Online MTC - Week 3

Our Brazilian MTC Teacher Brother Zamforlin

Hello again Everyone!

 

Yet another week has gone by and I am nearly halfway through my Online MTC experience. It's pretty crazy to think how fast time has been going by already. This week was pretty similar to last week with lots and lots of Portuguese training and practice missionary lessons. I have been making good progress with the language, but I think it's safe to say that I'm much better at teaching in English at this point. This was our last week with our English-speaking instructors, so it was sad to say goodbye to them. We start our three weeks of all Portuguese training on Monday which is pretty scary for all of us, but we are also excited for the adventure of nonsense in another language for the rest of MTC.

Our Brazilian MTC Teacher Sister Nascimento 

I've been trying my best to keep my routine even through a brutal cold on Tuesday and Wednesday. I've had to skip exercise a couple of days this week both because of the cold and, if I'm being honest, laziness. Nevertheless, I am still doing great with my daily routine and having a fantastic time with my district. Being a district of all Elders, we've become pretty rambunctious at times and I'm sure we tested the patience of our instructors often (I wasn't innocent). We mess around a lot, but still have very spiritual moments and learn well.

 

It's been interesting going through the MTC from home and online during this crazy time. I would be lying if I said it isn't a unique and challenging time to be a missionary, but I have been trying really hard to stay positive about all of it. I have complete faith that the Lord will provide for all of us. I am here, on my mission, at this time, for a reason, and I know better and better each and every day that this is my due time. The Lord chose me and every other Elder and Sister serving right now because he knows who we are, knows that we can accomplish this difficult task, and has reserved all of us to serve during this time and in this place. I am meant to be here, so I will waste no time complaining about my situation because "the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." (1 Nephi 3:7)

 

As always thank you for all of your support and love for me and all the missionaries out there.

 

-Elder James

Anna Borrowman from the Vienna ward has been helping Elder Zimmerman
and I learn Portuguese on Sundays. Anna & Eden Walker came
by and brought us these great cheat sheets with Portuguese slang.

We had Brazilian food for dinner -
their cheese bread (pão de queijo) is the best! 

For P-Day this week, we visited the Eisenhower
Memorial in Washington, DC.

Online MTC - Week 2

 Hello everyone! 

This week was a major success in the Online MTC experience. I still am not fluent in the Portuguese language by any means, but I've been making good progress so far. Monday through Friday were all pretty much the same deal schedule and lesson wise, so I'll just go through my new and improved daily schedule.

 

7:00am: I wake up, pray, prepare for the day, exercise, shower, get dressed into my white shirt, tie, and nametag, and eat breakfast.

9:00am-10:00am: Companionship study with the, most lovely, Elder Loveless.

10:00am-1:00pm: Online MTC with Sister Nascimento, which is mostly pretty brutal language training. This week she has decided to only speak Portuguese with us, and we also have to only speak Portuguese unless given permission to speak English, so that's been tough.

1:00pm-2:00pm: Lunch. This is where I get to eat my wonderful homemade microwavable dino-nuggets and personal pizzas.

2:00pm-5:00pm: Online MTC with Brother Zanfolin. He's a lot easier on us with the Portuguese, but we still learn a lot and focus mostly on specific grammatical intricacies of Portuguese.

5:00pm-6:00pm: Personal study. I have time during personal study to really get into the Book of Mormon and Preach my Gospel depending on what I feel I need, and sometimes it's both.

6:00pm-7:00pm: Language study. Last week Elder Loveless and I did half of lang together but we decided this week it'd be more effective at our developmental stage in Portuguese to study separately. Language study is mostly taken up with the memorization of vocab that we might need most in the near future.

7:00pm-9:30pm: Dinner and Family time.

9:30pm-10:30pm: Bedtime. It's a lot earlier than I am used to still, but I try my hardest to fall asleep before it gets too late.

 

And that is how all of my days have been going this week. It's quite the change from my previous life of just waking up whenever and going to sleep whenever, and everything in between was just whatever I wanted to do. But I really enjoy having some structure and a good daily routine to keep me focused and busy.

P-days are a lot more relaxed. Today my parents and I went into DC for brunch at Medium Rare (a fantastic steak restaurant), the National Zoo, and to say hello to our dear friends that we haven't seen in quite a while due to corona. Of course at Medium Rare I got steak, and it was delicious as usual. The zoo was really nice because it was in the low 60s all day and breezy, and we saw a tiger, some lions, monkeys, and a couple of Elephants. It was great to see our friends Josh and Nicolette for a little bit totay. Josh just recently got back from a long deployment in the Navy (on a submarine), so we hadn't seen him forever, and it was great to catch up with them and see their nice new house in DC. We finished the day eating some nice tasty burgers at Good Stuff (the best burger place in DC) and driving by the Supreme Court to see all of the love for RBG. It was a really fun day and a nice break from my beloved MTC routine. Thank you all for your support and I hope all is well!

 

-Elder James

Online MTC - Week 1

Hello Everyone!

 

This week has been quite a unique experience as an at home Missionary in training. I was set apart on Tuesday night by President Buhler and have since been living and breathing missionary standards from home. Online MTC began at 2pm on Wednesday, September 9th and was all done through zoom with our teachers in the São Paulo MTC. The first day was mostly becoming acquainted with other Elders in the district as well as our teachers. Communicating over zoom took me some getting used to but pretty soon it felt almost like I was in the same room as the rest of my district. I met my companion Elder Loveless and despite his name he is full of love and joy. We get along great and our companion studies have been very productive and spiritual. 

 

Thursday and Friday were both pretty intensive language training days, although they say it's going to get much worse in the weeks to come. I still have very little grasp on the Portuguese language, mostly just a few poorly pronounced phrases, but I'm improving everyday with the help of my teachers, duolingo, and most of all the Spirit. Even though I've learned very little so far, I can already see the power of the gift of tongues working.

 

Today was my first p-day and I wasn't totally sure what to do with it since most of my time so far as a missionary has been consumed by classes, study, and language practice. I decided to take a little extra time in the morning to exercise and then I got to work doing extra language practice and extra personal study. I had the goal this week of finishing first Nephi in 4 days and I only have 2 chapters left so I'm glad I could accomplish that task. Today our district was supposed to watch a devotional given by Elder Quentin L. Cook for the Online missionaries and then meet together over zoom to discuss it. Elder Cook had some really inspiring and hopeful things to say to us missionaries to help make us feel better about the whole situation. The most meaningful point for me was the message of love everyone you meet as Christ would love them and you will always be an effective missionary, and it will bring you and the people you love closer to God. I thought that was a great message in such a tumultuous time. Thanks for everyone's support and I love you all!

 

-Elder James