First night in the MTC!!
Mission district at the Temple!

It's hard to believe that it is P-day already and that another week has passed! I've been here for 3 and a half weeks, and in some ways that feels like forever, but the last few weeks have sped by. Tomorrow is Halloween! I don't think anything will happen here, but it is cool that it is a holiday!
This last week we were really fortunate to have Elder L. Tom Perry to come talk to us for our Tuesday devotional. It is amazing just the spirit that comes with apostles. He talked about teaching, and refered back to a Worldwide training given by Elder Holland, I think in 2000. It is called "the gift of teaching". I had actually watched that training video Sunday night, so it was cool to know exactly what he was talking about! If you don't remember that, I would recommend you re-watching that training. I really liked that Elder Perry emphasized that to be a good teacher, you have to be a good student! How many times do the scriptures say that you must obtain the word before you can preach it?! That really is such an important principle. He also talked about letting the student assume some of the responsibility- as they are more involved, they will become more motivated and better able to apply what they are learning to themselves. That is something we have been working on this week- teaching in a way that helps people to apply the gospel to themselves and their own lives, not just giving a historical and factual presentation.
Each week we have a "big deal" practice lesson in the TRC on Thursday morning. This week, my companion and I were randomly selected for testing out a new evaluation process- you are in a room that has a camera that an outside observer watches, and then at the end of the lesson you receive evaluations from the investigator, observer, and do a self-evaluation. It was kind of need to be able to get many perspectives on a lesson to know what others think of it as well.
Not too much else has really happened- life can get rather repetitive at the MTC. I am blessed to have two Awesome teachers. The portuguese is coming along, though slowly. But I know that this is where I am supposed to be, and that I have a purpose here. I am learning a lot, and am so grateful for this opportunity to represent the Lord. Sometimes I can still not believe that I actually am a missionary! But I am grateful that I can be, and that I can share what is most important to me- the gospel of Jesus Christ. He truly is each of our's Savior and Redeemer, and it is only through Him that we can learn, endure, and have joy!