October 7, 2014 First Companion and District

HI,   (Mailed)                                                                                                              October 7, 2014

Here’s the letter I promised!  I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to write a better e-mail.  The hour we get to write e-mails flew by so fast!  I’ve heard that they only get 25 minutes a week at the Sao Paulo MTC though, so I have a lot to be grateful for.  It really helps me to realize how much I cherish these relationships.  When you only have 60 minutes a week to communicate with your loved ones, you grow grateful for time together.

This is a picture of my companion and I outside the Provo temple earlier today!  

 Anyhow, let me tell you about the MTC.  It’s really hard work.  I’ve never wasted so little time each day in my life.  My companion (Elder S…l) and I get up at 6:00am each morning and go for a run, and then come back to do push-ups, sit-ups, etc.  After that we shower, put on our slacks, shirts, and tie and then we go to breakfast.  The food here lives up to its reputation, it is really good.  At each meal there are several different meal options.  I’ve decided to limit myself to one entrée and occasionally a side, because otherwise it’s so easy to over eat.  (Last night for dinner I had Swedish meatballs, and there was cheesecake for dessert but I disciplined myself.  Both my companion and I have asked each other to help us to not get fat while we’re here.  Anyhow, after breakfast we go to our class and Irmao Staples teaches us Portuguese.  I really enjoy how we learn the language within the context of the gospel.  Every now and then Irmao Staples gives us a gospel lesson in the middle of our language lesson.  It’s pretty cool!  We’re in class from 9:30 – 12:30 and then we go get lunch.  After lunch we have class from 1:15 – 4:15, during which we practice teaching with the mock – investigators and study the language.

And here's my District

 At 4:15 we go change for gym time, which usually starts at 4:30.  We get gym time for 60 minutes, and then we come back to our residence, shower and go to dinner.  Dinner’s usually at 5:45 and then we go back to class at 6:30.  From 6:30 – 7:30 we have personal study, 7:30 – 8:30 is companion study and 8:30 – 9:30 is language study.  After that we go back to our residence and have personal time.  We can write letters, write in our journals, and have various companion study things, we usually go to bed between 10:30 and 11:00.  It’s a long day.  And very little time for ourselves.  You really have to work hard to keep things fun.  But, we’re doing it! 

Here's a picture with all my roommates

This is Calvin and Hobbes!  They're our Zone leaders, and they actually look a lot like the comic characters lol!  Dad, the guy on the right is Elder N...s.  He's the guy that we met at Capitol Reef National Park.  He and I swapped stories about the park, and of course all the ones I had were yours.  It was a lot of fun though.  He really loves the area, and wants to meet up there after the mission!  He leaves the MTC on Monday. Now for a quick spiritual thought.  To redeem us from the fall we were given 2 things; the law of sacrifice and a redeemer.  We commonly talk about Christ’s role in redeeming us from the effects of the fall and it is of infinite importance.  We commonly overlook the role of sacrifice though.  In order to understand this better, I found that fasting is a powerful example.  I found as I studied that fasting is a “type” of the law of sacrifice.  To better understand this I recommend reading Isaiah 58 then re-read it but replace the word “fast with “sacrifice”.  The first time I read Isaiah 58 it seemed to scream that fasting is a type of the law of sacrifice.  I hope you enjoy that, please share your insights! 

I haven’t told you today how much I love you have I?  I love you so much.  I miss the time we spent together, but I’m really looking forward to spending more time in 2016!  I think of you a ton J  Keep in touch! 
Love,  Elder Logan Sweet
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Abide With Me  (at 2:03)  (Logan sings in the April conference 2014)

Dear Mom and Dad,  (E-mail)

I didn't sing in the MTC choir this conference (October 2014), they put it together the week before I arrived.

 Keep the "dearelders" coming, they make my day every time I get one!   The MTC is a lot of work, and you have to try to make it fun.  Luckily my companion, Elder S...l, is way cool.  He and I come up with a bunch of creative ways to keep life interesting!  We get up and go for a run each morning, and that really helps too.  I'm finding that the better the friendship with your companion is, the better the MTC is.

I also got to watch a recording of a devotional that Elder Bednar gave about hearing the voice of the spirit.  It's called "Recognizing the
voice of the spirit." .  He said that people frequently ask him the question "how do I know if it's the spirit or if it's me?"  His answer was pretty simple: quit worrying about it!  He told us to "  Remember your covenants.  Keep the commandments.  Your steps will be guided, your utterances directed.  You will be put in the right place, at the right time.  'Ye cannot go amiss.'"  He said that the vast majority of the times that we are guided by the spirit, we are completely unaware that it is going on.  He shared several examples from his own life of this.  It was an incredible talk.  If you can access it, it's called "Recognizing the Voice of the Spirit" by David A. Bednar, I would highly recommend it.  It was one of the most incredible messages I've ever heard.

I miss you so much, I love you so much and miss you, I'll write often.  My time's up now, I've got to go :(  I'm looking forward to hearing from you again!

Love,

Logan Sweet

P.S. Keep being awesome!

I'll tell you more about it in my letter, but if you can access it than read it!  It's incredible!

I love you sooooooo much!!!

Elder Logan Sweet :)