Oi!!!
Well happy birthday con man! I am super stoked that he gets to be a teacher now! When is he getting set apart or has he already been? There is a lot going on at home! There is also a lot going on here in Brazil!
Well first off, its my last week here! Super nervous! I want to be out there but then again I am super nervous to be out there. Its a mix of a feeling. We have been working very hard here for our last week and we have our going out orientation on friday with the president. Thats an exciting feeling! Londrina here I come! I leave on Tuesday at like 5 something in the morning it sounds like. It should be fun waking up and leaving into the field early. I wont mind at all. So I keep thinking about how much portuguese that I don't know but I just realized that I have learned a lot more then I thought. We went out proselyting this last week. Me and my companion were so nervous we had a fast on sunday to help calm those nerves and to help us better prepare. I was very nervous I will be honest. I am not one to walk up to whoever and just start talking about the church to anyone, especially in another language. We received 4 book(s) of mormon(s) (whichever way u want to put it!) and we were instructed to go out and teach. At first I was very timid but we were one of the only companionship that gave away all of our books. We even were given another one by another frustrated companionship to give away and we gave that one away too. I realized that I can do this! Had to go way out of my comfort zone but I did it! I had a full portuguese conversation with brazilians and was able to bear my testimony, tell them about the book of mormon and also about the blessings that come from the church. I have learned a lot and I love being able to speak more and more of the language everyday! It was also one of the best experiences when we gave a book to a guy and he seemed very interested in what we had to say. We kept on teaching and walking the streets and when our time was up, we came back and he was sitting there reading so deeply into it. It was the best feeling seeing that someone really wanted to know what we were so excited to tell him about. It had been 30 minutes and he had been reading the whole time! Such a wonderful feeling :) I just know one thing about teaching. I have already noticed as a missionary, that is not all me. The Lord was there helping me every step of the way. The wonderful feeling of being a missionary and having the Lord on my side, I cannot fail.
We had an awesome lesson this last week about different parts of missionary work in our church meeting this sunday. Aside the fact I gave a talk (which he told me at the start of the meeting I was going to give) President Call gave a wonderful lesson. There are two things I really want to share from it. One thing I loved that he talked about was the fact that we need to be in shape. I thought that was a weird topic to be speaking on at first but realized he had such a great point. We were given bodies and are expected to take care of them. He made a point on the fact that if we are not healthy, how can we feel promptings of the Holy Ghost when we are given those? Makes me want to keep staying active. The 10 flights of stairs everyday 10 times a day is still going great for my health too! Still working on the "chisseled" legs I was telling you I would probably get from here. haha. But the seconde thing that he talked to us about was the simplicity of smiling always. I am one to have a serious face on when I am concentrating or whatever the case may be. But I realized that people are just happier around you when you are always smiling. President call shared a story about how he decided one day, on his morning walk in the park, he would smile the entire time. The first time around the people had grumpy looks on their faces and were quite confused why he was so happy. The second time he passed them in the park he was still smiling and noticed that the same person who was grumpy, now had a big smile on his face. I realize that we can really make a difference with just a plain smile. I decided that I would try smiling my whole time while out on the streets teaching and it seemed to work. People even came up to me and started talking to us! It was awesome. We have the gospel in our lives. That is a huge reason to smile. So make sure you all are ALWAYS smiling. People want to know why you are smiling and that is a prime time to tell them about the gospel!
So I got a random story to tell you. So I have always been one for sleeptalking (deanna knows this very well). One night here my roommate stayed up and I had fallen asleep. He was just getting into his bed when I started having a conversation with someone (he said from what he understood my companion) and it was all in portuguese. It was crazy! You know they are cramming your brain when you randomly start talking fluently in a language that is not your native language, in your SLEEP! It was crazy but a fun story I thought I would share.
One thing we are also doing to prepare for our departure is having english fasts. We have had 4 english fasts in the last 2 weeks and they are tough! It is so hard to be able to express yourself when you can't fully do that. Or you are just saying short prases. It is tough stuff but is helping my english [think he probably meant Portuguese] out so much! I am very thankful for it. I am sad to leave here but am very excited. The missionaries here are awesome and I love them all! The people of Brazil are wonderful and super kind all the time when they see us!
The mission is going awesome! Make sure you change where people send mail too please! I am very excited to be able to experience Londrina and start teaching and learning more! I am very excited! I love you all and hope you are all having a great time in the states! Smile lots and take care everyone!
-Elder Millett
