No More Candy, please.

 Thanks for the packages and I was a little confused when I got a pair of headphones haha. A bunch of missionaries just got reassigned to California so it will be fun to see where I go. I will know in two weeks from yesterday. We go to the temple every Friday here and will send some pictures from outside the temple next week. My companions name is Elder Sheridan and he lived in California most of his life and just moved to Texas before his mission.  Thanks for the deodorant and the other packages. No more candy though as I have gotten enough from G ma and G pa. Thanks for the ties too. I like all of them. We do laundry every Friday morning and don't worry, I am washing and cleaning all my clothes. In fact, I have come to enjoy it. It is very relaxing. Don't worry about the sweatshirts as long as I have them before I am reassigned. It is still pretty warm here and we have to wear our jackets every day.  

Thanks for the update on my friends. I've just started emailing Max and its fun to hear what's going on in the world. Bummer about my Visa. I've heard some crazy stories here of people who put their visa in at the same time at the same consulate and get them 6 months apart. We have just decided it is up to God where and when we will go anywhere. I'm not too worried for now. It will be fun to see where I go. The sacrament meeting is mostly in Portuguese but the branch presidents do not speak Portuguese so they have to do their part in English.

 The MTC life is pretty much the same every week: 6 hours of class a day learning Portuguese, gym time, personal study, three meals, and the occasional devotional. I've seen Josh here twice but he is on the West Campus so he only comes to main campus for devotionals on Tuesday nights. I've also seen Nathan Faux here. He is only here for two weeks, since he is going somewhere in the Western United States. ( I cannot remember) He leaves on Nov 1. I have learned a lot about the gospel in these past three weeks; It's amazing. It makes it hard when you know so much but you have to teach someone just the basics of the gospel and not go into too many details too fast. We do a lot of teaching fake investigators in Portuguese so it really makes you think about how to speak the language. I know I will be able to pick it up pretty easily once I'm immersed in Brazil. I just have to get there. 

Yes I got the letters. Thanks, as letters are always fun to read. I do not need anything else for now but I will let you know if I can think of anything. I am also keeping every letter I get so I can look back at them after my mission. That's all for this week. Hope school is going well. 

Love,

Will

Settling In

Kate,

 I will write you first since I did not have time last week. I'm sorry you were cold camping as I have learned from experience that it is no fun sleeping in the cold on the ground. That sleeping bag also should be rated at 60 degrees ( instead of 15!) as it does little to keep you warm. Yes, we have gym time 4 out of 7 days a week and I always play basketball 3 on 3. It is lots of fun. The food here is like the meal plan for BYU Provo so it is pretty good but I am excited to get out into the field. I am adjusting fine so far but do miss the dogs and wish I had spent more time with Dad and Mom as I have only come to realize out here what a blessing they were. You are old, but out here at the MTC I am young. I thought there would be more 18 year olds but most people I  have talked to have gone to a year of college or more. Even with this I'm still glad I went out right after high school.  Until my visa comes I will be reassigned state-side in mid November for a while so we will just see where I end up.

Hi Dad, 

Its great to hear from ya! I have p-day here at the MTC every Friday so I will email you or Mom every Friday. Things are good here and I have adjusted well. Thank you for the football and baseball scores as I have had no idea what has been going on. The only news from the outside world comes from our teachers. The Portuguese is coming well and I have learned a lot in the 2 weeks that I have been here.  I cannot believe those chiefs are 7-0 and Utah beat Stanford. That was big!

 Life here at the MTC is on a pretty tight schedule as we wake up at 6 30 every morning and go to sleep at 10 30. The hardest thing for me so far has been waking up and starting the day. We study the language with some phenomenal teachers for 4-5 hours a day and the rest of the day is filled with meals, gym time, and study time. Today is p-day and I have just begun to do  laundry. I have found that I enjoy it but ironing takes a while. I wish I had spent more time with you before i left as this time away from home has made me appreciate what good parents you are.

 I was right that they have stopped calling missionaries from California, Boise, or Utah to Brazil missions due to slow Visa processing. I would say 65% of misionaries here at the MTC are from those three states and not one of my missionaries in my zone are from any of them. I will most likely get reassigned state-side for a while so I just hope it is somewhere warm down in the south, and not Idaho. We have gym  4 days a week so I enjoy playing basketball with the other missionaries and as you can imagine there are some realy good guys here. It is interesting to talk to people who come here from different countries and find out where they are going. I am glad to learn another language and am thankful it is not Mandarin or Japanese as I do not know how those missionaries do it. Not to mention Finish, Cambodian, or Russian. Portuguese, next to Spanish, is one of the easier ones and one I can use later in life.  

I can only pray for my Visa and tell mom to email me the status every week even if it is still "received". We go to the Provo temple today so I will think of our experience in Nauvoo and wish I had treasured it more. Keep the sports scores coming but I will only be able to see them every Friday. If you send me Bon Bons address I will send her some mail as I thought she would enjoy that. That is all I have today. If you could send me a sweatshirt and a couple of cheap mesh bags for laundry that would be great as it is getting cold here. That is all I have for today so far but email you next week. Share this Mom if you will. 

 Tudo bem,

Will

  

D&C 118 Verse 3

3 Let the residue continue to preach from that hour, and if they will do this in all ^alowliness of heart, in meekness and humility, and^blong-suffering, I, the Lord, give unto them a ^cpromise that I will provide for their families; and an effectual door shall be opened for them, from henceforth.

Off to .......PROVO.....

No visa yet means Will is spending October learning Portuguese in Provo, UT.  He left Iowa at 6 am Wednesday morning, Oct 2.