Florida Man

Óla everyone!


Sorry I didn't send out an email last week, it was a bit hectic traveling all day. So this one will be extra long.


For those that don't know, while I'm waiting for my visa to finish processing and approval, I have been reassigned to serve in the Orlando, Florida mission! I've already been out in Florida for a week, but before I write about that, I'll talk about my last week at the MTC since I never got to write about it.


Our last week at the MTC was awesome. We made a video together as a district, which was super fun. Those three years of videography classes in high school finally paid off, haha. 


Since most of our teachers had to leave for BYU the week before, we got to have a few new teachers for our last week, and they were cool! One of them was the actor for Amaleki in the upcoming Book of Mormon videos coming out next year, so that was cool to be able to get to know him. 


Because our district was learning a language, we all had to take a language test during our last couple of days to see how far we had progressed since starting at the MTC. It's a pretty difficult test that has you repeat sentences in Portuguese. We only have one attempt to listen, and then repeat it. They start a little easier, but they end up getting really difficult. After about 30 of those, we are given a prompt and have 30 seconds to think, and then another minute or so for us to respond. It wasn't the most fun test, but it was a good way to see how far we progressed.


The last bit of the week, we packed up all of our stuff and prepared to leave the MTC for our assignments in the field. This last Monday, a week ago, most of the missionaries in our district flew to our assignments. I flew with a few friends to Florida, which was fun. We had a plane with screens on the seats, so we played lots of chess and competed in trivia competitions together. Once we landed, we were picked up by the mission president, and we all went to his house for dinner together. We had this really good creamy chicken and rice. We all got to know each other, and afterward, we were sent to a hotel for the night while our areas and companionships were being sorted out.


The next day, we met with our new companions and were sent out to the areas we would be serving in. I was put into the area that covered the University of Central Florida, which I was excited about. Teaching the college students was really fun, and we had lots of awesome activities to go to with them. 


About halfway through my second day at UCF, my companion and I received a phone call from the mission president saying that we were going to be transferred to a different area in our mission. We would be moving to the coast to help out with English work in Melbourne. So a couple of days later, we drove over, and unpacked our stuff into the new apartment in Melbourne. 


I have been in Melbourne for the last couple of days, and it is awesome! Lots of really nice people, and we get to walk by the big bay that is on the coast of the city. Since we are in a family ward, we have been fed dinner every single night so far, which is nice. It is also really fun talking to everyone during the dinners and getting to know them. Our first dinner we had with a family, the dad works as an engineer for the military and their aircraft, so it was really fun to hear him talk about all that. Or at least what he was allowed to talk about, and we got to hear from his perspective about the new Top Gun movie.


Another cool thing happened this last week. Since we are in Melbourne, which is near Cape Canaveral, we were able to see the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch. It was really cool seeing it light up the whole sky, and then disappear into space. I’ve always wanted to see that kind of thing, so I am pumped that I will be able to see about 2 of those a week!


Spiritual thought:
During our last full week of MTC, we had the opportunity to attend a devotional given by Camille N. Johnson, the Relief Society president, and it was awesome! She talked to us about how the Holy Ghost speaks to us in different ways, and the importance of learning to recognize that. She also talked about how we are put into uncomfortable situations. She made an analogy, comparing us to a plant. After a while, a plant in a pot will eventually grow enough that its roots will become matted, and conform to the shape of the pot. A gardener will then take the plant out of the pot, have its roots trimmed, and put it into a new, bigger pot with new soil. Just like the plant, we might be uprooted from comfortable situations, trimmed up, which might hurt us a bit, and then placed into a newer environment, we might not be used to. But because of that experience, just like the plant has been put in a bigger pot with more room to grow, we will also be able to grow from those trials, or new experiences.


Tchau!


-Elder Howard


Pictures: 
1 - One of the people we were teaching had a pet squirrel, which was interesting
2 - View of the bay
3 - View from our apartment 
4 - They still have Wonderbread in Florida. Haven't seen it for years
5 - Last picture with my MTC district at the temple
6 - The teachers for our last week at the MTC. The one on the right played Amaleki in the future BOM videos.
7 - Video of the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch





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