First Letter from Elder McKinley 7/11/11

What a week it has been! I knew the MTC was going to be alittle bit crazy, but I never really grasped just how awesome and incredible this place was going to be. Since last week when I entered the MTC, I have noticed so much improvement with my Portuguese and understanding of how to teach the Gospel. My portuguese was never that good to begin with, but in the last 6 days, my comprehension has absolutely exploded. I'm jumping ahead a little bit here....let me give an overview of how my first week has been

My flight got into Salt Lake Wednesday Morning. I took a shuttle down to Provo. There were two other elders on the shuttle, one of them, Elder Stewart, ended up being one of my roomates. I got talking to the Driver a little bit. He was born in Mexico and moved to the US about 20 years ago. He has lived in Provo for about 10 years. I would have thought that he would at least have a pretty decent understanding of the church (he wasn't a member). I was surprised to find out that he didn't know very much about our church. Dad, you would be proud of me....I asked him if he knew why we were called Mormons. That approach really is an ingenious and clever way to share our faith with others and to tell them what the Book of Mormon is all about. This man had lived in Provo for 10 years, and has shuttled full-time missionaries for about an hour every week for the past ten years, and nobody ever really took the time to explain to him what we believe. I am definitely glad that I responded to that prompting to talk with him.

Moving into the MTC was a quite a systematic operation. Almost with military precision. There was hardly a second wasted (that's kind of the motto of the MTC) throughout the move in./ I was given my name tag (kind of a fun moment), my portuguese materials (scriptures, Preach My Gospel, grammar books, dictionaries, and Gospel Phrases) which should hold me over for quite a while. I took my stuff straight to my room (which was fairly reminiscient of Deseret Towers) and then went straight to Portuguese clas....all within an hour of moving in.

I met my teacher, Sister Gonzales, and from that moment since we really only hear portuguese coming out of her mouth. I'm very glad that's the case though...because it helps me to learn the language much quicker. I also got a chance to meet my district. There are about 11 Elders in our district. We do almost everything together....Class, eat, study, sleep, exercise you name it. Luckily they are a pretty solid group of guys. 6 of the elders in my district are going to Recife as well: Elders Skousen (out district leader), Abramson, Markham, Lemley, and Apeland (my companion). Elder Apeland is a good guy. He's from Oregon. He has a good testimony, but I think he is really struggling with the adjustment to the MTC and to learning a foreign language. He tries very hard to pickup even the simplest of phrases, yet he still struggles. I feel that I was very blessed to have taken Spanish classes throughout high school. Portuguese and Spanish are very similiar and knowing the stucture and rules of one language definitely helps you to learn the other.

There are about 60 elders and sisters who are Brazil bound (they are all in our zone), but who are in the Provo MTC until they get their visas. From what I can tell, I will probably be one of the next missionaries to recieve my visa. The last requirement for getting your visa is to submit your electronic forms. I did that about 2 months ago in May. Most of the Elders here haven't even done that step yet. Elder Kevin Miller's companion (yes Elder Miller is in my zone, so I get to see him quite a bit!) turned his electronic forms in when I did and leaves for Brazil tomorrow! I am definitely in better shape Visa-wise than the majority of the missionaries here, and I am very grateful for that.

I am very excited to get to Brazil, and the MTC in Sao Paulo, but I refuse to let that distract me from my time here in Provo. My two years has started, and I owe every second of that time to the Lord. I go to bed every night excited that I get to wake up in the morning and serve the Lord with all of my heart, mind, might, and strength. I have gotten a few letters, and I am so very thankful for the support I have from all of my family and friends. I can literally feel the effects of those of you who are praying for me. Please continue to do so. Your love buoys me up like you wouldn't imagine. As much as your support means to me, it is infitesimal compared to the what the Lord does for me. I would be a mess and an absolute disaster without the support of the Lord here. He makes me what I am.

I'll share one thought I had this week. We had a devotional on sunday night. The topic was on repentance. The speaker pointed out to us that we should look at repentance as a very positive and wonderful thing. It is not something to be looked at negatively or with contempt. In fact, the greek and hebrew meanings of repentance is to turn to the Lord. How could that be a bad thing? I've never fully realized how much of a blessing and a privilege it is to be able to repent of each and everyone of our shortcomings. The Lord performed the Atonement for a reason, and that was so we could repent and come unto him.

If any of you want to contact me here, the easiest way to send me a message at the Provo MTC  is through DearElder.com I will get the letter the same day if you do that. My mission is the Brazil Recife mission and my mailbox is #382. Please include a mailing address in your letter so that I can respond to you with a letter! It may take about a week to get to you though.

My mailing address is

 Elder Michael Steven McKinley
MTC Mailbox # 382
BRA-REC 0906
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

Love,

Elder McKinley