Week 3 Email: Intermediate Core

From: Kaitlyn.Garcia@missionary.org
Date: Saturday, January 30, 2021
Subject: The one with Intermediate Core

Ola Todos! 

I hope you all have had a fantastic week! This week has flown by! Sorry for such a late email today, I have lots to do haha!  I can't believe that I've already been in the CTM for 19 days! Luco! Since I've been in the CTM for three weeks, I had to say goodbye to my amazing teachers this week as well. I'm going to miss them so much, but I'm so excited to meet my PORTUGUES SPEAKING ONLY teachers! It's a little scary not going to lie, but it's all going to be okay. As Irmao Aravena would say, "Vai dar certo!" Many updates to come on how that goes haha! I think I'm going to steal my other missionary friends ideas and just bullet point some stuff from my week so these emails don't get too long :) 

-We watched an amazing video on the Atonement and Missionary work! It made me realize that missionaries all over the world are standing shoulder to shoulder with the most perfect example of all time, Jesus Cristo ( if you want to watch it just email me! ) 

-The dreaded POR and PARA! It's not my most favorite thing that I've ever learned and it's confusing, but hey I'll get there right? And if anyone reading this understands how to master them, please let me know! 

-We had a workshop about "Finding Wally" I love Brasilaros and their words! We talked about just like in the game "Where's Waldo" we as missionaries need to find people that are willing to hear our message

-Okay let me explain Intermediate Core! We started the CTM using Basic Core, now we get to graduate to Intermediate. With these I have the daunting task to learn 1,500-2,500 words, 600-900 phrases, and 9 scriptures in my remaining time at the CTM. My district is already killing it, so I think we can totally do this! 

-We got to start our TRC training this week too! TRC stands for 'Teaching Resource Center'. Sister Williams and I get to meet with a 'real' investigator (I think it's just someone's brother honestly haha!) for 15 minutes every Tuesday and Friday for the next few weeks. It's super fun but definitely a little challenging because of the language, but we sure try!

-Speaking of the language, it's coming! I think it's going to improve a lot the next few weeks because my teachers will speak little to no English. 

I've been loving the CTM! My district is amazing! I could not have asked for a better group of people to spend my time with. My AMAZING companheira, Sister Williams is such a blessing in my life and I'm so beyond grateful for her. I am going to miss Irmao Aravena's funny stories and Irmao Barroso's jam sessions with us, but I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to be taught by them too! We were told something this week about our missions. We have 18 months (or 2 years) to teach, and an eternity to remember our work. How are we going to remember it? Will we look back with joy and happiness from our labors, or are we going to regret not saying what we felt or not contacting a certain person? It all depends on us! This can be applied to our daily lives too! We have a short time here on Earth, but an eternity to remember our lives. How are you going to remember it? Live life to the fullest! 

Spiritual Thought

I kind of struggled picking a Spiritual thought for today haha! I had so many great moments this week that I couldn't just pick one,so I have two! 

-I found this quote at the beginning of the week and I actually was able to share it with Iramo Barroso. He ended up posting it on Facebook too, kinda rad! It says,"If you feel a little overwhelmed, take that as a good sign. It indicates that you can sense the magnitude of trust God has placed in you."- Henry B. Eyring. I love that quote! I feel like we always hear about people being overwhelmed with tasks (and if you're in District 2B the language!), instead of looking at that as something bad, we can change our mindset to see it as something amazing! 

-This one comes straight from a lesson with Irmao Aravena because he's just that cool ;) If someone were to come up to you and ask for a glass of water, you would give them a glass of water. After giving this person the glass, they dump out the water and ask you again for another glass of water. You would probably not give them another glass right? This can be connected to Heavenly Father. When we ask Him for blessings, answers, help, etc. (the glass of water) we need to act on that! We need to be thankful for His answer (instead of dumping out the water and asking again) Lucky for us, the Lord will always be there to answer our prayers and listen to us, however it still depends on what we do with those answers. 

Thank you all for your kind words and messages! I love hearing from you guys! Have the best week and make the most out of everything! Always look for the good! And hopefully I didn't put too much Portuguese in here this week! I realized I had put in a lot and didn't know if you all could understand! Haha!  Eu amo voces! 

-Sister Garcia 

Pictures! 

- the sky! My most favorite thing in the whole world! 

- the quote from above 

- VAMBORA!!
- we hit our official two weeks everyone!!

They hold up 2 for 2 complete 7 day weeks but let's not forget they are actually 2.5 weeks in and this is our 3rd email from Kaitlyn. It's crazy that we only get 3 more emails from her while she is home and then she is off to Boston! Good job you mighty 7. Things can only keep getting better from here.

Let's crush Intermediate Core,

Missionary Momma