I Can Already Feel It Working

Another week down here at the MTC. The food is great, the sleeping is good, and the people are awesome. Just surrounded by so many diverse missionaries that all believe in the same thing and are all here for the same purpose. I got put into a zone with missionaries going on Portuguese speaking missions consisting of 12 people. 4 of us are going to Portugal, and the other 8 were called to Brazil. Brazil is having problems with getting missionaries their visas right now, so a lot of them are getting reassigned to the US to wait for their Visa, or to basically finish out their mission, where they've been reassigned if their visa doesn't come. It would be hard knowing you've been called to serve in such an exciting place as Brazil and then find out you may not even be going there. But all things happen for a reason. Heavenly Father loves all of his children the same and wants them all to hear His truth, no matter who's sharing it. This past week, 4 of the elders went to their reassigned missions here in the states. So now we are only a zone of 8 elders. We're dwindling, but we're still here. Our branch presidency says that we probably won't be getting any more missionaries into our zone until after me and my district have left to Portugal due to the visa problems with Brazil. So by the time we get out of here, there will only be the 4 of us going to Portugal in our zone... ha ha great... just kidding, it will be fine. It's fun getting to teach "investigators" in their language, and having to learn to trust in the spirit to know the right thing to say. The Portuguese language is very fun. Fortunately I can usually understand what is being said in class and in our lessons and that's pretty cool. The gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues is real and I can already feel it working. Church is different here. Even though it's Utah, we only have a congregation of 16 people at our sacrament meetings. It's definitely different, but it's alright. It's been two and a half weeks, but it only seems like it's been two and a half days. The pictures below are of me and my companion, Elder Brown, and me and Paige, my cousin who is serving in Russia.
-Elder Quinn

Como Vai??

Como Vai?? (Portuguese for how is it going?) So it's only been a week and a half here in the good ol' Provo MTC, and I'm already fluent in mormonese. It’s all gospel talk, 9 hours a day, so what else would you expect? It's pretty cool here actually. The food is delicious, and the other missionaries are excited about the work, which makes it easier for me to be excited to get out of bed at 6:30 in the morning and have 9 hours of class a day and have to be with my companion 24/7.... haha just kidding, it's all way awesome here. I don't think anyone else worries about germs here.... so that’s weird. People go into the bathroom, in our community restrooms/showers, without shoes on, and people rarely wash their hands when they are back from their meetings and what not. Fortunately that hasn't been too hard of an adjustment for me. The language (Portuguese) is going swell. I took Spanish in middle school so that is helping out a ton. (Thank you Sra. Denney) Our first investigator agreed to get baptized! So that must mean that every other investigator/person I come in contact with in Portugal is going to want to get baptized.... right? It's a very cool thing teaching the gospel in a different language. It helps you realize how much you truly know about the gospel and how much you want to share.... then you just have to try to piece it together with the Portuguese you do know. At this point I am speaking Portuspanglish (Portuguese/Spanish/English)... which is working out just fine. I love my teachers, and my zone and my district and my companion. I've had some funny instances with other Elders where they think that I'm doing something wrong... like in gym, the collar of my garment sticks out above my gym shirt.... so he told me he could see my garment.... and haha I basically just laughed because I can't really help that. As long as I'm wearing the garment, right? Oh, and at the temple today, another Elder in my zone turned to shake my hand and told me I should shave.... hahaha, sorry I have 10 tiny black stubbles on my cheek because we woke up at 5:45 in the morning to go to the temple and I didn’t have the energy or time to graze my cheek with a razor.. haha oh and my companion threw up after the temple today just in some of the shrubbery on the temple grounds....yay... ha he's fine now though. It’s pretty fun here just having to get along with and love everybody. Seriously though, I am enjoying it muito! (very much). The attached picture is me and Elder Taylor!!)
LOVE YOU ALL!!! Thanks for all your support!!!
-Elder Quinn