Oi familia e Amigos!
WOW. This week has
been CRAZY!!!
So obviously it was my last week with my English district because
they left on Tuesday. Our last classroom meeting on monday night with Brother
Dopp was so incredible! Talk about a spiritual feast! I really loved each
missionary in that district fully. They're all going to be incredible
missionaries and I'm sure they already are doing great things in Minnesota. I
also had to say good bye to the Man I have been friends with my whole life,
Elder Clawson, on tuesday night as he departed for NC. That was pretty tough
actually. He traded ties with me and left. It was a little heart wrenching, not
gonna lie. Saying goodbye was tough but it was great. I got my new Portuguese
district and they're all from the Northwest, and are all extremely nice guys. I
got two new companions Elder Coombs from Puyallup Washington, and Elder Royster
from San Francisco. They're really cool guys. Elder Coombs is a stud. He's such
a soft spoken guy but he's extremely humble and very powerful in the Spirit.
Elder Royster is exactly like Kurt Mooney, for a reference. It's awesome. Elder
Smith and Elder Bond aka the A-Team are another companionship and they're
awesome. Elder Bond looks and acts like Tyler Robson and I love it! Elder Smith
is really laid back and nice and looks just like Brother Emmet from Mt. Scott
ward! There's also Elder Jensen and Willard. Both from the same ward in
Washington, best friends their whole lives and now companions. Weird. They had
a huge wave of visas this week and Elders Coombs, Bond, Smith, and Jensen leave
tomorrow... on their first day... FRUSTRATING! But I'm glad for them. Mine
should be on it's way so I may spend some time in the CTM if I'm lucky still.
So yes, mathmeticians, there will be three people in our district tomorrow... I
was called as District Leader, but it's one companionship so it won't be tough.
The Portuguese it's tough. The way they teach here is like trying to drink
water from a fire hose. It ain't pretty. But after about 5 days we're really
picking it up well. Our teacher is Irma Jacobs from Brazil and she's so cool.
She's been in America for 10 months so she actually CAN'T speak English to us,
which explains why our Portuguese is so accelarated. We learned how to bear
testimony, pray, and hold a basic conversation with someone already and I can
read and understand Portuguese pretty well. Overall it's going well. All the
elders in this new district are headed to Joao Pessoa (where Elder Paul is
headed) except for Elder Willard (Porto Alegre South) and I. The portuguese is
so intense we don't even have time to think here, but I like it. I apologize if
I've been slow to return letters this week, my mind has been on overload. Last
tuesday we had the opportunity to hear from Elder Holland. He spoke on being a
missionary forever. It was super inspiring as Elder Holland typically is. It
was funny because we had to wake up at 3 to drop off my english district so we
were thinking about not going to the devotional. What a mistake that would've
been. Last night we heard from soul singer Alex Boye. He talked about his
conversion and the importance of our call and our power as representatives of
God. It was so incredible I can't even describe it. The spirit was so strong we
left the fireside feeling like we could literally move mountains. It
strengthened my faith so much this week just going through some tough changes
and trying to grasp why I can't just go to Brazil. There is clearly a reason I
need to be here, whether for my benefit or for others I don't know yet, but I
will continue to follow God to the end and endure in faith. I'm very glad I'm a
missionary and can bring glory to God and honor my family by doing this. I've
been out a month and it's flown by! I have a feeling this will go by fast so
sometimes I just need to stop and savor the moments. Eu sei que da Igreja e
verdadeiro. Eu sei que Joseph Smith es um profeta de Deus. Eu sei que amar de
Deus e eterno. Eu sou grato por minha familia e meu amigos. I love this gospel.
I can't wait to hear from everyone this week and to finally get to brazil in a
few.
I love you all.
O evangelho restaurado
es verdadeiro
Elder Marley
