Well, I made it through the 2nd week at the CMT. (by the way
this is a weird keyboard so excuse any typos, and i don’t think that the enter
key works) I am starting to love speaking Portuguese. I am doing well, even if I
occasionally slip into the primitive language of Spanish. I can hold
conversations with the natives, and i am usually able to understand what they
are saying. I’ve decided that the things I miss most are my family, and English.
I love going to the temple, we take up about 90 percent of the
session, so they do it in English (I think the Spanish missionaries do the same
thing). We spend about 10 hours a day in a classroom, stuffing our brains full
of Portuguese, and top it off with some missionary stuff. The food is still
good, even if most of the American elders are having problems with it. I love
the devotionals, even if i don’t always understand everything that is being
said. I love the people of Brazil, you can go up and talk to anyone, and they don’t
look at you like you are weird. The city is huge and it takes about an hour
just to get to the Sao Paulo temple on the other side of the city, and looking
out of our window, it is impossible to tell where downtown is simply because
the entire city has tons of skyscrapers.
I am starting to get tired
of doing just about the same thing every day, but p-days are a great boost, as
are Sundays. I miss being at home with my family and friends, but here i am
constantly surrounded by 7 of my best friends, all of whom are in the exact
same boat (or district) as I am. I am excited to get out and start teaching on
the streets (we get to at 4 weeks) one of our pesquiadores committed to baptism
last week. I love Tuesday mornings, because we get to do service (not sit in
the classroom and try to teach ourselves Portuguese) and we clean the building.
The CTM has a beautiful courtyard and some picnic tables outside that we love
to have our lessons at (if only because that makes it so we are in the
classroom for 9 hours instead of 10) Our district is becoming very close, and
during meals we rarely sit with less than another companionship.
The Brazilians that arrived at the same time as us just
left, so we lost a few of our friends, the room I am in now has two Brazilians
staying in it along with the four of us. We are starting to get used to the CMT
and the language. Our instructors now don’t respond to us if we ask questions
in English, except to help us say it in Portuguese. The spirit is very strong
here in the CMT and you learn a lot in your studies. I have been learning a lot
about myself, about others, as well as about the gospel and how to teach it. It’s
kind of strange how the instructors don’t ever give us feedback on the lessons
we teach, but i feel like i am still learning a lot.
There is a guy who has a shop just outside of the CTM that
sells really nice leather scripture cases to missionaries, and i am getting one
with a picture of Christ coming out of the tomb on it. I learn a lot, and we
are often told to keep our head up even though it is hard, and it is hard, but
i try to keep my head up. Thanks for your letters, and Heather I laughed when I
read that blaze slept on your stomach. Please keep sending them, I look forward
to them, and enjoy them greatly. (And if you didn’t send me one, try to this
week.) I heard that spencer made it to Mexico this week, so congrats to
Elder Hunt. Well my time is short and I love you all.
-Elder Lindsey
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