Hey everyone! thanks first off for all of your letters and for all of your support and i can't even begin to tell you how happy they all make me! This week has been crazy crazy crazy! you'll all also notice that for a while you won't be getting hand written letters! we were reminded of a rule here that i wasn't aware of until last sunday but our branch president said that we only can write letters on p day. so this week has been a lesson in obedience! it's so hard for me not to write back to all of you when i get something! i so wish that i could but i know i will be blessed for being obedient! as well as everyone that i love and care about will be blessed for me being obedient! it's hard but worth it! mom thank you for the package and everything in it! it is exactly what i needed and so i am so thankful for that! thank you for your help there and also with taxes! thank you for all the support that you guys have given me! sometimes i need it to make it through these long long days! the missionties.com idea sounds fantastic! i would love hearing from everyone in 2-3 days compared to weeks! just let me know what you need from me to do that!
so a normal day in the mtc....well we wake up at 6:24 to be exact and we pray then we go to gym and pray and we stay there for an hour! we come back and get ready for breakfast at 815 and then we have our first set of classes at 845 until 1... and we pray about 6 times in there...usually depending on what our teachers schedules are like! we have two teachers! i love them both! both recent rm's from brazil! they are so awesome! we have lunch at one where we pray and than back to class or study time from 145 to 6. where we pray about 6 times in there as well! we have dinner at 6 til 645 and then depending on the agenda we either have a devotional or class again until 9. where we pray 3 times! then we have companion planning time and plan our goals for the next day until 930. we pray twice in there! then we do pullups and workout a bit more til ten and then we pray and write in the journal! it adds up to about 24 prayers a day...(not enough to be honest) and about 13-14 hours of class! it's hard work but so rewarding!
ok now for my favorite part of the email...the spiritual thoughts!...the first one is in proverbs 3:5. lately i've had a hard time leaving everything at home and questioning why i am here...which usually means your doing something right if satan is making you question it all...but anyway i said a prayer in the shower the other night and i haven't thought of this scripture since my freshman year probably and it came to me totally memorized and i know it was the spirit reassuring me! i know it! next thought is captain moroni! he was the best!!!! he was so amazing! go back and read the title of liberty chapters and there is a scripture that says even satan feared him! how amazing is that!! next thought is in nephi 1. i just finished the book of first nephi and it is amazing when you really truly intently study something to know if it's true! nephi was so amazing! one of my role models to be honest! then the final thought...alma 26:27-30! it's the sons of mosiah that were so wicked and repented and now they are on a mission! it hits home to me a bit more...because they gave up everything imaginable! it even says that in the scriptires but they did it! with joy in their hearts and ever trusting in the lord! they wouldn't have gone back and done it any other way! i know it's hard here sometimes...never leaving a certain area or leaving the side of someone but i know if i do it with joy and focus on the lord that he will bless me! in the trc (the place where we teach fake investigators) this week we had an amazing time! the spirit was so strong! "in my very hour of need i was directed towards what i should say!" i flipped open to scriptures that answered questions i would have struggled with before! it was so reassuring to know of the sprit and it's help to me! now for your challenge! read preach me gospel! you will never regret it! take it line by line! you could honestly write a whole talk in every line and every quote! especially read chapter 4! AMAZING!
thank you so much for all your support! the computer is blinking at me right now telling me i have 3 minutes so i better wrap up! for all of you stay strong! i know you are strong! i know it!!!! be stronger!! i love you all so much! i miss you like crazy but my obedience is blessing me and you and more importantly the people of brazil! i know it without a doubt! joseph smith was a prophet of god and those keys that were restored are the keys in the church today! i love you all! i love you all so much! have the courage of nephi! the strength of moroni. the persistance and joy of the sons of mosiah! i love you all so much! all my love! proverbs 3:5! trust the lord with all thy heart! love elder excell!!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
January 22, 2010 - Provo MTC
Alright so it's hard to write back to everything because you guys are just so supportive! i love it so so so much! getting a letter from all of you was fantastic! i miss you all so very much but the work must go forward! Alright highlights for my week and then i will answer or at least try to answer some questions mom. The highlight of the week was teaching my first lesson to a real investigator in english of course but still so so so cool! now for the awkward part of that...blake said that i would see a lot of nursing when i got to brazil..well i didn't even have to wait that long to see it! they have volunteers that we teach and this lady had an 8 month old baby that was hungry so...bam there it is when i look up and talk about i lost my focus! me and my comp just kept going but talk about something hard to work around! the lesson went so well tho! the spirit was so so strong especially when she said our closing prayer! she knows it's true! eternal famlies is a concept that hit her very hard with her and her new family! she spoke portuguese too so we got to do our contact in portugese! i feel so blessed in how well i am grasping the language! it's amazing! gifts of god are real! when you just start talking with the spirit and in another language but you don't know it til your comp looks at you and says..."i didn't understand a word of that portugese you spoke, how did you learn it so fast" Gifts of god are real!
now for the questions...yes my companion is chase anderson entered same day as me from bluffdale utah. we get along great! still trying on the patience but so awesome to have a comp like him! so far i have lost 5 pounds! i've beeen working out hard and not eating all of the stuff they have here! you could live off this kitchen for probably decades! it's gigantic! yes the schedule is crazy hence the amount of letters home have been few! sorry! i don't even have time to think sometimes! i decided the weeks go by like days but unfortunatley the days go by like weeks sometimes too! we spend about 14 hours a day in the same class room. we have two teachers and they are both amazing! irmao peterson and irmao smith! oh p.s. i saw chad ruger today! he gave me a good well needed hug so that was good! when we started we had 19 people in our district! it's ginormous! now we only have 14 because five got visas the first day!!! so so so lucky! our zone is huge too because it's everyone waiting for visas to brazil! some people are now going into their 15th week here! i hope i'm not like that! we could be shipped out anyday theoretically...but yes you would get a call from me! they will let you know everything! i got the envelope and it's already sent back so be watching for it and dad thanks for helping with taxes! just let me know what you need from me and how it turns out! whoever said portuguese is like spanish is completely wrong! it's so different! i wouldn't even know a difference to be honest! it's tough but like i said i have been blessed extremely well! thank you so much for your prayers! i feel them everyday! my thoughts for the week...ether chapter 2 and ether 3. it's the story of how the brother of jared lights the boats! relate it all to goals! he has a plan and he asks god what to do. he gets an answer and does it! just remember a high goal missed is better than a low goal achieved! apostles have told us that in brazil it could be possible to baptize 1 person a week so i am shooting for the stars and maybe landing on the moon! i'll tell you right now my goal is to baptize 125 people! it's not going to be easy but goals are meant to stretch you! preach my gospel is amazing! you could seriously write a book just about each sentence! it's amazing! i love that book! this week i started reading the book of mormon again and i want you all to look at the first 10 verses of the book and you will find at least one core gospel priciple in each verse! it's an incredible book! i love both of these books! they compliment each other so well!
well time is running short and i'm sorry i don't have more! i could write to you all forever! dad the vikings should be in the bowl! we all know that! =) i love you all so so so so much! i will get you all a letter in the mail today! remember that god lives! deus vive! eu sei que jesus cristo es un salvador! i love you all! ttyl
now for the questions...yes my companion is chase anderson entered same day as me from bluffdale utah. we get along great! still trying on the patience but so awesome to have a comp like him! so far i have lost 5 pounds! i've beeen working out hard and not eating all of the stuff they have here! you could live off this kitchen for probably decades! it's gigantic! yes the schedule is crazy hence the amount of letters home have been few! sorry! i don't even have time to think sometimes! i decided the weeks go by like days but unfortunatley the days go by like weeks sometimes too! we spend about 14 hours a day in the same class room. we have two teachers and they are both amazing! irmao peterson and irmao smith! oh p.s. i saw chad ruger today! he gave me a good well needed hug so that was good! when we started we had 19 people in our district! it's ginormous! now we only have 14 because five got visas the first day!!! so so so lucky! our zone is huge too because it's everyone waiting for visas to brazil! some people are now going into their 15th week here! i hope i'm not like that! we could be shipped out anyday theoretically...but yes you would get a call from me! they will let you know everything! i got the envelope and it's already sent back so be watching for it and dad thanks for helping with taxes! just let me know what you need from me and how it turns out! whoever said portuguese is like spanish is completely wrong! it's so different! i wouldn't even know a difference to be honest! it's tough but like i said i have been blessed extremely well! thank you so much for your prayers! i feel them everyday! my thoughts for the week...ether chapter 2 and ether 3. it's the story of how the brother of jared lights the boats! relate it all to goals! he has a plan and he asks god what to do. he gets an answer and does it! just remember a high goal missed is better than a low goal achieved! apostles have told us that in brazil it could be possible to baptize 1 person a week so i am shooting for the stars and maybe landing on the moon! i'll tell you right now my goal is to baptize 125 people! it's not going to be easy but goals are meant to stretch you! preach my gospel is amazing! you could seriously write a book just about each sentence! it's amazing! i love that book! this week i started reading the book of mormon again and i want you all to look at the first 10 verses of the book and you will find at least one core gospel priciple in each verse! it's an incredible book! i love both of these books! they compliment each other so well!
well time is running short and i'm sorry i don't have more! i could write to you all forever! dad the vikings should be in the bowl! we all know that! =) i love you all so so so so much! i will get you all a letter in the mail today! remember that god lives! deus vive! eu sei que jesus cristo es un salvador! i love you all! ttyl
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The First Email Home!!
oh my gosh i can't even explain to you how nice it is to finally get to talk to you!! I miss everyone tons but the MTC is seriously so so so amazing! i love it so much! the spirit hasn't left since i got here! I guess i should start at the beginnning! as soon as you enter the mtc you walk into this room and it's just like the missionary army assembly line! they set you up with everything you need while you are here! You saw the host as he picked me up and i went through the line with him and he carried all of my luggage all the way to my room (which wasn't a small feat by any means!) we had enough time to drop off my stuff and just head straight to class! as soon as i got to class i watched a intro movie with a whole ton of rules and stuff like that! not to exciting but it was necessary! after that we got straight into portugese and it was amazing! i already feel so good with what i have learned! i'm not gonna lie at some times i think about how i only have 9 weeks to learn this and i have no idea how to even form much of my own freestyle sentence yet but it is still way awesome! after that we went to a big large group mtc orientation where the mission presidency and their wives all talked and it was amazing but out of no where elder jeffrey r holland walked in and at the end of president smith's talk he gave an impromptu talk like i have never heard in my life! imagine the same kind of mood as his last conference talk about the book of mormon but it was about missionary work this time! i have never felt the spirit so strong in my life! he said "this is not a fairy tale, we didn't make all of this up just to tease you and trick you all into being here! this gospel is real and so is this work!" i can't even explain the feeling in that room! just jaw dropping spirit! i could have walked on the spirit it was that strong!
now to answer some of your questions...i'll see if i remember most of them...
1. yes the food is extremely good here! they have the best salads i have ever ate and on top of that i can eat cereal every single meal!!! they even have blueberry muffin tops!!!
2. my "companheiro" is awesome! his name is elder anderson and he is from bluffdale utah! it's also very weird to be next to someone ALL the time! his personality is patience trying sometimes but he is a son of god that is trying to be the best he can! what else could i ask for!
3. Mom...the Tool program is here but we haven't yet got into it! this week's schedule is deifferent than all of my other weeks here will be bcause we are new! speaking of which my p day from now on will be friday so you can look for emails then.
4. as far as visas go...right now our zone leaders have been here for 13 weeks and we are only supposed to be here for 9. it's crazy they just aren't going through but we pray for them everyday! i also can say my prayers and testimony in portugese already! so amzing!
5. don't worry about the balance between writing too much and not writing! i can't even describe to you what the support has meant to me! i have recieved several letters and a couple packages already and they seriously make my day!
6. Now you can take this however you want but i hope you know me well enough to know that i am in this for the long haul and how much i love it here!....it is so so so so so tough sometimes! satan is a dirtbag as kenon would say! (send me his address by the way) anyway it is so hard here to keep going sometimes! but i was called by god to do god's work! i was forordained to this mission to help someone in need and i know that i am in the right spot regardless of how hard it gets!
I'm sure i didn't even touch some questions at all but i hope this will help you to know i am ok! thank you for the support! i will never be able to explain to you how much it means! feel free to cut whatever of this out you want and put it on the blog! i am so excited to be here! i can't stress that enough! i know this work really is great and marvelous! i feel the spirit so strong telling me what i need to do to be the best i ever can be! every single single single thing we do here at the mtc is working towards preaching this great and marvelous word! we run and workout everyday to stay in shape to preach it! we study and pray so we can teach it better! I promise you from the best point of view i think there could be that this word is going forward in every way! i have met so many people that i instantly love! i can't wait to fall in love with people in brazil! i hope it's closer to 9 weeks than 13 but i know God has his hand in ALL THINGS!
i can't even explain how much i love each of you! Cassi i miss you a lot! when i see the sisters here i think of you! you don't have to be perfect, just be inspiring! Ty, how's band? Mom i miss you! i love you so much! thank you for helping me get here and stay here! your letters mean the world! Dad, i hope you know that you can say things to me that no one else can and they impact me so hard! here's everyone's spiritual thought or what i found interesting this week! it's one of the 100's of things i have learned! Moroni 7: 13,16,19! that's how to know the spirit! I know that without any doubt in my mind! the spirit is real and this gospel is incredible and it is for every single person on this earth!
i love you so much! til next friday! keep the emails coming now but never forget hopw much these hand written letters have meant! i can't say i love you enough! give yoursleves a big hug from me! i love you so much! I would say god bless but i know he already does!
Love Elder Excell!!!
p.s......don't dis on my grammar! i did my best!!!
now to answer some of your questions...i'll see if i remember most of them...
1. yes the food is extremely good here! they have the best salads i have ever ate and on top of that i can eat cereal every single meal!!! they even have blueberry muffin tops!!!
2. my "companheiro" is awesome! his name is elder anderson and he is from bluffdale utah! it's also very weird to be next to someone ALL the time! his personality is patience trying sometimes but he is a son of god that is trying to be the best he can! what else could i ask for!
3. Mom...the Tool program is here but we haven't yet got into it! this week's schedule is deifferent than all of my other weeks here will be bcause we are new! speaking of which my p day from now on will be friday so you can look for emails then.
4. as far as visas go...right now our zone leaders have been here for 13 weeks and we are only supposed to be here for 9. it's crazy they just aren't going through but we pray for them everyday! i also can say my prayers and testimony in portugese already! so amzing!
5. don't worry about the balance between writing too much and not writing! i can't even describe to you what the support has meant to me! i have recieved several letters and a couple packages already and they seriously make my day!
6. Now you can take this however you want but i hope you know me well enough to know that i am in this for the long haul and how much i love it here!....it is so so so so so tough sometimes! satan is a dirtbag as kenon would say! (send me his address by the way) anyway it is so hard here to keep going sometimes! but i was called by god to do god's work! i was forordained to this mission to help someone in need and i know that i am in the right spot regardless of how hard it gets!
I'm sure i didn't even touch some questions at all but i hope this will help you to know i am ok! thank you for the support! i will never be able to explain to you how much it means! feel free to cut whatever of this out you want and put it on the blog! i am so excited to be here! i can't stress that enough! i know this work really is great and marvelous! i feel the spirit so strong telling me what i need to do to be the best i ever can be! every single single single thing we do here at the mtc is working towards preaching this great and marvelous word! we run and workout everyday to stay in shape to preach it! we study and pray so we can teach it better! I promise you from the best point of view i think there could be that this word is going forward in every way! i have met so many people that i instantly love! i can't wait to fall in love with people in brazil! i hope it's closer to 9 weeks than 13 but i know God has his hand in ALL THINGS!
i can't even explain how much i love each of you! Cassi i miss you a lot! when i see the sisters here i think of you! you don't have to be perfect, just be inspiring! Ty, how's band? Mom i miss you! i love you so much! thank you for helping me get here and stay here! your letters mean the world! Dad, i hope you know that you can say things to me that no one else can and they impact me so hard! here's everyone's spiritual thought or what i found interesting this week! it's one of the 100's of things i have learned! Moroni 7: 13,16,19! that's how to know the spirit! I know that without any doubt in my mind! the spirit is real and this gospel is incredible and it is for every single person on this earth!
i love you so much! til next friday! keep the emails coming now but never forget hopw much these hand written letters have meant! i can't say i love you enough! give yoursleves a big hug from me! i love you so much! I would say god bless but i know he already does!
Love Elder Excell!!!
p.s......don't dis on my grammar! i did my best!!!
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