Can you believe it? I am done with the MTC?! HOLLA! The time really has flown!
Kristy and Donna! Like seriously how kind are you to be thinking of me? The package made my day. Like Ons says you seriously want to cry when you get a package because it's like Christmas times ten... all the treats are AMAZING! I don't think you know this but I have always been obsessed with you caramel brownies! Also... peach bread... who knew?! Mom get the recipe!!!
Megan... oh my goodness I cannot tell you thank you enough for the package... leave it to you to put together the most creative cute thing in the world even though you are busy with school and dealing with Peyto ;) It's funny because Megan and Cortney in letters both said the hardest thing would be waking up in the morning... yeah I know they like to sleep in. I'll write you both when I know my new address!
Linds.. keep the updates coming.. I love them your life makes me feel like i'm not a robot and I love it! I will also write ya when I have my new address.
So yes, I have been re-assigned to New York, New York South and am absolutely stoked about it... I feel like it could not be more perfect for me. Don't worry Denalli I will be sending you lots of Yankee gear :)
It was cool to open at least one of my mission calls ;)
So my mission is all of Long Island and all of Staten Island so yeah I will be livin' the island life I guess.
Congrats to Dashelle and Baby Knox... glad everything went good, I would love a pic of the little boy!
Umm so Chaffetz is coming and staying with us? Ask him why he wouldn't give me the time of day when I was in DC? Yeah he should fee awkward...
You know how I contact him about possibly working for him this summer? Well his Chief of Staff NEVER would reply to me and then if I went to the office Jason would never talk to me either... i'm a constituent! Yeah i'm still a little bitter.
Dad, Ken is my age and I know him pretty well. I stayed at their house once with Cortney before Cierra's wedding remember?
So congrats to Natus for apparently ballin in his interviews... hopefully you get to stay in Utah with Delby and Bry.
So Boze and Asa are both out? That sucks good thing they both still have time left and it's not their senior year. Grams K told me once though my sophomore or junior year it doesn't matter if youre young or not not being able to play just sucks (i'm pretty sure she didn't say sucks though haha) so yeah either way I feel for them.
Mom, Dad you two are the only people on the planet that would go out of town for your anniversary and not do a dang thing... you bore me even here haha.
Okay so let me just give a shout out for BYU beating Texas! I can only imagine Dal's reaction to that game... probably priceless. I was outside next to the MTC fence listening to the game... it was a priceless experience.
I love that Bry put me in timeout for hitting Sag and Ays... at least she knows who is the strongest... she sounds like she is getting funnier everyday. Her stories seriously crack me up. I love that she tells dad to shave... she is too smart!
Mom my vote for the kitchen is still tile so yeah I agree with Log. (Never thought I would say that)
So now a little about my week: First of all I learned that Brazilians don't understand sarcasm and find it as absolutely hilarious as I do...
I was in a lesson with one of our "investigators" and we were teaching him about baptism and why it is so important to be baptized into our church and try to convince him. He told us he had already been baptized into two different churches.
Me being the funny person I am said in my broken Portutues... Well obviously you have no problem being baptized into churches so why not into ours?!
Funny right? Yeah, he then went into a whole serious response and it was awkward.
Alright so every Sunday we all have to prepare a 3 minute talk in Portugues on a specific topic. You don't know who is speaking until right before. Well President Laney, who is the bomb diggidy by the way and a member of the seventy. The man is literally walking scriptures, he can quote EVERY verse I swear.
Well he gets up and looks at his paper and says, well I am going to chose someone different then we had originally decided and says, "Sister Shumway"... joy.
The topic was the Book of Mormon or O Livro de Mormon. I hardly used any notes and took up the whole time! It was easier I felt because of the topic, I shared how much gaining a testimony of the book has helped my life and there is an answer in there to EVERY question. I basically just told a story. There is a lot more to the story but i'm just gong to share what I shared in church.
So the second week I was in DC was hard, really hard. I opened up the BOM randomly to Mosiah 24 and 14-26 are legit and they really helped me. Well a few months later when I was still in DC and I had just found out that Gena had passed away I was there all alone, I didn't want to be there, I didn't know whether to head home or stay and I had just gotten this news so I was puking so much that blood was coming up. Because I don't know it was just hard being so far away at that time I guess, so my reaction was to throw up. The same scriptures really helped me that night, and made it so I wasn't just sick to my stomach anymore.
Yeah I said all that in Portugues... clutch right? Well the cool part is yet to come...
After Sacrament meeting one of the counselor wives came up to me and said, I don't know any Portugues but I understood every word. We lost a son very suddenly recently and your talk and those scriptures really helped me today.
FOLLOW PROMPTINGS YOU GET! I did NOT want to share that story to strangers and especially in a different language but I felt like I should and I am SOOO glad!
This week in class we had a bunch of candy and there was an almond joy or mounds or something and I said I don't like coconut... well in class we have to say EVERYTHING in Portugues and my teacher just started laughing... Apparently coconut and poop are very similar... I mean VERY. Like it's Coco for coconut and Coco with an accent over the last o for poop. So i'm glad I don't like coconut!
Sister Clay got her visa and will be heading to Brasil on Monday. Was I excited for her? No I can't say that I was haha no I was a little jealous until I got my re-assignment and now I could care less!
So Tuesday night the devotional was here at the MTC and not at the Marriott center. They said some people from West Campus got to come up so I was bound and determined to find Logan. I figured if I stayed standing until the last possible second then he would see me and come find me... well it worked, even if I did embarrass my district.
After the devotional he came and found me and it was so good to see him. Mom, he said the doughnuts were the bomb and he was really homesick at first but seeing someone from Blanding helped... that's whats up.
The devotional itself was AMAZAZING! Yes, I meant to spell it like that. It was all about how much more effective we will be if we have members involved in the teaching process. The statistics are awesome for investigators who are taught in a members home.
The whole time i've been at the MTC they have really emphasized the fact that we are set apart and we have the power to promise blessings and like receive inspiration. Well i'll be honest, I haven't felt that yet but at the devotional I did and it hit my like a train!
Mom, you have got to have a big family dinner and invite the Johnsons and the missionaries. If nothing else, to show Jace and Benny what I am doing. Like that was so clear and specific I am still in awe about it and I had the feeling that everything will be just fine. Or if Grandma K still has the missionaries over for Sunday dinner have the Johnsons come over then. Just something! I don't care if you don't send me another letter or package, do this for me.
A few weeks ago when I was in the temple a scripture came to mind. I convinced myself it was nothing and I had just thrown out random numbers basically. The thought just came kept coming back though so eventually I looked it up and it was EXACTLY what I needed to hear.
Revelation is real and how many times do we tell ourselves a thought is just our own thought and not the H.G. I know I have done it countless times. How many times have I had thoughts to write someone a note, do something nice for someone or just whatever and haven't. Act on everything because you never know what affect you will have on the person.
There is a quote from Neil L. Maxwell that says something like, the star that shone when Christ was born was created and put into orbit ions before it actually was seen. God has things planned out to the most specific detail and we have to be willing to act on those little promptings because they are part of a bigger plan.
Go watch the mormon message Create. It's fantastic.
Funny quote this week, Elder Knowles-"At first I thought you were just lazy or didn't care because you were always falling asleep. Now I know you just have a problem" Haha Sag it's true there is something in our genes!
I will be sitting up, taking notes, totally focused and the next thing I know I am drooling!... it's a problem.
Yesterday I had in-field orientation it was long and kind of boring but I was laughing at one point and snorted... everyone turned and looked... awkward. I said it was my companion though so it's all good ;)
Okay so my flight plans, I leave the MTC at 4:30 but my flight doesn't leave SLC until 8:30. With so many missionaries though i'm not sure I will be able to call from the airport or if I will even have time. My flight gets to Philly at 2:30 (so 12:30 your time) and my next flight leaves at 4 (2 your time). By the time I actually get off the plane, get to my next gate I bet they will be boarding already so I may have time to call and talk to Bry for a few minutes. I get to NY at 5:15 (3:15 your time). The Big Apple better be ready for me!!!
PS I'm flying U.S. ugh... The Frontier flight was all full... I am extremely sad about this. I hate U.S.
Okay so I think that is everything. God Speed.
Be good, I love you all and good night.
Sis. Shum
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