New Week

Jared Sampson	Aug 27 (1 day ago)

Hello Everyone.  Some of you have expressed concern to the fact that I have been starting my letters "I am not dead".  This is a true statement.  I yet live.  I also don't anticipate death in the near future.

 

 Life Update:

First of All, I got special permission to play my tenor recorder here and also got special permission to have one of my branch presidency members accompany me.  He was a music major at BYU a while ago and so he can just make up a part for me since I can't do that for myself while I play recorder.  I hopefully will be auditioning this Thursday or maybe next Thursday.  I had a great Quartet lined up and had some fantastic music with Elder Keele and Elder Chun, but Elder Chun decided he is working too hard and has too much to do so we aren't doing that any more.  Good for him! (not as good for us but this was something extra anyways).  There are a decent chunk of people here that I know.  

 

We have been learning lots of Portuguese recently.  The language is coming well like the turtle that beat the hare except we are all mostly just turtles. We have two investigators right now, Nathan and Raimundo (High-moon-dough.  R's at the begging of the words are more like h's).  However they have been gone or sick recently a bunch so we have been teaching a lot of first contacts which are sometimes good and sometimes not as because you can't really prepare because you don't know what they struggle with.

 

Our district is getting smaller.  One of the Elder in my room that I am close to and another one that I am also close to both got their visas yesterday and are on a plane heading to finish the MTC in Brazil.  It is bitter sweet because we are super tight but it is also great that they got their visas.
My toe is doing pretty well.  I played soccer on it yesterday and wrecked.  I am still careful and stuff.  I made a goal but shot left footed on my good foot.  Dribbling and passing are fine on my right though.

Elder Lundeen and I are staring reading the book of mormon based off of a talk we heard by Elder Bednar on Sunday.  We read the entire thing with one question in mind and mark it up and make notes and stuff, and then once we are done, we do it again.  In 30 years I will have 300-400 copies of the Book of Mormon all on different topics or answering different questions.

I have more I could probably say but I won't because I am out of time.  Use your imagination!

Responses:
I am sorry I didn't respond to anything last week.  Right after my email time was up I got all of your letters, and then on like Thursday a bunch of us got letters that had been sent on the 8th. Haha. Whoops.  Not my fault.

Summer:  Your poem was amazing.  How old are you?  21?  It was really good.  I hope you are having a great time with school.

Ryan: I am glad Mrs Billing Class is good and that she got a new lizard.  Is it young and entergetic?  How is being a deacon?

Kelsey: Congrats on making the MV volleyball team.  Don't hurt yourself and be better than everyone humbly.  I very much know Hidi Shurtz. She is good at volleyball.  Do you know your student council position yet? 

Lindsey: How did you end up with an emergency acting job?  I'm glad you got to see the Scarlet Pimpernel again.  It was a great show.  How is being a Jr?  My Companion says thank you for saying hello.

Jared: Keep up the good work.

Brad: Read my email and enjoy drumming with people.  I mostly just drummed alone most of the summer and the soco season last and before that.  Don't take drumming on a real line for granted.

Mom: Thank you for sending me stuff.  It's great that Nicholas is home.  I just need room febreeze for sure.  All the smell good stuff you can send can work though.  They did the same surgery as last time.  Thanks for your letters.  What are you doing now that school has started and you aren't in charge of young women any more?  If you could also send: Sharpie Gel highlighters for me and my companion in multiple colors (if you can't find them or can't figure out what they are, nothing is fine too), Can you send me my black dress pants I got new from Mr Mac that I didn't bring.  The black ones from my suit they told me were washable but they aren't so I am only going to take one of them and I will take the black ones instead.  Can you get me a nice version of the Portugues bible with tabs?  I don't need my name on it or anything, but the one they gave us is not that great and has no tabs. The binding is like the same paper as brown paper bags.  Also if you can get a mini hymnal in portuguese with my name on it if they have those in easy access.  Great too.    Also, sometimes the roof of my mouth isn't as great as usual.  Can you get me Dr. Edmunds email address and I can ask him about it.  Also, can you do me one more favor?  The people in the mail room told me that they will put up my picture if I break the package record for one day (11), so if you feel inclined to have someone whip up a sweet picture of me (from my photogenics shoot) with a caption "Elder Sampson.  Record holder: 16 Packages" and send 16 packages in one day, that could be fun for all of us. 

Dad: We have enough food that isn't sugary too. Thanks though,  I'm glad fathers and sons was well represented.  What are you doing since you aren't teaching this fall? 

Let me just say that I love you all equally even though I wrote Mom a short essay in response.

Love,
   Elder Sampson

Oceans of Fun

Hey.  I am not dead still.

Last Tuesday we got to hear from Richard G Scott in the first ever live international broadcast for the Tuesday night devotional.  He was very good.  We sang some music which was nice.  

We have mostly just been working on principle of the gospel and on learning the Language at the Same time.  Pretty much all the time is try to learn the language time.  We never pray or anything like that in English.  All of church was in Portuguese and we all had to prepare talks on perservar ate o fim or enduring to the end.  I didn't speak though.  Our first investigator became our second teacher and we got two new investigators, one of which we taught and is a bit less receptive and the other is more difficult but we haven't taught him yet.  That happens tomorrow.  

I ran in to Keith Evans at the temple in the morning.  He is the first person I know that I have seen outside the MTC but I am pretty sure I will see some more.

Today it is nice to wear normal people clothes for a change which is nice.  

Some of you may have heard but I got work done on my ingrown toe nail for the 4th time last Wednesday.  It is healing up nicely.  It is not bad pretty much at all so please don't send me saying something "Im sorry to hear about your toe, etc..." because it will probably be completely healed by then.  

I heard that school is upon people.  Haha. Public Education.  I remember that. Well good luck to all those who are embarking.

If Ethan Christensen or Eric Tessers are reading this my whole district (15 of us) want to try some elven bread, so you should send us some.

Other than that, please don't send me food (except for maybe vegetables or fruit drinks that aren't super sugary).  I am very grateful to all of you who have sent stuff, but we are very much sugared and snacked out.  We could live for weeks in our room off of all the food that has been sent.  If you want to send me something practical like a letter talking about what is happening in the worldly world or some febreeze, that could be good though.  It is really easy to send stuff via email or letters through Dearelder.com or something like that.  

Well, it is time to destroy some dirty laundry into the clean version.

I'm sorry that almost nothing epic happened, but that's life at the MTC.

Pray for all the Missionaries waiting on visas!

Love,

    Elder Sampson

CTM Week 1

Hey! 

"I have killed him" -Elder Carle.  I know that you got my letter because I got three huge packages of food which we will enjoy for at least three days until it is gone. (JK, that food should last us like 3 weeks at the very least)  Everyone in my district that had some is very grateful.  Things move very fast here except that the days are rather long so everything sort of meshes together. 

Eu colega, Elder Lundeen, e muito bem. Eu amo ele. He is from Hurricane, Utah, right next to St George.  He is incredible.  He is picking up portuguese way faster that almost anyone else.  We have some sisters that already speak multiple languages fluently so they are really good too.  There are 8 Elders going to Cape Verde and 1 Sister as far as we can tell.  We haven't met the sister but I think we have seen everyone else at least once.  There are 6 of us in our zone I think.  Our district has just us two going to Cape Verde, then the two Zone leaders are going to Angola, and one sister is going to Mozambique, then everyone else, like 10 more, are going to Brazil.   We have the best District ever.  The Elders in our room are so awesome.  We are all best friends.

Wednesday, we just kind of went around and stuff and had meetings and then had some classes on teaching.

The Rest of the days I just pretty much had classes all the time.  We taught our first lesson in portuguese on Friday morning at 7:00, and another one on Saturday.  Sunday was pretty chill.  We taught another one yesterday, have today off for p-day then teach again still in portuguese tomorrow.  It is rough, but we just rely on the Spirit and everything goes okay. I can't wait until I am fluent.  We use every moment we can to learn the language.  It is super hard and frustrating but we make great progress and things come well.  My three years of spanish are both a blessing and a hinderance because some times I try to use spanish words instead of the slightly different one in portuguese.

If Possible, here is the stuff I need/would like you to send me:

1. I need a Pair of Jeans, and since I have to send those back the day I leave to Cape Verde, you might as well send me my vans too and I will send them back after the CTM (MTC in Portuguese).
2. I need a book with music lines on it.  You can get those at like any music store.  Just blank sheets of lined sheet music that I can write stuff on.
3. If I am sending stuff back, can you send me my tenor recorder too packaged very carefully and safely.  Maybe put present stuffing paper (the white thin stuff) in the case with it then wrap it like a present.  That's probably good.
4. I actually can't think of anything else.  I probably will think of something more by next week.  Thanks!

Make sure you put these letters up on the blog and that Lindsey shares the blog on my facebook every week.  My p-day is Tuesday. Besides the first day we were here, we can't send paper letters either except on Tuesday.  You can send letters to me any day though.  My District Leader, Elder Pexston, usually checks the mail for us like 3 times a day. 

Pictures Attached:
-Elder Tanner in the Happy Happy Happy Shirt
-Elder Lundeen in our room
-Elder Carle by the temple
-Our District because one sister, Sister Nielsen got her visa so she is going to the Brazil MTC. (Hundreds of people here were supposed to go to the Brazil MTC but don't have visas yet.  People get reassigned most of the time after their mtc time is up and do a transfer or two somewhere else before going to their mission)
-The Some of the People from our district saying thanks for the food!

So, That's it.  I am going to go do other worthwhile things now while my laundry dries.

Love,

    Elder Sampson Jr (Until Next Week when I lose the Jr).

Good Bye and Addresses

This is it. I am getting set apart in just a few minutes so this is Good Bye. Thank You for everyone that has Been Such a Great example in My Life. You literally will never have any idea how much you have influenced me, and how amazing people are.
You can Still Come Visit me Tonight form 8:00-10:30, and tomorrow from 7:00-12:30 if you want to come say farewell.
You can get my letters by talking to someone in my family and getting on the email list, or you can get everything which will be posted at:

elderjaredsampson.blogspot.com.

My MTC address is:

Elder Jared Benjamin Sampson
SEP18 CAP-VDP
2007 N 900 E Unit 55
Provo UT 84602

I will be there for 6 Weeks.

You can Always Send Me Emails To:

jared.sampson@myldsmail.net

My Mission Address at My Mission Home that will get letters to me is:

Elder Jared Benjamin Sampson
Cape Verde Praia Mission
Caixa Postal 420
Praia, Ilha de Santiago
Cabo Verde

Packages can be sent to:

Elder Jared Benjamin Sampson
Cape Verde Praia Mission
Rua Povoacao Velha #17
Palmarejo, Ilha de Santiago
Praia, Sao Tiago
Cape Verde

You can also send Pouch Mail (One white piece of paper folded into thirds secured with tape but not at the ends, with paper and writing on the inside only):

Elder Jared Benjamin Sampson
Cape Verde Praia Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City UT 84130-0150

Or... You Can Just Send Me and Email.

I Love You All, and I know The Church is True.

Love,
Elder Jared Benjamin Sampson

Good Bye

This is Elder Jared Sampson Saying Good Bye to Everyone. 
I am so Excited to Serve in the Cape Verde, Praia Mission.