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