Week Two Is Over

So Week two is done and over with. Haha It is kind of crazy that I have been here for 17 days already. It makes no sense, but it is so true. The days drag on and on and on, and the weeks go by so quickly.

My companion and I have had some really good lessons with each other though. He is basically fluent in Portuguese, and I am not at all. Most times he is the one that is speaking most of the time.. I kind of just sit there share something and listen to what they are saying. But the yesterday we taught a lesson that I almost spoke a majority of the time. It was a crazy experience that through the spirit how well someone can teach and speak. It was great. I loved it. We ended up teaching four lessons that day. It was so cool.

It is so weird how the time here is flying by so much. It is seriously crazy. I am sort of enjoying the time here, even though it is kind of busy. Sometimes it is truly overwhelming, and other times it is nice to just keep learning what we need to be learning. 

So on Sunday I had one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. Kind of tying with the Cultural Celebration for the Kansas City Temple. I am in the MTC choir which consists of about 600 Missionaries. That alone is so powerful in and of itself. I love doing it. So it just so happened to be that President Hollands son was going to be the speaker for that devotional. It also just happened to be that it was his wifes birthday. SO GUESS WHO WAS THERE. It was an amazing devotional. It was all about Joseph Smith. He was such an amazing man. So while he was giving his talk he had a choir from UVU sing songs while he was speaking. In between certain thoughts. Such an awesome devotional. The choir was simply beautiful and amazing. They carried the spirit with them so heavily that I got chills and I am getting chills right now just thinking about it. The choir got to sing the Mac Walberg arrangement of Praise To The Man. Music has such power it is inspiring. It might have been one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. 

Portuguese: Eu Sei que Deus Ama nos Moito. Ele demos moito experiencias para ajudamos. Eu sei com Fe E oracao nos receber respostas. Boa e Mal. Eu amo voce. tchau e paz.

Love,

Elder Parker Hamrick

Week One Done

So week one Done and DONE! haha So the MTC is such a crazy, cool and everything type of place.

My companion Elder Neslon is from Traverse City Michigan. He is really good at portuguese so whenever we have a lesson he is doing most of the teaching, and I am just trying to understand the guy, and what my companion is trying to say. Portuguese is coming a long I guess you could say. I am not too good at it but it has only been about a week... It is crazy to think that I have only been gone a week, it feels like months. The days here are really really long. We have classes, personal study time, and language classes all day long. The only break we get is time for meals and 30 minutes before we go to bed. The other two in my district are pretty fun guys, for the most part pretty easy to get a long with. I LOVE my zone though. A few elders left our zone since I have been here, but I still miss them. There are so many awesome fun and loving people here at the MTC. The work is hard, but the people make up for it I guess. 

By the way 5 of the people in my zone got their Visas!!! 

We arent supposed to listen to music in our residence hall so I dont get much music at all.. Me and Elder Hofstetter just sing for hours whenever we get the chance. So that is basically my week... 

Tchau, Eu Amo Voce! (Bye, I Love You!)

Love,

Elder Parker Hamrick

Me and Elder Hofstetter

First email in the MTC

Hello everyone, this is Parker's sister, Erin and I will be keeping up on the blog while Parker is on his mission! We got our first email today! We are so happy to hear from him! Here is what he had to say:

So the adventure started off great. My original flight to Colorado at 5:50in the morning got completely canceled because it decided to snow like a foot before we left. So I got a brand new flight for 4 something to go to Houston. When I got to the Airport I realized I didn't have my debit card. So needless to say it was a great start. The person I sat next to on the way to Houston asked me "You going to the training center? I saw you were going to SLC." Turns out he wasn't a member but he knew a lot about the church because of his wifes family. So there went my first Missionary opportunity. I think it is awesome how God puts people in our paths. Just to talk. When I got to the the Houston Airport I awkwardly sat there for about an hour. Then a woman came up to me and said "are you leaving or coming home?" then continued to say " you look to suave to be coming home" It was the new suit. I did look pretty suave. She was with her son and his family. They were all really cool and he gave me a bunch of advice on going on a mission. It was super fun. When I got to the MTC I was thrown right into the portuguese. Honestly it is a crazy feeling my teacher basically only speaks in portuguese, but he is honestly one of the best teachers I have had. It was crazy. Teaching with the spirit is one of the most important things that I have come to learn. I may not know much portuguese, but through the spirit teaching becomes so much easier. The MTC is a pretty fun place. It has only been two days so I don't have much to say. Love you all. Tchau

Love,

Elder Parker Pratt Hamrick