A Christmas letter! Week 5 plus a bonus letter

Elder Shannon leaves for Brazil on Monday! We received a letter from him on Christmas Day and yesterday as well. Unfortunately since he was in the MTC for Christmas, we did not get to talk to him. But he flies out on Monday with a three hour layover in Atlanta, so we will be able to talk to him then. He is he only elder in his district that got his visa cleared so he will fly to Atlanta by himself and there meet up with some other missionaries that will fly down with him to Brazil.  Once in Brazil, he will go straight out to the field! No CCM for him. Bring on the missionary work!!

Hey Everyone!!

Merry Christmas!! I hope today has been a special day for all of you and that you are able to spend it with loved ones. This is a special time of year and often we forget why we celebrate it. Christ was born. I know growing up I didn't really think too much about the real purpose. I was always excited for the decorations and gifts. And these aren't bad! But remember to take some time throughout your Christmas season to help others. Since Christmas is about Christ and Christ served everyone, I think it's only fair that we in turn find ways to serve others. It doesn't have to be anything big. Small things here and there are just as good. If you try and find the biggest service you can do, you'll find that you're really focusing on yourself. Trying to make yourself look good in front of others. A majority of the time it's better that the only person who knows about your service is the one you served or just yourself. So remember! Know that even if you do one thing for someone you've fulfilled the purpose of Christmas. Don't take this season for granted.

   Anyways I'm excited to be leaving in just 5 days! I'm having to start packing and making sure that I have everything. I'll be flying to Atlanta by myself but there might be others who might meet me there. We'll see! Stay safe and I love all of you!!!

Con Amor

Elder Shannon

December 27, 2013

Hey Everyone!

So this is my last friday in the United States!!!!!! I leave monday and I arrive tuesday morning. It still hasn't hit me very hard that I'm leaving but I am! These next few weeks are going to be difficult, trying to work with the language and all! But I'm excited! I got a little sick this past week but I'm over it now. I think compared to what can happen in Brazil it's probably like nothing! Haha anyways, I'll have lots to say next time I can email so feel free to email me stuff!!! Stay safe, don't take things for granted, love everyone and life and stay frosty! (we tried to make that catch on at the training center. Didn't work very well.....)

Con Amor,

Elder Shannon

Week 4 and a visa!!

Hey Everyone!!!

I have officially received my visa! I got it just the other day. I fly out on December 30th to Brazil! I´m really excited and nervous at the same time. I don´t quite think I know enough of the language but oh well. I´ll just have to learn as I go. I only have about a week and a half left here. Time has gone by so fast here and I´m really going to miss this place. There are not many places on the earth that are quite like the Missionary Training Center. Everyone is here for the same purpose and has the desire to serve. I may end up shedding a few tears when I leave.

This past Wednesday there was a new batch of missionaries coming in and we got to host for them. Basically as soon as they are dropped off at the curb we get their bags, let them say goodbye and take them to get their supplies, books, take them to their room and then straight to their classroom. It reminded me of when I was dropped off. 

Anyways, I hope all is good and safe with everyone and I love you all! Wish me luck in two weeks!

Con Amor,

Elder Shannon

Week 3

Oi!

Time is flying be really fast here. The days are long but the weeks are short. Snow has come and my face freezes everyday. I'm so glad I'm going to Brazil and not somewhere cold. I've had to be careful during our exercise time cause I almost broke my leg playing basketball. There was this super short kid who weighs like 200 lbs and his knee jacked my leg up. I'm all good but I got to watch out. Also I get to play volleyball here which is nice. Half the people here are terrible though so I kind of dominate a lot of the games. I should probably be a little more humble. Oh well. Food here is still bad. I wish someone would come and inspect it. We like to joke around that they put little bits of diseases in it just so our bodies can adjust to it in the mission field. Who knows.

 The language is coming. My district had one day where we spoke Portuguese the entire day. It was really hard but it really showed us how much we've leaned and how amazing it is. I still don't feel ready to go into the field but I guess no one ever is. They just throw us in. So I think that I will be here until december 30th. If we get reassigned, I won't know for another few weeks. If I do, I'll just be sent wherever until my visa comes through so don't fret, I will make it Brazil. As always I enjoy letters or packages, they're good pick-me-ups for the difficult days. Hope all is well with everyone!

Con Amor

Elder Shannon

Week Two!

Hey!

Time seems to be going by so fast here. I feel like I just got here but I've been here for two weeks! I am beyond tired. There are days when it gets so difficult to wake up each morning but once I'm up and in the shower I'm able to get going. We got about a foot of snow the other day! My district made a snow man and we slid around on the ice, it's a lot of fun! Hopefully I don't break anything haha. The language is coming along pretty well. There are some days when I understand what my teacher is saying and some when I don't know a word. Portuguese is such a cool language. We had some other missionaries talking to us and we thought they we're speaking Portuguese but it wasn't until they finished that they realized they had been speaking Spanish. We understood everything they we're saying but they couldn't quite get what we were saying back.

On another note, my comp and I have been assigned to be Zone leaders. We're kind of nervous since we've only been here for 2 and a half weeks and on top of that we got 2 more districts! What the heck!!!!! So now we've got like 25 people to worry about! It'll be fun though. 

Being here for over two weeks is already starting to change me! It's scary. Being around so many people who want to do God's work is such a spiritual experience but I've learned that we're not here for ourselves, we're here so we can learn how to help others to come unto Christ. One of the best things you all can do is to find ways to serve others. During Christ's ministry on the earth He put everyone above and before himself. There wasn't a single time when he was thinking about himself. Serving others sincerely is one of the best ways to come close to our Father in Heaven.

Anyways, the food here still sucks. I'm trying to gain weight but having to eat the food here can be difficult. At lest they got milk!!! So any food or snacks would be appreciated! And I don't know anything about my visa and I won't until a little bit before I leave so your guess is as good as mine.

Com Amor,

Elder Shannon

First Week

Hey Everyone!!!!!!!

AHHHHHH!!!!! I don't even know where to start! It's really difficult to put into words all that has happened. So I'll do my best and start from day one.

        I reported at the MTC at about 1:30 pm and by 2 pm I had all my stuff in my room, my I.D. card, my key and other things. I was then sent to language study for 3 hours or so. Afterwards we had dinner and a welcome orientation. We had about 840 missionaries from over  countries arrive that day. Everyone is thrown into what we call a District. My District has about 6 guys and 5 girls. Then anywhere from 2-5 Districts are made into a Zone. We have District leaders and Zone leaders. I met all these people during language study. That first day I was just so overwhelmed but so was everyone else so it was alright. 

        The scheduled is quite different here. We have to wake up at 6:30 and get to breakfast by 7 everyday and we go to bed around 10:30. The only time we have to stop and think is during meals or personal study time.

        Since then life had been insane! We literally have almost no free time to relax because we're either studying language or gospel study. On Friday, my third day here, my companion and I Had to teach our first lesson to a contact in Portuguese. Oh and for the majority of our class time, our teacher only speaks in Portuguese. It was one of the most difficult things I've had to do in a while. We then had lessons to teach on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It's amazing how much of the language I've learned so far! Portuguese is much harder to learn than Spanish. The years of Spanish I took have both helped me and hurt me in learning Portuguese. I already know how to have conversations and generally communicate with people. I've met some pretty awesome people here and I love them already. I think our favorite times of the day are when we can go play basketball, workout or play football. I've already bruised my cheek from playing football.

        The food here is absolutely terrible, aside from the chocolate milk which is better than Kroger chocolate milk. I think I've had to fart more in the past week than in the past year before my mission. So if any of you want to send things, send food, drinks or whatever. I'll take anything. For Thanks Giving we were able to help an organization make over 150,000 food packs for starving children. It was an humbling experience. We also got to here from Russel M. Nelson which was a cool devotional. 

         So I only really have time on Fridays to check emails. If you want to send messages before that day like during the week you can go to a website called, DearElder. Here you write a message and they can then put it in letter form and send it to me that day or the next depending on how early you write it oh and it's free to send it here in the states. Once I leave for Brazil you can still use it but It may cost more than a normal letter. I'm not sure. You'll probably need the information below. Also I'll give you my mailing address here in Utah.

         If I missed something or if you have a question then let me know and I'll try and answer!

          Amo Eles. Eu sou feliz e aminado ser aqui. Estou consado todos dia e meu vida e` maito dificil. Tenho amor para portugeuse e todos 2,000 misionarios aqui. Nos Pai Celestial tem um plano para voce e Eu. Nao sabo que mas e` importante. 

Con Amor,

Elder Shannon.

It's official…..He is in the MTC!

Matthew entered the Provo MTC on Wednesday, Nov. 20th at 2pm!! No word yet from him about how it has been so far, but hopefully soon. This blog will be updated with letters and pictures from him as well as address changes. We are unsure how long he will be in the Provo MTC. It depends on how long it takes to get his visa through. Updates will be posted here as we get them. As soon as I get his Provo MTC address I will post that on here as well.