Crisp Shirts, Traditions, the Best Chocolate Milk and... Two Weeks Left! (email w/pictures)

We commented on his tie photos last week:

Bryon: that is cool. I saw one like that the other day on-line but I've never seen anyone wear it that way. Is it the new rage or just a missionary thing?

Missionary thing. I learned it from an american mish who learned it from another brazilian mish who learned it originally from a mish from portugal. So it's like a little club here at the CTM--the people who know how to tie the "cross-over" knot. =]

Sandra: Your shirt looks crisp and clean - zis es gud. And Grandpa Fillerup would be proud of your pocket! hee hee How are you uploading pictures? Does someone have a cable?

Yees oh yees. I keep my shirts nice and clean, which includes liberally scrubbing the inside of the collars. I'm amazed at what accumulates there--I'm positive my neck isn't THAT dirty.

And the contents of my nerdy pocket are: My planner, verb conjugation card, verb practice drill card, white bible, and of course, nametag--Jesus picture on the back and all. I'm pretty much a legit misisonary by now. =]

Yeah, I borrowed Elder Mulvey's cable and hooked it up to a computer here at Cheney's. It's totally kosher as far as the rules go, don't worry

And Bryon's comment on last week's toga party picture:

How funny is that about the toga party. We did that when I was in the MTC as well. I wonder if it is just passed from one MTC generation to another or if it is the result of the next gen of missionaries doing what their parents did. Of course you never new I did that so it must the be the former or it's just a natural thing to do -- kind of like spontaneous combustion.
You seem to be comfortable with the language -- any struggles or are you feeling pretty confident?

They didn't say anything about it being a tradition, but it's quite possible they got the idea from someone older than them. Quite possible indeed. We've already acquired a Spongebob toy that's been past down from generation of leaving missionaries (on the fifth floor, at least) to a group of "cool" young'uns. So we've got to pass it once more before we leave. I asked them if they knew how long the tradition was, and they had no idea. So maybe it just happened, or maybe it's been going since the beginning of the CTM (or the beginning of Spongebob, whichever came first =]).
As far as the language goes, I feel like I'm probably in the top 20% of speakers, native brazilians aside, here at the CTM. So things are going well indeed. But humility is a Christlike attribute, and I know I've got a long way to go after I'm out of here. So yeah, I'm very excited to get into the field. 2 weeks left =]

And here are today's comments, questions, responses, etc:

Hello T!
Hey hey - we did not get a letter from you this week. They usually arrive on Monday. What up?

Sometimes that happens, according to some other missionaries (not getting weekly letters). Hopefully it shows up soon.

Dad is in NYC right now and will be home Thursday night. Katie's friends Emily and Heather are here from England.
It's been in the 100s for over a week now - so lots of swimming and staying indoors : )
Wow, sounds like a party in Sac. I'll let you know when I get to Rio when it gets really hot. We'll have a little competition, neh? (btw, neh is something brazilians say all the time at the end of their sentences. it basically means "isn't that right?" But you don't respond You just nod and they just keep going. Think Battleschool slang in Ender's Game. Orson Scott Card is pretty awesome, I think. He went to São Paulo on his mission, didn't he?)

(Orson Scott Card is an LDS author who has written some very popular books. I found this on Orson Scott Card serving in Brazil:

"Card decided to volunteer in Brazil as a Mormon missionary. He was there for two years in the early 1970s. While he was there, he fell in love with the Brazilian culture. Several of the cities where he served--Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Araraquara, Aracatuba, Campinas, and Itu--became settings for his novels, especially in his Shadow series." )

Questions for this week:
Dad would like you to take a little more time and give us a more detailed description of your day. What are you learning?, etc.

We get up at 6h30, get dressed, and go down to the classroom for personal study at 7h. I usually study Pregar Meu Evangelho (PME), in cunjunction with the english Preach My Gospel (PMG). It's a great way to get better at the language.
7h30 is desjejum (breakfast), which consists of hot chocolate, meat (ham or baloney) and cheese paninis (but very small--maybe the size of a computer mouse), and cereal if we're lucky. For some reason the other elders complain about breakfast, but I think it's easily the best meal of the day.
8h is companionship study, where we either practice street contacts or parts of lessons (generally).
8h30-12h30 is our first class with Irmão Nunes. Each class we have one grammar lesson about some facet of the português language. We then have a spiritual lesson, where we usually go in depth into a section of PMG, like "Ask Questions," or "Invite the Spirit." We'll then usually go to Lab, where we can use TALL, or a language program targeted towards missionaries. It's kinda cool, but it's repetetive and I don't get much out of it anymore. Then we'll usually go practice lessons or street contacts with other districts (role playing), which is great practice.
12h30 is almoço (lunch), which is the bigger meal of the day in Brazil. Rice and beans, some kind of meat, rolls, and a dessert made of--you guessed it ;)--gelatin. Good stuff.
13h30-17h is class again, with Irmão Perrupato. Same thing all over again. Yep =]
17h is jantar (dinner), which is similar to almoço, but a little smaller.
18h is Missionary Directed Study Time (MDST), which we have for an hour and a half and we study whatever we see fit. I usually read the scriptures or practice speaking.
19h30 is ginástico (see if you can guess that one ;]), and I play volleyball or basketball.
20h30 we get back and shower.
21h is daily planning session.
21h30 is our late snack which usually consists of some funny tasting cornbread and chocolate milk. Oh man, that stuff is so good. Definitely some of the best chocolate milk I've ever had.
22h is quiet time, and
22h30 is lights out.
They keep us busy =]

What are you learning, or have you learned, spiritually?
What teaching methods have you learned that you think you'll use?

Almost all spiritual learning comes from PMG/PME. It truly is an inspired book. It teaches solely about the gospel principles, which is, of course, the most important part of the gospel. We should live the gospel principles--fé em Jesus Cristo e em Sua Expiação (atonement), arrependimento, batismo, tendo o Espírito Santo, e perseverando até o fim--each day, nothing wavering. This is what we teach. The Restoration, the Plan of Salvation, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The other two lessons are targeted towards helping investigators be obedient to God's commandments. That's about it. It's simple, but that's the way God's works come to pass.

Who is your favorite Elder in the CTM. Why? : )

Favorite Elder would have to be Elder Avamolifua, from San Jose (but he's samoan). He was a rap artist for seven years before he came on his mission. He's just really hilarious. And he's very vocally and poeticall gifted. Very awesome.

Any scriptures that have become more meaningful to you?

1 Nephi 3:7 is a great scripture both for Missionaries and investigators. D&C 130:20-21 is also a wonderful aid. All of the missionary chapters in Alma are great, especially the Alma and Amulek, and Ammon and Aaron.

Do you know where the vacuum is? jk !

Ah the vacuum--my greatest nemesis. We've got tile floors here at the CTM, so no vacuuming required =]

We love you lots and always look forward to hearing from you !!!
xoxo
Mom

Love you all! Have a good day/week!
Elder McGregor

Here's a photo of the disrict with Perrupato and Nunes

Here's a picture of me and my district's two insructors--Irmão Perrupato (PAY-hoo-PAH-too) on the left side of the photo (my right) [I believe this is the one who waxes on and on about what type of missionaries they should be] and Irmão Nunes (NOO-nes just as it appears) on the right side (my left)

And I cropped the tie in his one photo for a shot of the cool knot again this time with a striped tie. I couldn't find the way to tie this particular knot, but there are some pretty cool ones here: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=46474290