September 1, 2017
Hey Mom,
I don’t have a ton of time to email,
our schedules are so jam packed with stuff. Before I left Austin told me the
MTC was the hardest thing he had ever done and he wasn´t kidding. This is so
hard. I thought the language would be a strong point for me, with my
intelligence and study habits and things, but for some reason my brain just doesn’t
seem wired for it. I know I´ve only been here for like 11 days but I am really,
really struggling with the language and falling behind everyone. It has been a
really humbling experience.
I miss everyone so much but I know
this is where I need to be. My days have been the same until today, wake up and
eat a sandwich for breakfast, then beans and rice and meat for lunch and
dinner. I´ve actually started to get used to the food though. Right now the
language is just such a barrier and is really frustrating for me, but I hope to
find strength in my Heavenly Father and that he can help me to be able to do
what I need to so I can preach the gospel to the people of Brazil.
Pictures on google drive aren’t
working right now, I don’t know if it’s because I´m in the MTC and they don’t
allow us to send/receive pictures here, or if it will be a problem once I get
to the field. We´ll just have to see. But, I´m taking some pictures while in
the MTC to send to you guys when I get the chance!
Today we were able to go to the São
Paulo temple and that was one thing I really needed. I really felt the Spirit
there today and God’s love for me, and I know that with Him, I can do this.
First impressions here in Brazil: I
love the people, I just wish I could talk to them. Everyone is so loving and
friendly. Also, they are CRAZY drivers. I´m glad I won’t be driving anywhere on
my mission. The city is HUGE, it’s unbelievable just flying in to see how big
it was. It’s been chilly but whenever anyone hears I´m going to João Pessoa
they assure me being cold will not be a problem... so I better make the most of
being cold while I still can!
Mom, I want to apologize for not
playing the violin with you before I left. It´s a gift I have that I should
have been sharing. I was asked to play at our mission conference on Sunday with
a flute/cello/piano quartet and I´m excited to actually be able to do something
that I´m good at and share that talent with people after struggling so much this
first week just trying to learn the simplest things about the language.
Me and my companion, Elder
Davenport, are both having a hard time with that, but spiritually we are a
really good match and work well together.
We get along great. He´s a really nice guy and has some awesome insights
about the gospel and we have good study together. He´s from Queen Creek Arizona, sounds like its
fairly close to where our family is but I´m not sure...I´m glad to have him as
my companion though. In 5ish weeks you guys will be able to see some pictures
of him and then whoever I´m assigned to in the field!
This MTC experience is going to be
so refining. I already see changes in
myself and the Elders in my district. I know it’s hard but I am so grateful for
this opportunity to grow closer to my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and
learn to recognize the Spirit better.
There’s a rule here of “no jumping”
because Elders get hurt a lot. Our district leader is Elder Allen and reminds
me a lot of Austin. He was doing a heel click in the hallway and tripped and
sprained his ankle really bad. He is not
going home but has a cast for 2 weeks and then a boot for the rest of his time
in the MTC. There are reasons for the rules! I was able to give him a blessing
which was really cool, I´m glad for the pre-mission experience I was able to
have with Dad in giving a blessing to someone.
I love you guys all so much, I´ve
already spent some time with my family photo album, but again I know this is
where I need to be. I really hope I can
start picking up the language so that doesn’t frustrate me anymore. I´ll be
emailing you guys next Friday, I can’t believe it’s been so long already even
though the days go by so slowly.
We have physical activity almost
every night and they have some pull up bars so I usually just do that and push-ups
for our 30 minutes of exercise, my whole district likes making be uncomfortable
by talking about my muscles... but I gotta use them while I´ve still got them!
My stomach has been doing a bit
better which is good, hopefully it continues to get used to the food. I love
you Mom, thank you for all the work you put in to get me prepared. There is nothing I need that I do not have with
me. You set me up for success, now I just need to do my part to become what the
Lord wants me to be.
Let everyone know I miss them, give
Pippin some loves for me, and I hope you recover from your superman slide! (I
did laugh out loud, through some tears, by the way.)
Love, Elder Sork
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