What's up, guys! Another week here in the CTM full of class and language study. It's pretty crazy to think that I have five days left until I officially head to the field. The experience here has been awesome, but I'm ready to get the real thing started.
The CTM experience is really unlike any other. Hundreds of kids from all over the world that speak different languages and have all had a different way of life back home. The cool thing is that despite how different our backgrounds are, it has all led us here to Brazil. Every day you get to interact and learn alongside kids you otherwise would have never had the opportunity to meet.
I love the people here, but I've had one too many bad meals from the cafeteria to make me want to stay another week lol.
This is the first week where I started to think in Portuguese when I talk instead of having to think about every word and its translation before I say it. I've been working really hard on grammar rules this week and really understanding the correct conjugation from words because once you get that done, it becomes a vocabulary thing. This week we did a bunch of practice lessons and oftentimes I caught myself just speaking off of instinct and having a natural conversation. I was able to say the things I really wanted to in Portuguese without having to have it planned out before. It's pretty cool to see how far I have come with the language while being here. I still have a way to go, but every day I get better and better!
Class this week had a lot to do with families. We talked a lot about the importance of teaching eternal life with the people of Brazil. The greatest gift we have been given on this earth is the opportunity to have eternal happiness with the people we love most. It's important to remember that life on earth is such a small portion of what the entire Plan of Salvation is all about. Jesus Christ has prepared a way for all people to receive eternal life through his restored gospel on the earth today. Opposition is necessary in order to feel what true happiness is like through obedience and faith in the Lord.
I will officially be shipped off to the trenches Tuesday morning. I will be assigned a new companion and area as soon as I get there. A lot of emotions have been running through my head just thinking about finally being out there, but I'm ready to go. I've been preparing for this my entire life and can't wait to get it started. I know this is exactly where I need to be and that the Lord has a work for me to do!
Elder Copeland
