Week #2 at the CTM in Brazil

Hey all!

 

Week two just wrapped up for me here in Brazil and there is alot to talk about like usual! My schedule is so busy each day. By 7h-1h we are ready for the day doing personal, companion, and language study. We eat breakfast and have an hour for gym. We usually play basketball or volleyball depending on our mood. Some Elders work out, but thats definitely not me. Breakfast is the same every morning. The main dish is cream of wheat. They also have sandwiches. Than they switch off between cereal, eggs, pancakes, and other breakfast items. I usually get a sandwich and make a good panini. I also get half a bowl of cream of wheat. The other half i fill with hot chocolate. Some say its gross, but others are starting to do it too! Lunch is at 13h. From after lunch to 21h we have class with the exception of dinner at 5. We have a male instructor named Costa before dinner. He just got off a mission to Brazil a year ago. He is Brazilian and a convert. After dinner we have Korth (Kortch). She was raised in Porto Alegre and also speaks english. Its fun to have her as an instutor because she teaches us things that only apply to Porto Alegre. They both speak pretty good english.

 

Lunch and dinner is also pretty good. Lately the meals have been a bit questionable but its not worth complaining about! Worse comes to worse, the bread is good!! I have lost four pounds if you were wondering...

 

Each friday we have a thing called TRC. My first one was last week. There, you are filmed as you teach people their first lesson in Portuguese. Its good because you can go back and watch the video to see if you made any mistakes. The catch is, the investigators are members in Sau Paulo and they dont all know English! It was a challenge trying to speak to them, understand their questions, and answer their questions. After it was done, one member told me that we did a great job interpreting their questions and answering them. That made me and my companion feel real good.

 

The best part of being at the CTM is being able to meet Brazilian missionaries. Each day whenever we get a chance, my companion and I sit by them and try our best to talk to them. Some Americans dont do that. We have made really good friends this way. In fact, last night a Argentine asked me to come into his room to meet some more friends. It was kinda weird. We open the door and its really quiet with the lights off. I walk in and twenty Brazilians jump out of nowhere and start screaming! They throw a blanket over my head, push me down, and start dog piling me!! It was a trap! We had a blast and apparently that was my initiation to Brazil.

 

Today we were able to go to the temple and I learned alot. We are about to finish the laundry and than go to get Brazilian Burgers to see how they compare! Than we have to get a few supplies... including candy!!

 

I hope everyone is doing good. Always remember to invite the spirit into your life as much as possible. He is your best friend!!

 

Elder Horst