I Made It

Elder DeGraw, Elder Smith (his companion) their 2 roomates in the back, the zone leaders in the front)

Kyle's study desk

Elder Smith from Minnesota with Kyle

Kyle's bed

Kyles apartment

Hey! 

Yeah I made it! I am in an area called Lago de Silverio. It is is a town called Jau. I had to drive 3 hours to get to my area. It is basically one of the farthest areas, on the border of my mission. So that was a fun drive! 

My last week was good, I hated saying goodbye to my district. I also was anxious about the change, and to see what was coming up next. The exit devotional was strange too. They divided all of us up in the auditorium. So that was super weird. The last week was a strange one because of the Coronavirus dilemma. They separated all of us, didn't have devotionals. All sorts of strange things went on. The morning we left was a sad one. I had to say goodbye to all my district, and everything felt so fast! One second we were all in the classroom playing signs and laughing and the next we were on a bus to different areas. But I was excited. Excited to see what was next. 

My luggage made it safely because we had our luggage with us on the bus the whole time. I appreciated having some time on the bus to sleep and get to know the Elder next to me. He was a Brazillian, and didn't speak much English. It was nice to get to know 

My mission president is cool. I can tell that he loves all of us, and that he cares so much. My interview with him was really cool and I loved President Barros testimony he shared with me. 

Because of the Coronavirus things are becoming crazy. Situations are changing really quick and I am still super confused. Hopefully we will know soon enough.

My companion's name is Elder Smith. He is from Minnesota and seems really cool. I can tell that he has the spirit with him and teaches with it too. 

I am feeling happy sometimes. I have been feeling a lot of anxiety. I am sure that is normal, it is just a feeling I haven't felt very often so its weird

I love you, And I love the whole family. You guys are so special to me and I hope that you are all safe. Keep me updated. I love getting emails and hearing from you guys. 

Eu amo voces

Elder DeGraw

Some additional information from our video chat: 

He lives with 2 Brazilians and his companion. 

He likes the humidity.

The houses have gates, so he and his companion stand at the gate and clap. Someone usually yells "Who is it?" and they answer "The Elders"... 

He has met drunks on the street every day that he has been there. He cant understand what they are saying, and was a little concerned when one grabbed him. 

The missionary that he sat by on the bus was in a gang before he left on his mission.

His area is shaped like a V... meaning that half the town in on one steep hill and half is on the other. He is walking up hills all day. 

He had 15 contacts yesterday (guess the word about social isolating hasnt really reached them yet) and was going out fro ice cream after our chat. 

He is LOVING Brazil and the people. They are humble and generous and kind. He is getting the language. There were even a couple times in our conversation that he had to stop and process the English word in his Portuguese-focused brain.

He has a baptism set for the 28th. He will likely not be there for it...

He was with the zone leaders when they got a text from the mission president saying that all American missionaries would most likely be sent home in the next week, to be reassigned in their home countries. The timing and details are unknown. He is pretty sad, but trusting God's plan. When he was set apart by the stake president, He was told that he would see members progressing and then see things happen to thwart that progress. He was told that that part of his mission would break his heart. In our conversation Kyle said, "We all thought that would be something else, not that my heart would be breaking because I had to come home." Its sad. 

Beginning Monday, they are to be on self-quarantine completely. They were given extra money to buy food and supplies. Kyle's companion and zone leaders decided that since they were likely going home in a week, they didn't need to... that is a decision that I pray they dont end up regretting. Kyle said they have a good supply of rice. 

Last Day

A picture that Elder Christofferson drew of their district

He wants to remember the beautiful view and sunsets he saw in the CTM. 

Kyle's district love each other so much that they decided they wanted to spend every holiday with each other. They had already spent Valentines together. They would be together for St Patricks Day, so in one weekend, they had Halloween, Easter, Christmas and New Years together. (back row: Elder Koford, Elder Funk, Elder Christofferson, Sister Rosenlund, Elder Keyser... front row: Elder Jones, Sister Preator, Sister Thomas, Elder DeGraw)

Sister Preator and Elder DeGraw dressed up for "halloween" 

Hey, Last day at the CTM! 

I am super excited to head out the field tomorrow, and I thought I would just tell you and the rest of the family about how much I love my district. 

I was blessed so much when it comes to my district here at the CTM. We all bonded immediately. It was such a great blessing to be able to have people I could turn to in case I needed them. I know that Heavenly Father gave me all these people  for a reason and I feel his love through my district. I am sad to leave because I know that I probably won't see some of these people for another two years.

I wanted to take some time to tell you all about everyone in my district-

Elder Funk is one of our zone leaders. He is funny, and really go at sports. I love his smile, the light that it brings to the room is so amazing. I also love his competitiveness he brings to physical activity, it makes me try harder and want to be better. 

Elder Jones is our other zone leader, and he reminds me so much of Kameron Meeker. It is nice to have a little bit of home here at the CTM. Elder Jones is super caring about all of our spiritual strength as well. It is nice to know he cares about our spirits

Sister Thomas is super sweet, I can see her care and love for everyone. She has a super funny laugh and it's always nice to hear. My favorite part of her is her care for all though, her little brother has special needs, and it shows through her that it doesn't matter who it is, she loves them nonetheless. 

Sister Preator is really fun. She is never afraid to show her true side and I love that. I bonded with her really well, and it was nice to know I had a friend to turn to. She would tell me all about the elders she had little "crushes" on at the CTM. It would always make me laugh, and I would tease her about it. Then she would always tease me about marissa. She loves to hear about us. She also asked me to give her a blessing yesterday so that was cool. 

Sister Rosenlund is super funny. I love her personality, she has kinda become the mom of the district. She always made sure to come and shoot some baskets with me, and I always appreciated that. She reminds me of everyone from Utah, and I love that so much too, It's been nice to have a piece of that too.

Elder Koford is super funny. He is from New York, and because of that has given me hope. He tells stories of his friends doing some crazy things, and how he would still not participate. And that gives me hope for my children as this world seems to get darker and darker. Elder Koford always brings a lighter feeling to the world, and I love the Joy he does.

Elder Christofferson (yes the grandson of Elder Christofferson) is super cool too. It is nice to have someone who shares a love for reading, and has knowledge of weird things like I do. He is super talented at the piano and so that is super super cool.

My companions are the best, and are definitely who I am going to miss the most. Elder Noble and Elder Keyser have blessed my life in so many different ways. I have loved to see the light and spirit they bring to our discussions. We can always joke around too, and have some fun when times seem difficult. I love them both so much and hope that I can serve with them again sometime. 

I love you mom, and I love the family as well. I hope you guys are all safe, and I pray for you every day. 

-Elder DeGraw

We sent Kyle an american pizza to celebrate his last week in the CTM. 

One month in Brazil!

We had the chance to video chat with Elder DeGraw yesterday! He looked great!

He said they spent the day at the Campinas Temple. He said that even though it is a couple hours there and a couple hours back, he appreciated the "down time" to close his eyes and just breath. He mentioned that its nice to be outside the walls of the CTM, even if its in a van. He told us that earlier this week, they were all excited because they were scheduled to travel in a van to a neighborhood where they could do some proselyting. He said they were all loaded in the van, when they were told that due to the Corona virus they were cancelling the trip in order to be precocious.

Elder DeGraw with his district visiting the Campinas temple on PDay.

Campinas Temple

 He told us about an orange fruit they serve there that the missionaries call "satan fruit"-- I'm pretty sure its papaya-- and I'm predicting Elder DeGraw will learn to love it over the next few months. He ate an entire bowl-full on a dare and said he only gagged a couple times.

Kyle with his Companions, Elder Noble & Elder Keyser

Elder DeGraw's 2 Brazilian roommates left, and were replaced by 2 new roommates from Brazil. He said that the down side of that is that he doesnt know them and so he has to be a little more careful about locking up his stuff. It is unfortunate, but there is a lot of theft at the CTM. Elder Christofferson had his credit card stolen. A sister in his district had her passport bag and all her cash (hundreds) taken the first week. Luckily we were warned about this ahead of time-- so Kyle was aware-- but its not fun to have to always be on guard. Each missionary has a safe, plus we sent Kyle with luggage locks. He said with the bars on the walls, the regimented routine/rules, same meals, and the fact that you have to lock up your stuff makes it feel a little prison-like. He has 2 weeks to go, and while he has really loved his time in the CTM, I think he is looking forward to getting to Piracicaba.

Week 3

Elder DeGraw is doing well. He is liking his companions and loving Brazil. He said that it’s been really rainy, which is keeping them from their exercise time, but he’s also enjoying playing games.

They have a shop across the street (Mr Cheney’s) that we ordered a milk shake for Kyle and then he went over there on his PDay to pick it up. So, hopefully he felt a little love from home. That is where the picture was from.

Week 2

Rainy day in Sao Paolo.

Elder DeGraw in his soccer jersey

Visit to the Campinas temple

Elder DeGraw with his companions and roomates

I {finally} got to video chat with Elder DeGraw yesterday. He said that that morning they went to the Campinas temple-- which is about 2 hours away-- and it was awesome, but as a result, he didnt have much time to do any of the ususal P-Day things. He hadn't even eaten anything other than breakfast because they were traveling. (It was almost 5:00 his time when he called). So... that means no email to post this week, but I wanted to share some of the info that he told me. He said the Campinas temple was beautiful. He liked it a bit more than the Sao Paolo one that he went to last week. He chose to do the session in Portuguese, and was able to follow along well enough.

I asked him about his trip down...

He said on the flight from Idaho Falls to SLC he met another missionary, Elder Christofferson (Elder D Todd Chirstofferson's grandson). When they got to the Salt Lake Airport, they said good-bye. Kyle then flew to JFK and then from JFK to Sao Paolo all on his own. His flight landed at 8 in the morning! Once he made it through customs, he ran into Elder Christofferson again. They waited and waited at the CTM pick up location, but no one was there. The two of them went to Burger King, and came to wait some more. Finally the transport van came-- it had been delayed due to the intruder at the CTM that morning. He said that the drivers are crazy and the traffic was crazy. He finally made it to the CTM around 4 pm. So, he wasn't there when the intruder broke in-- which Kyle said he was so grateful for because everyone who was there (basically everyone) has had to go for a psychological evaluation and (if needed) further counseling.

I asked him about the food...

He said they have panini or pancakes every breakfast. They don't have peanut butter in Brazil, so my parents sent Kyle with a bunch of little PB to-go packs. Kyle said he brought one down to have with his breakfast and everyone was coveting his peanut butter. For lunch they have the main meal. Beans and rice with some type of meat. He said it is good. Dinner they serve American food, but he said they aren't getting it quite right. Its "Brazilian American food". The worst thing hes had so far is hot dogs.

I asked about the CTM and a typical day...

He said they are supposed to speak Portuguese as much as possible. I could tell learning the language (and the pressure to learn the language) has been overwhelming to him. He feels like he isnt getting it as well as others are. I'm sure hes doing better than he realizes, but I feel concerned that my son who has always looked at life with a pretty easy breezy attitude is telling me he is really stressed. He said that they wake up at 6:30, but he is waking at 5:30 to try to study more. They get ready and have breakfast at 7:15. Class from 8:30- lunch, then more class until about 5:00. After 5, they have dinner, exercise, companionship study, etc.. They go to bed around 10:00.On most P-Days they can go out on the streets within a few parameters, and visit shops. He went across the street last week and bought a cookie that was as big as his head.

He said he rooms with his companions (Keyser and Noble) and 2 other missionaries-- one from Brazil and one from Bolivia. I asked their names and he said he didn't know. He said he isn't a huge fan of those two. Kyle has always been my kid who makes friends no matter where we are... so I was surprised by that info.

Lastly, he said that he has had a sore throat since he got there-- so hopefully that clears up!

It was mostly just good to see his smile and hear his laugh. I asked if he was happy and he quickly said yes! He is loving Brazil.

THAT'S MY BOY!