I'm sorry for the delay in posting Tyler's most recent letter. I've been traveling for work and sick so I'm a bit behind. This week I had the special experience of live emailing Tyler. I was fortunate enough to catch him online and so he and I were able to email back and forth a few times. What a special treat it was to be able to talk (email) my son. I wanted to reach through the line and hug him. Anyway, as you'll read in just a minute he is doing well, loving the MTC, but is ready to go to Portugal. For those of you that don't know when Tyler says he was able to HOST again it means he was able to be a welcoming missionary for the new Elders entering the MTC. Also, you'll see that Tyler and the other Elders have not lost any of their playful spirit. Enjoy and thank you one and all for your loving support. As a bonus he sent us some more photos.
Ola como estas?! Eu sou muito bom! Life in the MTC is just grand. Things are going really good over here. Ok so last Tuesday we had Elder Richard G. Scott come and talk to us for our devotional which was so amazing! We had an Apostle come and speak to us!! It was one of the most spiritual things I have ever attended. What made it even better was that his talk was on the same topic as my farewell talk (Recognizing Answers to Our Prayers). It was just amazing to hear and see this apostle who was called of God. When he first entered the room everyone stood up and as soon as I saw him I could feel the spirit just hit me. It was such an amazing experience to feel the spirit from his presence. He had such a strong spirit. I actually think we might hear from another one tonight but idk yet? Cross your fingers cuz I hope we do.
This week I got to host again which was really fun. I even got to host for one of my friends from Davis, which was awesome. I had so much fun hosting him and showing him around the MTC. I have also been progressing in teaching lessons in Portuguese. From looking back from where I have started I have learned a lot of Portuguese.
Something cool we did this week was that we got to Skype a member in Portugal and got to talk with them and ask some questions. It was a good experience to see what the actual language sounds like. I don't know if you got my letters yet but I sent one to everyone in the family. I got my flight plans Friday. I will be leaving on Sep 30th in the morning. First I will fly to Dallas, Texas, and then from there I will fly to London, England, then from there PORTUGAL!!! It’s about a 20-25 hour flight plan which is going to be VERY long. So exactly a week from today is when I leave to Portugal.
Sunday was just awesome as it always is. We got to watch the temple re-dedication which felt like a spirit overload. I could feel it so strongly and especially when the Prophet said his prayer I got teary eyed. I have never heard him say a prayer before and boy was it powerful. We also went on a temple walk Sunday which we always do, but this time it was really cool. It was kind of raining outside and so the clouds where really low and they were covering the mountains. I got some cool pictures of them.
Sunday was also a sad day because it was the last day for four amazing Elders: Elder Johnson, Elder Mechem, Elder Hayes, and Elder Lindsey. They are all going to Brazil. I will really miss them. They are such good friends to me and have always made me want to be a better missionary.
Ok funny story. So we have this little thing we do whenever we are done eating our meals. We flip our cups upside down when there is still liquid in them and if you do it right you can flip it upside down and the liquid will stay in the cup and not leak out. It’s pretty cool. Well one day I did it and apparently I did it to hard and when I hit it on the tray the glass shattered and exploded, it was awesome and scary at the same time. Don’t worry I didn’t get hurt or anything, only a few small cuts and scrapes on my hand. Haha well I learned my lesson from that so I won’t be doing that again anytime soon. I had a pretty good week felt the spirit a lot, spoke a lot of Portuguese, I’m learning fast.
I love you guys so much and think, miss, and pray for you guys every day and night. I want you guys to know that I have a testimony, and a pretty big one. It grows everyday here at the MTC. I know that God loves us and so does Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith did translate it and was called to be a Prophet of God. This Church is true and is such a blessing to me in my life. The scriptures are also a great blessing in my life and I know that if you read them every day you will receive wonderful blessing. I know this to be true because I am living it in my life. If you aren’t reading your scriptures every day I advise you to do so. Even if it is just a chapter a day, God will recognize your efforts and bless you for them. I love you guys so much and hope you are living Christ like lives. Remember stay strong, stay focused, and have faith.
With all my love,
Elder Rusnell
This week I got to host again which was really fun. I even got to host for one of my friends from Davis, which was awesome. I had so much fun hosting him and showing him around the MTC. I have also been progressing in teaching lessons in Portuguese. From looking back from where I have started I have learned a lot of Portuguese.
Something cool we did this week was that we got to Skype a member in Portugal and got to talk with them and ask some questions. It was a good experience to see what the actual language sounds like. I don't know if you got my letters yet but I sent one to everyone in the family. I got my flight plans Friday. I will be leaving on Sep 30th in the morning. First I will fly to Dallas, Texas, and then from there I will fly to London, England, then from there PORTUGAL!!! It’s about a 20-25 hour flight plan which is going to be VERY long. So exactly a week from today is when I leave to Portugal.
Sunday was just awesome as it always is. We got to watch the temple re-dedication which felt like a spirit overload. I could feel it so strongly and especially when the Prophet said his prayer I got teary eyed. I have never heard him say a prayer before and boy was it powerful. We also went on a temple walk Sunday which we always do, but this time it was really cool. It was kind of raining outside and so the clouds where really low and they were covering the mountains. I got some cool pictures of them.
Sunday was also a sad day because it was the last day for four amazing Elders: Elder Johnson, Elder Mechem, Elder Hayes, and Elder Lindsey. They are all going to Brazil. I will really miss them. They are such good friends to me and have always made me want to be a better missionary.
Ok funny story. So we have this little thing we do whenever we are done eating our meals. We flip our cups upside down when there is still liquid in them and if you do it right you can flip it upside down and the liquid will stay in the cup and not leak out. It’s pretty cool. Well one day I did it and apparently I did it to hard and when I hit it on the tray the glass shattered and exploded, it was awesome and scary at the same time. Don’t worry I didn’t get hurt or anything, only a few small cuts and scrapes on my hand. Haha well I learned my lesson from that so I won’t be doing that again anytime soon. I had a pretty good week felt the spirit a lot, spoke a lot of Portuguese, I’m learning fast.
I love you guys so much and think, miss, and pray for you guys every day and night. I want you guys to know that I have a testimony, and a pretty big one. It grows everyday here at the MTC. I know that God loves us and so does Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith did translate it and was called to be a Prophet of God. This Church is true and is such a blessing to me in my life. The scriptures are also a great blessing in my life and I know that if you read them every day you will receive wonderful blessing. I know this to be true because I am living it in my life. If you aren’t reading your scriptures every day I advise you to do so. Even if it is just a chapter a day, God will recognize your efforts and bless you for them. I love you guys so much and hope you are living Christ like lives. Remember stay strong, stay focused, and have faith.
With all my love,
Elder Rusnell