First full week here at the Missionary Training Center in Brazil has been a crazy experience.
First things first. I'd like to apologize for jumping to conclusions in my previous email about the food. After a full week of eating it three times a day, it's safe to say that adjusting to foreign food, let alone foreign cafeteria food, is never a good combo. Sprinting towards the bathroom in the middle of the night when you're half asleep is quite a humbling experience, but I'm here to tell about it lol. I hear the food in my mission is solid, so there is still hope.
Other than a few close calls with the food, the MTC has been awesome. Eight hours of class each day is a lot easier when you get to interact with people that are in the same position as you. The amount of Portuguese I have learned this past week is amazing. I can now interact and have conversations with the Brazilians about certain things without any problem. Living here gives you no other option then to just buckle down and get after it. I taught multiple lessons this week off the top of my head and was able to understand most of the devotionals without any translation. It's not easy, but I enjoy the process!
This Sunday was testimony meeting, and I was able to get up and share my testimony in Portuguese for a few minutes. For church In the MTC, they split you up by the native language you speak, so I was with all the other Americans. Others and I were able to testify of the simple principles that have defined the exact reason of why we believe in this gospel. It was pretty cool to see how powerful the gift of tongues is when you have the Spirit in your life.
In class this week, we talked a lot about our purpose as missionaries and who we are as members of the church. We talked about in this point and time of our world the importance of enduring to the end. What I learned is to not let a simple doubt shake your testimony as a whole. Stand strong in the core beliefs of this gospel. The end goal is what we want. Enjoy the journey of seeking to understand. It isn't supposed to always make sense right away. Like anything, we have to work at it.
Living in Brazil for an entire week has opened my eyes to a lot of things. The Brazilians are some of the most humble and genuine people you will ever meet. Getting to know these guys and hear stories of what life is like back home quickly made me realize that I have no room to complain. I've meet some of the coolest guys in my life here. What they've taught me already this week are things that have completely changed my perspective. I know that this gospel can change lives. Everything I have is because of it and there is no better feeling then being able to testify of Christ to other people. Christ has a plan of happiness for all of us, and I can't wait until I can share that in the field.
Elder Copeland
