Rooming with Brazilieros

I'm really beginning to enjoy the work. Yesterday we had an 'English fast' which essentially meant we were quiet for most of the time, but it also was fun to see how much Portuguese I knew. This way of learning is growing on me. I probably said this before, but they don't teach grammer here as much as they teach you how to teach. We've had tons of practice investigators, and although we don't know much at all, we can say enough to let the spirit guide our conversations in a good direction. I know I'm becoming a much more powerful teacher in English, now I just need to transfer it to the next dimension. I havn't heard alot more about Porto Alegre yet except that the temperatures are extremes on both ends, the genetics are well mixed, and the language is so well spoken it is as if the people sing Portuguese rather than speak it. All in all it makes me want to get out in the field even more.

 

As for more information about here, I'll start with food. Lunch is the largest and every meal is stuffed full of protien. That combined with three Gym times a week means I'm putting on a few pounds. Don't think I'll keep them for long though. :D My companion's name is Elder Davidson. He lives in the Bay area of California and went to BYU Hawaii. He's beastly huge and a pro at basketball. Overall, he's nearly the oposite of me. In a room, we have six people. Me and my companion, Elder Newey and Elder DeYoung (the musical geniuses), and two Bazilieros (whose names I have already forgotten). It's fun to talk to the Brazilians because it gives you a chance to practice your portuguese.

In the end, everything is great, the people are wonderful, and the spirit is more poerful than any credit we can give him. Of that I can testify. Thanks everyone for your prayers and for your words. May the Lord bless you in all your endeavors.

 

Sincerely,

Elder Angus

Hiyah from São Paulo, Brazil.

The CTM (that's portuguese for MTC) is huge, and crazy. Apparently it's one of the largest LDS buildings outside of the states. Cool Beans right?

Anyway, I officially know that prtuguese is a real pain to learn. Four years of Spanish kind of helps, but it is also the opposite. Basically, portuguese is a french style of Spanish, and it is a completely different way of pronouncing practically every letter. The way they teach is interesting too. Just in this first week my companion and I have learned to pray, bear our testimonies, and we have taught two investigators. Que legal! (How cool!) The atmosphere here is really an interesting one. You are surrounded by hundreds of people from several countries, all speaking different languages, but all coming for one purpose: to preach the word of God unto the nations and bring others closer to Christ.

I'm going to skip the 10 hour flight stories and save you the trouble. When I got here, it didn't feel any different from Colorado. Turns out, this is one of the hottest and dryest winters in Brazil. So naturally it is about twenty degrees hotter and alot mioster than when I arrived. :T' <- Sweaty Emoticon. São Paulo is quite incredible. The city is gigantic and there are high rises as far as the eye can see, even when in flight. The driving is probably the only thing that makes me realize I'm in another country. As you go down the road, you will hear alot of quick horn honking, which means that someone is switching lanes abruptly. Essentially, it's like blaring your horn, turning into the next lane and hoping nobody hits you as you do this. Another thing, which may or may not be true, I heard that if you hit a pedestrian with your car, it's not punishable by law unless you stop. Thus, cars naturally have the right of way on all streets. Imagine that.

Anyway, I, a lowly servant of the lord, am toiling away in study and prayer in order to better prepare myself to teach with confidence and knowledge, and do it in Portuguese. I only get 30 minutes to write here at the CTM, so I'll say just a few more things. One is that the Brazil national Hymn sounds so much cooler than ours, and I'm officially adopting it, even though I have yet to understand the lyrics. >:D Two is taht prayer and study, when combined are a true force that can build upon the very foundations of your education. Finally, Charity is everything. Without Christlike love for one another, we become nothing but creatures destined to thrive in sorrow or greed for the rest of our lives.

Thanks for all the prayers and the help you all have given me.

Sincerely Elder Angus.

P.S. Postage trakes 2 weeks+ to get here so DON'T send letters. E-mail me. But if you do send letters, send them to my mission address instead of the CTM, otherwise they will be returned if I've already left for the field. :'(

Hello Brazil!

Jess has safely arrived at the MTC in Sa Paulo, Brazil. A brief email was sent to my dearest mother to inform her he had arrived. It was full of useful information but I can only hope that they too gave him that crucial bit of advice that I gave a few nights before he left: "Jess...don't get eaten by Piranhas."

We are hoping he writes us a letter every week (if he doesn't, President Garret will haunt him with a late night telephone call) so there will be plenty of adventures to post on here (as long as he follows my advice because if he doesn't then...well the adventure will be cut short). We're just glad to know that he has arrived safely and even if he is in the southern part of Brazil and not in the Amazon forest where there are all sorts of creepy crawlies and deadly beasts...I still stand by my advice because getting eaten by Piranhas, as great a story it would be, would really hinder his ability to do his duty as a missionary.

Good luck, Elder Angus.