Parker in Brazil

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Last Week in the CTM

ola! this week was just another week in the CTM haha more long days in the classroom. Luckily on pday I buy a lot of snacks to eat during class. they sell this roll of cookies called boa vida, they're 1 real, which is the equivalent of $0.33! they're are the best! I love my district and my companions! it's gonna be hard to say goodbye to them in a week! but I'm so excited to get to the field! Very excited to get to Bahia. the food was still the same this week, beans and rice, with beef or chicken. a few different things. I'm still loving it though! feijoada is definitely one of my favorite foods here. and they have guarana machines in the refectório, so I definitely drink 7 glasses every meal. I'm definitely loving it here in Brasil, the people I have met are amazing and I can't wait until I can speak Português with them.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Week 4

This week was a good week! we sit in class for 15 hours a day, but it's awesome. I buy a lot of candy and cookies on my pday, so that helps me make it through lol. one of my teachers got mad at me for eating so much, then the next day, congratulated me for not eating any candy during class. little did she know, I didn't eat any candy because I finished it all the day before. Easter was awesome, we heard some great messages at church. I hope you all had a good Easter! we got ice cream with dinner that day so that was awesome!! i learned a good amount of Portuguese this week, it's coming along great! crazy I only have two more weeks until I get to the field! I'm way excited! we get to go to the Sao Paulo temple every week, and it's so beautiful!

well, that's pretty much all I have for this week, I will send pictures once I get to the field. I hope you all have an amazing week!!

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Week 3

I'm half way done at the mtc!! this week was super good. so I'm in a trio now, and I'm loving it!

on Saturday we went proselyting and we gave out 4 Book of Mormons! it was so awesome! it was cool talking to real people. and it was cool bearing my testimony in my terrible Portuguese.

the food here is awesome. beans and rice every day. plus we have chicken, beef or hot dogs every day. they have these weird crepes with meat on the inside. they're one of my favorites.

the language is coming along great, I've learned more Portuguese here in three weeks than I learned Spanish in 2 years. the church is true, and the Lord truly blesses us.

last night we watched an Elder Holland talk from a Provo MTC devotional from 2014. it was so powerful.

I'm so glad i get to serve the Lord and the people of Brazil for the next 2 years. A mission is the best decision I ever made. I know this church is true with all of my heart. I know it is the restored gospel. I know Heavenly Father has called a prophet and apostles today, and i am so thankful for that. I'm so thankful for the knowledge and peace this gospel brings to my life. Read the Book of Mormon with real intent, pray to our Heavenly Father, and He will tell you it is true. I love you all, I hope you have amazing weeks. My emails will get more interesting once I'm in Salvador, instead of stuck in classes all day haha

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Brazil!!

Sorry I didn't send an email last week! it was my first pday and i just chatted with my mom! But anyway the first week was a serious culture shock! I love Brazil so far though and Portuguese is amazing! ANYWAY I'LL TELL Y'ALL ABOUT MY WEEK!

Wed-we went to the São Paulo temple, which is sooo insanely beautiful! after that, we emailed and got to explore the area around the ctm. We found the biggest avocados ever! They're a solid 2-3 pounds!

Thursday- we went to the police station and got our fingerprints scanned and some other stuff. it was cool to see more of Sao Paulo. it's a huuuge city!

Friday was a pretty normal day, just classes all day and teaching our investigators.

We got to watch general conference this weekend! it was so amazing to be in such a spiritual environment and hear the words of the prophet and his apostles.

This week we got 3 new missionaries in our district from Provo! so I'm in a trio now, and we have 4 sisters in the district! Sorry this email is so short, I don't have a lot of time to email today! but I love you all, I hope you have amazing weeks! I promise next week's email will be better!!

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Letter From the CTM President

Dear Parents,

Sister Grahl and I are very happy to let you know that your missionary has arrived safely at the Brazil Missionary Training Center. What a great joy and privilege it is to greet each missionary as they begin their missionary experiences with us! We will surely take good care of your missionary.

The missionaries now have companions and are settled into their rooms. They are assigned to a district with capable and caring instructors for language and lesson study. Their branch presidents and wives will meet them this Sunday. These wonderful couples are richly blessed as they work with, motivate, and interview the missionaries assigned to their branch.

The MTC has a physician to care for their health needs. We are also happy to report that the MTC food is plentiful, healthy and very good.

Your missionary will be able to e-mail home on Preparation Day after a morning at the Temple. This will be either Wednesday or Friday, depending on individual assignments.

Your missionary is about to make an eternal difference in the lives of many others. President Lorenzo Snow said: “There is no mortal man that is as interested in the success of an elder when he is preaching the Gospel as is the Lord who sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord's children". We love these missionaries as if they were our own. We will watch over them carefully to ensure they are ready for a wonderful missionary experience after the rewarding time they will have in the MTC.

We thank you for preparing such a wonderful representative of the Lord.

Pres. Paulo R. Grahl and Sister Zuleika M. Grahl