August 5, 2015

HEY HEY HEY!!!

WOW! I am finally a missionary which is pretty crazy, but I love it!! 

Alright so I have some very exciting news.......

I GOT MY VISA!!!!! I leave for the Brazil MTC on August 11th so I'll have two weeks in Provo and four weeks in Brazil MTC! I am so excited that I'll get to experience both MTCs! 

Crazy story: when I was at the airport, I was waiting at the gate to get onto the airplane to SLC, and I met Sister Hubert who is going to Sao Paulo Sul as well, which made me super excited!! But get this....when I met my district, Sister Hubert was there talking to some of the elders! However not only is she in my district, she is also my companion!! CRAZY!! She is super sweet and very considerate of others, so basically she's the best! My district (in my opinion) is the best district around! There are four sisters and six elders in my district, and we all are there for each other and provide guidance for others who might be struggling with something. I can always feel the Spirit when they're around and they're a pretty hilarious bunch! There are so many stories and experiences we share and it's awesome to hear everyone's backgrounds and why they chose to serve. 

Ever since I got out of the car, I have been occupied 24/7 so by the end of the day, I am exhausted! I have a minute by minute schedule that keeps Sister Hubert and I super busy but I have learned so much! Portuguese is coming along slowly but surely. I can understand most of what Irmao Crestani is telling us during class, and it's only been seven days! I can also bear a simple testimony and pray in Portuguese! It is so awesome to see how the Lord takes care of His missionaries and constantly watches out for them! 

On the third day of this glorious adventure, we taught our first lesson in Portuguese to an investigator and we kind of ROCKED IT! I felt the Spirit so strongly as we bore our testimonies in broken Portuguese but hey it's all good because the Spirit is the real teacher no matter how poorly we speak the language. Tomorrow, we get to teach our fourth lesson to Danielle (our investigator) without a script or our little lifesaving language book filled with EVERY Portuguese word you could need/want to teach a lesson so that is a little nerve racking. But this is what I am going to be doing in the field so I might as well get in as much practice as I can! 

On Sunday, we went to sacrament meeting with our zone, and everyone who bore their testimony bore it in Portuguese! It was pretty cool to think that in a couple of weeks, I would be able to stand in front of a group of people and simply bear my testimony without having the words written down. We also attended a couple of devotionals--one by Sister Sheri Dew and the other by Elder Bednar--they are both have so much wisdom and guidance to share with us; it's incredible. The Spirit was so strong all day, and my testimony grew tremendously! I know that I am here for a purpose and that is to share the restored gospel to His children and bring them back to His presence. I love being a missionary! 

Heads up, I probably won't be able to email next week because the time I would normally do it, I will be on an airplane all day! Woohoo! 

I love you all and hope you are doing awesome! 

Love, Sister Hilchie :)