Elder Gurksnis Goes to Brazil

Hey everyone! Week 2 down in Brazil! Its a little easier every day and i learn every day. I can say a lot of things, but understanding is still hard. I know the more words i learn, the more i will be able to pick them out in conversation. I've talked to some american missionaries and they said it took them 9 weeks in Brazil to be able to understand most of what people said. Which seems like a lot but i know the lord will bless me if i rely on him and keep doing my best every day.  Funniest things i saw this week was we were standing outside the church one day and two police cars were chasing something and right in front of the church is a big speed bump. the cops hit the speed bump going a solid 50 mph at least and caught air. it literally happened right in front of my eyes and i just couldnt stop laughing. The other thing from this week was when we were walking i saw a word and looked it up in my dictionary. The word was "padaria". turns out the word has two meanings...

oh wow i have so much to tell you guys and not enough time but i will try my best! so i arrived on monday and it was a long day. the flights were long and i was just super tired. but we went to the mission office and it was so cool. it is beautiful and you can see the city in the distance. the city is absolutely insane. i think it has around the same amount of people as new york city but honestly way more buildings here. it just goes on forever. im not directly in sao paulo but im close enough to see it a lot. the language has been super tough this week, it has been my biggest struggle. but obviously i know it will come with time. im learning a lot every day. my companion is elder lima da silva. he is from brazil and knows almost no english haha so that has been a challenge. he is actually an awesome guy though and a super good missionary and we are definitely friends. we have been house hopping a little bit because the house in our area has no electricity right now. so as of now we ar...

Wow I actually leave for Brazil monday morning! There has been a lot of build up but it is finally here. I have loved the MTC and the many experiences it has given me. I've learned and grown in so many ways. I definitely feel like I could use another week or two practicing the language, but obviously I can't expect to be any sort of expert after 6 weeks. Can't wait to find out about my first area and companion! I had the awesome thought this week of how simple what I am doing is. Our church's message is so straightforward. Come unto Christ. Have faith in Him and pray and read with real intent, and you can have the immense happiness the gospel brings people. I didn't come here to learn the secrets or the "tricks" of missionary work. I know if I work hard and rely on Heavenly Father, he will work through me to get to the people of Brazil. Ok so my pics are of Irmao Regehr and Irmao Nickell. These guys have seriously been heroes for me. They both serv...

I seriously cannot believe that I have one week left in the MTC. I got my visa this week and received travel plans to get to Sao Paulo. I leave a week from today in the morning and fly to Atlanta. Then I have around a 3 hour layover and take an overnight flight to Sao Paulo and arrive early Tuesday morning. I'm definitely a little nervous and scared for what is to come, but overwhelmingly excited to finally get down there and be in my mission. The Portuguese is coming, but I know obviously my first couple transfers will be tough with the language. I have been studying the language and my scriptures superrrrr hard this week just trying to prepare myself. I know if I do my best and put my faith in the Lord, I'll be blessed with whatever I face.  Funny Story of the week: So during class this week I saw a ring on one of my teachers fingers, Irmao Lynn. I hadnt realized he had been married before and asked him about her. I asked him (in Portuguese) if he knew his wife before his...

Another week down in the MTC! This week we got 25 new Portuguese missionaries in our zone. It is awesome being able to be an example to them and show them how hard and joyful the work here is. Being a zone leader I get to talk to each of them and help them with whatever they struggle with, and in return I learn so much from them. Other responsibilities of a zone leader is having a brick phone from 2005. So I've pretty much mastered the flip phone for the second time in my life now. JK its got a total of one function on the whole phone. So I can press the number 2 and call and get a hold of the information desk at the MTC....so much power I know(: My iphone 10 when I get home is now gonna seem even better! Ok so general conference was this weekend and it was so awesome! Very spiritually uplifting to be able to listen to those who are so in tune with Heavenly Father and the Spirit. I loved Jeffrey R. Hollands talk about the Atonement and how we are indebted to Jesus Christ for th...

Another week here in Provo! Dang it is already cold here. There is snow just a couple hundred feet up on the mountains! Ready to cruise into Summer in Brazil soon. So no Visa this week. I was a little upset at first, but honestly I'm liking it here and gonna enjoy the good ole USA while I have it. I also was given the opportunity this week to be the zone leader. Its kind of a leadership role over all the people in this MTC speaking Portuguese. There are about 30 missionaries in our zone. I'm super excited for the opportunity to lead by example. I know God wanted me to stay in Provo and learn something from this experience before I head to Brazil. I know He does and always has a plan for me in my life. This week me and my companion had the awesome opportunity to talk to someone who will speak in General Conference this weekend! His name is Elder Parrella and I believe he is speaking Sunday afternoon. His house is in my mission in Sao Paulo and he came to watch one of our Por...

This week was so good here at the MTC. It went by much faster than the first and I'm sure that will only continue. Its a big week cause this is the week I could get my visa and go to Brazil! If I get it this week, I will leave a week from today to head down to the Sao Paulo MTC. If not, I'll stay all 6 weeks here. So I will definitely let you guys know about that.  Portuguese is going super well. I'm progressing pretty quickly I think. I actually love going to class every day and learning more and more. I even lead taught 3 lessons in Portuguese this week! It's crazy to think about. But I can have basic conversation and understand a lot of what people say now. I really have a desire to continue learning in the language throughout my whole mission and keep improving even once I get home. In Brazil, they use the pronoun vocês which means "y'all" which I thought was awesome. So sometimes I'll say it in a country accent and think of back home since I ...