Tuesday, 27 July 2010

Letter sent 7/20/2010
It's great here. I've memorized "Meu Propósito" (My Purpose) and "A Primeira Visão (The First Vision) .  I am working on "As Regras de Fé" and D&C 4 right now.  My goal is to have read through second Nefi in Portuguese before I leave and to be able to run for two miles without stopping to catch my breath or walking.

By the way, if anyone wants a good study topic, study first the armor of God in Ephesians (cross reference and TG to find more on each piece of armor) and then study "Preach My Gospel" Chapter 6 "Christlike Attributes" and put the two together.  It's pretty amazing that 9 attributed fit so well into 7 pieces of armor (the sword is two is you look closely)!

Our Brazilian roommates (Elders Buarque and Jesus Santos) are amazing! They make us speak Portuguese with them even though Elder Buarque speaks English pretty well.  One of the zone leaders, Irmão Pesanna, is an amazing guy.  He speaks at least English, Spanish and Portuguese fluently and I have suspicions of a few others, like French.  Bet every time you ask him, he says "Only Portuguese" (yes in English!).


I love you and and pray for you!
Elder Page



Email
I actually got two letters from Mom and Dad. The one that left on the 13th got here on the 23rd and the other one got here last night. If there are another letters floating out there, I haven't got them. Thanks for the picture. I'm the only person here who brought absolutely no photos, so that was good!

I found out that the grocery store near here has pear juice with soy (so it requires no refrigeration for a few days after it's been opened)! It's really good, but not as good as the fresh fruit juice that you watch them blend and strain on the corner!

I'm starting to feel a bit at home at the CTM. The routine and regularity of activities helps time pass by super fast. People here like to say, "Days feel like weeks and weeks feel like days". It's true! I feel like I've been here for like two days, but It's almost been a month! I'm also having a hard time remembering what I've written in other letters and emails, so this may be a bit repetitive.

Our afternoon teacher, Irmã Cardoso is filling in for the Mission President's Secretary for a week so we have Irmão Peçanha for a while. He's sorta scary, but he's usually joking (I keep thinking that this is how people my age think of Dad) and he always makes me think really hard about what we should be doing without just telling us.

I'm learning a lot and I really do love this place. We had the pig-beans again yesterday (it's still as good as before I knew it had snouts and ears in it) and today one of the instructors told us that something was bat-meat, but I think he was joking...

Elder Page

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Things here are great.

I can´t believe it! Everyone my age is going on a mission! It´s crazy, but it´s a good crazy.

This week we got moved to a different classroom because of the construction on the new gym that´s going on outside. Today, however we were able to leave again and wander the favelas of São Paulo, it was pretty awesome! We stayed close to the CTM and got some snacks and some awesome, fresh pineapple juice. It's very safe here but it's got that HUGE city vibe, you know?

I am amazed by how quickly the Lord has been helping me with Português! I can read a lot and understand more. I am reading O Livro de Mórmon and I just bought a cheap copy of El Libro de Mormón so that I can keep up my Spanish.

Letters coming to Brazil are kind of random in how long they take (5 days to 3 weeks) but letters to the states are USUALLY only about a week to ten days.

I love you so much and I can´t wait for your letters! Elder Page

Week Two

I don't have enough Portuguese to read the menu in the Cafeteria but I found out later that the food we ate had pig's feet, snout and tongue. Another Brazilian Elder tried to convince me that something else was alligator meat, but we found out that is just a kind of dry meat loaf. The food is usually pretty good, it's just a little strange. The desserts are often very sweet and the meat is salty, but the rice and beans are actually my favorite. I think that the gift of tongues has many different interpretations.

Today we went to the temple for the second time (in English of course) and it has been pouring all day. This is the first time that it has rained so far and it's crazy how much water comes down! Today we explored a bit and got wet and basically had a blast!

I am hoping that Portuguese keeps being as close to Spanish as it is. There are times that I accidentally say something in Spanish and all that gets corrected is my pronunciation!

The spirit is so strong in the CTM that I notice it more when I get depressed and my doubts drive it away. Life is a roller coaster here but I know I wouldn't have such amazing spiritual highs if it weren't for the times when Sátanas is trying his hardest. I am so thrilled to be here and every once in a while I realize, "Hey, I'm in Brazil!" I want to be out in the field even though I don't really speak the language. My companion and another Elder in my district handed out a copy of O Livro De Mormon to some people outside the tie shop today. It's these opportunities to glimpse what the field will be like that makes me want to go there. A speaker last night told us, "Brazil is not white...it is MORE than white!" So he told us to go out with our sickles and work. I am studying hard so that I will be ready when that time comes!

PWoL: Minha nossa! (Literal - My our! Slang - Oh my gosh!)

I love you so much! Yours in the faith, Elder Page

Bom Día

First of all, it's the CTM, not the MTC. I'm not quite used to the Brazilian keyboard yet so I'm not sure how fast I can type. We'll see...So the CTM is amazing. I can't believe that I'm in Brazil! It's pretty warm here but I've been told that Recife is WAY hotter than it said it was online. The schedule here takes a while to get used to but it keeps us busy so that we can focus on the Spirit. My comp, Elder Rogers is pretty much amazing. He's like 6 foot 6 and really friendly. I think we'll work really well together. He just got called as the District Leader and our Branch President called me his "External Brain".

On the 4th we had our church meetings and they sing the Brazilian national anthem, so the Brazilian Elder next to me said "Dooon't a-wurry I weel help a-you" and off we went singing the fastest national anthem I've ever heard! He smiled and told me that it was only my first week when I asked how I did. But then we sang the Star Spangled Banner and HE was the one who was freaking out!

Our trip here was SOOOOOOO long! On the first flight I sat next to this nice woman who knew a lot about the church and we had a great conversation. The plane to São Paulo was huge! I sat next to a bilingual Brazilian girl about my age and we talked for a while before she plugged in her headphones. That plane didn't leave for almost 2 hours after it was supposed to and we spent our whole first day being told that we were so behind because of that! There are 9 elders in our district in three companionships (Barker & Hocker, Rogers & Me, and Hawkley & Andersen) and one tripanionship (Eggett, Bushman, and Crapo). Our district is an awesome group of guys! I think that we are starting to get caught up.

I haven't walked around the outside world yet, but as soon as I finish this email meu companheiro y eu are going out! P-Day is good but I almost wish I was in class learning the Portuguese right now. It comes a lot easier than I thought it would but the pronunciation is a killer; It's so close to spanish but there are SO many vowel sounds!
I love you all so much and I've decided that I am going to end each email and letter with the Portugues Word of the Letter (PWoD). Today's word is...(drumroll please)...Paralelepípedo [pah.rah.lay.lay.PEE.peh.doo] (but say it REALLY fast) it means "Cobblestone"

Elder Page (El.dehr Pah.Jee)

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We also received the following email picture:

Where is Recife, Brazil?

David will be serving in the Brazil Recife Mission.  The mission comprises all but the western tip of the state of Pernambuco (shown in red below).  Pernambuco is located just south of the easternmost tip of South America.  Recife is the largest city in Pernambuco and is located on the coast.

David (Elder Page) has left for Brazil!

David was set apart as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by President Fotheringham on Monday, June 29, 2010 at the Hillsboro Oregon Stake Center.



The following morning, June 29, 2010, he flew out of the Portland International Airport to Dallas, Texas where he was to meet up with other missionaries also traveling to the Sao Paolo, Brazil MTC. He was to arrive in Sao Paolo at 7:40 am on June 30th (Sao Paolo time). We received the following email today indicating that he has arrived safely.

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Dear Parents,

We are happy to send the good news that your missionary has arrived safely at the Brazil MTC. What a great joy and privilege it is to greet each missionary as they come through the front door of the MTC for the first time. We promise to take good care of your missionary.

They 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. The branch presidents and their wives, will soon give them a second greeting. These couples are rewarded in their callings through the love they always develop as they embrace and watch over the missionaries.

The MTC has a full time live-in physician to care for their health needs. He is assisted by his able wife. We are also happy to report that the Cafeteria food is abundant 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 Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on individual assignments.

Your very important young person is about to make an eternal difference in the lives of others. We hope you will be encouraged and comforted by this quote by President Lorenzo Snow: “There is no mortal man that is so much interested in the success of an elder [sister] when he is preaching the gospel as the Lord that sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord’s children.”

Please accept our love,

President Donald L Clark and Sister Zaza Clark

ADDITIONAL information . . .

DO not send packages to the Brazil Missionary Training Center. All packages must be sent directly to the mission where your missionary will be serving not the MTC. If you have already mailed a package to the Brazil MTC and it arrives after your missionary has left for the field, please understand that the package can not be forwarded to his or her mission and will be returned to you. The only other option is for us to open the package and forward the letters and photographs, giving the rest of the content of the package to the missionaries that are here.

WE Strongly eNCOURAGE sENDING HAND WRITTEN LETTERS. Please write your missionary´s first and last name. Your missionary will provide you with his district and box number. Also, please DO NOT SEND ANYTHING BY FEDEX, DHL, UPS, or other private carriers. The cost to get this type of correspondence is exorbitant.
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His email address is david.page@myldsmail.net

The Sao Paulo MTC Address (until September):
Elder David Ensign Page
Brazil Recife Mission
Brazil MTC
Rua Padre Antonio D'Angelo 121
Casa Verde
02516-040 Sao Paulo SP
Brazil