Week 2!

Olá!

This week was awesome!  Robert D Hales funeral was really good. I got a lot out of it and definitely felt the Spirit.  Things are still going well, and the best thing about this week was that we got activiad de fisica every day!  Just kidding, but it was nice having physical activity every day.  We run for a little bit and then go play basketball.  It is pretty fun to play with the Brazilians because they are either naturally good or really bad.  The non-Brazilian elders differ in skill level also. After physical activity, everyone on our floor hits the showers.  And while we are showering, everyone sings as loud as we can. It's actually pretty fun.  

We started TRC this week, which is where we meet with an instructor like they are a member, and we just talk with them for 20 minutes or so, and then leave them a short message.  I thought it was going to be terrible.  But Elder J------- wasnt saying anything, so i started talking, and what i was saying seemed to make sense.  There were still awkward pauses, but overall, it went really well!  I was understanding her really well, and she could understand me!  That made this week really good, just experiencing an actual conversation in the language that I could partake in.  

One of the elders shared with me that he only planned on being out for 2 months and then he planned to go home. So I've been talking with him every night, and he has totally changed that view.  He told me last night that he is for sure staying the two years.  He may lose a girlfriend he left at home, but it will make his life so much easier on the mission not to have that pressure.

Our district is really musical.  Two of the elders are crazy good at the piano, and a bunch of us sing well and can harmonize. There are maybe two that aren't great singers, but they aren't terrible.  We might be doing a special musical number during a devotional soon.  Sister W--------, who is in charge of music, said she would get back to us.  

Out instructors are Irmão T--------- and R------.  If you get a follow request or something don't just leave them.  They are cool.  R------ just took pictures with us that we are able to send you.  So I will include those.  

We went to the police station, so I can stay in Brazil!  Thanks for all your emails, I love you guys so much!

Elder Nielson 

Your Missionary's Arrival At the Brazil MTC

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

First P-Day

The CTM in Sao Paulo is awesome! The people in my district are great, and we are trying to push ourselves to learn the language.  It is really difficult, but we have faith that with hard work the gift of tongues can make up the rest. We have two Brazilian roommates, and they are awesome! Elder M------ speaks English and has been very open with us. We had the opportunity to stand in on a blessing for him.  It was in Portuguese, so that's pretty cool.  And Elder S---- speaks very little Portuguese or English.  The Americans and Brazilians are all super close now.  Its weird how close you can get with people in one week.  

We went to the Sao Paulo temple today, and it was beautiful. There were several of the Brazilians on our floor that we are close to that went through for themselves today because they were unable to before they came out. Sao Paulo is a MASSIVEEEEEEE city. You probably wouldn't be able to drive across it in under three hours. It's like the third or fourth largest city in the world, and I believe it! It is crazy!!

Its nice here. We get up at 6:30am, and there is a lot of studying, mostly studying actually.  We have taught 3 lessons in Portuguese, and they were rough. Whenever we feel bad, we think about how little time we have been here, and how much we have learned in that time. The beds are comfy. They do provide us with bug spray.

I actually really like the food.  It's a lot of beans and rice and meat.  I did ask about peanuts but couldn't fully understand, but now I'm pretty sure there are no peanuts. I am still very careful and my district knows too. We eat ham and cheese sandwiches every morning for breakfast.  I repeat, every morning! But they are actually really good. The scale here said that i was 164 all week, so it's either off or I gained some weight. We started a diet though, and I was back under 150 this morning. We can play basketball or run for exercise when it's not raining. When it's raining, we go to a very little gym and can do pull ups, ride stationary bikes, or play ping pong.  

I really love it here, and I love everyone that I've met. The people from Brazil are awesome! They are so fun loving and really seem to enjoy hanging out with us.  It's crazy that we cant fully communicate, yet we can understand each other. I love the Brazilians that hang out with us all the time. I am kind of the connection between the Brazilians and the Americans. I don't know why, but the Brazilians like me. They are so funny and fun loving.  But they can be really spiritual at the same time. I have so much respect for all of these guys. Some of them have tattoos and stuff, and they are converts, but they are out here and have super strong faith. I love the people here, and the CTM is awesome!

I love you guys so much! (Please send this to who it needs to get to. We only get 45 mins to email.)

Elder Nielson

(Yes, Elder is Elder in Portuguese.)

P.P.S., I should have brought my hammock!  In Recife it is normal for people to have a hammock in their houses, so ... yeah.  I think I can get one here, so I will probably do that.

P.P.P.S. I should invest in a nice set of Portuguese scriptures. They gave us a paper version, and they are already getting battered. They are like 30 - 50 U.S. dollars here at the Distribution Center by the temple, so that's pretty good. I'm sorry I cant send pictures, and my typing is bad.  I gave one of my Brazilian roommates a BYU shirt because he wants to go to BYU when he gets home.  He gave me a tie this morning to show his gratitude for the gesture, and it was really cool and nice of him. I tried to explain that it is a cheap t-shirt, but he forced me to take it.  That's Elder M------, who speaks English.

We Made It To Brasil!

ola, 

sorry, the keyboards are weird, and wont let me capitalize... but we made it to the brasil ctm!  our overnight flight went well, and i ended up getting moved next to a brazilian who went to school in the states and spoke really good english.  he asked me some questions about what i believed, and when i answered, he kind of told me that that's great that i am so passionate about it, and that although he doesn't think that way, he respects that i'm doing what i love. i gave him a portuguese book of mormon, and he thanked me and left.  

sao paulo is huge!!!  i have never seen such a huge city.  we drove for an hour, and are still in the city.  you could probably drive for 2 and a half hours and still be in sao paulo.  its incredible!  our flight was a little delayed, and we just got here and got our tags. my companion is elder jacobsen. he is the one that we met at the airport that is also going to recife, tall with dark hair (see picture).  i'm really excited.  

the ctm is nice, and i feel like it will be a really good environment to learn in.  I won't be able to send pictures until I get into the field because they don't want us to slow the process of emailing.  my p-day will be wednesday. i wont email tomorrow, but the next wednesday.  it's decided that the only word we all know is pineapple, so we are just saying abacachi as we walk around.  

I made it safe, and I love you guys so much!

tchoa,

Elder Nielson