Year One, Letter One

Sao Paulo CTM

Ola Familia!

This is my first letter to home! That means I have been here for exactly one week. It has seemed so much longer than that! Getting used to the schedule has definitely been...a challenge. I am not gunna lie, that 6:15 AM wake up call is just not working for me! But I have gotten used to it and it is getting a lot easier. Just for the update: Portuguese is confusing as heck, I am still trying to memorize Lesson 1 of Preach my Gospel, I am currently working on memorizing my testimony and my prayer in Portuguese, and on top of that I am memorizing My Purpose as a Missionary in Preach my Gospel and Joseph Smith´s First Vision in Portguese. I guess there is a lot to do right now, huh? But I have succeeded in writing in my journal every night so that is a plus.

I sent a letter home a couple days ago so you guys should get it soon. My companion is a guy named Elder Yuma. He is from Roseburg, Oregon. I am also rooming with a guy named Elder Gibbons, Elder Castellanos, and Elder Jensen. We are all getting along pretty well. We are having a fun time. The food is nothing close to mom´s cooking. Or to American food in general. I would actually LOVE a bowl of cereal right now. The beds are far from comfy haha. But overall...I love it here. It is amazing. When i got to the airport, I was expecting maybe 6 or 7 other guys there; but there were actually a few more...try 25 other missionaries going to Brazil. It was awesome. The 10 hour flight was delayed two hours so we got to Brazil late. It was definitely not my favorite flight. But when I got here, we went straight to lunch and surprise...Elder Ruiz was right there. He gave me a huge hug and we talked for a few minutes. I know why he and Blake got along so well. I also saw Elder Denver Lane! He left to Salvador this morning but we got to see each other quite a bit over the last week. He was so excited when he saw me. I also met up with 3 other guys that I was friends with from Mountain View. It has been absolutely crazy. I am trying so hard and I think I am doing above average so I am just helping my companion out with his studies. The schedule has kept me so busy but I love being able to study the Preach My Gospel manual and all my scriptures.

This morning for our first P-day, we went to the Campinas Temple. It was amazing. It is set up on this hill overlooking all of the city. The view was beautiful and the temple itself was amazing. It was crazy doing everything in Portuguese but really cool at the same time. It was an amazing experience.

Well, I am running out of time and my companion is waiting on me, but I love all of you and I miss you all! I will write you next week and I will hopefully have a little more time! I definitely wanna tell you guys about some more stuff. Love you!