I think it's fitting to copy the cliche for my first post. I don't know if it's a blogger thing, but the Hello World program is the first program that any coder writes. Except I didn't know about that and started programming on my own, so my Hello World program was not my first. Because of this, I try to use the "Hello World" label as often as possible to make up for it.
My use of Hello World is also ironic due to the fact that today is my last day at home before my mission. At 3:00ish today, I'm boarding a plane to Dallas, and from there, I will fly all night to Sao Paulo, Brazil. There, I will enter the MTC (Missionary Training Center). At the MTC I will learn (among other things) Portuguese, and after 6 weeks, I depart the MTC to serve the duration of two years in the Porto Alegre North Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. But you probably already knew that. Or some of it. Because, unless you're a newbie programmer that is reading any post about "Hello World," you probably came here because I, or my mother, suggested it to you.
My use of Hello World is equally fitting, however, because even as I leave my family and friends behind, I'll be traveling to a whole new world. I guess this makes me a super hipster for today because I have been retro, ironic and double ironic all in one blog post. Brazil is beautiful. At least, I'm pretty sure it is. I've gazed at it several times through the wondrous window of Google Images (that's www.images.google.com, mom). Porto Alegre is a cool city and the surrounding area is awesome. If you don't plan on taking the time to look at the greenery and cities of a foreign place via Google, don't worry. I hope to open another window to Brazil through this blog.
On this blog, I plan on keeping updates (through my mother). Hopefully every week I'll email her something new to post. See, while I'm serving a mission, I'll be kinda cut off from everything. No phone calls home, except on Christmas and Mother's Day. Computer access only once a week, only 1 hour, only for email. I can send and receive letters as much as I want though, so snail mail seems to be the best way to keep in touch with my friends. I post this as an explanation, not a complaint, because I'm perfectly okay with all these rules. My church has thousands (like literally tens of thousands) missionaries spread across the world, and all of us keep these rules. I'm excited to join my fellow saints in the great work of the gospel.
I'm not sure what my posts are going to look like for the next couple years. I've never kept a blog before, and I've never gone on a mission before, so I have no guess as to what sort of posts I'll be making. I might get preachy at times, I might get sappy, or maybe even write some Portuguese. For all my posts, I think I'll probably be funny, and I'm sure I'll send a couple of pictures every now and then.
I was set apart as a missionary last night, and as part of that, I received a special blessing from our Stake President. It was a really cool experience. I'm excited to head to Brazil to share the gospel! I'm excited to work hard and to touch the hears of others. When I was talking with President Prier last night, we looked up what Alegre means (assuming that Porto meant 'port'). Via what ever sort of dictionary thing he uses on his iPad, Alegre means lively, quick, and energetic. I just used Google Translate (that's www.translate.google.com, mom) to see what Porto Alegre means in Portuguese, and it gave me 'port.' So I erased "Porto" and it said "Alegre" meant cheerful, merry, and happy. In case you're wondering, "Alegre Porto" yields "Jolly Harbor" and that's funny. It sounds like something from Little Mermaid. Anyways, I like the fact that I'm called to a mission that's associated with so much joyful energy. I feel like I am filled with joyful energy. I hope I can always be optimistic and cheerful even through the trials that I know I'll be facing and the adversary I will contend with.
I don't want to waste away my whole day writing, so I'll leave you with this. Once, when in church, I was sitting by my good friend Patrick Cunha (who is currently serving a mission in India). He was getting close to leaving on his mission and he said that he felt like he was running out of time (a feeling with which I totally relate). I said to him "Patrick, you're not running out of time, time is running out of you." After a moment's silence, we both realized how profound this statement was and reacted accordingly. Since then, I've often reflected on my words, that time is running out of me. This has been like my mantra through my past year of school and through my preparation to depart. I did everything I could do to share myself with my family and friends, and even strangers, because time was running out of me. (If this doesn't make sense to you don't worry, I might be loosing it). I hope to apply this to my mission- as I count down the number of days until I come back home, I'll also be counting down the number of days I have left to touch someone and to serve. I hope that when my time in Brazil is out, that I will be satisfied to know that I have given it everything I could.
Love,
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