Brazil CTM - Week 5

My two favorite flags!

Brazil MTC

My District at the Sao Paulo temple

Last week in the CTM! Last day going to the São Paulo temple, and last email from the CTM! Think about that! Next week I'll be down in Porto Alegre, with a companion who doesn't speak a lick of english (at least I hope he doesn't)!  I am so excited to get out and really start sharing this gospel and all the new things I've learned from the CTM. As far as this week goes, we had a General Authority come and speak to us in one of our devotionals and we watched a 2013 devotional at the Provo MTC at which Elder Holland spoke for our other devotional! What a huge privilege to hear from two general authorities in the same week! Filled up 6 pages of my journal with new inspirational messages and testimony building quotes!

My study desk

Pretty much everything is the same as last week though - same food, same teachers, same district! So great!

Here is one for Jessica Gregory, if she hasn't heard already! Irma Orfila

My District at Campinas Temple

She's one of the Instructors here and she started her mission in the Salt Lake City Mission while Jessica was finishing up the last few months of her mission! Such a small world when you're mormon!

And for Logan, do you remembers Irma Marques or Irmão Guilerme when you were in the CTM.

Not much has changed here, except for my testimony, my Portuguese, my love for temples, and my love for Brazil and it's people. That has all excelled!

Roomies

When all you guys read this, take a little time and shoot me an email! I love hearing about how everything is going back in The States!

Eu amo vocês muito!

Tudo Bem em Brazil!

- Elder Scarlech (Scarlett)

Ties are super cheap - 3 for about $5 :)

Pday in the CTM Halls

Brazil CTM - Week 4

Oi meu amigos! Tudo Bem?

Not much new here at the CTM, Just some more new faces as goes every week! I love the CTM for that reason! every week there is so much change with people coming and leaving, some people can hold a conversation some still know nothing in portuguese! it´s always a humbling experience! 

The Green Beans (newly arrived missionaries AKA Greenies) we got last week are really cool though, we talk with them a lot, and they have P-Day with us so that is fantastic! 

The highlights for every week is pretty much Sabados (P-Day´s), Domingos, e Quarta-feiras (Green Bean Day)!

An elder from our district went home this week though, we all had a hard time with it. He was a great addition to the district, but going home made him so much happier for the last day, so i´m happy that he´s back home happy with his family! A mission isn't for everyone. it´s hard work that require ALL of your time and tons of faith. It's definitely something you have to be willing to do!

If there is anything I've learned this week, it's the importance of faith in this life, and specifically in this work. If you don't have faith and you don't work, nothing gets done, lessons blunder, time is wasted, the spirit doesn't teach. With Faith everything becomes possible! EVERYTHING BECOMES POSSIBLE!!!!  After I understood that, the lessons I taught with my companion were filled with the spirit! We have to WORK, for "faith without works is dead." Me and my companion study hard every day - whether it is the language, or the scriptures, we are studying. And if we aren't studying we are either praying or preparing. Then the miracles happen. Since this gelled in my mind, the lessons I've taught have been the best ever taught since coming to the CTM.

The other things I've really learned and gained a knowledge and testimony of are the principles of obedience and its direct link to blessings! It's really amazing how much we are promised!

Anyways - Tudo Bem em Brazil!

Love you guys!

Stay fantastic!

-Elder Scarlett

Brazil CTM - Week 3

Another week in the CTM and everything is still going great! 

I don't want to talk about how great my Portuguese is getting because I talk about that every time I email! but it´s starting to really take off! I still know nothing, but I'm doing so much better!

My favorite two days here in the CTM are Sundays and Fridays (P-day)! Sunday is flipping amazing because we get to listen and learn about gospel principles in ENGLISH - it´s always a total breath of fresh air! Plus the leaders that teach us are pretty amazing themselves. Its hard to imagine them not talking with the spirit!

And of course P-day! How could I not love P-days! We wake up at 5:40 in the morning get ready and leave for the temple around 6:45. Today we were able to go to the Campinas Temple! The São Paulo temple is HUGE on the inside and 100% Gorgeous! But it´s smack dab in the middle of the city so the grounds are small, still gorgeous, because it´s a temple. The Campinas Temple is Huge on the outside! So much space and so many beautiful plants and so much beautiful architecture! it´s just Great!! The inside is a bit smaller, and honestly not as stunning as the São Paulo temple, but again, it´s still a beautiful place! after all it is a temple! 

Tuesdays we have devotionals and this time we watched the broadcast from Provo, which was sent to the Brazil CTM after it had happened (Sorry Sara :) ). It was a little funny when we all sang "Called to Serve" at the beginning because all the Missionaries were pumped up and singing in Portuguese, but they sang it fast enough that we were at least a line ahead by the end of each verse! There is so much spirit in these walls, but the musical talent can be lacking sometimes :D  I love all the Brazilians here so much! Anyways I felt bad afterwards because I fell asleep during the broadcast and missed most of Elder Nelson's talk and apparently I slept through the entire Brazilian National Anthem too! I was OUT! 

We went proselyting on quinta-feira (Wednesday) and we passed out at least 64 Book of Mormons as a group - it was crazy! and super exciting! and scary! all at the same time! I didn't know half of what anyone was saying but it was so cool to see how much they still were interested about the Gospel and the blessings it could bring into their lives! Even cooler was that they were willing to accept BoMs from 18 year-old Americans who barely knew a lick of Portuguese! It was really nice to be able to do that and now I'm super pumped to get out of here and really learn some Portuguese and do some teaching!

But everything is going fantastic here!

Tudo Bem em Brazil!

 - Elder Scarlett

My mailing address - Letters only!

Centro de Treinamento Missionário

Rua Padre Antõnio D´angelo, 121 - Casa Verde

CEP 02516-040 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil

Brazil CTM - Week 2

IT'S A MAD ONE HERE AT THE CTM!!

The CTM just keeps getting better and better! That being said, I am so ready to get out of this place! Not because I'm tired of the CTM or anything like that, I am just ready to get out there and teach the Gospel! 

As for the CTM getting better and better, every week I get better at the language! I can now teach entire lessons and even have small discussions! I understand about 75% of what the teachers teach now, and I'm starting to understand when I read the scripture in Portuguese! I've always believed in the gift of tongues, but it's to weird to have it! 

As far as my district goes, they're awesome! The sisters in my district got reassigned so that was a little sad, but we´re still going strong!

And I was on a MAD ONE!

TWICE!

in the SAME DAY!

Story time (Caution: involves Bodily fluids)

So me and my district were at lunch chatting it up. Usual stuff,  laughing, a lot! I can't remember the specific circumstances, all I remember was that I had a drink of water in my mouth when somebody said something, and we were all laughing! 2 options, swallow water or spit it out.  I'm too polite to spit it out, so i swallow it! Naturally the better idea, right? 

Horribly wrong.  So nobody told me this, so I'll tell you guys - don't swallow water while you're laughing hard - it's not a fun experience. You see, what actually happens is that you gag then water comes out of your mouth...

and your nose! But let´s not stop there! 

So if you know what siphoning is then you know how useful it is for stealing gasoline. The same effect isn't as fun when your stomach is involved, because I tasted my lunch twice! After the water came out my stomach was like, "But wait! There's more!" So don't swallow water while you´re laughing really hard!

That was MAD ONE #1

MAD ONE #2 

Same day, Wednesday is pizza night in the CTM and they have tons of great pizza so we had a pizza eating contest! My goal was seven, and I beat everyone with seven. But I love me some Banana Chocolate pizza, so I ended up downing 10 instead! Keep in mind this isn't Little Caesar's pizzas, these are full on Brazilian Pizzas! It was so good! So now I've been on two MAD ONE's according to my district :D

As fun as the CTM is, it's so hard - teaching 2-3 lessons a day for 20-30 minutos is muito deficil! Not to mention pretty much the rest of the time is spent sitting in a chair listening to someone speaking only Portuguese! I've never had my mental capacity tested so much in my life! I'm mentally exhausted by the end of each day! But I can't imagine doing anything else right now! I, along with every other missionary here, and all of our leaders, were called of God to help teach his Gospel and bring his children unto Christ! How great of a call is that! How great is it to be able to share that calling with tens of thousands of other people! I know that my purpose as a missionary, to invite all to come unto Chist, will help many people.

Love you all!

tudo bem em Brazil!

 - Elder John Scarlett

john.scarlett@myldsmail.net

Brazil CTM - Week 1

Hello everyone!

By far best week ever! Hardest, but best! The language is crazy, and so hard to pick up but I'm a week in and I can communicate pretty well with the Brazileiros now! The food here is great! The dormitorios are great! The people are the best! I love my instructors so much, even if I can only understand half of what they are saying but it is still fantastic!

We taught our first CTM investigator the third day we were here, in total Portuguese - totally crazy! It was pretty much the single scariest moment of my life! SO GREAT! and a bit of a lost cause...    We've taught almost every day since! I've progressed so much in this one week than in any week of my entire life! Now me and my companion can teach the investigator in Portuguese and answer most of the questions he has in Portuguese! Thinking about it now, I just want to cry when I see how far I've come.  I love teaching the CTM investigators so much, those lessons have become a fun part of my day!

We went to the Sao Paulo Temple today for P-day (We get to go to Sao Paulo or Campinas temple every P-Day in the CTM)! The temple was absolutely stunning and Huge! so big compared to Columbia or Raleigh! The murals they had were probably the most stunning parts of the temple, and the chandelier in the last room was huge and totally beautiful! I got some pictures outside the temple but we´re not supposed to send pictures from the CTM so I'll get those out to you when  get into my mission down in Porto Alegre! No sending packages to the CTM either. Wait until Iget out to the mission field to send a package, they don´t accept them at the CTM.

Our district is the best district in the CTM - we get along so well! Some nights we'll be laughing together for at least an hour straight! Probably should have been studying... :D 

They are all so great! love them all to death! 

Today is P-day so I get my 1 and only free cookie today from the bakery across the street! And we all get to hang out as a district some more! And I get a free cookie today!

I hear the cookies are so good :)  Guarana, best soda ever! So my mission for all of you guys is to find me somewhere I can buy it in America before I get home!

The spirit is so strong here in the CTM! So much study is happening and there are more prayers here per square foot than anywhere else in the entire nation of Brazil! Not even lying on that one....    Sundays are the best here in the CTM! The Spirit is 10x stronger and the classes are like two notches up from EFY! I feel like I got into a boxing match with the Holy Ghost and I got pounded with so much knowledge! 

Not sure what else to write but all is well in Brazil!  I love you guys all so much and I'm praying for you guys every day! 

Tudo Bem!

Elder Scarlett

john.scarlett@myldsmail.net

Arrived at the Brazil CTM!!

I've made it! I'm in the CTM and ready for my first day! I´m honestly surprised at how ready I am to be out here. As soon as I got on the plane in Charlotte, I knew everything was as it should be, I'm out here to serve the Lord now, and serve the Lord I will! The only way to go now is forward!

The flight was amazing! I had no idea how exciting it was to fly! The take off nearly brought me to tears. Looking out the window and seeing that I´m soaring thousands of feet into the air is just an astonishing feeling! The clouds were beautiful from above. It´s always a joy to see Heavenly Father's creations from new angles.

Just to give a rundown of my day - after I left the airport. I sat next to a woman from Baton Rouge, LA. She had a little girl who was crying a lot and I felt so sorry for them. Long story short, I ended up giving the little girl my chocolate covered blueberries and she beamed! :D  When we landed in Atlanta, I helped the mother move her bags off the plane and that was the last I saw of them. Beautiful family, and super glad I had a opportunity to serve so soon!

When I deplaned, Brother Jensen was there waiting for me. He asked if I was Elder Scarlett, I said Yeah, and we started running! If Brother Jensen had not been there, there would have been no way I would have made my flight to Brazil. I would have been to slow, lost and maybe even stuck in Atlanta right now. So him being there was a huge blessing! I know the keys to the ministering of angels are real, for I have witnessed one!

From Mom - I don't believe in coincidence rather, I know God puts things in motion for a purpose. Case in point - Elder John D. Scarlett has a friend, Juliette Jensen, from Indianapolis. Her father, whom we've never met, happened to be on a business trip and had a layover in the ATL airport this evening. This kind man found Elder Scarlett's arrival gate, met him as he came off the plane, literally ran him through the airport to make his connection, let Elder Scarlett use his cell phone to call me during the train ride between concourses, got him checked in for his flight to Brazil, then snapped and texted pictures to me with the message, "We made it, barely! He is excited and ready to go. He will be a great missionary!" Truly, this man was a tender mercy from the Lord in our lives today. Thank you does not say enough!

Brother Jensen and Elder Scarlett

The rest of the story from Brother Jim Jensen: I was working quietly during a normal day when I had a clear and strong impression to ask my daughter if her friend would be in Atlanta and would possibly need help navigating the airport. This was the farthest thing from my thoughts until the impression. Juliette and Elder Scarlett's Mom went to work setting up the meeting and it turned out that we had to run to make his flight. When I made it on my flight, there was a nice older woman who asked why I was running. I told her all about Elder Scarlett and how excited he was to serve the Lord for two years. It never ceases to amaze me how Heavenly Father weaves a beautiful tapestry with his children when we follow simple promptings. I have a feeling Elder Scarlett will have many more experiences like this. After all, this was just the first day of his mission:)

Back to Elder Scarlett's trip to Brazil -

I got to the gate for the flight to Brazil and was right behind the two people who were in front of me at the gate in Charlotte! Apparently they´re high school teachers in Sao Palo at an international school! I thought that was so cool! They get a few LDS (Mormon) students visiting the country from time to time so they know a little about the missionary work. 

I got on the plane to Brazil and BOOM! 6 missionaries in the first couple rows! I Said hey and shook their hands then headed back to my seat. There were 13 of us that flew down to the CTM! Sister Wheatly was sitting a few rows front of me! There was also an Elder there from the Lincolnton Ward (congregation), can´t quite remember his name, starts with a G maybe? There was also another sister missionary from Durham! She knows Logan but don´t quite remember her name either...  But still!! it´s such a small world! 

Anyways, I sit down and one more opportunity for service arises. A father and a little girl were sitting up front in the plane and the mother and brother were behind us. So we missionaries switched around a couple seats so they could all sit together in the plane as a family! Again, it´s so nice to help people. Seeing them able to sit together as a family was wonderful! 

My companion's name is Elder Muscleman (Which always just makes me smile!) and he´s going to Porto Alegre Notre too so we´ll be seeing each other a lot over the next two years! He's a great guy and so is everyone else here! I feel at home and I'm already loving the people! 

I love you all so much and am grateful to be serving the Lord and these people. All is Well in Brazil!

Elder Scarlett

john.scarlett@myldsmail.net