It's a Coaster RIde

The ups and down of MTC and missionary life continue!

Health: Disease still seems rampant among our district. Our awesome DL (Elder P--but Elder A is now our DL) was soooo loopy on Wednesday, and then ended up sleeping almost the entire day on Thursday, and still has a nasty cough. Elder E (one of our zone leaders--the same one that had bed bugs) was also out for most of Thursday/Friday. The sisters are in good spirits, but we all sound like a pack of 40 year old chain smokers.

I've been sick for two weeks now, and I must say that I am thoroughly sick of being sick. Our first teacher, Irmao C, served in a more remote section of Brazil, and he comforted us by letting us know that he was sick his entire mission. Yay. I've been in good spirits, and despite hacking up disgusting yellow-green mucus from my lungs, I feel really pretty good. Poor Sister M has probably had the worst of it this past week, and she started dry heaving during one of her lessons with an investigator....then the next day her companion, Sister W, had a coughing attack to the point of tears during another lesson.

The district: I am completely convinced that we have the BEST district. We've been close since the first week, but this week we had an Elder go home, and it was really hard on all of us. We knew that it was best for him to return, but all of us were definitely really torn up about it, and it really felt like a brother had left us.

Elder S and Elder N probably took it the hardest. We had an emotional class period right after he left, and it has really helped us to grow and strengthen our district. I. love. these. elders. They are incredibly humble, sensitive, hardworking, and fun. We laugh and joke around at times (sometimes a bit too much), but in the end, we are a family, and there is always someone looking out for you. I had a ridiculously hormonal  down day yesterday, and they all were so sweet and tried to cheer me up--which worked! I so appreciate the fact that they look for ways that they can help those around them. They are going to be great missionaries. 

Also--Elder S is pretty much all of the Sister's FAV. He's precious. He does a bunch of goofy voices, and his color-coordinated scripture tabs make my OCD heart smile. 

He grew up with 3 sisters, so you just know that he has a sensitive side. He also reminds me a lot of Sawyer, which is oddly really comforting. I'm grateful to have a reminder of home within my new MTC "family." ALSO, his mom is pretty much the greatest. I think he's gotten like 10 packages since being here, and she always sends stuff for his companion and the district. She sent us a few balls, and at the end of a 16 hour day, tossing that little green ball around is the greatest stress relief.

 
Investigators: We got a new "investigator", Francisco, last week. He's in his late 40s and his wife and two youngest children are members. He has never had a desire to hear the gospel before, and on our first visit he expressed how he is content with his life and doesn't feel the need for religion in his life. We testified and taught the restoration and BoM, but still felt unsettled after the lesson. After a day of prayer, thought, and study, Sister T and I both came together for companionship study with the SAME idea--teach him through the story of Ammon and Lamoni.  Ammon, a Nephite missionary, decided to serve a mission to the Lamonite people who were known enemies of the Nephites. 

Ammon was captured and become a servant of King Lamoni, the Lamonite King. King Lamoni was impressed with Ammon's faithfulness when Ammon defended the king's flock from a band of robbers. Ammon was then able to teach King Lamoni the true source of his courage and faith. King Lamoni and his entire household were converted. It was....missionary insight for sure! We spent two lessons going through that story, and relating it back to him. We helped him realize that Lamoni was content with his life, but when he opened his heart and heard the gospel, he felt even greater joy than he could have felt ever before. It was a powerful moment, and since then he has kept commitments, prayed and read scriptures with his wife, and committed to baptism in two weeks! We're grateful for the guiding power of the Spirit as we tailor our lessons specifically to his needs.

We also had the opportunity to do TRC for the first time this week. It's basically teaching Portuguese-speaking member volunteers, and sharing a simple message that can help them to draw nearer to Christ. Sister T and I were on fire! We were able to understand a lot of what they said, get to know them better, and really feel Christlike love towards these people. It was a huge blessing, and reading their feedback sheets was really encouraging.

But then....we did a practice door approach yesterday....rough. The door approach went smoothy, as ST and I have been practicing a lot, but once inside the person had a LOT of questions, and with our limited Portuguese ability we ended up repeating ourselves a lot and not being very clear. Ah well, live and learn. 

We've made it a district goal to do a contact every day, which is really fun. Often times we'll contact a companionship, and then we bear our testimony to each other in various languages. It's sweet! Everyone here is ridiculously friendly, and for the most part super happy as well.
   
Classes: Irmao C (our amazing first teacher whom has taught at the MTC for 3 years), has been out of town for a week, which means that we have had like 3 different substitutes.....we miss him. Every teacher has commented on how fast our district is learning Portuguese, and how we are doing really well at making plans and teaching, but unfortunately that means that we've gotten a LOT less structure and instruction with these subs. I'm very much a woman of structure, so sitting in our morning class for THREE hours without direction has been very frustrating. We've still had our other awesome teacher, Irmao D(aka Aquilino & Francisco) for night classes (6-9pm), and he's really good at keeping us focused without boring us to death....some of the subs, not so much....

The captive audience

Side note: I know I've said it before, but all of the teachers here are way attractive. We had one play the role of one of our investigator's friends in a lesson....whoooo man did I have to pray for focus. It's a struggle.

Companion: I cannot say enough good things about my dear companion, Sister T. (Mom keeps asking me where she is from, and I keep forgetting to answer her.) She has lived all over the United States, but is currently from England.

Every day we are so grateful for each other, and though there are some less-than-perfect ridiculously hormal rampant hippopotomus times, we really do work well together. She is so patient, kind, and hardworking. We're almost always on the same page, and we've gotten to the point where we know when the other person needs a break, or needs some words of encouragement. She's such a powerful teacher, and has been blessed with an ability to just LOVE people. It's a trait that I'm still working to develop, so it's really good that she's my first companion--I've learned a ton from her already.

Okay, random bits:
We got TWENTY-SEVEN new people in our zone this week--it's insane. Nobody left this week, so every meeting/laundry/etc is super hectic. One district seems really super awesome, but the other one....not so much....kind of like the difference between my district and Garrison's district. I'M SO THANKFUL FOR MY DISTRICT. Our district has a tradition of writing letters to our district members twice a week, so that way every member gets a letter from everyone else by the end of our stay here. It's a huge blessing, and has been so sweet and encouraging! WE HAVE THE BEST DISTRICT.    

Elder E thought he resolved the bed bug problem........but a few days ago he found one ALIVE. Gross. He captured it and named it Korihor. (the anti-christ of the Book of Mormon) So.... great...bed bugs in the MTC!        Thank you for all of your love and support! Being a missionary is really awesome. It is such a unique opportunity to live, study, and breathe the gospel. I have such a testimony of this church, and the power that it has in people's lives.

"Obedience is the price, Faith is the power, Love is the motive, Spirit is the key, Christ is the reason, Joy is the reward"  Elder Goodman

 Sister Colvin