I Made it to the MTC

I Made it to the MTC!

August 23, 2013

Querida Familia e Amigos! (Dear Family and Friends in Portuguese)

I finally have a P-day ( a preparation day, where we can do laundry and just prepare for the next week)! This has been the longest ten days of my life and I don't even know where to begin! The first four days that I was in the MTC were super difficult, I walk into class and my teacher Irmao Pinho, just starts speaking PORTUGUESE! I have never heard this language, so why was he speaking to me? Well, the first four days are super busy and tiring and emotional and you teach two lessons in Portuguese to a fake investigator, but somehow I made it through and I know without a doubt that the Spirit was my comforter in that time. 
Everyone says if you can make it to Sunday then you are just fine! I made it to Sunday and it was just the most spiritually rejuvenating day! I got to actually just learn about the gospel in English and prepare for the next week! These last five days have been the real MTC and I have really enjoyed it! The spirit is so strong here and I love being with thousands of other missionaries who are devoting 18 months or 24 months to the Lord. I know without a doubt that I am in the right place and doing the right thing. He has prepared people for me that I will teach and I will work as hard as I can, of that I have no doubt. 

I am in a trio, so I have two companions instead of just one. Turns out  that my original companion went to the Brazil MTC because she got her visa! My companions name's are Sister Haight and Sister Goodwin, they are both 19 and have done one year of school. They are both blond and have very similar styles of dress and personalities. Funny enough, as alike as they are, our trio works so well together and we all just love each other so much! We all work hard to prepare our lessons and to learn the gospel in Portuguese! I am also in a district with a bunch of 18 and 19 year old elders who at first seemed immature, but over the last week we have grown to really care about each other and we just laugh and laugh all the time together! During our study time, we are also really good at memorizing Portuguese together and really working hard to learn the language. 

Surprisingly, the language has come pretty easily. I am by no means fluent, but I speak pretty well and can understand a decent amount. The gift of tongues, absolutely! And maybe a slightly latent, natural ability to speak foreign languages? I should probably not jinx myself too much! But, I know without a doubt that the Spirit is helping me with the language, because I could not remember half of what I am learning now without the Spirit's help. 

We are teaching an investigator named Bruno. He is from Brazil, he believes in lots of churches, and he just wants to find God. The first two lessons were really difficult and we all felt like we couldn't teach or speak Portuguese or anything, but the third lesson it just all came together. I have never felt the Spirit so strongly while I was teaching, but we were teaching about the Restoration and Bruno asked a question which I answered and then he said, "Come?" which means How. He said how did Joseph Smith know. His eyes shattered into my soul. I knew in that moment that he needed us to testify, that he needed to feel the Spirit and that would be the only way he would know the church was true. The lesson didn't really matter, all that mattered was that he felt  the Spirit testify of the things I spoke. In probably very broken, demented Portuguese I bore my testimony of what I know to be true and how this gospel has blessed my life. I bore testimony of  the truthfulness of the gospel, of Joseph Smith, the restoration, and of the Book of Mormon. And that he could know for himself. After I spoke, both of my companions bore testimony and the Spirit was so amazingly strong in that little classroom! My companion had the sense to challenge him to baptism and he ACCEPTED! We were shocked and so excited and elated! We just had no idea what to do after that! I can say with my whole heart that the day someone accepts baptism is seriously the most humbling, heart-warming feeling I have had in my whole life. 

Going off that, I play a lot of volleyball during gym time, we try to speak Portuguese a lot, I study the gospel like crazy and have learned so much about what it means to have the  Spirit and to teach by the Spirit. Our Branch President challenged our branch to read the  Book of Mormon in six weeks, so I am totally doing that! It has been so neat to read it quickly and to feel the spirit testify of what I am reading! I am already in Jacob and it has only been ten days! I fully plan on finishing before the MTC ends! I also get to go the Temple today which will be such a blessing! 

I just want to say thank you so much for all of the support, love, and friendship I have recieved from all of you! It means so much to me! Keep the Dearelders and packages coming:) If you send me a Dearelder or a letter, I promise I will write you back! Getting letters and Dear elders in the MTC is one of the brightest parts of my day! 

Mom, thank you for all the pictures, loved them! And the tree especially :) I show pictures of my family to everyone here at the MTC! Oh, and my memory card won't load onto the computer, so you might want to look for my chord and send that to me if you want pictures, I'm super super sorry! 
I think that is all for now! Oh I can pray, testify, and introduce myself in Portuguese, so exciting! Here is the beginning of my testimony in Portuese :) 

Eu testifico que O livro de Mormon e verdadiero. Eu sei que Joseph Smith traduziu O livro de Mormon. Thomas S. Monson e uma profeta de Deus. Jesus Cristo  e Pai Celestial aman nos. Eu testifico que oracao ajuda-nos falar con Deus. Dues respotera nosso oracoes. Me amo isso evangelio con todos meu coracion. Grato por minha familia e que ellos tem ensinar meu. Grato for o templo and issa blecaoes. Eu sei que a igreja de Jesus Cristo e verdaderio. Eu sei, Eu vivo, Eu amo. Em de nome de Jesus Cristo, amen.

Love always, 

Sister Brotherson

ps. I will write more next week and by then I will only have three and a half weeks left in the MTC, so crazy!