Family:
Ok, so first off, will you please email elder mosca and let him know that I can only email my family here at the MTC. . . it is one of their rules. Tell him that I really admire his courage, and his testimony. Also tell him that I met Brother Nate, formerly Elder Nate who apparently met Elder Mosca at the Airport and Elder Nate had nothing but good to say about Elder Mosca. Brother Nate also knew Elder King and Elder Arendson, all 3 of my missionaries! (Elder Mosca is one of the 3) I don't think Elder Mosca knew Elder King or Arendson. Brother Nate also knew Elder Grondel and he sort of laughed and said that Elder Grondel was "one of a kind" . . . Whatever that means. Secondly, I only sent this email to mom and dad, you can forward it onto the rest if you want to. I am going to send a letter today or tomorrow that has some things that are really cool, but I also mention a story from dad's mission that I think he told me in confidence. . . so if you wouldn't mind opening it up first and reading it before you share it with the rest of the family I would appreciate it.
Ok, so on our devotional on Tuesday we sang the song Scatter Sunshine . . . one of Mom's favorites!, and I can see her laughing right now too as that is exactly what I was thinking when I saw the song.
Ok, so I have a guy in my District, Elder Molandado, who is from Arizona, and they play a game there that they call immigration. In Texas we call it fugitive. If you want the rules or something else explained to you, just ask Megan.
I also had to do one of the hardest things this week that was difficult, but I felt needed to be done. We had a rock that people carry around when they spoke English. That was all fine and good, but I had a really bad feeling about it. So after some thought, ponder, and prayer, I decided I needed to face the district and tell them that we shouldn't be using the rock. We have a few Elders who are very weak at Portuguese, and they just simply were not speaking, to me that is a problem. So after explaining to them what I thought, they were actually quite receptive, but I am greatful that was taken care of. I feel like all people in our district should speak as much portugese as possible.
Elder Searle is not related to any of those people, maybe distantly, but not within a 4 generation period of time. Elder Whitaker knows Portuguese really well, so Elder Searle and I went and practiced the Restoration in Portuguese, and we actually did it! we sort of butchered the Language, but together we did it!
I have noticed a few things that are really cool with the way things are translated:
in Matthew 19:12 it says "...which were made eunochs of men"
in Portugese it says " . . . que foram castrados de homens" homens means men
in 2 Timothy 4:4 talking of the Great Apostosy it says that the men are "turned unto fables"
in Portuguese it says "voltando às fábulas" which is interesting becasue the verb voltar means to return and fábulas means fables
in Mark 10:11 it says that a man shouldn't "put away" his wife in portuguese it uses a conjugation of the verb Deixar which means to leave.
Just a few things. I was looking up marriage and stuff for 2 of those because we had to teach why divorce was bad and things like that.
Will you look up the work "repudiate" for me? it is an english word and I don't know what it means. We don't get access to dictionaries, just the translation ones.
Elder Whitaker went to EFY with Marissa Hedelius one year!! I thought that was fun.
We were writing note to our investigator and he responded really quick, so Elder Whitaker repsonded again by writing response and he said, "it is just like Text messaging."
Thank you so much for the updates on Jessica and the family. I have been getting your dear elder letters. I think Jessica will go East of the mississippi River to Virginia or Nauvoo or somewhere in the Bible Belt, but that is just a guess. I think she will go spanish speaking, though it would be cool if she went to the portuguese speaking mission in conneticut so she could learn a lingua dos anjos!! my Branch President said that Spanish is a beautiful language of prayer and thanksgiving, but the people who speak spanish don't realize they get the answers to their prayers in Portuguese.
I am not really sick, I have had to up my Vitamin C because there is so much sickness going around and one day I will be just fine and then the next I will be under weather for a short time. I heard that the MTC had to get another doctor on for short term so they can cope with the sickness. I am going to buy more vitamin C today . . . Just so dad knows.
Well, my time is about up, but I love you guys tons, you have been a big strength to me.
Elder Hope
one more thing in Brasil, companhero means companion but in Portugal it is referred to as your gay companion, so we get say our colega, which means coleege. (spelling?), I thought that was interesting, and our Branch President doesn't like us calling our companions colegas, but if we do in Portugal, that would be bad, so he understands. I am supposed to get released from district leader on sunday, because i am 1/2 way done with the mtc
bye
**Jessica's Note: I did get my mission call to Las Vegas! I am going Spanish Speaking!!!
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