Cuiaba Brazil Weather

Friday, January 11, 2013

Week #4 Provo MTC/ MTC Hump Day

Bom Dia Famila minha familia! como estao todo mundo? Busy week here at the provo mtc I've learned alot and have felt the Spirit even more. So we just got back from another endowment session at the temple. Foi muito bem! Amo o Templo do Senhor com todo o meu coracao! I forgot to tell you last week that we get breakfast at the temple before our session. I've been getting the egg ham and cheese omelet each time and it's awesome and cheap, this week I got another omelet with sausage gravy poured over it, I also got goblet of tapioca pudding and a glass of cranberry juice. It was great and only cost like 4 bucks! Sorry again for my typing I can't remember how to spell alot of words and I'm typing really slow. Anyway 7 of my good friends got their visas last friday and they were off to Sao Paulo tuesday morning. Great guys and it's crazy how good of friends you make here in the MTC. Hopefully I will be able to see them again in the Brazilian mtc. They still have about 3 more weeks left at the mtc. And exactly one more month for me! my expected departure date from the mtc is february 11th so whether its state side or to Cuiaba we will see. Wanted to share with you a funny experience me and Elder Saxton had during the first lesson with one of our new investigators. His name is Lucas and we went in and he began immediately getting excited and asking about how our religion in different than others. I said Nossa Igreja tem O livro de Mormon. Um outro testamento de Jesus Cristo. And he was like whoa! Tell me more! So I was like ok! But Elder Saxton reminded me that we still needed to offer an opening prayer. So I asked him if it was ok if I offered an opening prayer. He exclaimed sure! So I immediately closed my eyes and bowed my head and offered a fairly long prayer, it was strange that during the prayer I was impressed more than once to open my eyes and look at Lucas but I brushed the feelings off and continued to pray. After the prayer Lucas said amen and I noticed that he mumbled "hosana ao Jesus!" after he said amen. I didn't think much of it and continued teaching him about the Book of Mormon, when I turned the time over to Elder Saxton he started to teach Lucas how to pray, I dond't understand what he was doing because he was supposed to be bearing testimony of the Book of Mormon and how it had helped him in his own life. Lucas had a confused look on his face and I cut in and asked Lucas if he knew how to pray. He confidently replied Sim! So Elder Saxton gave me a confused look and talked about the book of Mormon instead. At the end of the lesson I asked Lucas if he would like to offer a prayer he replied maybe next time so Elder Saxton gave the closing prayer instead. Again I didn't open my eyes during the prayer and after the prayer Elder Saxton looked at me like I was crazy or something, after that we set up a new appointment and left the room. As soon as we left Elder Saxton said Elder Kennington did you not see how he was praying? I said no I didn't see anything cause my eyes were closed. So apparently I guess when Lucas prays he lifts his hands striaight out and into the air with his palms out and would nod his head and say praised during our prayers. Elder Saxton saw it all while I saw nothing. He said that Lucas was being pretty obvious in trying to make me aware of his praying style but I was completely oblivious. I learned a good lesson that day to listen to small impressions of the Spirit and to let your companion do change the lesson as he sees fit. Elder Saxton wasn't very amused by it but I found it pretty funny and a good oportunity to learn. Btw the way investigators work is it's usually an mtc worker and we will teach them all the lessons and then they become our in class teacher. Our first investigators name was Mike. He was pretty easy to teach and kept all the commitments after 5 lessons he committed to be baptized and we set up a date. The day after that he became one of our teachers his name is Brother Perkes and he has been off his mission about a year, he went to Portugal but he speaks Brazilian portuguese to us. I like him alot and he has taught me many good things. Our second investigators name was Susi she was actually our first Teacher whose name is Sister Pike, she is really awesome and nice and taught us for 3 weeks and then she became our investigator. we taught her 4 times but then we had to pass her to another set of missionaries because we got "transferred" which really meant that Sister Pike had to change her teaching schedule to acomidate her schooling at BYU. we still see her from time to time and she will always hold a special place in my heart cause she was such an awesome teacher. She served in Sao Paulo a few years ago. Our current investigator is Lucas who is also our current teacher Brother Rogers hes super gentle and has clarifies many things about Portuguese that I struggles with. He Served in Curitiba Brazil and has only been back for 6 months or so. Great teachers and investigators though you learn to love them even though they aren't real investigators. Anyway IT sounds like beginning the first of January mtc times have been cut by a third for all incoming missionaries which is good cause there is alot more coming in. My first week here I could almost count to number of Sisters in the Mtc on my fingers and toes but now there are tons more sisters and new faces every week. I was told that 12/12/12 was the last day there would never be Elders under 19 entering and Sister under 21. We were the last of the "older generation" to come in. Me and Elder Saxton were recently talking to a 19 year old sister that was going to Chile, they seemed super excited. I think its great the work is moving forward so strongly. I was also told that by the end of this month the mtc is supposed to almost double in missionaries. That's loco. But it will all work out in the end. Also I forgot to tell you a couple of weeks ago we had a devotional speaker named George Durrant. he was super old and funny. He was the mtc president from 1986 to 1988. I didn't remember when mom and dad were in the mtc but he might have been your mtc president but probably not. anyhow I was just wondering. Also more about my companion he has to older sisters and a younger sister. he's the only boy in his family and his older sister in married. He says he knows how to cook pretty good cause his mom is pretty much pro. Whenever we have gym time we go on splits with different Elders in our District because him and Elder Martineua like to go to the fitness center and do the eliptical and they do some aerobic stuff with the sisters, I go with the other Elders in my district to the gym, I love playing basketball or foursquare. Yesterday I was in the king
square for like 5 minutes! not much to brag about though it's just foursquare it's fun though and the sisters like to root me on whenever we are playing but then I usually just get embarrassed and lose. Fun times though, Elder Saxton loves math and business and that kinda stuff he always gets a salad and a diet cafeine free coke during lunch and dinner while I usually get the greasiest most fattening looking stuff that they have. Thanks for the gas-x btw mtc food does crazy things to your body. I weighed myself the other day on the scale and saw that my weight hadn't changed a bit big surprise I know. Elder Saxton continues to get better at the language and has been able to say alot more during lessons. I love him to death though even though we have all of our differences. Thanks again for the package with all the stuff in it I was pretty happy to get it. So far no visas today it sounds like if they come during the week they will wait till Friday to give them to us. We keep praying though. I don't remember what else I was going to tell you but I'm way over time. Amo voces muito e A igreja e verdadeira. Tell Jordan to have fun at the dance and be himself, I loved dances so much. Ariell says hi, she is also waiting on her visa to Peru her companions got their visas but not her yet. Ask Jetson and Kaiden if they got my letters from a few weeks ago. Thanks again I love you guys, I love the MTC, and most of all I love my Savior, he's the reason I'm here engaged in the awesome work. Take care, sorry if you still have questions I haven't answered. Oh and anyone can email me I just can't reply back except to immediate family. Take good care everyone! -Elder Kennington P.s the picture is of my Branch President, President Braithwaite and his wife. Great people I love them so much and they have been a huge blessing to me.

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