Elder Dallin Anderson's Mission Blog: Last Full Day at the MTC!

Hey Everyone,

It has been a great final week at the MTC, I have enjoyed my time here and it has flown by! I have studied the Gospel and the Portuguese language for hours everyday, but yet still feel unprepared. I know that it will be hard, but I am excited to enter the mission field and get to work!

Last P-day I was feeling terrible. I felt like I had the flu. It was miserable. I got a blessing from Elder Joder and 2 days later I felt 100% I'm not sure if I was actually getting the flu or something else but I know that the blessing and prayers helped! I was so grateful for them! 4 new Elders arrived in our zone on Wednesday, they are all super cool and are waiting for there Brazil Visas. This Wednesday the Zone gets 44 missionaries! A bunch of them are going to Portugal, then some are going to Cape Verde, Angola and Mozambique. Grandma Anderson sent me some candy and 2 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts. They were awesome! I shared them with the zone and everyone loved them!

Thursday we had Infield Orientation, it was all day long, about 9 hours of classes and role plays but it was great. I learned a whole lot about how to be a more productive missionary and the importance of working with members. During the lunch break is when I got my reassignment to Salt Lake City. I logged onto my portal about a week before that and it said I was going to Salt Lake City every other time I logged in, so I was super confused for a little while haha I talked to President Dansie yesterday and he told me that I was the only missionary that he had ever heard of that didn't get their Visa to Portugal. I went to the Travel office today to talk to them about it and they said there must be a hold up at the consulate...I will check back with them at lunch. If my Visa comes today I will leave to Portugal as soon as possible, likely in the morning, if not I will go to Salt Lake tomorrow afternoon. I know that the Lord has a plan for me and if I go to Salt Lake there is a reason for me to be there at this time.

Saturday evening I played soccer for the last time against the Russians. It was so fun, I scored 3 goals! Elder Christensen, who is going Russian speaking, has an offer from BYU to play soccer. He is super good, it was fun to play against him. I gave a talk yesterday about Enduring to the End in Sacrament meeting. Every missionary writes a talk every week in their mission language, but we don't know if we are going to give it or not until the middle of sacrament meeting. I was glad for the opportunity to speak on my last Sunday, even though my Portuguese was a little rough.

When we were walking back from Lunch yesterday I ran into Christian, now Elder Thomsen. He went to West Georgia last year and we were in Brother Kimball's seminary class. It was so fun to catch up with him, he is doing great and loves it here. He has been here for 2 weeks and is preparing to serve in Hungary!

Yesterday we had the Departure Devotional. The MTC Presidency and their wives spoke about the mission field, they told us that we determine our happiness and success throughout our missions. After we had the Sunday night Devotional by Steven Allen, it was awesome. He asked us why we were here and asked a few missionaries state their reasons. There are missionaries that are here for all kinds of reasons. He asked us if we are here for the right reason. I am here because the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth, it has blessed my life so much and I want to spread the Gospel and help others find peace and happiness in their lives through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Elder Joder and Elder Cortez left to Lisbon this morning, they have layovers in Denver and New Jersey. I am excited for them! Elder Martel is having surgery to remove a lymph node so he is staying at the MTC for 2 more weeks. We went to the 5:40 session at the Temple this morning it was great, I have really enjoyed going to the Temple throughout the MTC. I am excited to leave to the Mission field tomorrow, Thanks for all the prayers, love and support!