Dear Everyone,

This week I´m starting to finally get into the swing of things.

The Portuguese is coming more easily, and our lessons get better every day. Right now we´re teaching this “investigator” named Vinicius (who is actually just our instructor pretending to be an investigator) and he´d already committed to being baptized, but yesterday he told us he prayed about the church and Joseph Smith and knows it´s all true. I wanted to cry even though he isn´t a real investigator. And he understood the Plan of Salvation when we taught it to him, and he didn´t seem to have any problems. I´m worried some bad thing is gonna happen, like we´re going to discover that he has some kind of problem with the Word of Wisdom or that he asks weird questions about polygamy or something.

We also started TRC, where we have 30 minutes to chat with and teach a lesson to a member. It´s a little stressful, but it gets easier once you get in the room. But the next day we have to watch the video recording of it and fill out a paper about what we could do better.

The food is all right, despite what York will tell you. It´s honestly a little strange sometimes. They seem to only eat jello products for dessert.

It poured rain today on the way back from the temple.

OKAY. The WORST THING. Our rooms are not air conditioned. We have to open the window and turn on the ratchet fan that we have in there. And it´s still like 80 degrees in there so I sleep  without any sheets or anything covering my body and still wake up all sweaty.  I’m so glad to get two hot summers in a row: first Texas and now South America!

It´s really strange because sometimes time feels like it´s going so slowly during class, but then it´s the end of a day before you realize it. It´s already been 2 weeks??? Weird.
My favorite part of the day is when we have physical activity. I ran 3 straight laps around the track the other day! And I´ve been doing those exercises that Brother Winward told me to do. I´ve never had sore muscles on my hips. I don´t think I even knew I had muscles there. Hopefully they´ll help me out.

My companion is the one with brown hair. It´s actually about the same shade as mine, but it looks darker in pictures. She´s awesome and we get along really well. She´s super weird (in a good way) and is also very friendly.

All right that´s all I have to say for now.

After India arrived at the MTC we received a picture and letter to help us parents feel assured that we have turned our children over to safe hands.

Dear Parents,

Sister Swensen and I are very happy to let you know that your missionary has arrived safely at the Brazil Missionary Training Center.  What a great joy and privilege it is to greet each missionary as they begin their missionary experiences with us. We will surely take good care of your missionary.                                                                                                     

The missionaries now have companions and are settled into their rooms.  They are assigned to a district with capable and caring instructors for language and lesson study.  Their branch presidents and wives, will meet them this Sunday.  These wonderful couples are richly blessed as they work with, motivate, and interview the missionaries assigned to their branch.

The MTC has a full-time live-in physician to care for their health needs.  He is assisted by his able wife who is a nurse. We are also happy to report that the cafeteria food is plentiful, healthy and very good.

Your missionary will be able to e-mail home on Preparation Day after a morning at the Temple.  This will be either Wednesday or Friday, depending on individual assignments.

Your missionary is about to make an eternal difference in the lives of many others. President Lorenzo Snow said: “There is no mortal man that is as interested in the success of an elder when he is preaching the Gospel as is the Lord who sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord’s children”.  We love these missionaries as if they were our own.  We will watch over them carefully to ensure they are ready for a wonderful missionary experience after the rewarding time they will have in the MTC.

We thank you for preparing such a wonderful representative of the Lord.

President Robert Swensen and Sister Julie Swensen

A few hours after India arrived at the MTC, they had a little rest, got unpacked and got to send the first email home. Nothing has ever made me so happy to receive!

Ola, Mae e Pai! I´m here in the CTM safe and sound, and all unpacked. But I can´t find one of my towels. I saw it earlier though in one of my suitcases. It´s pretty here and very cool right now. My companion is Sister H., the same girl I sat by on the flight down here. We had a couple hours to get settled, shower, and rest a little bit. I share a room with one other companionship so far.

We don´t have a lot of time to email. But I´m okay, so is York, and I will be fine once I get busy learning portugues. Also thanks for the birthday presents. I´m going to love opening them tomorrow. My roommate Sister G. brought streamers and she said they´re going to sing to me… yay…

Another thing, We can´t send pictures from the CTM. It´s a weird rule, but there you go…. Kinda annoying.

India is finishing up the last of her packing after being set apart this evening by the Stake President. She and her brother, York, will both be heading out to the airport tomorrow morning to set off together to the MTC (technically called the CTM in Portuguese). They will be there for six weeks learning how to be missionaries and to learn the language. India has been working diligently to learn Portuguese since the day she got her call back in May.

They’ll meet up with several other missionaries in Atlanta and arrive in South America on Wednesday morning. Her birthday is on Thursday so that should be interesting!