Hello World!!! I Promise I´m still alive!!!

[It has been confirmed that Elder Chiba is only allowed to e-mail immediate family members so this post is from the family e-mail.]

Hello!!!

So, last week, I tried to send an email and it failed terribley. (I´m not sure, but I think my English spelling skills are declining) Anyway, so, last week I used the email center at the CTM and there was a thirty minute time limit and right when I was typing my name and about to send the email off, the computer kicked me off and deleted my message. So, this week I´m at Mr. Cheney´s cookie shop/internet cafe across the street. There is no time limit here. I have to pay, but it´s totally worth it. Don´t worry it´s not that expensive. Anyway, I hope this email makes it to you alright.

Oh, just in case you were wondering, CTM stands for Centro de Treinamento Missionários. São Paulo is really amazing. On our P-Day (Preparation Day, essentially a free day to take care of the necessities that are not directly related to sharing the gospel) we´re allowed to go around the neighborhood that surrounds the CTM. I´m really happy, and I think it´s because this is where I´m supposed to be. The weather here is perfect. It reminds me of Hawaii. There are some crazy big moths that I´ve seen. Just the other night there was one on the ceiling in the auditório and it was bigger than my hand.

This morning we had the chance to go to the São Paulo Temple. It´s so beautiful. Oh, I´m not sure if you´ve heard or not, but I am the district leader of our very large distrito of 5. Well actually, we got three new additions today that arrived from Provo. Two of which are from the Bay Area, and of the two is Elder Jens Karrens. We haven´t really had time to see them yet, except for in passing in the cafeteria. But, we have class tonight at 6. My companion Elder Epperson is from Washington. He´s 1/4 Japanese, but you wouldn´t be able to tell by looking at him because he´s blond and has blue eyes. He´s chill though, so it´s all good. There aren´t too many people here at the CTM. We´re at around 10% of missionário capacity. Max is either 600 or 700, but tomorrow we´re getting about 50 more Brasileiro Missionários. I hope Daniel has finished his visa stuff. That´s the main reason why there were people stuck in provo. Although, I heard that they finally got about 200 missionaries cleared, but I heard that they are being straight to the field because they´ve been in the MTC in Provo for so long. It rains at least once everyday. By rain, I mean downpour.

Oh! Here´s a fun fact, the CTM is the largest church building outside the U.S. aside from the temples, and it´s still expanding. In the room next to mine are 6 Brasileiro Missionários. They are muito legal (very cool). Three of which are also going to Teresina. Oh!!! On the flight down here, we met two missionaries that were returning to Teresina. They had been serving in the Salt Lake Temple Square Mission. So, we were instantly friends. We also ran into some missionaries that were returning home from Brasil. But, we didn´t talk to them for very long because they were on their way to get their baggage or conecting flights.

It´s only been about two weeks since I´ve been gone, and I feel like I should be fluent in Português already, only because it feels like I´ve been here for a few months already. Classes are really long, but they are great. It´s so much information. My brain sometimes goes into overload by the end of the day. We have two main instructors. In the morning we have Irmão(brother) Diniz and in the evening we have Irmã (sister) Amato. Every once in a while Irmão Peçanha helps us out. He is one of the most inteligent people I´ve ever met. They´re all Brasileiros and the are all muito altimo (very awesome). I´ve got a pretty good grasp of the language pronouncing wize, and I can kind of communicate. It´s fun though.

Tonight, I´m going to teach our Brasileiro friends the Ninja Destruction game. Currently, I´m in the process of translating the directions to play. It´s going kind of slowly.... well not really, I mean I think I´m doing pretty good considering I had no Idea what the language sounded like two weeks ago. But, I do have to look in the dictionary all the time and check my verb conjugation card. I love it here! Ok, well, actually, the CTM is kind of like a glorified prison, except we don´t get to have personal visitors. Hahahahaha. No, it´s great. It´s practically the safest place in São Paulo. Did you know that São Paulo has like 200,000,000 people?!?!?!? I might be exagerating by one 0, but I don´t think so. I though traffic during rush hour was bad back home. During rush hour here it takes about an hour to get some place it would normally take ten minutes. Not an exageration.

The Spirit here is amazing! Oh man, I love it so much!!! We´ll see in a few more weeks though. I don´t get to leave here until March, but I´m going to make the most of it while I´m here. Also, the people here are really cool. So, if I don´t make it home within 3 years don´t be surprised. Just kidding, I´ll have to come home because of visa issues and other missionaries needing to come here or something. Oh, this Saturday the General Young Men´s President will be here. I´ll be singing on Saturday. They´ve already had me sing prelude as well as play the flute for prelude twice. This Sunday I will take a hold of the CTM Choral reins and we will ride off into the Sunset. Anyway, I love you all, and miss you. May the Lord bless you and keep you until we meet again.

Love,
Elder Samuel H. Chiba

(p.s. the best part of sitting here at Mr. Cheney´s is that it smells like cookies and chocolate..... I think I´m going to get one.......)

Write Your Missionary!

Elder Chiba has safely arrived at the MTC in San Paolo Brazil. Both sets of parents have received a confirmation e-mail that Elder Chiba has arrived safely and will be well cared for. He will be at the MTC for a few months focusing much time on the language.

Here is the address where we can send him letters via the United States Postal Service, or USPS. Mail will not be accepted if sent by Fedex, UPS, DHL, or any other private carrier. (LETTERS ONLY - no packages for now, and e-mail is basically restricted to family) Writting Elder Chiba in the MTC and throughout his mission is a great way for him to really feel your support. If anyone has questions, feel free to write a comment. Go Sam!

Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Brazil Teresina Mission
District 1-A Box 13
Brasil CTM
Rua Padre Antônio D’Angelo, 121
Casa Verde, São Paulo, SP
Brazil 02516-040

There He Goes (Again)

The last minute change of MTC has changed yet again. Last night I got a phone call from Sam, or rather, Elder Chiba. He called me because he was unable to get in contact with my mother and older sister to notify someone that he was leaving for Brazil in the morning. Apparently his wait in UT was not much of a wait. Elder Chiba left the United States this morning and will begin his mission in the San Paolo Brazil Missionary Training Center.

Here I go!

Off I go to Provo Utah. I was originally supposed to go to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Sao Paolo Brazil. But, I got a call last week from President Green because my MTC had changed from the one in Brazil to the one in Utah. We originally thought the change was made because of visa issues, but alas, it twas not. Apparently they didn't have enough people going down when I was supposed to head down to hire a Portuguese teacher for English speakers, therefore I am going to Provo where I will start learning Portuguese until we gather enough people to travel down to Brazil all together. So, I was looking forward to the warm weather down south, but instead headed to a cold winter.... On the bright side of things, my buddy Garry Laugenour, and I are now heading to the same MTC together. Garry will be serving in the Monterey Mexico mission speaking Spanish. We received our mission calls about one week apart from each other (I being the latter), and are to report to the MTC on the 13th of January 2010. Originally, I was supposed to leave on the 12th because of the long arduous flight to Sao Paulo, but I've already explained that situation. It'll be nice though, I'll have a traveling buddy from here to Utah, he's great company. So, from here, I will fly to Salt Lake City UT, where my dear Aunt Patty will pick me up from the airport and drive me down to Provo. I'm supposed to report to the MTC by 12:45pm. This is way exciting except for the part where I just caught a cold. Total drag. Anyway, yesterday was exceptionally awesome. I started the day going up to the Oakland Temple with my father, then administering a priesthood blessing to a friend, and last minute shopping with my friend Kelly. Giving the blessing was an amazing experience. I had not done one before, and it's been a little over a year since I received the Melchizedek Priesthood. In the evening my family and I went to the Stake Center where I was set apart as a Missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So, now, I am officially Elder Chiba. Wow that's cool! Afterward I had a nice Japanese dinner with my family. I love them so much. Saying goodbyes are kind of weird, because it hasn't really hit just yet that I am leaving in a couple hours. It seems like I'm still here, which I am, but not for too much longer. I'm not dying or anything, just going away for a short while. While I'm gone, I think it'll feel like the end date is light years away, but in reality, two years will have passed us by in no time. It'll feel like I had just left, or that I hadn't been gone for very long. Time is weird, just two years ago I was starting my second semester at Southern Virginia University, and I have no idea where time went. Anyways, saying goodbye to my family is especially difficult because I love them more than I can express, and I will miss them terribly. (I was pretty emotional last night, earlier tonight? It's two a.m. right now, but technically that was yesterday I suppose.) But, at times like these when it feels like it will be forever until I see them again, I am comforted by the knowledge that I am sealed to my family for eternity. I am eternally grateful for the blessings of the temple, because there we can be sealed to our families for time and all eternity. So, it'll be a short while to be apart from them, and, the bigger picture, it's only a microscopic portion of time. So, I will manage. I hope and pray that everyone of my friends and family members stay safe and happy while I'm away. I'm not sure what my address is, email address is, or how I will be able to keep track of everyone's email and mailing addresses. Once I find out my contact information is, my dear sister Christy will post it after I email her. Until next time, God be with you til we meet again.

Love,

Elder Chiba

Anxious?

People keep on asking me how I feel or if I'm ready to go. I don't mind, but the truth of the matter is, I don't really know how I feel. I suppose I am excited and terrified, happy and sad, hungry and food coma. The fact is, I am just about every emotion right now. What that means is, that I am just chilling being Sam right now, keeping my emotions in a grab bag that is sealed shut. It's only sealed because I don't know which one to let out. As for the matter of if I am ready or not, I don't think I could ever be fully prepared. I'm just trying my best, and that's all that God wants of me (or of anyone for that matter), to try my best. So, that is what I am going to do. My mother shared with me some of her wisdom, and that is her philosophy of "I am here until I am gone." Which I think is pretty self explanatory, but just in case it doesn't make sense, she told me

"When you move frequently from place to place or you're leaving a place you love and going some place else or from one situation to another, it is easy to get distracted, confused, overwhelmed, upset, depressed, and it's hard to focus when you split your mind between places. So, I organize myself to get ready for the change, but my mind and focus stays here until I'm gone. And that way I can think clearly and enjoy the people and surroundings while I can, and I can stay happy and positive. So, to put it simply, I say to myself, I am here until I'm gone. It doesn't mean the procrastination of preparations for the change, but instead allows me to say emotionally connected to my surroundings. And that brings me peace. Then when I get to the new place I can enjoy the new phase of life. The new environment, the people, weather, routines, food and culture, the simple things of life. The key to happiness is to enjoy what you have while you have it, instead of worrying about losing or wishing you had something else. I am here until I am gone." So, in the mean time, I'm just going to be regular old Sam Chiba. When I go, I will be Elder Chiba. But don't fear, because even though you can't see it, Sam is there too, he's just behind the black tag, and will be home soon enough.