good attitude about it. i think i just about have praying down which is pretty exciting! life is crazy here but i love it. we wake up at 6:30 (mom im the first one up every day!) then get ready for the day, go to breakfast, and everyday it is a different variation of class, missionary directed time, language study, gym, personal study, and companion study. we also get to eat sometimes if we are good. it is so much fun i cant imagine a better place for me right now. one funny thing thing that happened this week, our district was talking about typhoid and elder bigelow said he took his pills wrong and he hoped it wasnt too bad if he got it. then another elder informed him that people died from it and Joseph Smith had it! then elder bigelow responded with, "Joseph Smith died of typhoid?!" it was pretty funny! also the food here is great! i dotn know what people complained about! so my Pday is friday as you can tell and we got to go to the temple today as a zone it was so amazing. it truly is the house of the Lord.
i would love some emails.... they print it and bring it to my room. so do that please!! i hate lookng like a loser... and i need questions to answer in this letter! oh we elders waiting to go to brazil are known here as VW's (vedubs) its a term of endearment. i hope all is well i love you all! oh my address is:
elder mender
MTC mailbox #340
BRA-SAL
2005 N. 900 E.
provo ut 84604-1793
so send packages letters... you know whatever you want!
oh since my district is a week ahead of me i had the chance to go the trc and i had to teach in portuguese my second day here! it was crazy! well we just did 5 min approaches then we got to do the first lesson in english it was soooooo much fun. ok im running out of time.... WRITE ME!!!!
love,
elder mender
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Mitch is a Missionary!
It has been a long time since we had all the kids together for a photo in their church clothes! The day that Mitch was set apart as a missionary was occasion enough for everyone to gather at church and to allow us to get a family photo of everyone together. I especially liked this one of the kids. It was a great shot! Everyone happy and smiling, including Adi. President Cook set Mitch apart as a missionary and here are a few of the the things that he counseled Mitch to remember as he prepares to serve as a missionary in Brazil.
- The Lord has blessed you with goodly parents, they have taught you good from evil.
- You have been able to make good choices in your life, including recognizing when you have made mistakes.
- You have been foreordained to be a disciple in this life and have a testimony Jesus Christ.
- Be valiant and fearless, you will have energy, desire, and be a hard worker
- You will love your companions, befriend them and you will be lifelong friends
- You are blessed with gifts of tongues to both speak and understand the language.
- You will be able to relate to and love the people and will bring many to the covenant of baptism.
- Jesus said that he who believes and is obedient will have eternal life, which is the greatest gift.
- You are commissioned to teach, preach, baptize those that are prepared.
- You will be protected from harm, danger, and disease
- Write to your parents weekly
- Share your testimony with your siblings and your parents.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Leaving....Early
Joe traveled with Mitch to Utah to drop off our missionary at the MTC - literally. There no longer is a tearfest for parents and missionaries alike. There is no program at the MTC to evoke emotions better kept in check by all family members. Due to concerns about the Swine flu missionaries are dropped at the curb and can only engage in a quick hug for the family who are in the car (no non relatives allowed in the drop off area)!
Knowing that I could not go through this experience without shedding far too many tears I choose to stay home and since I had already planned a trip to Maine with friends it was an easy decision to make!
Mitch left home at 3:30 am and traveled to Manchester for his flight to Utah which left at 6 am. Once he got to Utah he visited with friends, including the Gwilliams. He made a late night of it probably getting in close to 24 hours without sleep before entering the MTC on Wednesday at 1pm.
One Last Walk....
With fall coming and Mitch leaving for the Mission Training Center (MTC) we took the dogs for one last walk down the rail trail. It is always nice to be able to go for a walk with the boys and enjoy a little quiet time to talk and enjoy nature. The fall colors were definately not at the their peak yet but the trees gave a hint of what is to come. By this next weekend the leaves will be in their full glory! 
We took the puppies out with us and Mitch gave them a little of what they were hoping for....a run on the rail trail. I think they ran Mitch into the ground. We'll see how he does in two years! 
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