Friday, November 14, 2014

Week 1 in the Brazil CTM


The CTM is great down here. It was moist the first day, and all things that could have happened to make me feel like I was out of the states did! The food here is actually better than the food at the Provo MTC because if they mess up cooking it's on the dark side... or burnt, if you prefer. 

I'm back to feeling healthy again and everything wrong with my hand has been removed. I'm learning that being a missionary is a lot more than knowing the information and knowing how to speak the language: you have to FEEL what the investigator needs to know!

In the week I've been here, I've been out shopping (Yes, Mom, I've been on the streets of Sao Paulo), taught almost 10 lessons to our teachers/ investigators in the CTM and 4 other lessons (to members visiting the CTM). My teachers are so great. Ermao Talvarez is so full of energy, and he will not speak English at all. He will bonk your forehead if you are late and is really enthusiastic about baptizing "TODOS PESOAS EM BRAZIL!!" (“all people,” for you just learning :)). The [group] picture you got was of all the new arrivals, and the one of me, Elder Taylor and the other guys was taken across the street from the CTM [at a] fun, little place with American foods ... and a crazy shopkeeper. 

OK, let me explain, in the CTM or MTC you cannot upload images onto or off of the computer because the storage ports have been encrypted, so you can't use them. Period. I'd love to send photos, but the only people with permission to do that is the higher up (also known as the "responsible missionary couples"). 

In the CTM there were almost a thousand [missionaries] the day we got here, but today, we’re at about half of that. People have to get to the field sometime! I actually don't know if I know that number. ... 

What you said about the language is actually what I've gotten from almost every RM I've talked to since I've entered the MTC in Provo—in 3-8 months, the language comes. 

Elder Taylor is still my companion. He's from nowhere other than Pocatello, Idaho ;) and he's so great! He's not really a talker, but he knows his stuff and is great at doing the work. 

Okay, [I have] no allergies, the bugs aren't bad ... yet, and the problem I'm having here that I didn't know I would be is the sisters! For whatever reason, when I show up [and] a conversation has been going on with the district and the sisters for a while, suddenly the sisters are focusing on none other than yours truly. Por Que? 

I've been in the main part of Sao Paulo and placed four books of Mormon with our district. That was a ton of fun, but don't go down any old subway stairs—there's an example of public waste I didn't need to know about. [It’s] fun when you hardly know the language to try to tell people about a book that they think is the Bible. That's all I have time for right now; I'll write and send letters home, don't worry! Love you all!

1 comment: