Week 5

Hello everyone!! So this week has been pretty amazing, if I'm being honest, for quite a few different reasons.

First off, over Christmas break our teacher that we have had since day one, Irmão Childs, was gone to visit with family, and we had a ton of Portuguese subs. You never realize how much you love your teacher when you have substitutes, because none of the subs we had had anything on Irmão Childs. When Brother Childs returned this week we were all so happy, and we also were reassured, as we were told we might be given different teachers after the new year, but Irmão Childs stayed as our teacher, thank goodness.

Funny story, in Brazil it's pretty popular for missionaries to buy these nice leather scripture cases that have engraved on them their mission boundaries, the mission scripture or motto, your favorite scripture and your name. Well during his last couple weeks on his mission in Santa Maria Brazil, Irmão Childs decided to order one of those scripture cases. He ordered it over the phone, and had to try and explain over the phone how to spell his name in English. In Portuguese, Child is Criança, but Crianças would be children. So Irmão Childs instructed the man over the phone that his name was Crianca in English with an apostrophe s. A couple weeks later, right before he's about to leave he finally gets notified that the scripture case is done, and has another missionary nearby pick it up and bring it down to him for a conference. Not only did the Brazilian guy who made the scriptures write Irmão Childs's name in Portuguese, but he also added an s to the Portuguese name. Therefore, his scriptures ended up saying Irmão Crianças which translates to Brother Children. It has now become a running joke among us to call him Irmão Crianças, and it just cracks us up all the time.

This week we also had a devotional in which the secretary of President Russel M. Nelson, the prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, spoke to us. His talk was amazing, and he showcased tons of pictures and stories in which President Nelson visited and served people all over the world. One story he shared was of a little girl who had terminal brain cancer who didn't have very long to live. The girl wanted above anything and everything else to meet the prophet, and so the prophet did just that. President Nelson spent a whole day with the girl, and provided the comfort and love she needed. At one point she asked the prophet what heaven was like. How sad it is that such a young girl would have heaven on her mind at that age, but President Nelson answered and reassured her that all would be well. President Nelson's secretary, Mark Woodruff shared many other ways that President Nelson has served over the years, and it gave me so much more respect for and faith in our prophet. He truly is an amazing man who is called of God.

Our first week here at the MTC, one of the elders in our district was so sick they had to put him in quarantine for 3 days. Now like 5 weeks later Elder Young who is the companion of the elder that got quarantined, Elder Ferry, is now quarantined himself. I feel so bad, like it's been a few days and he is still quarantined. Although, while he has been quarantined, he has been making memes off the photos we have all taken in our zone. We have a Google photos group that we all upload photos to, and that is where Elder Young has been making memes from. They are soooo funny though, so props to Elder Young.

This week has also been super spiritual for me. About a week ago, my roommates Elder Paulson and Elder Castillo shared with me a talk called "The 4th Missionary" by Lawrence E. Corbridge. It basically categorizes missionaries into 4 different levels, and invites us to be like the 4th missionary. The main difference between the 3rd and 4th missionary is consecration. This week I was really pondering what it means to consecrate ourselves to the Lord, and through the talk I came to this conclusion: Because we are children of our Heavenly Father, and he created this world for us, if we give our money, our resources, our talents and our energy to the Lord, we really are just giving back what was already given to us. But the one thing we can truly give that is ours is our heart, our mind, and our will.

At the start of this week, I'll admit I was a little homesick, and a little discouraged, but once I started thinking about consecration, I was reassured. I decided for myself this week that for one, there is nothing more rewarding and enjoyable than being in the service of the Lord, and second, that if we give up and sacrifice our desires, and align our will with the will of God, that not only will we be able to help and serve others, and invite them to come unto Christ with success, but that we will also reap great blessings, and become more like Christ through our efforts.

Finally, I would just like to say that unfortunately my visa still hasn't quite processed, and unless it comes this week, I will be transferred for 6 weeks to the Fort Lauderdale, Florida mission. It has been kind of frustrating this week finding out that almost everyone else in my district will be going to Brazil next week, while I will most likely be going to Florida, but even still, I've got faith that God has a plan in store for me. Maybe I just need to experience a mission in English first that is a little more familiar to home than Brazil would be. Maybe there is someone in Florida that God needs me to minister to first before sending me out to Brazil, but whatever it is, I'm happy and willing to serve.

I just want you all to know that I have a great testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I know that if we ask of God with full sincerity of heart of the deep doubts and questions of the soul that we might have, that he will always answer our questions, our doubts, and our cries. I've personally come to know that personal revelation is real. That if you lack wisdom, and ask of God, He will answer you, and help you to feel peace and comfort. I also have a testimony of the enabling power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Not only did the sacrifice of Jesus Christ enable us to repent, change and grow, but it enables and allows us to accomplish and do things beyond our normal capacity. I can testify that the grace of God, and the power of the atonement is real, as I could never have blossomed and grown here at the MTC as much as I have without the enabling power of the Atonement.

Thank you all so much for tuning in this week, and for supporting me on my endeavors! I wish you all well till next time!

-Elder Lightheart