3-28-15 Minha Semana Ultima no CTM!!

Oy voces! Como vai? (Hey y'all! How's it going?)

This week is my last week here at the MTC! Today has been such a great day here! We had fun in our classes with Irmao Buttars and Irma Cowan. They showed us pictures from their own missions and people that they taught and places they went. Both of them had visa issues like the other Elders and Sisters in our district, so they shared experiences from both their stateside missions and their foreign missions (which, by the way, is not a common thing for those who are not familiar with LDS missions. Most people only go to one place, but since lots of people get called to Brazil and because of consulate issues, most people with Brazilian missions are reassigned in the states to serve until they receive their visas). Irmao Buttars shared about his reassignment in Lubbock Texas where members had a large collection of shotguns and where he befriended a woman from Louisiana by asking her about her "crawdads, cracklin', and collard greens." Irma Cowan showed us pictures from her mission in Billings Montana with a beautiful picture of a sunset by the mountains. We all took pictures as a district with Irmao Buttars and Irma Cowan because it was our last day with both of them... I'll send those in the next email.

MTC District and Irmao Buttars and Irma Cowan

District Elder and Irma Cowan

Distric Sisters and Irmao Buttars

So due to the fact that I have not yet received my visa to live in Brazil, I have been officially reassigned to Long Beach California! I'm really excited for this opportunity that I have to go and serve here in the states, so it's not really sad for me. I've heard that visas are coming through pretty quickly lately, so I might be getting i sooner than later and be on my way to Brazil! I'm going to leave the Missionary Training Center on Monday in the wee hours of the morning in order to make it to the airport on time, but I have a few travel buddies to come with me, my two companions, Sister Magleby and Sister Taylor, are going to the same mission as I am, and a few of our Elders going to Colorado and Texas are leaving at the same time as us.

Sister Taylor, Sister Magleby and Sister Denton received their reassignment letters. They will serve in the California Long Beach Mission while they wait for their visas.

Two missions to love!

So it figures that the last week that I'm here at the MTC that people that I know come in. I got to see Elder Penrod, a family friend today, along with Sister Pipkin, a friend from college! It was so exciting to actually know some people here when my district has been meeting friends here the whole six weeks!

Elder Penrod and Sister Denton

Sister Pipkin and Sister Denton

This week we had an opportunity to Skype native Brazilians members again to practice our Portuguese! It's a truly humbling experience when you try to say something that you think you want to say, but suddenly you have no idea how to say it! At one point my companions turned to me to see if I had something to say, and I just said, "Eu nao sei o que aconteceu..." (I don't know what just happened...) I guess I should study a lot harder from now on, because pretty soon I'll be in Brazil, and I'll have no idea what's going on and what people are saying. Eeek!

Today as we were leaving the residence, we saw a huge hot air balloon sailing clear over the MTC! It was so exciting! We live the same schedule seeing the same things every single day, so you can imagine how exciting it was to see something new for once!

How exciting to see something new for once!

If you ever wonder about what I'm doing here in Utah, and what I'll do in California and Brazil, feel free to ask me. I'm all for answering questions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! Just shoot me an email at this address!

This Easter season, are you remembering what is truly important? I know that I enjoy wearing cute new clothing and doing my hair nice, and I have fond memories of dyeing eggs and searching for plastic eggs in my Grandma's backyard in Memphis, but is that truly what Easter is about. While you see little kids searching for eggs, remember Mary, who found the greatest treasure and gift on the third day. If you have not yet discovered the greatest gift given, I would encourage you to follow this link to Mormon.org and watch the video that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has recently released just in time for Easter. I know that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that on the third day, he was resurrected and rose from the grave. I know that because of this, we have Jesus Christ to turn to in good times and in bad times. I know that through Him, we can live again with our Heavenly Father. I know that HE LIVES, and that He lives to give us comfort and to guide us in times of trials. #BecauseHeLives

I hope that you're doing well and that you have an awsome week and a wonderful Easter!

-Sister Holly Denton

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great." D&C 64:33

Experimenting with sponge rollers. You don't want to see the "before styling" photo!

3-24-15 P-Day is my favorite day of the week!

L-R: Sister Magleby, Sister Denton, Sister Taylor
Back: Random Elders doing laundry
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P-Day is my favorite day of the week! I get to do so many things that I never get to do on an everyday basis like laundry, and emailing, and writing letters, so it's basically the highlight of my week! I just love when I open up my email and see emails from my friends and family! Sometimes I forget that I used to have a regular life outside the MTC and that I could do stuff like this every day! 

Well, this week has been pretty much the same as any other week. The days consist of pretty much the same basic schedule here: Wake up, pray, get ready, pray, go to class, pray, study, eat, go to class, pray, learn, eat, pray, go to class, pray, learn more, pray, gym time, eat, more class time, pray, study, pray, language study, pray, go back to residence, get ready for bed, pray, pray, pray, go to sleep. Phew! So much prayer in one day! There's no way to not feel the Holy Spirit here when you pray so often! It's such a blessing to be able to be here for so long and to be able to do this kind of stuff all day long, but I also am looking forward to being able to leave and go to serve in the field! It will be a welcome change from the rigors of MTC life (ha, it's so rigorous, sitting and eating all day long).

So funny experience for this week. We were doing an activity called TRC (Teaching Resource Center) where we are able to speak with people who also know Portuguese. Usually this happens in practice rooms, but this week we were able to do it over Skype and speak with native Brazilians! It was so exciting and fun! So the way that TRC usually works is that we talk with LDS members about their lives and how they can continue to come unto Christ and we just try to have a little spiritual thought for the night. So Sister Magleby and Sister Taylor and I had just a really quick lesson prepared about how service can bring us closer to others and to Christ. So we get to the computer lab and start our Skype session with a young man named Vinicius. We start talking a bit about Brazil and Sao Paulo (where he lives) and different stuff about Brazil. Then out of nowhere, he asks "Voces sao casado?" And we replied with "Sim! Nos estamos muito casado!" Thinking that he was asking us if we were tired. Weird question, but that's besides the point. After we replied, I looked over to our teacher who is mouthing "Casado is the word for married! He's asking if you're married!" Nobody knew it, but it turns out that Vinicius was not a member of the LDS church, and that we were all very mistaken. Quickly our lesson turned from service to a lesson about Eternal families! We, being very confused, told Vinicius that he can be with his family (which consisted of his mother, his four cats, and his dog) for eternity, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We were all laughing so hard after the call was finished, and we had no idea about half the things we said to him or that he said to us! I guess I better start studying harder before I get to Brazil!

This is my last week here at the MTC (YAY) and I should be getting a reassignment soon. My visa to live in Sao Paulo still hasn't come through, but that's okay, because I basically have another mission call! I'm really excited to find out where I get to go until my visa comes in! It's so fun to think that I can go somewhere here in the US and teach em Ingles! I'm never teaching any lessons in English here, so that'll be a welcome change!

So here's some food for thought: Have I Done Any Good in the World Today? Listen to the words of this song by one of my favorite singers and consider what you can do to improve the world today!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIeA_5yYgB4

"Tis noble of man to work and to give, love's labor has merit alone. Only he who does something has help on the way, to God each good work will be known. So wake up! And do something more than dream of your mansion above. Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure, a blessing of duty and love!"

-Sister Holly Denton

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great." D&C 64:33

3-17-15 Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hey friends!!

Happy St Patrick's Day! How are all of y'all celebrating? I've started the day with my shamrock socks/chacos combination, a shamrock necklace, and a nice bowl of Lucky Charms! It's been a great day so far! Quite a difference from last week when I was sick all day long! Prayer is a very powerful thing and can help with even the sickest of stomachs! That and ginger ale! Haha!

I'm allowed to wear Chacos in my mission once I reach Brazil. 

For fun, I likes to wear them with colorful socks on P-day and during physical activity time.

This week has been a great one! On Tuesday we had a visit for Elder Cook of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles! He gave a really great devotional about missionary work and how the Holy Ghost guides us through lessons! He was really inspiring and gave a great talk!

We've been doing a lot of really good progress in Portuguese! It's so cool to go into a practice lesson and to teach things we prepared in English in Portuguese. I've been really enjoying the times we have with Irmã Cowan and Irmão Buttars! They're so inspiring and fun to learn from! I really love getting to learn this language and thinking about how great it will be to teach the people of Brazil about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! It's so exciting!

I'm so excited for the next couple of weeks! We all get reassignments soon (except for Sister Holdsworth, who got her visa to Brazil) so we basically get a second mission call! I can't wait to see what happens in the next few weeks to see what the Lord has in plan for us and for His children around the world!

Have a blessed week, and always remember our Lord, Jesus Christ! Because of Him, we can do all things!

-Sister Holly Denton

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great." D&C 64:33

 I bought covers for my Portugese scriptures today.

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3-10-15 P-Dia

It's P-Day (or as we Portuguese speakers like to call it, P-Dia) again! Ha, I don't think we're going to get a whole lot done today because I spent about half the day sick in bed or sitting around being miserable. Thankfully I'm in a really good facility with plenty of help around, so I'll be okay! 

This week has been pretty fun! As always, I've spent another long week learning Portuguese,and I'm pretty sure I've moved past the phase of Bom Dia! Tudo Bem? (Good moring! Everything's well?) We all really love our teachers, Irmão Buttars and Irmã Cowan. They're really good teachers for learning a new language. I'm really thankful for them, and maybe one day I'll get a picture in here with them. 

There's not much more to write about this week! I hope everybody is doing well and being happy! 

Have a great week!

-- Sister Holly Denton

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great." D&C 64:33

Provo, UT temple

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This is the firehose right outside my residence! It says Hosé Smith (like Joseph Smith!) Haha:)

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3-3-15 Week two done! "Eu sei que Deus nos ama!" I know that God loves us!

Hey Everyone!

One more week down at the Missionary Training Center!

This week has been the shortest week I've ever experienced! Work truly does go by so fast when you are wrapped up in it! Sister Magleby and I have been working hard and long to learn Portuguese and to be able to teach in it! This week we learned about possessives and how to say "to be" properly, because there are two different ways to do that! Anyways, I can now say that "Eu estou feliz porque é Dia de Preparação!" "Eu tenho minha primeiro embrulho hoje!" Y'all can translate that! 

We have two new "investigators" (aka our teachers) named Rafael and Sayonara. We've really been struggling to know what we should teach and we want to teach by the Holy Spirit because these "investigators" that our teachers are acting out are people  that they know, just with different names. They both have some problems that the Gospel can definitely help them with but we are just struggling to know what to teach them in order to let the Gospel help them. It's even harder with a language barrier and with us not knowing what they're saying 30% of the time and then not being able to eloquently explain concepts that we know. For instance, I'm trying to teach and the English equivalent to what I say is "I know that..... family..... to be........ a....... central part.......... of the......... God's plan." I know exactly what needs to be said, but I can't express it in the way I want to! Learning a language is hard, but I have faith that the Lord will help me in my struggle to learn it. I have already been able to feel God's power and His gift of tongues working through me as I listen to my teachers and try to interpret what they teach us (for they still use very little English in our district lessons!) 

My teachers are pretty great. They're Irmão Buttars and Irmã Cowan. They're super open to helping us understand what they're saying and sometimes repeat what they say for up to 4-5 times in order for us to understand! We all really like them and we love having them teach us each day. Irmã Cowan used to be our investigator, so it's kind of hard to call her that when we met her as Márcia. Every time she asks us do do something difficult we all go "Márcia, por que?!?!" and she always cracks up. We all have a fun time learning Portuguese and about the Gospel.

I love this Gospel. There's no doubt that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has to power to heal lives and bless families. It can help us in hard times and life us up from despair. 

-Sister Holly Denton

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great." D&C 64:33

My first package came yesterday. I was so excited!

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2-24-15 Hip, Hip, PDAY!

Yay!! Today is Preparation Day! My district has been looking forward to this day all week long! We've been dying to get out of our super tiny classroom where we spend almost 8 hours each day! We're just super happy that we get to be out and about going around the MTC and meeting other Elders and Sisters! I've been a complete mess this week! I keep leaving my bag around everywhere and I realize it at the wrong times when we need to study or if I want to get something from the bookstore! Anyways, We've been so busy all week long! If you ever know somebody who wants to do a technology fast but they don't think they can give up their devices, just put them in the Missionary Training Center and have them learn a language they've never spoken before and have them teach lessons in that language! I've never thought I'd spend so long in one tiny classroom trying to understand what in the world this man is saying to me. Most of the time I'm thinking, "I think he's speaking Portuguese, and  think that I can understand that." There's no time for anything else other than studying and preparing and eating and sleeping! I'm actually really grateful for Irmao Buttars. He's really patient and helpful when it comes to teaching us. He'll do anything from charades to pictionary to help us understand since MTC teachers teaching languages aren't allowed to speak English that much! The MTC is actually really awesome though! I really enjoy being around SO MANY missionaries! You almost forget that there ever was a world outside this one! My companion is super awesome! Her name is Sister Magleby and she's from Idaho. My district is also SO fun! There's a picture of all of us in front of the Provo Temple where we went on Sunday (which was so nice to get out of the MTC for a little while). Man, the days go by in such a blur here it's so hard to keep track of everything that happens! Anyways, the Portuguese is going pretty well also. As of today I can say stuff like, Ola! Eu sou uma missionaria da Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Ultimos Dias! Nos temos uma mensagem sobre Jesus Cristo! Podemos cumpantilhar esta mensagem como voce? Haha! Maybe try that in Google Translate, I don't have much timeto do it myself! Anyways, I put a few pictures in here! I've included Sister Magleby and me in front of the mission map pointing to São Paulo, my district in front of the temple, the temple, and maybe a couple of other things I can't really remember what! I'll try to look at them and explain them if they need it!

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is so amazing! I love being able to be a missionary here and I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve Jesus Christ by learning teaching people about the church! If you have any questions about my mission or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, send me an email at holly.denton@myldsmail.net or check out Mormon.org! Love you all and I can't wait to here from you next week!

District Photo: Back Row left to right: Elder Brand, Elder Ship, Elder Reeve, Elder Raitani, Elder Dore, Elder Roundy

Front Row left to right: Sister Aki, Sister Pilcher, Sister Holdsworth, Sister Taylor, Sister Magleby, Me!
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 Our district in our classroom
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 All the sisters in my district
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 Sister Denton and Sister Magleby
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Me with the mission map
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-Sister Holly Denton

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great." D&C 64:33

Crunchtime!!

Oh my goodness!! Today marks one week until I enter the MTC (Missionary Training Center) to begin my training to be a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! I can't believe it! It seems like only yesterday I was in Idaho opening my call with my family over Skype! Then, February 18th seemed so far away! Now I have just 7 short days left until my full time mission begins!

These past few weeks have been pretty strange for me, what with my friends not being around and my family preparing to move from Nashville, TN to Columbus, OH. I've spent a lot of days at home getting the house ready for movers, painters, or realtors. I've also had a great opportunity to go out and teach with some local missionaries serving in the Tennessee Nashville Mission, which has been such a great way to be able to see what a little bit of mission life is like.

Mostly over the past few months, I've been getting a LOT of questions regarding what, why, and how I made the decision to serve an 18 month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I thought I might take today to publish a few of those questions and answer some to the best of my ability.

Q: Why are you serving a mission?
A: I've pondered this question a lot over the entire process of applying and preparing for a mission. Obviously, it was not a very easy decision to make. The answer is kind of simple though. I was given very direct and very personal direction from God that I was to serve a mission about 2 years or so ago. Ever since, I never really had any doubt about my decision to serve.

Q: What do you do on your mission?
A: Spread the good news of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ!! As Latter-day Saints, we believe that when Christ was on the earth, He set forth His gospel exactly as He wanted it, and then gave the authority to preside over it to His 12 apostles to act and speak in His name. However as they died and left the earth, so did that authority. We believe that in the latter days, His gospel and His priesthood authority has been restored and we are just so happy to let everyone know about it!

Q: What will your living conditions be like?
A: Missionaries of the church are very well looked after and are certainly not left in awful conditions, but that does not mean that we live in the lap pf luxury! Each missionary companionship usually have a humble lodging of sorts, whether that be a small apartment, a townhouse, or a room in a member's home. They are provided with a weekly income just a little over 100 USD with which to buy groceries and other necessities.

Q:  What are you most excited about?
A: I am just so excited to be able to travel to Brazil and to learn about the culture there! I want to learn everything I can about the people and their way of life! I can't wait to try all new kinds of food and to learn Portuguese and to learn all about futbol! So say a prayer that my visa comes in soon so I can go there as soon as possible!

There have been a lot more questions, but this post has gotten kind of lengthy as it is! If you have a question about my mission or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you can email me at holly.denton@myldsmail.net. You can also visit Mormon.org by clicking the brown "I'm a Mormon" button on the right side of my blog!