MTC Week 6

Hello All again!!

THREE PEOPLE GOT THEIR VISAS IN MY DISTRICT THIS WEEK!!!!! Sister Magleby (going to Goiana), and Elders Kubeja and Manon (Sao Paulo North)!!! They are leaving next Thursday for the Brazil MTC!!! EXCITEMENT! Sister Wulford will probably be the next to get her visa and then the rest of us. If everything keeps going according to schedule I may be in Brazil within/around the next three weeks! (that's hoping, PLEASE keep your fingers crossed and keep praying for us!) This week they got 18 visas and it seems to be speeding up quite a bit.. we'll see if this break in the visas keeps up!

In other news, we now have three new roommates who are all going - eventually - to Brazil too (none to any missions I am familiar with). They are Sister Wells, Sister Percival, and Sister Kersh. So far it has been pretty fun getting to know them. Super entertaining to see new missionaries come in. Sister Boyer and I were welcoming them while they sat and listened in amazement. I remember thinking, when I first got here, about how much I wanted to be able to speak well in Portugues, and now I'm the "experienced" one (from a new missionary's perspective anyway!)... And only after 5 complete weeks - haha! Oh how the tides have changed!!

The new Sisters all had their alarms going off at crazy times (2:30 am) thinking it was 6:30 because they forgot to allow for the time change---and the next morning some alarms went off in their still-packed suitcases.. So sleep for me during their first night wasn't the best, but they have had their first full day and are excited to be bearing their testimonies and also praying in Portugues! Baby Steps! (or as one might say, line upon line, precept upon precept--just like learning the gospel! Start out small until you understand one thing and the other knowledge will follow!)

We are definitely getting into a very good schedule and habit and we are all quite aware of all the things we need to be doing at all times. The weeks are all similar, and for some reason they just speed on by. It was our district goal to be able to teach the first lesson in Portugues this week because we had to teach an investigator at the TRC (a person who speaks Portugues as a first language, and volunteers to come in to give us practice. So it's not just our teachers, aka: more of a big deal), and it worked out really well!! I love teaching all of the lessons in Portugues and getting to know people, to see exactly how the gospel can bless their lives specifically.

I think my favorite part is recounting Joseph Smith's first vision. Every time that I recount it, the spirit is always so strong in the room-- peace, warmth, a feeling of love, confirmation. I also love thinking about how our church is literally the same gospel that Jesus Christ had on the Earth while he was here. After Christ died there was an apostasy from the faith because there were no more prophets, apostles, and therefore the priesthood (which the apostles all prophesied about in the New Testament). And then because one boy wanted to know which church he should join, what ONE church had the truth, he searched for an answer in the scriptures and read James 1:5 which told him that if anyone has a question and asks God, they will receive an answer. This young 14 year old boy followed seemingly simplistic counsel and went to the woods to pray. Because he truly wanted to know and because he prayed with real intent looking for the truth, and because God knew the purity of this boys heart and what he would do with the knowledge, God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph.

They told him that none of the churches had the fullness of the gospel and that the gospel of Jesus Christ had to be restored to the earth. And that is what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is. It is the same church from the New Testament that Jesus organized (with prophets, apostles, AND the priesthood (the power and authority to act in God's name)). And everyone can know this for themselves if they read the Book of Mormon (another testament of Jesus Christ) and pray with real intent (see Moroni 10:3-5). I know that you can receive an answer because I did. I do every day, and I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have to be a representative of Jesus Christ and to share this message with the world!! (Especially the people of Brazil.. when I get there... in hopefully around 3 weeks..)


If anyone has questions, please let me know!! I would LOVE to answer them!

I love you all! Thanks for the letters! (Thanks Alex, I really appreciated it!!!)

-Sister Reising