Hellllllooooooo everyone!!! And welcome to another weekly episode of the Awesome Adventures of Elder Ashford!
So this week has seriously just been all over the place. So much stuff happened, so be prepared for a rather long post this time around! I'm going to go chronologically through the week so that there is some semblance of organization, that way I don't go crazy and just mix up everything. First off: Friday! Normally I would include anything interesting on that day on the previous weeks letter, but this happened after I emailed and has lead in to stuff that happened later. So Friday we did what is known as TRC (Training Resource Center), which is essentially the MTC just gathering people in the area that speak your language and having you go in and talk to them and share a short gospel message. So my companions, Elder Marchant and Elder Jacobs, and I were determined to do super well. So had prepared a little something about Jesus Christ and his role and importance in our lives. We walked in and started talking with a man in his early 20's who was attending BYU. We talked to him about school and life and got to know him. Then we tied in Christ and how he can help us in life. We could tell he really felt something and had a desire to change. We got a feedback note from him saying that he just had a really powerful experience and wanted to start putting God and Jesus Christ first in his life. It was super amazing and I kinda stole that slip of paper and put it in my journal without my companions noticing. Anyways, super cool. Saturday wasn't very exciting, but we started making a mural of the people in our district that we worked on to completion, including little pictures about each person or the state they come from. Sunday was cooler. I just felt really good and focused. It was a wonderful feeling and it's been sticking with me since. We had an accountant turned movie producer come and speak to us Sunday night about sacrifice. He and his cousin had produced the movie "17 Miracles" about the Martin Handcart company and their struggles getting to Utah to join the Saints away from the persecution in the East. He also recently came out with another movie a couple months called "Ephraim's Rescue" about a man who carried mail to and from Salt Lake and was asked to help the Martin Handcart company when they were stuck in the middle of deep snow. We saw clips of the movie and it was extremely moving. I think we're all hoping to see the movie this Sunday when though show church films.
Then came Monday. Remember how I said that my companions and I had a really good lesson last Friday? Yeah. Whenever you do something good and learn the things you need to, things change so you can learn new things. There was an Elder Johnson from a district in our zone. His entire district had left Monday morning, but he didn't leave until Tuesday morning. So he hung out with me and I finally had my own companion again, which was really nice. The picture of us is not pretty though. We both weren't looking too great between being tired and just bad timing. We had fun, but what I didn't know was that I would not be going to my old companionship. Unfortunately, we lost one of our own early Tuesday morning. Elder Howard had to go home to take care of some stuff. We love him though and know he'll be out again soon enough.
After he left, I became companions with Elder Nissinen, the redhead in our group. We work really well together as we focus on the people we teach and the other missionaries in our district. He's district leader, so I adopted some of his responsibility. Wednesday we celebrated Elder Jacobs' birthday. It actually wasn't until Thursday, but since we were busy then, we celebrated on Wednesday. His sister had sent him cake and Martinelli's sparkling apple cider, so we had a party as a class and sang Happy Birthday in Portuguese, which is wayyyy cooler than the English version. It's a lot peppier and exciting. We also hosted new people coming in to the MTC. I hosted three Elders, one of which was really cool. Well, they were all really cool, but I got to know this one a lot better. He was from Alabama and had a thick southern accent. I told him I was from Texas and we started talking a ton. He was headed to the Japan Tokyo South mission, which I thought was really neat. After hosting, I got a two slips of paper. One package slip and one pink slip of paper. The package was amazing and had a bunch of fresh homemade cookies from home that everyone thought were completely delicious. The pink slip I'll talk more about in a minute. :)
This brings us to Thursday! Also known as reassignment day! And In-Field Orientation day! We sat in one giant class pretty much all day, for 9 hours, only breaking for lunch. But it was super fun! We had activities and learned soooo much stuff about what was going to happen out in the field. It really made us feel a heck of a lot more prepared. After that fun stuff, we ran to the mailbox after dinner. In the mailbox were a bunch of papers and travel plans for everyone that contained our fate. We handed out the papers one by one to everyone and had them read out what their new mission was to be while they waited for their visa to get processed. People are going to Oklahoma, Las Vegas, California, Oregon, and Arizona. Everyone got a reassignment, except for me. I looked through everyone's reassignment and handed them out so that no one could cheat and find out early. Why you ask, did I not get a reassignment? Remember that little pink slip of paper I mentioned? It was the best part of my week. Wednesday when I got it, it said to head down to the travel office. Everyone was super excited with anticipation and followed me into the building that the travel office is in. Waiting behind me, I walked up and showed them my pink slip. In exchange, I got a packet of papers with a travel itinerary. If you haven't guessed yet, let me erase all doubt from your minds. I GOT MY VISA!!!!!!!!!! As of Tuesday at 7:40 AM Texas Time (Central Time), I will be in São Paulo, Brazil!!!!!!! Everyone was so excited, especially me. I'm sad that no one is going with me. I'm the only person to get theirs who is going to São Paulo, so I'll be traveling to New York with some Argentina people, and some Florinopolis, Brazil people, but on my way to São Paulo I'll be alone. I'm EXTREMELY excited about going. I'm kinda freaking out at the prospect. I can't wait!!
That's pretty much my week. Pretty exciting in my opinion. I leave Monday morning, but not super early. Most missionaries leave at 2 or 3 AM, but I don't have to leave until 8:30, so I get my sleep! I'm super excited to call home on Monday as well. Not sure how I feel about the hours and hours I'll be on a plane. I love planes, but maybe not that much. Oh well! Maybe I'll get some teaching experience in, maybe in Portuguese! I find myself thinking in Portuguese a lot, which is a good sign for the most part. It's just trying to keep the two languages separate that's hard. By the way, now would not be a good time to send me mail or packages, as I won't receive them before I leave. Everyone make sure to email though if you feel like talking!
I love the work I've been doing so far, and I'm excited to do more important work in Brazil. The MTC is just growing, but out in the field is where the real work happens. When I can talk to people and tell them the message of the restored gospel that Jesus Christ reinstated on the Earth, through his prophet Joseph Smith. Jesus Christ lived and died for us, and now he lives, leading His church through his modern prophet Thomas S. Monson. I know this gospel is truer than anything else on the Earth. I know that the Book of Mormon is the work of God, as is the Bible, and that when you read it, the Holy Spirit of God will enter you and testify of it's truth through your thoughts and feelings. I know that the Book of Mormon testifies of Christ and his divinity. I know that by reading that book, I have gained a better understanding of my Savior and how I should live my life in preparation to live with God and his son Jesus Christ forever in the Kingdom of God. I know that I am asked to serve in a sacred calling, to preach the word and bring souls unto Christ so that they can have the same opportunities and experiences I have had with religion. I love this gospel so much, and I know that through it I can be together forever with my family. I wish everyone well. Stay safe, have fun, keep learning! I love you all!
Sincerely,
Elder Michael Ashford
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