Friday, October 31, 2014

"I'm Just Ready to go to Salvador"

Hey, guys!
 
Another P-day here! All I have is one more and then I'm gone-zo to the field!
 
Love the pictures of Halloween! I hope you guys have an awesome one. They do celebrate it here in Brazil but it's not as big. It's called "Dia das bruxas" (Day of the witches) here.
 
Mom: I had a feeling the pictures didn't go through when you didn't respond. I'll hold on to all of them on the SD card and if they can't send them, I'll wait until the field. As far as packages go, I did have a few requests if you could. Would you mind sending me that small black spiral notebook I used for scripture study? I have some good stuff I could study in there. Also some stickers of Jesus so I can put them on packages I send out? And maybe an english copy of "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith"? And maybe an American flag the size of my Brazilian one with some thumbtacks so I could hang it up inside my apartment when I leave? I don't know what it is but I miss seeing an American flag. Something about them makes me feel happy, I can't explain it, hahaha. Like yesterday, we were doing some service dusting around and in the lobby, they have flags from all over the world, and when we saw the US flag, a bunch of us started singing the "Starred Spangle Banner", hahah. If you can't it's not a problem at all. I can learn without my book, hopefully find some stickers here, and the flag isn't a necessity. Do I miss my xbox? hahaha, nah. I miss playing it with Tommy and Maddy more than anything but I'm glad I can have a two year fast from devices. I'm glad to hear all is going well for the fam and that my scripture was meaningful :) . Hooray for John! That's really good to hear. The next time you see him and Rosie, could you ask them if they could send me a physical picture of them to me? I miss them a bunch. and I will continue to pray for you guys specifically and I hope your EKG test goes well! I know you can kill it! :)  And p.s, I got the halloween cards! I was super happy about that. and thanks for the picture of grandpa! I already have one in my scripture case but I keep the one you sent in my breastpocket wherever I go. I'm starting a few handwritten letters but I don't know when I'll have all of them done. Anyway, love you lots Mom! :)))
 
Karli: nice costume! You make a killer Rosie the Riveter! I'm glad you're enjoying senior year so far! Make the most of it. Tell everybody in Sunday school that I'm doing well and that I miss everyone. "About a week ago" in Portuguese, let's see.. I think you say it "Quasi uma semana no pasado". Try that :) Anyway, I'm glad to hear about your experiences! Keep telling me more as they come along. Love you lots, Kar-Kar!
 
Troll 1: "Ding-a-ling, FREEZE!" hahaha! I'm going to have to think of some better quotes to write to you. I guess maybe I'm the bad luck charm for the Steelers or something! And I'm sad to hear about your basketball games. I'm sure you had a lot of fun playing and that's all that matters. If it makes you feel any better, I finally won a basketball game against my  3 other buddies here at the MTC with my team, but I've lost every other one. hahaha. Besides rice, beans, and paninis? Hmm... I eat a lot of bananas in the mornings. They serve hot chocolate as well in the mornings, and it's the bomb-diggity. Lots and LOTS of chicken. Pretty much every lunch and dinner, and their desserts they serve a lot of pudding-like stuff. It's pretty good stuff! I'm almost certain they're trying to fatten us up or something. Anyway, I love you a bunch, Tommy! You're my best buddy and I hope you will continue to say some awesome stuff for me to read!
 
Dad: Ughh, I bet that's really obnoxious. Maybe I should've prayed more for the Giants to lose! hahaha just kidding. Tell the Priests' quorum that I'm thinking about them and that I'll be writing a letter to them once I get out in the field. Elder Dickman sounds like a pretty cool guy. I'm glad we got another Elder we still like a bunch.  I'll keep praying for you and for everyone else! It's hard to believe that already a month is under my belt. I know at times it'll go a lot slower but others faster. I'm really loving my mission so far. We do this thing called TRC ( i don't really remember what it stands for) but basically we record ourselves on camera teaching a mock investigator and then watch it later. It's really fun. I get excited for when I teach real people. Sometimes Mochaki and I will make funny faces at the camera when our guy isn't looking so we can have a few laughs later. And I've been trying to look for a copy of Joseph Smith's teachings here at the Distribution centers but they don't even have them in Portuguese! I'll be sure to tell mom to mail me one if she can. And no Brazilian flan yet. They give some desserts here at the MTC that remind me of flan, but their desserts are mediocre at best. Once I get out in the field, I'll be sure to tell you when I try some. It sounds good. Thanks for writing me, Dad. Love you a lot!
 
Maddy: I'm glad to hear school is easy for you. Keep up the good work! How's the Phoenix temple look? I really wish I could've seen it before I left. I'm still praying for you, Maddy! Sorry, I have to go in like 2 minutes otherwise I would've written more. Love you!
 
Anyway, not much to report on my end. I found out from an instuctor that P-days all over Brazil are on Mondays. But yeah, not a whole lot to say. I'm just ready to go to Salvador. I feel like there's not a whole lot the MTC can offer me in Portuguese anymore except practice, and even then, I'm not challenged very hard because they need to focus on everyone that doesn't have any language backgrounds. I love my district to death, but I feel like I would learn more in a district full of Brazilians where I can challenge myself. For our snack time, we've tried some more candies and stuff. Look up a candy called "Serenato de amor" from Garoto and "Tortuguita" from Ancor. I swear the chocolate tastes different here. Our instructor gave us Kit-kats once and I swear the chocolate isn't the same as it's american counterpart, hahaha. But it's still good stuff.
 
I hope you guys have an awesome Halloween! Be sure to tell me how it went! Love you guys!!!!
 
-Elder Skinner

1 comment:

  1. Pacman, I am so glad that your mom shares your updates. I truly enjoy reading them and I am so proud of you for the commitment that you made. I will try to write you soon.

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