MY BRAIN IS ON FIRE

~ FIRST WEEK IN THE MTC ~

February 3rd, 2015
Oi! Bom día meu família e amigos!
I am LOVING the MTC!! This place is amazing!!! I can't believe my dream came true and that I'm really Sister Porter now! Tons of missionaries everywhere, studying all day, classes, and huge headaches! YAY :) I am seriously in heaven. The spirit is so strong and powerful here. This is definitely the hardest thing I've ever done though. I totally understand what missionaries mean now. I have never studied or concentrated so much in my life! I was nervous to see who my companion was on the first day, but when I read her name, I was overwhelmed with joy to see that it was a girl I had talked to on Instagram before my mission! We talked for a while and hoped we would be companions. Her name is Sister C. from Murray, Utah. She is serving in the Brazil, São Paulo Mission and is sooo hilarious! We literally die laughing every day; I love her so much and lucked out big time for having her as a companion. We are like sisters already. My district is awesome. There are 4 of us sister missionaries and 8 elders. They are all so funny and we get along really well. We are all going to Brazil and are all visa waiters. My zone has all Portuguese missionaries going to Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, and Capo Verde Africa. They are all such strong missionaries. I love them already. It is so amazing walking around the MTC and being with so many missionaries everywhere! Being here has truly been a testament to me that God is hastening His work here on Earth. I love seeing missionaries from foreign countries and seeing how we are all here for the same reason. I will always cherish the moment when the entire MTC stood and sang, "I know that my Redeemer lives!" or "We are NOW the Lords missionaries to bring the world his truth!" The spirit is everywhere! I am in HEAVEN. I was born to be a sister missionary.
Even though this place is amazing, it is SO HARD. I write down quotes that my companion says daily. They are hilarious but so true! Sister C.- (after giving a lesson in Portuguese) "My brain is on fire! I have absolutely no clue what he just said. I felt like I was scraping the corners of my brain to know what to say. I am losing it. Completely losing it." :) hahaha we are always dying laughing at how our brains are going to explode. My teachers are Irmao Cr. and Irmao Wn. They served in southern Brazil and Mozambique. We have taught 3 lessons to our investigator, S. IN ONLY PORTUGUESE!! We gave our first lesson to S. the 3rd day we were here in the MTC and we hardly knew any Portuguese. I have felt very overwhelmed and discouraged at times, but I know that those feelings don't come from God. Yesterday was a hard day. I felt like I wasn't understanding anything Irmão Cr. was teaching us in class. We were going to be teaching our investigator again that night and we both were so unsure of what to say or do. My companion and I prayed super hard that our lesson would go well and that we would know what to say to S. The lesson was AMAZING!! Words literally came into my mouth and I pieced Portuguese together. The spirit was so strong. I used an object lesson that Jacob told me he used during his mission in Mexico. I was so amazed at how the spirit took over my words and how the gift of tongues really is REAL. I am a witness of its reality!! The lesson ended strong. I was so overcome with joy that my Heavenly Father helped and comforted me. Anything is possible through him and I have seen his hand in my life constantly so far on my mission. I am shocked at how much I understand and how fast I am learning Portuguese. I have realized that my Heavenly Father sent me to the Brazil, Santa Maria mission Portuguese speaking because he knows I can do it and handle it. He knows that the most powerful testimony I can bear is in the Portuguese language. I am so grateful to have the honor of representing Jesus Christ. I love him with all of my being. He is my rock and my everything. This is truly where I am meant to be. Em tem um bem ralacionamento com meu Pai Celestial. Eu sei que o evanghelo de Jesus Cristo e verdadero. Eu amo vocês!!

Sister Alena Porter