Brazil Piracicaba Mission: MTC: Week 5

Its the final countdown! Doodoodoo doo...dooodoodoododo! :) haha

iBom dia amigos! Good Morning Friends!

Well, it is my last week at the Missionary Training Center and I am both excited to head to my new destination but also a little sad to leave here. Especially since I have gotten so close to my district. As you might have known, I have not received my visa yet, so I have been temporarily reassigned to the Pocatello Idaho mission! I will be there until I receive my visa, so please pray that I get my visa fast because Idaho is way too cold! I leave this Tuesday, December 31st and I will give you my new address when I receive it. Even though I'm not excited for the extreme cold, I am extremely excited to serve the people in Idaho. I am scared, however, to speak in English.....as weird as that sounds. I love Portuguese so much and actually feel more comfortable (definitely not confident, but I am comfortable) talking to people in Portuguese than English. I know Idaho is where the Lord needs me and that I have been called to be a missionary to invite others unto Christ. It does not matter where I go because my purpose will always be the same.

In case you didn't know, Christmas was this past week! Holy cow, time flies! And, lets just say I am SO glad I got to celebrate Christmas in the MTC! The highlights of the day were, waking up extremely early and opening up presents (My mom got my companion and I matching pink Elmo onesies), a fabulous talent show, and Elder Bednar came and spoke.

One thing that really stuck out to me in Elder Bednars talk was something that I needed to hear this week. This past week I had a really hard day and at the end of the day as I was teaching a lesson (in Portuguese, of course) I just felt completely inadequate. I having a hard time saying what I wanted to say and I was just really down on myself. And, I just felt like crying. Well, two things.

First, I know that God watches over us and He hears our prayers. Because, when I was feeling so inadequate and depressed, I prayed to my Father in Heaven to help me through the struggles I was going through. That night I received some unexpected letters from friends and they were EXACTLY what I needed to hear. "God does watch over us, but it is sometimes through another person that He meets our needs." I know this is true because I felt it at that moment and many times in my life. Don't hesitate to good for someone else, even if it is just a quick note because it could and will mean the world to that person.

Second, the first thing that Elder Bednar said was about feeling inadequate. He talked about how we are all agents that should act and not objects that are acted upon. Then, he said,(I am paraphrasing but I will put it in quotes because they are not my words) "You feel inadequate because you have some sense of what you do. You have been called to do such an important work. If you don't feel inadequate, you are doing something wrong. " Then he continued to talk about the atonement and how it is both cleansing power and an enabling power. That is exactly what I needed to hear, because I do feel inadequate but it is good to hear from an apostle of the Lord that that feeling is okay. The work I am doing IS so important and I am so thankful for the atonement of Jesus Christ that helps me through impossible things. ( My favorite scripture that talks about my purpose as a missionary is 3 Nephi 5:13)

Couple highlights of this week:

1. I finished the Book of Mormon again! I started over again the first Sunday I arrived here and I finished last Sunday. So, for all of you math mathematicians, that is exactly 4 weeks! That is the fastest I have ever read it but I have never gotten so much out of it. I literally could not put it down.

2. I gave a talk in Portuguese this past Sunday! Scared to death, but the missionaries in my branch said it was really good and they understood what I said! (I think they might just be saying that to be nice)

3. We had the opportunity to share a short message with a church member in Brazil via skype! Talk about the coolest experience ever!

4. As I expected, I am the very last missionary to leave from my district and the only one going to my mission. The other missionaries are going to Raleigh, NC, Mesa, AZ, Everett, WA, and Atlanta, GA. But, all is well! Hurrah for Israel!

Have a most wonderful week!

Sister Keeler