Email him or write him letters! All information is posted on the blog!
1st Email:
Hey Family,
Well, its been a long
week. Things have gotten better here though. I am just pressing through it.
Less than 2 weeks till I leave for the field. I am ready for it. It was
a crazy week. Lots of work. On Monday, I was playing basketball during gym
time when my face hit another elders shoulder and somehow my teeth bit through
my lip. It was crazy. I thought I for sure needed stiches or one of my tooth
had been chipped. Luckily, none of that was needed and it is healing fast. Just
a fat lip and a little cut. Need to be more careful though, I dont want to be
sent home earlier for injury. Besides constant studying and the busy schedule,
things are okay here. The outside world is awesome. Everytime we go out, a
couple brazilan kids come over and try to scam us into buying some ties.
Funny stuff. I got a sweet Brazilian soccer jersey for 10 or 15 U.S. dollars,
which would orginally be like 60 in the U.S. (Let me know if anyone else wants
one) The weather here has been nice. Cool and little rain. Perfect because
we have no AC in our room. I feel bettter now because I am so
close to done. Next Wednesday is my last P-Day in the MTC. Awesome
stuff. I got your letter (Mom and Caitlin), so if you want you can send more,
do it. I love getting them and they take around a week to get here. Not sure if
it is the same for sending from here to the US though. Everyday, all we do is
speak Portuguese. Portugese this and that and this and that. It can be
frustrating sometimes. I got a lot to study and learn before I will be near
flunent, but I can hold lessons well in the language. The rules here in the MTC
still bug me, but whatever. That's life ha. I cant believe I hit one month this
Saturday. Werid. Time is fast but slow. Not sure how to describe this past
month ha. These last couple days have been tough. But I saw a Mormon Message
that really helped me. In it, Elder Holland answered the question that many
missionaries ask, "Why is this so hard?" "Why do many not join
the church or get baptized?" "Why is there so much rejection?"
(Think the message is called Atonement) His answer is "Because
Salvation is not a cheap experience." I love that. I have already
experienced challenges this past month and will continue to face them the next
23 months. But these challenges are just a token of what the Savior
experienced. It really hit me. I am experiencing some challenges and yet that
is just a token of what the Savior experienced. I would invite you to pray
often. Your prayers will be answered. I am so grateful for your love and
prayers. I feel them constantly. Thanks so much! I love you all so much. I will
talk to you soon.
Love,
Elder Buhler
Hey Family,
How is life going? How
are you all doing? Well, as of today, I have 6 days left in the CTM and then
headed to the field! Yes! I am so excited. I cant wait to be out in the field.
Lots as happened this week. Try to fit it all in. Well, first of all, my
companion and I had a goal to place a Book of Mormon during P-Day because we
could go outside of the CTM for 3 weeks and shop. So, we were at a pharmacy
buying something and my companion just goes up to the worker helping us and
says, "Oi. Nos somos missionaries da igreja de Jesus Cristo dos santos dos
ultimos dias. Voce sabe a igreja? Voce sabe o livro de mormon etc. etc .etc.
Basically, it says we are missionaries from the church of jesus christ of
latter day saints. Do you know about are church? Do you know about the book of
mormon? After this investigator was interested in what we were saying, I
explained how the Book of Mormon and Bible support each other. Then, we placed
the Book of Mormon and even got a referral from him. Unfortunately, we cant
teach him here, but the missionaries in this area can. It was way cool. My lip
is healing fast and feels a lot better. One of my tooth was killing me and I
wasnt sure why. My companion said that his hurt once when he had beef jerkey
and I had that recently and it hurt between my teeth when I would floss. Not
sure if that was the reason, but it is doing better now. This coming
Tuesday, I fly out. I think it will be early, but I am not sure. I am going to
really really really try to call you all. Not sure if I will have time, but be
expecting it. I think it is about a two hour flight to Porto Alegre. I am ready
for it. This schedule in the CTM is brutual. Lots of studying ha. I thought
alot this week about past memories I had (ex. going to Disneyland, freshman
year at BYU, etc.) and that made it rough. I miss you all so much. How is
everything going? Did my BYU cougars beat the Longhorns? We got the opportunity
to go to the temple today and man, crazy driving. Moving left and right around
cars and motorcyclists. It is ridiculous ha. I get carsick really easily here.
But yeah, that is about it. I would say this week was good, but tough. I am
ready to be doing the work and teaching others. Be expecting a call on
Tuesday. It could be early ha. I love you all so much and think about you all
the time.
Love,
Elder Buhler
