Last Few Days in the MTC!

Oi!!!!!!

Well, for everyone who doesn't know, my visa hasn't come in, so I have been reassigned to the Georgia Atlanta North Mission until my visa arrives! I know the Lord was preparing me for Georgia after a few cool experiences. 

1. My new teacher, Brother McGill, went to Brazil on his mission, but his visa didn't come so he got temporarily reassigned to Georgia (a different mission than me, though)

2. My old teacher, Sister Pettita, is from Georgia, where I am serving

3.  My companion, Elder Bohn, is from Marietta, Georgia, the heart of Georgia Atlanta North

4. I've been preparing by playing that Georgia Baseball

Pretty crazy! Another cool thing about my mission is that there are some Portuguese-speaking branches! So I may get to use my almost-Portuguese sometimes! I am so excited! Although, I have found that my Portuguese is not very good. There is a sister here from Brazil going to London Central (Look out for her! Sister Carvalho!) and I tried to speak in Portuguese with her. I understood a lot but I was so confused when she kept saying "Londrinas". It totally threw me off. But that means London so I eventually figured it out. I then told her: "Eu nao fala bom em Portuguese com outros, mas eu posso dar um magnifico licao em o Palavra de Sabadoria"

(I do not speak good Portuguese with others, but I can give one magnificent lesson on the Word of Wisdom)

We're so cool, chillin' in the refrigerator!

So no worries. For lessons, I am good. For conversation...not so much. But I do understand a heck of a lot more Spanish. Elder Snow got his degree in Spanish and then lived in Spain for 5 months on study abroad, so he is definitely fluent. So there are two elders here, Elder Jimenez (from Peru) and Elder Fuentes (from Ecuador), going to the Provo Utah Mission, and they just love us so much. They come and hang out with us all the time. We've all become pretty good friends. They normally follow us to our residence and hang out after class. When they're in our room, we speak to each other in Porto-Spanglish. A mix of Portuguese, Spanish, and English. It gets pretty funny, but it's totally awesome. I'm gonna miss those guys. Another thing that Elder Jimenez started was, when something is awesome, saying: "Ohhhh siiiiiiiiiiiii" which means "Ohhhh yeaaahhh" 

So here are all the reassignments of my district:

Me: Georgia Atlanta North

Elder Snow: Georgia Atlanta North

Elder Bohn: Tuscon Arizona

Elder Nash: Fort Worth Texas

Elder Knowles: Georgia Atlanta North (I had a feeling him and I would go to the same place)

Elder Farnsworth: Georgia Atlanta North

Elder Johnson: Fort Worth Texas

Sister Williams: Bllings Montana (where her sister served her mission; pretty cool)

Sister Shumway: New York New York South

Everyone else got their visas. 

Getting ready to go into the field!

I am so happy to be going to Georgia! You have no clue how excited I am! Mostly because I may be getting Chik-Fil-A (ohhhh siiiiiiiii). Elder Bohn says the North side of Georgia is better, so I am pumped about that.

 I had such a busy week with preparing to leave and In-Field Orientation that I haven't been able to really write anyone letters. I am really sorry, but whenever I even had a fragment of time, it was out in like 2 seconds. I have been really busy this week, but there are letters on their way today!

I leave Monday, early, so today is the last day for anyone to send me DearElders. Thanks everyone for the many birthday packages which I received! My birthday was incredible! I threw myself 2 parties. 

Elder Fuentes with my Birthday Balloons!

During church on Sunday, one of the members of our branch presidency gave an incredible talk on faith and he made on of my very favorite analogies. He quoted the scripture: "Faith without works is dead, being alone" and then he said this. Faith and works is like a row boat. One paddle is faith. And one paddle is works. Without the other, you're just going to be paddling in circles. And without either, you're going to sit and nothing will happen. It's important to have faith. But it is more important to exercise that faith through your actions. Faith without works is dead. And what is the first principle of the Gospel? Faith?...Nope. The first principle of the Gospel is Faith in Jesus Christ. So we need to have our faith in him, and our actions reflect that faith in him. I know this church is true, and I know that as we have faith in Christ, and trust in him, all will work out, according to the will of the Lord. This church is true and the Book of Mormon is true. I testify of its power, and I will never deny it. If you haven't read it, read it. Open up a copy and get to work. Have faith that you will find the answers that your soul yearns for, and let your faith be reflected through your diligent reading and studying of it. I know it is true, and through the Book of Mormon and the Bible, we have the fullness of the Gospel restore on the earth today. I know it. I love you guys so much and I am so grateful to be out here serving the Lord. He needs me in Georgia right now. So I will go serve him there until he needs me in Brazil. 

I love you guys a ton, and good luck in London! The Lord has some mighty plans for you guys! Go rock that UK. 

Tchau!

Temporary Reassignment

When Missionaries have completed their time at the Missionary Training Center, but they do not yet have their Visa to go to the country of their calling, they get a temporary reassignment.  Well, I got mine this week and I leave on Monday.  Here are the details!

GEORGIA ATLANTA NORTH MISSION BABY

I leave Monday at 3. Here are my travel plans (I'm flying American Airlines):

Salt Lake City (Depart 6:25 AM) to Dallas TX (Arrive 10:05 AM)

Dallas TX (Depart 12:00 Noon) to Atlanta Georgia (Arrive 3:10 PM)

Elder Knowles and Elder Snow are both coming to Georgia with me and they'll be my companions during the traveling! I am so excited! This was my permitted email to let you know my travel plans. I'll email you more tomorrow.

I love you guys a ton!
Nick

A Very Interesting Week

Well hello there family!!! 

This has been one very interesting week! But first let me say that I am perfectly fine and okay! So I woke up Monday morning around 5 to some extremely excruciating pain in my back, enough so that I couldn't move without it hurting. So I just lay there until my alarm clock went off, and I thought maybe if I stood up, it would help. So I went to turn my alarm clock off, but I could barely stand, let alone walk. But you see, the pain was in the muscles in my back and not my spine itself, so it really wasn't that big of a deal. But it killed, and I thought I might as well tell my companions. 

Well, after trying to figure out what to do, Elder Bohn just used the hall phone to call the front desk. And the front desk decided to send me to the emergency room. A little dramatic. But wait, it gets better. So they wheeled me out to a car in a wheelchair, during some heavy rain. Elder Bohn and I got in the car and they drove us to the ER. I was in one of those funky hospital dresses and everything. It was really funny because it was wayyyyy too much. Elder Bohn and I were like "whaaatt...the ER?". But it was either lay in my bed or figure out whats wrong. And the MTC decided the Emergency Room could figure out whats wrong. So basically the diagnosis was my back was having muscle spasms that were pinching nerves. Kind of lame. But it hurt like crazy. Anyways, they gave me morphine and then prescribed me a muscle relaxant to loose the tension in my back. So basically, I was high for pretty much all Monday and Tuesday. The muscle relaxant makes me really dizzy and loopy, plus the morphine...It was quite an adventure. But I am okay so no need to worry! All Monday, Elder Nash stayed with me since he was super sick. But everyone here is good now! haha it was quite a week! Nobody worry about my back because I am 100% fine. I got a bunch of worried letters, but I am perfectly fine!

So Monday and Tuesday are just a blur, but Tuesday night, I was able to make it to the devotional, where we heard from one of the members of the Quorum of the Seventy. I forget his name, but it was really great. He said that when he was a teenager, he asked his mom, "Why is the Gospel so selfish? We are obedient so we can receive blessings from the Lord for ourselves. Isn't that a little bit selfish?" and his mom replied, "The Lord blesses us for our obedience so we can learn to trust him. Then there comes a point when we trust him so much that we do his will, regardless of the blessings or not." That hit me really hard. It's so true. I want you all to think on what that means to you, but let me tell you this. I know that this Gospel is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I know it with all my heart. There is no other way to find true happiness than through faith and obedience to our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know it. 

Anyways, this week has also been pretty great. Our district moved classrooms to a different building this week. It has a great view, but I'm not sure whether or not I like the desks. Our district have also been the ones to have way too many teachers. Normally, you have 2 for the entire MTC experience, but we've had like 7 so far. The first week, our teacher wasn't here so we had 2 subs. Then, along side Sister Pettita, we got Brother Messias, but he moved to Texas, so we got Brother McGlaughlin. But then the MTC switched Sister Pettita to a different district, so now we have Brother McGill. Its been pretty crazy, but I'm really grateful. Having so many different teachers with different Portuguese accents has really helped me to understand Portuguese a lot better. Sometimes the Lord gives us these trials, but they are actually blessings in disguise.

So we had a cool experience teaching a lesson this week. Elder Snow, Elder Bohn and I were teaching one of our "investigators" about the Restoration. After Elder Snow gave an incredible discussion on the Apostasy, Elder Bohn started talking about the Prophet Joseph Smith. While he was talking, he started to recite the first vision (now keep in mind, these lessons are completely in Portuguese). The Spirit filled the room so much, and I have never heard Elder Bohn say the first vision so perfectly. It was truly amazing. Then I had the opportunity to teach about the Book of Mormon and its importance, and then I bore my testimony. The Spirit filled the room again and it was such a marvelous experience. We challenged him to continue to read the Book of Mormon, but especially with his family, and to pray to know whether or not it's true. Of course, the investigator is just an actor, but it was an incredible experience that was enhanced by the amazing feeling of the Spirit. Wow. It was marvelous.

Anyways, I love you guys so much and it is crazy to think that mom starts school on the 14th! WOW. When are you guys moving? Thats incredible. Mike, date a bunch of pretty English girls. Katie, don't talk to one boy at all. And someone go give Sam a huge hug for me and let him know how happy and proud I am of him. Can someone also get a copy of his book and put it in my keepsakes in the basement? Obrigado! I love you guys so much! I have been missing the east coast a ton. All my companions are from the east coast, so we can sympathize. But I get my reassignment in 1 week!!! CRAZY! I am so excited! I hope I get sent to the east coast. That would be sooooo cool. Or Long Beach California, of course. But anywhere the Lord needs me, I will serve with all my might, mind, and strength.

I love you guys a ton and thanks for the letters! Choose the right and do good stuff and all that jazz. Peace out. 

-Elder Hintze 

Half Way There

Well, I've finally reached the point in my MTC experience where the amount of days spent exceed the amount of days remaining. I am on the beginning of my 4th week! HOW CRAZY IS THAT?? So the good news is that I did receive all those pictures over email. So I can receive pictures. Just not emails containing links. I think. 

Anywho, the MTC is sort of extra awesomely fabulous. I love it here, as always. Elder Edwards left Tuesday morning to the Brazil MTC, so we were released as Zone Leaders on Sunday. It's kind of relieving since now I have more time to do stuff at night since I'm not going around to 10 rooms to give spiritual thoughts. So I was put into a trio with Elder Snow and Elder Bohn. Elder Snow is from Springfield, VA and he's our new District Leader. He rocks. Elder Bohn is from Marietta, GA, and he also rocks. We are the ultimate tri-panionship. The only different thing is when we teach an investigator. (BTW the "investigators" are our teachers acting as an investigator they taught from their mission and we teach them...it is a really cool experience...we treat them like real pesquisadors [investigators] we pray for them, we teach to their needs...etc. ) Now when we teach, there are 3 of us, and Elder Bohn and Elder Snow prepare and teach a little differently than Elder Edwards and I did, but it's is still so fun. So the investigator we are teaching now is named Patricia, which I thought was super cool. We committed her to baptism last lesson, but she has to ask her parents first. 

I feel like my Portuguese is progressing very well, I just need to continue to study as much as I can. Speaking of languages, I can now bear my testimony in French. Pretty dandy. Je sais que la Livre de Mormon est vrai, e je sais que L'eglise de Jesus-Christ est vrai. Je veux parler en Francais. I'm definitely going to learn French, Spanish, Italian, etc when I'm back.  

Anyways, this last Tuesday, we had the opportunity to hear from Elder Neil L Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It was such a fantastic experience. He talked about sacrifice and love. One phrase he kept repeating was "You sacrifice the things you love, and you love the things you sacrifice for." I know it sounds a little redundant, and that's exactly what I was thinking when he said it, but take time and think about it. Whether it be a couple minutes or a couple days, you'll understand it. That's why I'm out here on a mission, to sacrifice my time for someone I love, My Savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for this opportunity to be out here and to serve the Lord! In the Book of Mormon, very last chapter, Moroni 10, it talks about some quality stuff, and I exhort all of you to read it and ponder on its words. It is one fantastic chapter. The entire Book of Mormon is amazing, so read that too. 

So I thought I'd run you through a day in the life of Elder Hintze. Welllllll....I get up at 6:15 or 6:30 (depending on how tired I am) and I go get in the shower. Breakfast is at 7:15 (I normally eat bagels with cream cheese). 7:45-9 is personal study time in the classroom. From 9-11:55 is classroom instruction. 12-12:45 is lunch. 12:45-1:45is TALL (Technology Assisted Language Learning) time. TALL is an LDS language learning computer program. We learn discussion/vocab/grammer etc. 2-4:55 is either instruction or study time then pre-gym then gym time. Then 5-5:45 is dinner and then from 6-9 is either instruction or study time then pre-gym then gym time. For gym time I either go running or play baseball. I've been playing a lot of baseball lately, and I'm getting pretty dandy. I think I have the farthest hits. I always hit it into the sisters soccer field. Its pretty fun. I enjoy it a lot. Speaking of sports, did anyone know that SVU has a football team? I did not. And they also let you transfer to BYU now. Pretty cool, huh? A sister in our zone was just there and then transferred to BYU, so I talked to her about it. 

Anyways, I thought that was cool. So on my way here to come email y'all, I ran into none other than Elder Simmons, so I got a picture with him...and then guess who followed right next to him? Elder Thomas. So I also got a picture with him that I'll be sending you guys. Pretty cool stuff. 

Also, I HAVE SO MANY SNACKS IN MY ROOM. SO MANY. I have a drawer full of cookies, a drawer full of various unhealthy snacks, and a drawer with a few healthy bars. Yeah, I love it. Also, the MTC book store sells chips and queso....So I've been in heaven. And I also have so many peanut butter cups, my goodness. 3.75 pounds of peanut butter cups. geeze louise, I am loved. 

Also, if anyone ever needs any spiritual uplifting, talk to Sam Goodnight. His letter made me so happy and inspired me so much. He's da man. 

Anyways, I love you guys a ton and I can't wait for whats ahead! It's crazy to think I could have my reassignment in 2 weeks! The days are weeks, the weeks are days. It seems like just yesterday I was emailing you last. Okay, anyways, keep the letters coming. I may not respond quickly, but know that I get all your dear Elders, and I love them. I also love handwrittens (thank you my beautiful sister Katie who I absolutely adore). I love you guys a ton. Je T'aime (French) O Fatoo (Tongan) Eu amo voces (Portuguese) I LOVE YOU!!!! (English). Do good things and spread the gospel like creamy peanut butter. Peace Out.

P-DAY and Shenanigans

Oi familia!

ITS FINALLY P-DAY!!! The most exciting part about that for me is that I get to do laundry! Well, the MTC is amazing. I absolutely love it here! Elder Edwards (my companion) and I are just finishing up our first week as zone leaders. Every night, we go to the rooms of all the guys in our 4 districts and give a spiritual thought followed by abracaos (hugs). Its pretty fun. We have some great districts, but I absolutely love my district. As Elder Edwards would say, we're an inspired district. So Elder Edwards sort of looks like Gabe, and he acts a lot like Gabe in a good way. His first name is also Gabe. Which is quite funky. Anyways, so I saw Elder Kendall Blaylock and Sister Syndey Francis the first day. I always keep running into Sister Francis. I've also seen Elder Alec Larsen. Elder Tate Simmons is on the top floor of my building so I can go see him before I go to bed. I also ran into the one and only Elder Nate Benfell this Wednesday. I hope I can see him more before he heads out in two weeks. 

My roommates are the best, and the Elders in my district rock. Here is a brief introduction to all of them. 

Elder Edwards (my companion) - from Michigan, plays college soccer, speaks Spanish

Elder Bohn - from Georgia, he's always happy

Elder Snow - from Fairfax Virginia, graduated from UVA with a major in Spanish, so he speaks Spanish

Elder Knowles - from Key West Florida, looks like Dennis the Menace in non-cartoon form

Elder Nash - From Draper, Utah, looks like muscular Jack Black 

Elder Johnson - From Oregon, Plays football

Elder Farnsworth - from Utah, runs track, he's our district leader

So let me brief you on a couple things that have happened here. So here my first "missionary story". Our first night here, the alarm clock goes off in the morning. I lay there thinking that Elder Bohn will get up to turn it off but he didn't so I just laid there. Well, finally I got up and the alarm clock wasn't mine, and it wasn't Elder Bohn's either. I then looked at the clock and saw it was 3 AM. So we turned the lights on and searched everywhere for this mysterious alarm. Well. after a good 15 minutes, we discovered it was in the vents. Elder Snow pulled a superman and ripped the vent off the wall, reached into the vent and pulled out a prank alarm clock. He continued to put the vent back in place, so we finally got back to bed at 3:20ish. It was quite funny. 

So Elder Edwards and I have been teaching an "investigator" named Joao. We taught 5 lessons this past week (completely in Portuguese) and we got him to commit to be baptized out last lesson! It is so crazy how the Spirit can guide what you say and also be avenue for learning and understanding. After every lesson, I felt so amazing. It is just so awesome! I can't believe I can understand and speak that much Portuguese already! We will have 2 new investigators these coming weeks, so pray for me! I am having the time of my life and I am so grateful for this opportunity. And yes, the room checking people said I make my bed commendable. And our room is super organized. (feel free to be proud, mom). I am so grateful to be here and to be serving the Lord. It is so awesome. I also love the Dear Elder letters! Although, handwritten ones would be nice. Also, if anyone wants me to respond, just have them Dear Elder  me their address so I can write them back. Alright, I love you guys! The picture thing isn't' working but I'll see if I can email you some later today. Love you all, and remember, The Lord will never abandon you. He is ALWAYS there and he will ALWAYS love you. Seek him. I love you guys! Have a super duper rockin' week!

Happy Birthday Ashley!

Oi Familia!

Happy Birthday to my my beautiful, amazing sister, Ashley.  I hope it's fabulous and full of wonderfulness and stuff.

So I had some cool experiences.  I actually don't think P-Day is until next Friday, so expect e-mail responses then.  Well, I got 2 Dear Elder letters last night.  Let me tell you, those rock.  Get everyone to send me those.  Also, muito obrigado for the package and cookies.  Eu gusto de cookies.  Su meu companheiro, Elder Edwards and I taught a lesson in Portuguese to an investigator our 2nd full day.  It was cool.  I prayed in Portuguese and Elder Edwards was really fantastic with his responding.  I'll get more into it in the e-mail, but we have a follow up lesson this morning, and we spent a good 2 1/2 - 3 hours preparing our lesson.  Hopefully we can do it with the help of the spirit.  We were guided in our first lesson, and it was the coolest experience.  My testimony is only strengthened every second. Anyways, I'm off to cafe de manha (breakfast) but I love you all so much.  You guys rock socks.
Also, someone let Tate know that I had a dream she was called to Lisbon, Portugal.  Eu amo meu familia e meu salvador, Jesus Cristo.  Tchau!

       - Elder Hintze

P.S. The food is fabulous!

Testimony and Cool Tying of the Ties

Howdy Family,

Well, Sundays are the coolest thing here at the MTC.  Breakfast is cereal on Sundays (Woot Woot!)[Just Kidding] But all the food is musto delicioso.  I've been teaching a lot about oils (essential oils).  The Elders in my district think they're so awesome.  So I get with my district and ended up almost giving a physics lesson.  It was kinda funny.  Anyways, I talk a lot about the brain with Elder Edwards.  So today in class they all started talking about how smart I was and how my ACT score was probably the highest it could be.  I was laughing because I got a 23.  So when I told them, they started claiming the system was flawed.  It was a nice funny confidence booster.  I ran into Tate Simmons!  He lives in the same building as me so we'll be seeing other a lot.  So Elder Bednar gave a talk that we watched on video entitled "The Characteristics of Christ".

It was incredible and talked about how just because we have a testimony doesn't mean we're converted.  We need to show it our actions.  My take from it was that we can know of Christ in the same way we can know about Biology.  But we don't know anything about Biology until we study it.  We need to do the same thing with Jesus Christ.  Study him out in the Bible, Book of Mormon, Words of the Prophets, etc... then we can understand Him.  Anyway's, Elder Edwards and I have been called as Zone Leaders over 2 districts right now and 2 more coming in this Wednesday.  SO we will be Zone Leaders over 4 districts.  WOW!  It;s such a humbling experience.  Especially since we're so new.  The assignment lasts 3 weeks so that the new districts have opportunities for leadership.  Anyways, tomorrow is our 3rd lesson with João and we're teaching him the Plan of Salvation.  My plan is to learn enough of the vocabulary so I can teach the lesson without my notes.  Eh, I'll let you know how I do.  Another fun fact-our district is all going to Brazil except for Ender Nash, who's going to Angola in Africa, Portuguese speaking.

So he ties his tie in this awesome way, so I figured it out and we're trying to make it viral.  Our goal is to have the MTC Presidency doing it by next week.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Anyways, I love you all so much and I miss you.  Send me Dear Elders!  (www.dearelder.com) Those rock because I get them the same day.  I aslo can say the stupidest sentences here that make absolutely no sense and everyone laughs because they assume there's a pun....It's kinda silly.  Okay, love ya guys.

               Elder Hintze