FIRST WEEK IN Brazil

First baptism of my mission this week! WOOHOO!!! Best Christmas present ever. Besides a ginormous T.V. That'd be cool too. Anyway, Elder Dup and I got to baptize two of our investigators this week, Iuri and Iago (brothers). I baptized Iuri (yes, in Portuguese), and Elder Dup baptized Iago. Iago is old enough to recieve the Aaronic priesthood and enter into the Deacon's quorom, and I'm really excited to see him continue to progress. Iuri is 11, so he is almost a Deacon also. Both of them are really excited, and though I still can barely make out a word they say, I know they are both building their testimonies each day. 

Besides it being Christmas and all, and besides the baptisms, not much has happened this week. So many people were gone for the holidays! I don't blame them  though; Brazil has a ton of awesome places to go visit during the holidays. Anyway, this week, we made a new friend! On Thursday, after our lunch appointment, Elder Dup and I made our way back to the apartment. When we got there, I found a big fat lizard resting on my pillow. Yup. Just chilling there, like he owned the place. Elder Dup, my mission daddy, fearing for the well-being of his son, chased the little guy outside. He got bit a couple times, but he hasn't started growing scales or anything weird yet, so I think he'll be fine.

This coming week, Elder Dup and I are expecting a bunch of baptisms. We have a lot of dates set up for this week, and they all seem really solid! Our last date was set up just yesterday. It was the coolest thing ever! This guy, Dacio, probably about 60 years old, came to church, started talking with us, came to gospel principles, and said he wanted to be baptized! Elder Dup asked him if this week would work, and he was all like "Yeah this week will work!" Except in a completely different language, so I don't know exactly what he said. Elder Dup says he was really excited about baptism, and that he was sharing how his own personal thoughts about life were answered by our gospel. The whole time I was looking around, trying to find the angels that sent this guy. Really! It was so cool! We're really excited to teach him this week, and to see him baptized, and eventually to see him called as an apostle or something.

It's really been an awesome week. I can't wait to see what this week has in store! Atê mais! 

Christmas Day Phone Call

Merry Christmas 2013 Elder Bishop

Fortaleza, Brazil:::: arrived on Dec 17

Elder Bishop arrives to Fortaleza, Brazil

Hunter is now in Fortaleza, Brazil:  safe and ready to serve!!!

Elder Hunter Bishop flew to NY on Monday, Dec 16. The first flight--5 AM-- out of Twin Falls was canceled due to fog. He barely made the SLC TO NY flight as it took the SECOND plane from Twin Falls, ID two attempts to land due to fog in SLC. The plane got to SLC, but returned to Twin Falls for gas and went back to SLC!!

From SLC to NY, Elder Bishop sat in front of Steve Correll of The Office and his 2 children. Flight attendants were very attentive to the youngsters and Steve C. kept a low profile. Elder Bishop called from NY using another missionary's phone card. It was so good to hear his voice and hear how excited he was to begin another journey!! The fact that he sat in front of a celebrity was icing on the cake!!

VISA Arrives!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, my VISA is here! I got my travel information too. I will be leaving this Monday in the morning, at around 6:00. Then, I begin my long trip down to Brazil. I'm flying to Salt Lake, then to New York, and then to Sao Paulo where I will finally board for Fortaleza. Wish me luck!

Raining DIP N DOTS

First off, my trainer. Elder Pimentel is a 5' 8" white guy who has been waiting on a visa to Brazil, Fortaleza for 6 months. He isn't too happy about that. His name means something like "quick to anger" or "quick to hotness," which is a little ironic, because he is a very mellow guy. He's a really great missionary, and I'm really glad I got him as a trainer. Plus, we will probably see each other in Fortaleza, which is pretty awesome! He opened the area we are serving in right now (Twin Falls West Two), so he knows many of the people. It's a little difficult right now, because the Elders in the area before us didn't make any records, so we have no idea where to start. We have been going around to people that Elder P. knew previously, and checking up on their progress. This mission is almost entirely a referral mission, because of the amount of members, and because tracting would not be fun in the rural areas (which is pretty much the whole mission). Nevertheless, Elder P. and I have already had a few really funny experiences. 

 There is also some crazy weather. The third day out here, my bike got a flat tire (great way to start the day!), and we had to walk much of the day. While we were walking, there was a random storm of.... dippin-dots. No joke. It snowed unflavored dippin-dots on us. It must somehow be related to all the nitrogen given off by the potatoes.... Sorta like how radiation causes all sorts of crazy stuff with everything. Yeah, potatoes are like nuclear fallout. 

Anyway, I have to go now. Talk to you all next week! Tchau! 

November 25,

It isn't quite as cold here as it gets in Kansas, but it's also really windy! The worst it has been was 27 degrees, but the members here are really nice and they are letting me borrow some warm clothes. The wind is really the worst here. Everything is so flat! People say Kansas is flat, but they haven't seen Twin Falls! My area is a biking area, and biking on flat, windy roads isn't the funnest thing to do. I am getting crazy strong legs though!

Elder Pimentel and I are getting along great! Our mission president told us that he thinks the visa waiters are some of his best missionaries, which is funny because I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing! I am Elder Pimentel's first trainee, and I think he is doing an awesome job. I bet President Curtis was talking about Elder Pimentel when he said that. He is a great missionary, and yes, we've been able to speak Portuguese to each other. 

Thank you for the package! The cookies were great, and the exercise equipment was definitely needed. For some reason I didn't get any exercise equipment! Maybe they stopped giving those out because there was too many missionaries. Anyway, I really appreciated the letters, too. Thank you Carson and Jessie for the rainbow loom bracelets! Sadly, I can't wear them, because our mission president only allows us to wear watches. 

Carson,

Keep up the good work with that list! I'm really glad you thought Ender's Game was good. I'm really excited to see that. It's one of my favorite books, so I was a little worried that they wouldn't make the movie right. 

I heard you got a tutor for school. Hopefully that will make High School easier for you! 

Keep up the letters lil bro! I really enjoy them! 

Jessie,

Keep up the gymnastics, sis! I heard you mastered your roundoff back-handspring! That's awesome! It sounds like you're doing real well in school too. Keep it up! Thanks for the rainbow loom bracelets! They're really pretty. 

Thanksgiving 2013 in Twin Falls

It's been a long, slow week. Lots of our investigators went to visit their families for Thanksgiving, so we haven't had much to do. Elder P. and I did find some very strange and sudden service opportunities. The Lord definitely works in mysterious ways! Hopefully what we've been able to do this week opened up the hearts of some to the gospel. 

While we were out contacting on our bikes one day, an old man saw us and called to us to come help him. When we got to him, the man asked us if we were Mormon missionaries. We replied "Yes," and he immediately exclaimed "It's a good thing I called out to you!" Then he explained that his receiver dish for his T.V. had fallen down again, so he asked if one of us could climb onto the top of his trailer and hook it back up. Elder Pimentel climbed up the trailer ladder and got the receiver to work again, then climbed down. The old man came over to give us some money, but when we told him about how we believe in service, he put away the money and chuckled to himself. He then turned to us, with a glint in his eye, and said "Well, I'm Catholic, so don't tell anyone that I let the Mormon missionaries give me service. They'll think I'm planning on converting!"

Later on in the week, while we were sitting at home trying to find work to do, our neighbors, Jason and Scott, came over and asked us if we'd seen their friend. They were helping another neighbor move out, and when they came back, their friend was missing. We sort of live in the ghetto, so the fact that he was missing was a little scary. We helped them look for a little while, but we couldn't find him anywhere. Elder Pimentel and I had to leave the search to go to an appointment, but we told them we would pray for their friend. The next day they told us that their friend was alright, and that he had gone home and forgot to tell them. After they told us the good news, we talked a little bit about religion, and Jason actually said he wanted to quit smoking, so hopefully we can help him out with that. And then we played around with their Zippo lighters (apparently Elder Pimentel can do some really cool tricks with a Zippo lighter).

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Elder P. and I surprisingly only had one Thanksgiving dinner! Brother Young, our ward mission leader, invited us over to eat with his family, and we stayed there a good amount of the day. President told us not to overstay our welcome for the Thanksgiving holiday, but hey, the Young's were super welcoming the whole time! Every time we were getting ready to go, they would bring out another game and ask us to play. We played some fun games with them, like Lightning Reaction. If you have not played this game, I would implore you to do so. Let me explain. This game is a test of reaction time. A button in the middle of  the game flashes red, and when it turns green, you have to press a button on your rod. Whoever presses their button last, gets a nasty shock. It was SO funny! But quite a bit painful if you lost.

Well, that's my week! Stay tuned!

Letter for Dec 9

Well, you won't believe what Elder Pimentel and I did this week. While at the Reynold's household (members in one of the wards we cover), I partook of the most devilish food in all the world. I ate a ghost chili. This thing just looked evil, and I ate it! I believe that the more instinctual part of my brain took over for the following 15 minutes, because I have no recollection of what I did during that period of pain. All I remember is the sensation of someone lighting off fireworks in my mouth, and then the immediate feeling as if I had chewed on napalm, like it was candy. After that, I kicked into auto-pilot mode. That consisted of sipping on milk for a loooong time. Oh yeah, and trying not to cry. The Reynolds have a video of all of this. They tried to send it, but their internet wouldn't upload the file. Someday I hope you will all be able to see it. 

Anyway, this week went pretty good. It was still a little slow, but this time it was because everyone was sick. We got a new investigator, though! Her faith is amazing. She has taken all of our commitments, and we've set a baptismal date with her. She hasn't received an answer to her prayers yet, but she continues on praying and reading the Book of Mormon. We've been meeting with her at a member's home, who have been fellow-shipping her, and they've been wonderful too! Brother Haney, the member, shared with Johnny, our investigator, a very sweet story about his children's response to the Christmas story. His oldest daughter, 4 years old, after hearing about Christ's birth, said she wanted to invite Christ to her birthday party. Brother Haney asked her "How will you invite Him?" to which she responded "We'll ask Him to come!" Brother Haney, touched by her response, continued talking, and asked her "How will He come?" His daughter, a little perplexed at the question, just looked at her dad and simply said "You open the door." This story really brought the Spirit to the room, and Johnny felt it as well. She has children of her own, but she hasn't seen them in a long time. We are trying to help her get back on her feet so she can see them again. We felt prompted to tell her that as she continues down the strait and narrow path, she will be able to see her kids again. I'm very excited to see her continue to progress!

Well, those are the highlights of the week! I'm looking forward to telling everyone about next week!

Second Week in Twin Falls

It's been a long, slow week. Lots of our investigators went to visit their families for Thanksgiving, so we haven't had much to do. Elder P. and I did find some very strange and sudden service opportunities. The Lord definitely works in mysterious ways! Hopefully what we've been able to do this week opened up the hearts of some to the gospel. 

While we were out contacting on our bikes one day, an old man saw us and called to us to come help him. When we got to him, the man asked us if we were Mormon missionaries. We replied "Yes," and he immediately exclaimed "It's a good thing I called out to you!" Then he explained that his receiver dish for his T.V. had fallen down again, so he asked if one of us could climb onto the top of his trailer and hook it back up. Elder Pimentel climbed up the trailer ladder and got the receiver to work again, then climbed down. The old man came over to give us some money, but when we told him about how we believe in service, he put away the money and chuckled to himself. He then turned to us, with a glint in his eye, and said "Well, I'm Catholic, so don't tell anyone that I let the Mormon missionaries give me service. They'll think I'm planning on converting!"

Later on in the week, while we were sitting at home trying to find work to do, our neighbors, Jason and Scott, came over and asked us if we'd seen their friend. They were helping another neighbor move out, and when they came back, their friend was missing. We sort of live in the ghetto, so the fact that he was missing was a little scary. We helped them look for a little while, but we couldn't find him anywhere. Elder Pimentel and I had to leave the search to go to an appointment, but we told them we would pray for their friend. The next day they told us that their friend was alright, and that he had gone home and forgot to tell them. After they told us the good news, we talked a little bit about religion, and Jason actually said he wanted to quit smoking, so hopefully we can help him out with that. And then we played around with their Zippo lighters (apparently Elder Pimentel can do some really cool tricks with a Zippo lighter).

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Elder P. and I surprisingly only had one Thanksgiving dinner! Brother Young, our ward mission leader, invited us over to eat with his family, and we stayed there a good amount of the day. President told us not to overstay our welcome for the Thanksgiving holiday, but hey, the Young's were super welcoming the whole time! Every time we were getting ready to go, they would bring out another game and ask us to play. We played some fun games with them, like Lightning Reaction. If you have not played this game, I would implore you to do so. Let me explain. This game is a test of reaction time. A button in the middle of  the game flashes red, and when it turns green, you have to press a button on your rod. Whoever presses their button last, gets a nasty shock. It was SO funny! But quite a bit painful if you lost.

Well, that's my week! Stay tuned!

Elder Bishop poses with his Idaho Mission Presidents

Do they speak Portuguese in Twin Falls!!!

New Address as of Nov. 12:

Elder Hunter Michael Bishop

421 Maurice St North

Twin Falls ID 83301-4932

United States

This past week, I had the opportunity to watch The Testaments. I can't believe I had never seen it before! I remember the old Bible videos that were used in the movie, but it was refreshing to see a depiction of Christ's visit to the Americas. The movie definitely had the Spirit with it, and I thought it did a good job at displaying Christ's works in a respectable manner. I would encourage anyone to watch it, because it's awesome! 

Alright. I'm going to tell a little story. For my reassignment, I had the feeling I would stay here in Utah. Let me explain. Awhile ago, I had a pretty vivid dream where I ran into Brandon and Allison at the Provo Temple. I believe they then took my companion and I to some really good Mexican restaurant in Provo. I woke up, and the dream felt like it was still there. Throughout the weeks, every temple trip, I expected to see Brandon and Allison, just like the dream. It never happened. Shortly before reassignments I felt that I would stay in Provo, in the same mission that my brother served in (minus the Spanish part, of course). I prayed about it, and afterwards I felt peace. The night of the reassignments came fast, and I opened mine to see where I would be sent. Sure enough, the Lord had called me to temporarily serve in the...... Twin Falls, Idaho mission. Utah... Idaho... Basically the same thing, right? 

Anyway, I'm glad to have the opportunity to temporarily serve where I have been called. It was completely unexpected, but the Lord definitely does have a sense of humor! I leave for my reassignment on Tuesday the 12th, at 6:45 in the morning, to travel to the mission home by bus. 

I do not get to call home!!!!

Elder David Bednar: 4th Week in MTC

An Apostle Speaks:

The coolest thing happened this last Sunday. After our Sunday Devotional, our whole district stayed in the auditorium to watch a talk given by Elder Bednar entitled "Character of Christ." He gave this talk on Christmas in the MTC. I had been praying for personal revelation concerning how I might become a better instrument in God's hands, and this talk answered it completely. 

Elder Bednar spoke of how Christ reacted to pain and suffering as opposed to how the natural man would react. Where the natural man would turn inward selfishly, calling all to focus on how hard his trials are, Christ always turned outward towards others; In the greatest opposition of all time, after Christ had taken upon him all the pains and sorrows and sins of the entire world, and after He had been betrayed by one of His own apostles, Christ still turned outward. In anger against the betrayal, Peter, the senior apostle, cut off the ear of one of Jesus' captors. Just an hour or so before this, Christ suffered all. He suffered for the very pain of the man who had his ear cut off, and for the very sin Peter had just committed. Christ, instead of turning inward, directed His efforts outward, and healed the man. In all His actions Christ acted in love and service to others, and Elder Bednar made it clear that as members of His church, we must do the same. The Spirit testified to me of the truth of this message. 

BOYS will be BOYS:

On an entirely different note, yes, there are more sprained ankle stories. This time, though, it wasn't me (thank goodness). During gym time, Elder Garcia, my companion, sprained his ankle while playing basketball. That was last Saturday, and he is a lot better now. At least in our district we've only had sprains. In the other district, one Elder tripped in the shower and cut his eyelid on the shower handle, and another Elder now has a head wound because he got hit by a flying  dictionary! Other than all that craziness, no one else has been injured.

News from Kansas:

I ran into Sister Aulick this Wednesday! She just arrived at the MTC. I asked her how Elder Alex Evans was doing, because I heard he got his visa before I left. According to her though, and this is probably old news for everyone else, Elder Evans got a visa that was intended for a different Elder Evans! That's crazy. I hope and pray that he gets his visa soon though, because I'm up next! Maybe I'll even get reassigned to where Elder Evans is. That would be exciting. 

Halloween in the MTC:

My district actually knows how good your cooking is! We ate all the Halloween treats in a hurry and Pumpkin break rocked the holiday!

 I'm super excited for Brandon and Allison, and I hope all the wedding arrangements work well. Maybe I'll see them at the temple next week.

 For Halloween, all the Elders in my district switched name tags. So, for Halloween, I dressed up as Elder Percival! Speaking of Elders in my district, I'll be sending pictures soon. I'm going to upload some from Elder Sheridan's camera. 

Send me some of that candy! I'm sure the kids don't need all of it.

(This is an amazing statement because Hunter is one of my children who DOES NOT like candy! He must miss it!

Até mais! Until next time!

Callings extended: 3rd Week in MTC

(Jacob Squire and Elder Bishop) Sporting KC--6-12-2013---Hunter left his camera battery at home and we JUST discovered it! MAYBE he will get to take a few shots in the MTC!

This past week in District 4-D, we had four out of eight of our Elders receive a calling. Elder Anderson and Elder Benitez, the Elders that occupy the same residence as Elder Garcia and I, are the new Zone Leaders. They have both stepped up to the calling with a reverence and respect proper for such a call, and because of that they have been very effective in strengthening the zone.

A CHALLENGE is ISSUED:
The other two Elders who received a calling are Elder Garcia and I. We were called to be Sacrament Coordinators for our zone's ward, which is kind of ironic, since both of us are terrible at organization, and now our calling requires good organization skills. The Lord works in mysterious ways!

There isn't much else to report. The language is coming along very well, and teaching is becoming more and more second nature. My ankle is doing a lot better, and within the next few weeks I'm sure it will be completely healed. Not too much has happened this week, besides the callings, but I'm sure next week I'll be able to find some crazy funny or really awesome story to share with everyone. Sorry I have to cut this week's message so short. Chow chow (bye bye)!

Elder Bishop Farewell Talk

​​Hunter Bishop

​​2013 Farewell Talk: Agency

This being my last talk before I learn the true meaning of hard work, dedication, and rejection as I serve in Brazil, I would like to thank my ward, all of you, for the service and love you haveshown me. I would also like to thank my Bishop, Bishop Staggs, and my Stake President, President Priday, for their leadership, and for their support in my decision to serve a mission. I would like to thank the missionaries, for the opportunities they have given me to gain a little experience before leaving, and I would like to thank all my friends who came to see me speak. You’ve all been wonderful influences in my life. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents, and, you know, the rest of my family too.Reflecting on how the strength of the gospel in my family influenced me to make a commitment to a mission, I realized that without my parents raising me in the gospel, I would have never had the resolve to make such a decision. Choices such as this can be hard, but when a choice matches that of our God, joy and happiness can be expected. That’s actually what I’m going to talk about today; exercising our agency, or our power to choose, as an advocate of Christ.

Now, in our country, good ole’ America, independence is kind of a big thing, right? We love it! There’s a day dedicated to it. Men and women who use their freedom to make their own choices independently of others are praised and cheered by the populace, and while independence remains a good thing, many fail to realize that one can still be free while remaining in a state of dependence. I make my own decisions, but I still depend on my parents for support and guidance. The highest form of this is dependence on our Father in Heaven. When we put our faith in God, and are willing to make the choices that are asked of us by Him, we will experience more freedom than those that make choices on their own. If we do not depend on God, we may find ourselves tied down by bad decisions, limiting our freedom to choose good or evil. I testify that choosing to depend on God is the right path to follow, but it’s also not as easy as it sounds. Fortunately, we have help. Now remember that, keep it in your mind, because I’m going to tell a story.

Recently I saw a movie called The Way, Way Back. Don’t worry, if you haven’t seen it, this won’t ruin anything for you. Sort of. In the movie, the main character, Duncan, is dragged to a vacation home for the summer with his mom, his mom’s boyfriend, and the boyfriend’s daughter. When they arrive, the boyfriend introduces everyone to some of his old friends. At the vacation home, the adults act like irresponsible teenagers, making terrible decisions left and right. Amidst all their destructive tendencies, Duncan, who is sort of a loser, starts to sneak out of the house during the day, making the active decision to avoid evil, and instead begins to make something of himself. He gets a job working at a waterpark, and works himself into the hearts of the crew working there. Duncan, exercising his agency, chose to escape the troubles of sin and instead sought to do good things. However, Duncan did not do all of this alone. One man made the choice to help him down a healthier path. One man decided to help a lost child on his way. As we struggle in our life, we will also have someone there to help us make the right decisions. Our man is Christ.

In the Book of Mormon, Lehi depended on Christ. Elder Robert D. Hales spoke on this. (Quote) “Father Lehi, the first prophet recorded in the Book of Mormon, also chose to follow the Lord. He was instructed to “take his family and depart into the wilderness.” Despite harsh traveling conditions and the murmuring of his sons Laman and Lemuel, Lehi led his family to a land of promise.” Because Lehi righteously exercised his agency by following the Lord’s commandments, he was given all that was promised. The Lord will never back down on a promise, and if we make the decision to put our trust in Him, we can expect blessings.

Another important principle of agency is the knowledge that righteous agency is extremely difficult to follow if one is ignorant of the truth. In the Book of Mormon, we find an example of this too, in King Lamoni’s father . Having been liedto his whole life, because of the wickedness of his fathers, KingLamoni’s father seeks to kill Ammon, the Nephite missionary, believing him to be a liar and a thief, and fails. With his life in Ammon’s hands, King Lamoni’s father offers the Nephite half of his kingdom, but when Ammon spares his life for only the freedom of his brothers, and for the religious freedom of KingLamoni, this man is struck with the truth, and desires to know more. In fact, once he has learned the truth, King Lamoni lateroffers to give up all his sins, and all that he owns, to know God.As I understand it, I will see this principle in play while on my mission. As I teach what I know to be true, I hope to see those that I teach use their agency like King Lamoni’s father, desiring to come unto Christ.

2nd week in MTC: sprained ankle

Celestial Floors of MTC:

Before I continue on to the awesome of this last week, I'd like to share a little story. District 4-D resides on, and also is taught on, the "Celestial" floors of their buildings, meaning both their classroom and their residences are on the very top floors. This means that District 4-D has to work the hardest to reach their destination; they have to climb many flights of stairs. But they will be blessed with strength, being able to run and not be weary, to walk and not be faint, to develop calves even as mighty as the mountains that surround them. Truly it is a blessing that District 4-D is so privileged. District 4-D, when on the "Celestial" floor, is also privileged to have the greatest teacher, so they often make haste to be at class on time. But sometimes when they try to ascend too fast they may stumble, losing some of their blessings, because of hastiness. Plus, that can also lead to a sprained ankle. Yes, I sprained my ankle on the stinking MTC stairs. I just wanted it to sound less lame. Hence the whole metaphor with the Celestial Kingdom.

2011

Healing Power of Prayer:

On to the awesome! This week, before the sprain (which is minor by the way, no worries), I was feeling quite sick. I had a splitting headache, and I couldn't eat because I felt nauseous. In the middle of the day, I decided to pray for health. As I was praying, my headache started to ebb, and my stomach started to calm. I felt much better, and I thanked my God for this tiny miracle. What I found most amazing though, was that I could still feel the sickness. It was still there, but it was being heavily suppressed, as if some force were holding it back. I didn't feel pain from it, but I felt a pressure lingering from the sickness. I know that I felt this way because my Heavenly Father needed me to realize that I must always remember His hand in all things. I believe I received this odd miracle as a reminder to always thank Him.

An Apostle Visits:

Elder Dallin H. Oaks and his wife came to speak to the MTC last Tuesday for a devotional. What an inspired man! As he got up to the pulpit to speak, I was struck with a very real impression that this man was called of God. I had never noticed it before, but when one of God's Apostles gets up to speak, if you really pay attention, you can feel the power emanating from the keys they hold, and from the Priesthood that they worthily exercise.

Elder Oaks gave a very structured talk on the three distinguishing principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, namely that we have the fullness of the gospel, the power of the priesthood, and a unique testimony of Jesus Christ. This part of the talk, because it spoke of the joy of the restored gospel, really was a good reminder of why missionary work is so important, especially in these latter days. Elder Oaks also counseled the missionaries in the work, advising them not to look down on other churches, but to embrace the small truths one could find in all of them, and using those to connect with those of other faiths. His message overall focused on looking for the good in all things, and sharing the joy of our own knowledge. I'm excited to exercise his advice in the field! 

Elder Bishop Arrives: FIRST WEEK IN MTC

I AM HERE!

Yes, my P-day is on Friday, as you now know. The first week here was pretty tough, and extremely humbling too. I've always felt comfortable in my knowledge of the gospel, and of my ability to share it with others, but doing it in a whole different language never struck me until now. I've prayed for the gift of tongues every day! What amazes me the most is that I have begun to see a definite difference in my ability to speak and understand the language, especially when my companion, Elder Garcia, and I teach an "investigator" (they have RMs act as investigators for the missionaries to get a little practice). Our lessons have gone amazingly smooth, considering how inexperienced both of us are with the language. When we take the time to pray, asking God to bless us with the Spirit and the gift of tongues, there is an amazing increase in our comprehension of what we need to teach, and how we need to go about it in our language.

Grade A District:

Now, about my Grade A district. Everyone in my district has very strong ties to the gospel, and we've all learned so much since coming here. The best quality of my district is their good-natured humor. Everyone is so funny! It's been a hard week for us though; one of our Elders, Elder Clark, made the tough decision to go home, so he could work some things out in his life. He is a very good man, and as soon as he got home, he wrote a personal email to everyone in the district, promising each of us that he would re-apply a year from now, with a clean slate, ready to serve. I extremely admire his courage to make this decision. From his experience, among other stories I've heard in the MTC, it's very easy to see how the adversary is trying to slow the work effort, but I do not believe for a minute that all the elders here will not try their best to fight against the threat. God will provide.

FUNNY HABITS of Elders:

The Elders I live with are great! Elder Anderson, from Ohio, is a spiritual giant, and a natural leader. All the elders in our district, including our District Leader, Elder Holmes, will stop to listen to his advice. He has a funny passion for Lego's, because he plans on becoming an architect. He's learned how to build sound structures in Architecture School, but I believe he also builds sound inspiration in the other Elders. He also strangely reminds me of Uncle Jeff. He definitely has his humor, and he laughs the exact same way.

Elder Benitez, from Virginia, is a real fighter, and he has a great desire for knowledge. He must have every important scripture memorized known to the missionaries! He also had some extremely hard trials to go through early in life, and he came through them all the better. He knows how to deal with hard things. Finally, my companion, Elder Garcia, from Pennsylvania, has a profound understanding of the gospel and a unique willingness to serve, because he is the first missionary in his family. His parents converted to the Church before he was born, and raised him in righteousness. He often has very helpful insights on questions that the missionaries have, and he likes to couple that with his hilarious quick wit. Every joke he cracks is so smooth and quick. He has real bazofia (swagger). He is also fluent in Spanish, which is really helping him pick up Portuguese.

Conference was great! It was also the first conference where I was able to stay awake the whole time. My favorite talk was Elder Dubee's talk, not just cause of his awesome accent, but because his message really hit home with me. I often revel a bit too much in my own accomplishments, and his talk about "Not Looking Back" really helped answer one of the questions I had, about how I could attain humility in my mission. I know that if I focus on the work ahead, instead of getting caught up in how many people I baptize (and once you think about it, the people I baptize will not make that decision for me, but for Christ), Heavenly Father will bless me with strength and courage to continue in His work.

My time is about up. I look forward to sharing my experiences in the time to come with all my family and friends. Chow (bye) and boa sorte (good luck)!