Ola familia!
I'm a missionary!!!! Can you even believe it? Seriously, when I got my name tag, I would just look at that foreign piece of engraved plastic every once in a while and be like, "Whoaaaaaa..." It's insane! This place is a campus all its own. I can't believe it. I get lost all the time because I can't figure out all of the building craziness.
Okay, on to tackle the list of things I must tell you. The first day they throw you into the missionary fire. The Spirit here is so strong. Guys, I could NOT wipe the big stupid smile off my face! In the evening, we had a teaching demo where we "taught" three investigators as a big group of new missionaries -- some 200 of us in each room (there were 650 of us total that came in on Wednesday). The first guy was a black Haitian dude named Alexander. He looked just like Dad if he were skinner and had a Haitian accent. I missed Dad :( Some of the missionaries' answers were awesome. I was so nervious to get called on and kept not making eye contact. One missionary was this Poly dude from Jersey who had this swagger about him. He got up and related the story of Job so passionately and challenged one of the investigators to read and pray about Job to understand that God isn't punishing us with trials. I was so proud of that boy...well, man. And then there was this OTHER elder who was a new convert (and a cute one, too) and he was so full of conviction as he quoted the First Vision to one of the invstigators. Oh my gosh, I could have exploded and my face muscles hurt so much, I couldn't stop smiling. I took note of his name -- Farnsworth. I might need to marry him when I come home. That man is fire. The moral of the story is that the elders here are impressive. I know they're 19, but, based on the first night, I believe church leadership is in good hands. These elders know this gospel is real, true, and perfect. I love them.
My district is awesome! I love them already. We spend hours and hours in the classroom learning Portuguese and English, so we get to know each other well. There are about 12 missionaries in my district -- 5 are girls. The girls and I get along famously. They're hilarious, quirky, and cute. I smile and laugh a lot. Their testimonies are my favorites, probably, because they're here based on a special witness. It's special because they didn't have pressure to come on missions. They didn't have to make the sacrifice, but they made it because they know with absolute surety that this gospel is the Lord's gospel and they're meant to share it with the world. Oh, and these girls are ambitious. They all went to school and some graduated before they came. They're doing it all! I'm the only one going to Salvador in my district. I've met one other person in the entire MTC going to the Salvador South mission. Oh, and there's 3 elders in my district from Lehi! Crazy, right? The elders in my district are impressive. They know things at 19 I didn't know or think to care about. They inspire me to be better.
My companion is Sister White (who is black). She's awesome. She's from Sacramento, and she got her call around the same time I did. Why did we have to wait so long to get here?! Because we were meant to be companions, that's why. I love doing companionship study with her. She thinks of things that I don't think of, and she has a wonderful spirit about her. We've been taking comp pictures, so I'll upload some of those soon, computer and time permitting. We room with four girls going to Italy, so we hear Italian around the dorm sometimes.
[random family requests - health and visa related]
Thanks, Janet and Jerica for your letters! I'll write responses hopefully today. I love getting mail :) Can somebody stalk Nick Snow and get his mailing address for me? I need some white chocolate in my missionary life. My P-days are on Fridays from now on, so send me email and stuff before then, so I can read and respond to your lettaz.
We've been learning tons about the gospel and Portuguese. In fact, here's my testimony in Portuguese (so far):
Eu testifico que o evangelho de Jesus Cristo e verdadeiro e traz alegria pura. Jesus Cristo e meu redentor. A igreja de Cristo esta aqui na Terra. A igreja e a Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Ultimos Dias! A igreja esta dirigida por um profeta vivo, Thomas S. Monson. Em nome de Jesus Cristo, Amen.
Study the Brazilian-Portuguese pronunciation and try it out ;) I LOOOOOVE speaking Portuguese. It sounds beautiful...in my mouth. We went around bearing our testimonies, and I felt so legit (legao em Portugues).
I'm learning so many things about what I know and don't know. I'm learning more about how to talk about the gospel to investigators as an authority. It makes me so nervous sometimes, but it's good for me.
So much love! <3333
Sister Jones (OH YEAH!)
