Hello there!
This is your son writing you in some random scorching hot building near our apartment. But there are computers here, so it works for me.
If I were to tell you this hasn’t been the hardest week of my life… I’d be lying. I have shed more tears this week, than in my entire life combined I think. I’m not even kidding. It has been so rough. I can hardly understand my companion… I can hardly understand our investigators… I can hardly understand everyone around me. I’m surrounded by many many people, all of whom can’t understand me… and I can’t understand them. I have been so lost lately. The thoughts of, “just go home, you are wasting your time, you will never learn the language, nobody understands you, etc.” have run through my mind probably at least a million times. It’s so so hard when you can’t communicate your thoughts. And when people say something to you, or ask you a question and you don’t have a clue what they said. This is not the same language I learned in the MTC. I felt confident coming in here, but that quickly changed!
There have been so many instances when I have understood a little bit of what our investigator has said… and there’s SO much I want to say… but I can’t. I open my mouth, but the right words don’t come out. It literally breaks my heart. It’s so tough! I’m almost in tears just writing this.
But through all the struggles and pain of not understanding anything, I have learned so much. I have learned patience, and I have become very humble. Maybe this is what I needed in my life. I realize that, but it still doesn’t make it much easier ya know? Sometimes it’s just nice to have someone there to talk to, but I don’t have that. I don’t understand what is going on most of the time, I just leave when my companion says it’s time to leave… and I follow him around until we end up where we are supposed to be.
My companion has absolutely no money… and I’m not sure why. So basically I’m supporting him and myself. Supposedly he is getting some reimbursement from the mission president… so hopefully that comes soon. We have hardly any food… this is the longest fast I have ever been on ha,ha. Food here is weird too. Definitely WAY different than America. I miss American food so so so much. I don’t even like the milk very much here. The milk is weird… you can just keep it on the shelf until you open it, no need to refrigerate it before opening it. It expires in like 2030. So we bought some milk today… and I can bring it home in 2 years, and it will be as good as new. Yuck. The other day we had spaghetti? at a members house. They called it spaghetti at least. I’m really not too sure exactly what it was… but it did have noodles? Interesting. The bread here is amazing though. I haven’t really eaten a lot more than that. So I will keep you informed about food, the more I eat.
I baptized Leopoldo de Castro Ramalho on Saturday. It was really cool. The water was absolutely freezing though ha,ha, took me by surprise. Just to get to the church with the baptismal font was a journey. We took a train, a bus, and a taxi. I really didn’t know what was going on, I was just along for the ride. Another kid named Rodrigo was baptized as well. We are marked for 3 more baptisms this week. So that is awesome!
I’m really bummed about the camera thing. :( have you figured anything out about that yet? I sure hope so. Our bags never made it on our plane either, and we didn’t get them until the next day. That’s because we had to run through JFK just to catch our flight. I had a feeling our bags didn’t follow. But that wasn’t a big deal, because we have them now.
We have been doing a lot of teaching lately. That’s pretty much what our entire days consist of. We have even gone proselyting yet. Crazy huh? The area, Carregado, is pretty cool. Lots and lots of Cape Verdians live here. Our apartment is decent. In American terms, it’s a dive. But for here, it isn’t too bad. Could be a lot worse!
My mission president and his wife are really cool! Very down to earth, and great people. We stayed the night in the mission home on the first night. It was a very nice home. I think it is the only home that has carpet here in Portugal too ha,ha. They have a beautiful view from the house. One of the elders here went to Bonneville High, and another went to IF. Ha crazy huh?
So I don’t have Brittain or Landon’s e-mail addresses but tell Brittain HAPPY BIRTHDAY for me from yesterday, and tell Landon HAPPY BIRTHDAY from me today! I love you guys! I hope you have/had an amazing birthday. I wish I could’ve been there! :)
Oh so about the music. I can listen to any music that is condusive (sp?) to the Spirit. It doesn’t necessarily have to be church hymns it just has to invite the Spirit. So you should go through and make some CD’s for me. You can even put on some Jack Johnson and artists like that. Just make sure the songs aren’t talking about love. They don’t want them to have romantic lyrics. So use your best judgement! So just send my package whenever. Who knows when I will get it though. It gets sent to the mission office, so I won’t be able to get it until I go there for a transfer or something, or if someone in my area happened to grab it for me. Could be next month, or longer. But either way, I’ll get it eventually. It’s the safest, most reliable way of doing it though. I sent you the address already, so you have it.
This has been such a hard week for me, and I have a feeling this week won’t be a whole lot easier. I need your prayers! I’m really working hard. I’m trying not to be discouraged, but it’s really really easy to feel that way! I’m sory I have complained so much, but this is my only time I can express myself. I really do love missionary work though. It is the best feeling in the world to see that light of Christ come into someones eyes. There is nothing more satisfying. It is the only thing keeping me going!
I don’t think I’ve ever missed home as much as I do now! I love you guys so much. I have taken you all way too for granted. Thank you for being you. Thank you for being such a blessing in my life. Seriously. I have the most amazing family and friends in the entire world. Sometimes it takes experiences like this to realize it. But seriously, thank you. I can’t say it enough. Thank you mom and dad for being such amazing examples, and such great parents. Thank you Brady, Landon, Brittain, McKenzie, and Sydney for being such amazing brothers and sisters. Thank you all my friends for being awesome. Two years is a long time. But in comparison to what our Savior has done for us… it is nothing. I’m so glad I made the decision to come on a mission. This is something I will hold close to me for the rest of my lie, I know it!
It has been a roller coaster of a week, but I am doing well. Even though I have been lost, I know my purpose here, and I’m going to do everything in my will to achieve that purpose. I don’t want to leave anything behind here. Nothing at all. I’m surrounded by millions of people I don’t know, and I can’t understand… but I do know one thing. They are my brothers and sisters. They are children of God. In God’s eyes, they are just as important as I am… the President is… or any celebrity or athlete is. Nobody is no more important than someone else. It’s hard to see it this way sometimes… but it’s true. Life can be rough sometimes, and we all have our trials. But we have a Heavenly Father, and a brother, Jesus Christ, who love us more than we can comprehend. I know this with all of my heart. I need to toughen up, and keep pushing through!
Oh an interesting fact. Yesterday at the church, I saw a picture on the wall. I went and looked at it, and it was picture of the ward here with a couple of missionaries. One of them happens to be a teacher at the MTC now, Elder Nelson ha,ha. I thought that was funny. It was cool to see a familiar face like that. Even if it was just a picture.
The ward members here are great! There’s not many of them, but they have such strong spirits. The church is tiny, but it makes no difference. You can feel the Spirit nonetheless.
There is no such thing as air conditioning here ha,ha. It is very hot. I hear the winters get very very cold. It is because of the humidity in the air. I guess it pierces through the skin. I guess someone from the Ukraine that is living here now, said the cold weather here is worse than where he came from. Uh-oh! I guess I will just have to see for myself. I will have to buy myself a coat when the time gets closer.
My companion is a cool elder. I don’t know a whole lot about him, since I don’t understand a whole lot that comes out of his mouth. I do know he is a convert, and was baptized about 4 years ago. He is 24 years old. He is from Cape Verde, Africa. He loves soccer… ha,ha. No, he is a great kid though. It’s a little tough for both of us with the whole language barrier, but it’s good for both of us. I’ve been trying to help him with his English, and he helps me with my Portuguese.
I’m safe, and I’m doing alright. It is very difficult, but I kind of knew it would be. I didn’t expect a trainer that knew no English, but hey, you make the best of what you are given right? Ultimately, it is going to help my Portuguese more than anything else. Just right now, it makes it a bit difficult. But I’m positive I will be blessed because of it. I’m just going to make the most of what I have, and keep moving on forward.
I love you guys more than anything in the world! You are my everything. Thanks for everything you do for me… seriously.
Eu amo voces.
Elder Porter.
