This last week has been roughhhhh. So like I mentioned last tuesday, I was feeling kinda sick. Then from Wednesday until probably Sunday night I had the nastiest sinus infection. I was blowing my nose every couple seconds, my sinuses felt like they were going to explode, and on top of all that, I couldn't sleep. It was like a little personal hell here in "Spiritual Prison" as those of us who have been here for longer than 4 weeks like to call the MTC. Don't get me wrong, though, I am still loving my time here and am still continuing to learn way more than my brain can physically handle, but you get a very real case of cabin fever here (Cue the song from Muppet Treasure Island). But I powered through what I could. I tried to stay back and sleep most days until about lunch time and I was able to make it to at least my evening class or studies. Mas tudo bem em Sião.
So to answer some questions that Mom asked me in a dear elder this week:
1. The MTC gives you a nice set of Scriptures in your mission language along with all of your other language materials on your first day here. Free.
2. In regards to the food here. I hate it. I feel gross and fat just thinking about having to eat in the cafeteria. It's not bad for the first couple days here, but all the meals are cycled every week and they all are just mass quantity thawed frozen meals basically. The meat is all Nast.
3. Bed bugs. We actually are just all sleeping in one room now, our district elders that is. The other room has 6 beds and there are only 6 of us left, so we keep all our stuff in our room, but sleep in the other one. I have not seen anymore for like a week and a half or so.
4. Tuesday Devotionals and Sunday Night Firesides here are awesome. Up until today they have all been emeritus general authorities and their wives on Tuesdays and on Sundays we usually have an administrator for the Missionary department in the church HQ, or somebody like that. But two weeks ago we had Jenny Baker Oaks (Dallin H. Oaks' daughter) who graduated from Jiulliard in Violin Perfomance and she came and played her own arrangements of a bunch of hymns with her friend who also went to Jiullard for piano. She was a huge diva, but it was some of the best violin I've heard live in my life. Also big news. Tonight at the devotional we are all expecting someone big. We are singing Jesus Once of Humble Birth and the whole devo. is being broadcast to all the MTCs worldwide. So crossing my fingers for an apostle. (Please be Bednar or Holland!) haha.
5. I did see Marissa Miller. It took me 4 days to find her, and I've seen her a couple times since.
6. Being a Zone Leader isn't too hard in the MTC. I really don't have that much responsibility or very many duties. But I've enjoyed it a lot. I like to introduce all the new frightened sheep that show up every Wednesday haha. I like leading.
I think that was all of them.
Some more news from this week. I got my haircut yesterday, it looks good. The ladies in the barbershop are technically not allowed to cut the top of you hair shorter than about a 5, but I told the lady just to cut it as short as she could and she got it down to at least a 4. It's so much nicer. Life is a lot better when you don't have to deal with curly hair.
So this is my last week here at the training center and I am excited to get into the field wherever the Lord sees fit to send me for now. I will get my reassignment on Friday most likely. So to explain how that works for everybody: When you are going to Brazil or Argentina, you are probably not going to receive your VISA until you are out of the MTC for a while. So they have us all here learning Spanish and Portuguese (which is way better than Spanish), for our 6 weeks, and after the 6 weeks we are all fluent in the language (ha), and about 3 days before you are supposed to leave you all get a new mission call with travel itineraries, and it's not certain when you will be leaving. There's usually at least one missionary who gets his or her reassignment on Friday and they leave that night at like 2 in the morning. Either way, after I get my call I'll get to have a "Pday" and I will email and then I'll call when I fly out, or if I just walk down the street to the Provo Mission Home haha which happened to one of my friends here who left last week.
I still wish that I could go straight to Rio de Janeiro for a couple reasons, mainly being that I don't want to forget Portchy, and come on, I'm going to Rio de Janeiro, probably the most amazing and beautiful mission in the world. Plus from all that I have been hearing about Brazilians and Brazil missions, it sounds like the promised land, the people are all so faithful and religious already, they love Christ and God and they accept the true Gospel of Jesus Cristo happily and smiling all the while. But I am also so excited to know where I will be going in a week! I know it will be a much needed learning experience and will help me tons as I truly become the missionary that I am going to become.
Eu amo este evangelho. Sei que Jesus Cristo é meu Salvador e Redentor. Se léssemos o Livro de Mórmon e orássemos sobre a mensagem dele, Deus vai responder por meio do Espírito Santo. Precisamos escutar para os pensimentos e sentimentos que ele nos dá continualmente. Estas coisa são verdadeiras. Eu sei isto porque escutei e continuo a escutar ao Espírito. Vocês podem saber isto também. Como fala em Tiago 1:5 "If any of you lack wisdom, ask of God. Who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given you" or something like that. Mom - you can fix that scripture before you post it to the blog. Tiago=James
Pedi e recebereis. Bateis e ser-vos-á aberto. Amém.
Com amor!
Elder Evans
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