Email 1/4/17

It’s great down here. I love the food and the cafeteria is an all you can eat kind of place. There is a drink here called Guarana. It is delicious. I have had it every day I have eaten. I like this MTC. This MTC or CTM is a lot more strict than the other though. We only get 45 min for email time and it is only on P-days. I will try to get everything in here before I have to get off. I am now in a trio companionship with Elder Davis and Elder Burr. They were in my district in Provo. Everyone I came with on the plane in my district became my district. My district is 50B and has eight members. (three sisters and five Elders.) Their names are Elder Barnes, Elder Davis, Elder Burr, Elder Andrus, Sister Atkinson, Sister Kehr, and Sister Hill. I am glad I didn’t have to go on the plane alone. The CTM here is seven stories tall with six floors above the ground floor. I live on the fifth floor above the ground floor, so technically the sixth floor. The beds are very comfortable. There are six to a room I am in a room with my companions and two Brazilians. At this CTM everyone is required to participate in the Choir. We sing every Sunday and Tuesday. Our schedules are very tight we hardly have time to do laundry or rest. Our whole day is planned out. I have already started teaching. Actually I started teaching the day I got here which I thought was ridiculous, seeing as I hadn’t slept in two days and I didn’t know the language even adequately. I would fix the spelling, but the spell check is in Portuguese. I am glad to hear that Jeffrey misses me. I hope Jemma doesn’t realize where I am until I get back. That may make things easier. I can’t send pictures down here while I am in the CTM. The computers won’t let us. So I will have to wait until I am in the Mission Field to give you pictures. I am improving in the language. The Lord has been helping me. I am constantly seeking after the gifts of the spirit that I need. I can tell that the Lord is granting me the gift of tongues when I am worthy. Sometimes I can understand the language really well and other times my mind is blank. Thank you for helping me get the reals (Brazilian currency) I needed. I won’t need to buy a bike. The extra reals will be useful. I hope you enjoy the New Year. I have enjoyed it so far. We got to stay up till midnight on New Year’s Eve and then wake up at nine. I like this CT more than the Provo MTC. The rain here is awesome. I was recently told that it generally doesn’t rain during the dawn here, just during the night. I won’t need the temple clothes. They don’t allow us to bring our own they provide it for us when we come in. I enjoyed going to the temple. The driving here is way different than in America. It’s as if they have no laws for many situations. Motorcyclers do as they please on the roads. It has been a bit of a culture shock being here but I am doing the best I can with the culture. We have around four hundred missionaries here in this CTM. Compared to the Provo MTC, this CTM is the third largest MTC after Mexico. I hope to hear more from you as time goes by. Thank you for the help and support.