Mission Happenings Week 2

Hello family and friends! Tudo bem? (How are ya?)

So much has happened this week! Sorry time is so short but I will do my best to email back those who have emailed me. Hope my family was able to put up the pictures that I sent last week. I don't think I'll be able to get any more out while I'm in the mtc. It's just too complicated because you have to have the right card reader at the right computer for it to work since the mtc computures are so protected. Anyway, this week was so great! Each day I love this work a little bit more! The language is going well. Sister Hartmann and I have been saying our prayers in only Portuguese for the past couple of days and we are now starting to follow SYL (Speak Your Language) which means that we always speak in Port. if we can say in in Port. If not we have to ask, Posso falar ingles? (May I speak english?) Sister Hartmann is seriously the best companion I could ask for.

 

Tuesday: Today we got to go on an adventure outside the walls of the mtc!!! So, sometime Tuesday afternoon I noticed that the my left gum on the bottom where I had just had my wisdom teeth removed was swollen. I'll spare you the gross details but later that night it became apparent that something needed to be done. My roommate from BYU last year got an absess after having her wisdom teeth removed so I was aware of the signs. We went to the front desk at 10:00 at night and I was able to talk to a doctor on the phone explaining what was going on. No pain, just obviously infected. He told me that he wanted me to get an antibiotic asap so we got to take a trip to the pharmacy that night. It was a lot of fun despite the circumstances and we had some good companion bonding time laughing through our deliria (12:00 is late for us missionaries).

 

Wednesday: Good lesson with Vanderlei but we were disappointed that he didn't answer our questions very thoroughly. One thing I love about teaching is that you can tell when you say something that the investigator needed to hear. With Vanderlei he would go from almost falling asleep to leaning forward and making eye contact with whoever is speaking. Another thing I love is when you know you just followed the Spirit because you had no idea how to say that before and you didn't plan any of it.

 

Thursday: More adventures! Went to the oral surgeon today to have my mouth looked at. He said it was fine, probably just a piece of bone that chipped off and got stuck in the gums. The giant horse pills I have to take have worked magically! Oh my goodness, our best lesson yet!! So first off, we had a lot less time to prepare this lesson thanks to my gums but we both agreed that it was our best lesson by far. What made it so great was that Sis. H. shared a personal experience of going through the temple with her family (she was adopted/ sealed to her step-dad). She teared up and the spirit was so strong. Personal experiences are such a good tool for really connecting with our investigators. 

 

Friday: The day we were all waiting for! Vanderlei showed up to our class on Thursday but not as Vanderlei. He is now Irma Nothum (Brother Nothum- like "no thumb") our second teacher! We were so prepared for this! We hung up a banner and wrote "Welcome Home Vanderlei" on the board. It was so exciting! I love Br. Nothum just as much as I love Br. Buttars. They are both so different and complement each other so well! (Brother Buttars butters us up and Brother Nothum chops off our thumbs- is a joke we have going in our district). We got a new investigator today! Jeimison doesn't believe in God but he wants to. We're excited to teach him!

 

Saturday: I learned an important lesson today. At the mtc we are constantly studying and almost constantly feeling the spirit, but sometimes I feel like I'm not really getting a whole lot out of my study. There's a quote that someone said that basically says that we cannot command or force the spirit. Sometimes Heavenly Father wants us to really dig and even sweat a little before things really start to make sense. In class today, we were assigned to think of questions that we had or that our investigators might have and then to try to find answers in the scriptures. My question was how does the gospel bless families. I jumped into the scriptures but I felt like I wasn't really getting anything. I think part of it was my attitude...I didn't think I could find an answer to what I really wanted to know. But after we did our studying we shared what we found as a district. When Br. Buttars shared a personal experience, my heart was softened and I got my answer. He qutoed his mom by saying, "It is worth it to go through Hell to get your family to the Celestial Kingdom" or in other words to live with your family together in happiness and joy. I was a mess. It all made sense. Just because we have the gospel doesn't mean that things are going to be easy. The family is Heavenly Father's greatest tool in helping his children come back to him because it CAN provide a place of peace and love and unity and support. But Satan knows the power of family and so he puts a lot of work into tearing apart families. But no matter what tactics he uses, he can only overcome our faith if we let him. Nothing is more important than doing all we can to help our family make it. Don't let pain, hurt, or anger keep you from loving those people that Heavenly Father has blessed you with to have in your life. Shout out to my family: I love you all so much!!! You have all changed my life for the better. I am so grateful to be blessed with you in my life! <3!!!!

 

p.s. Today I broke some personal records since coming to the mtc. I ran 3 miles and dida minute and a half plank and a 2 min wall sit. Nothing compared to how in shape I used to be but it was still an accomplishment.

 

Sunday: Always the best day of the week!! Sis. H and I had a really cool experience today! During our planning session we were trying to decide what to study during our personal study. She said that she had felt prompted to read the New Testament and I had felt the same prompting!!! (but I was putting it off because I didn't feel like I had time to just read through the scriptures) We have started studying it and I have learned so much about my Savior, Jesus Christ. Oh btw, I am music coordinator for my branch. Big surprise right? haha well it's lots of fun. I get to pick the hymns for all of the meetings and coordinate who will be providing the musical number. I miss the viola sooooooo much!!!! I'm going to try to get my hands on one today and see about auditioning to play sometime!

 

Monday: Today was a good day! I felt like I studied really well and got a lot accomplished! Our lesson wasn't super great (with the athiest) but we learned a lot more about him so I think we will be more prepared for our next one.

 

Ahhh!! Running out of time! I love you all!!! Umm scripture for this week is John 16:33 Thanks for the letters! Oh and to explain. If you want to send me a letter so that I get it that day just go to dearelder.com My address is on fb but I think all you need is my name Sister Shannon Hull and my unit nubmer 21 and my departure date Aug 27. That should be enough. Thanks for all of the support!!! <3!!!