Letter # 3

Dear Family,
k so this week when better by better i mean faster which is always a good thing! um i am actually feeling worst! like it is really really bad! i woke up today with my throat slowen and feeling like i was going to puke witch is noa bom!! i missed going to the temple today because it was so bad!! i went to the mtc doctor he gave me some pills to help but i need like a zpak to get rid of it! i have never felt this bad since i got my tonsils out!! i got some good news i can receive packages down here!! i was talking to this pecanha dude that is high up here at the mtc and he was telling me that we can recieve packages! he said that you could have it fedexed down here but we would have to put duty free on it so i wouldnt have to pay to get it out! or you can send it through a flatrate box and send it to me! when you take it to send it and you have to declare what is isn the box it is better to be complete honest and not lie about what you put in the box! so they fixed eggs but it was nasty they were like rubbery! which is not cool! lunch and dinner there is allways meat and rice and beans!! let gentry know that i have been praying for her like none other! i love her very much and i also love the family very much ! as you have asked before about how long does mission ties take for me to get the letter? usally two days but there was one that you sent me on November 14 i didnt get it tell the 22 which blows because i would of loved it that week! A goodthing to do is probably to google all the hoildays in brazil and dont send mail on that day because everything close down for the hoildays! i really want some pictures of people from my farwell so when all the brazilians come and show me there family and friends and i have only one pic to show them like go to costco and print some out and send them down here! how do i send my pictures to costco again??? gentrys ideas of just sending a huge envolpe with all the letters in it is a good idea but not for me to send back in one envople they weigh the envoples and it cost more to send a bulk one back! i know this cuz they did it for elder een and he went to send it back like his family sended it to him and it cost him more than if he was to send it seperately! Brazil is messed up!! it is really starting to warm up down here and its getting pretty hot! they have sheets for us to use so i use them and we get new sheets about once a week! as far as the language is going for me it is really tough and i have learned more but when we go to teach are fake investigator here i cant remember the words to use!! i wrote another big letter to the family today and i wrote grandpa back to!! so that is about it for my week here! I know kind of boring! oh i forgot to tell you that i met anderson silvas cousin here he is really good at ji-jitsou and he is teaching me so that is fun! and i have a boxing coach that is teaching me how to box! it is always fun to do those kind of things at night when nothing is going on so ya its pretty legit!!
Love Elder Gray

Alisha,

I just got back yesterday from Brazil and was able to give everything to your son. I also took some pictures of him which he did not know that I was doing. I thought you may like to see him in action at the MTC. In a couple of the pictures you have to look closely to find him. He wanted me to tell you that he has spent more time on his knees while in the MTC than he did his whole life prior to entering the MTC. Towards the end of my stay, he told me that during personal study time at night, he likes to visit with the Brazillian Elders in their room and teach them English and they teach him Portuguese. He also said that one of them is the cousin of a very famous MMA fighter (Anderson Silva) and he is teaching your son some tricks! It really looked to me that your son has adapted much better to the new culture! He looked happy and healthy! Enjoy the pictures!

Better week!! second letter

(If this letter doesn’t seem to flow very well it’s because Colton and I were chatting back and forth)

Dear family,

So to your questions um breakfast sucks because it is either ham or bologna sandwiches with nasty cheese! But besides that the lunch is good a lot of meat a lot of beans and a lot of bread! The elder from St George last name is Een not Ence! and ye me and elder Morris the one from AF are getting a long great! His laugh is hilarious and so funny so it makes me laugh alot!! So about me and my compainino we are getting a long good we worked out are differences and we are working together and actually doing good when we have to teach the fake investigators! This week went by so fast I look forward to p days! Portuguese has not gotten any easier! :( Ya life is going better I am just struggling with the language! But besides that I am good I picked up a cold so that is no bueno! It’s been raining here for about the past 3 days! The temple here is cute I love there chandelier it’s really nice! Um I got your package it made me cry when I heard your voices! I wished that you would of taped more! How is gentry??? So that elder from St George is like my best friend in here! There is another elder from California named elder Iverson he is really cool he likes to talk and he wants to be a lawyer for the army me and him have gotten a long well he always comes to are room at night and just sits and talks to us! I need to start going to bed earlier and not staying up talking to all the elders! I am loved by the Brazilians here they always come up to me and give me a hug they always want me to play volleyball with them at gym so that is great! I am currently sitting around about 200 pounds so I need to lose some weight! What’s Jarrett’s address so I can send a letter today?? As far as missionties goes it will probably easier to write and email instead of me going to drop it off cuz we cant print paper here so ya! Your cookies were so good! I shared with everyone and they all said to send more! I don’t know if I should get my suit dry cleaned yet or not! Washing clothes there is no bleach here so we just wash with soap in the machine it’s alright it doesn’t take everything out like I would want it to do so that blows! Have the girls been telling the people that they can send me mail?? Like I really look forward to getting mail!! I actually really like to write letters back to people! K sweet so I love you a ton mom and I really miss you and I am trying to find ways to stay busy! I get your letters usually two to three days later after you send it . I don’t have time to write a big one. I will try and get a letter in the mail today or next week! So ya I wrote Easton an email so he will have to look tonight or when he gets home! Ya 2 weeks is pretty crazy not going to lie I keep thinking that I have 23 fast Sundays left 3 phone calls left and 2 Christmas that I will miss so ya its weird being out here! Nothing besides me and my companion are doing great! The temple movie is the same it is in English for us and at the veil they speak Portuguese and we respond in English so that is ok! Ya I get them before my p day but I would like to have them a little bit earlier so I can plan out what I am going to type. No I haven’t gotten grandpas letter I just heard what he had to say to me on the recording and no I haven’t gotten any thing from Pam or grandma I might get them this afternoon so we will see. So you got my really really long hand written letter?? I don’t have much more to say for this week it has just been good so ya I love you to mom and I miss you guys a lot!! Well they are kickin me off so I will talk to you next week on Wednesday about this time again! love you!

Love Colton

first letter home

Hey mommy and family! so i wrote you a letter to and i want to see how long it takes you to get it! so you basically get two of the same messages. i am good and i was just smiling for the picture ya i was super tired. my compainon is Elder Evans he is a red head kid and looks like jacob converse my favorite! not! he doesnt talk much and if we do talk it is about politics and that is super boring and so it doesnt last that long! he is not that cute for the girls. um i have gotten really close to the people in my district. Especially this one named Elder Een he is a super tight kid he is from st george and me him and his compaion elder allen and elder morris usually stay up and talk about stuff a lot of profound conversations we have had! my district leader is super gay he is another red head from idaho and his name is Elder Hawkes he is really quite and doesnt know how to work through with problems with people and he is really heavey on the rules he always has his rule book out and telling people all the rules! as far as portugues goes i am really struggling with it and it is coming really slow to me which is making me really really mad! the food here is alright breakfast just blows and i hate it! i miss breakfast at home. i miss you guys this whole week has been pretty rough and i miss you so much and i love you a ton! i have never spent as much time praying on my knees this past week in my intire life! tell dad to keep sending me those thought things i really like them! the brazilians in the mtc down here are super nice they always come up to me and say elder gray how are you and tell me to forever smile because they love my smile! it took me forever to find the picture of the family the brazilians always show me pictures of there familys and say where is yours. so send me pics by mail i think there were suppose to be some in the letter that you sent me from missionary ties but there wasnt any! ah i am going to use my debit card today to purchase like a treat to show that i am in brazil cuz i didnt have time at the airport to buy something! so there is a time limit on how long i can email you so i am being breif and that is why i sent you a letter to! i love getting letters from you! tell the girls that the people from highschool who want to write me have to mail me cuz i can only respond to email from parents that is what they said atleast. and tell jarrett to send me a letter i would love to hear from him! my emailing time that i can go and email is wednesday after one so that might help a little bit! went through the temple down here it was pretty intresting in portuguese! i love you and miss you guys so so so so so so very much!

love, Elder Gray

Training Group & Zone Leader

letter from the brazil mtc

Dear Parents,

      We are happy to send the good news that your missionary has arrived safely at the Brazil MTC. What a great joy and privilege it is to greet each missionary as they come through the front door of the MTC for the first time. We promise to take good care of your missionary.
They now have companions and are settled into their rooms. They are assigned to a district with capable and caring instructors for language and lesson study. The branch presidents and their wives, will soon give them a second greeting. These couples are rewarded in their callings through the love they always develop as they embrace and watch over the missionaries.
The MTC has a full time live-in physician to care for their health needs. He is assisted by his able wife. We are also happy to report that the Cafeteria food is abundant and very good.
Your missionary will be able to e-mail home on Preparation Day after a morning at the Temple. This will be either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on individual assignments.
Your very important young person is about to make an eternal difference in the lives of others. We hope you will be encouraged and comforted by this quote by President Lorenzo Snow: “There is no mortal man that is so much interested in the success of an elder [sister] when he is preaching the gospel as the Lord that sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord’s children.”
Please accept our love,
President Donald L Clark and Sister Zaza Clark

ADDITIONAL information . . .

DO not send packagesto the Brazil Missionary Training Center.All packages must be sent directly to the mission where your missionary will be serving not the MTC.If you have already mailed a package to the Brazil MTC and it arrives after your missionary has left for the field, please understand that the package can not be forwarded to his or her mission and will be returned to you. The only other option is for us to open the package and forward the letters and photographs, giving the rest of the content of the package to the missionaries that are here.
WE Strongly eNCOURAGE sENDING HAND WRITTEN LETTERS.Please write your missionary´s first and last name. Your missionary will provide you with his district and box number. Also, pleaseDO NOT SEND ANYTHING BY FEDEX, DHL, UPS, or other private carriers. The cost to get this type of correspondence is exorbitant.