The latest from Ryan

Hello family! " Oi, minha familia" :)

This past week went by so incredibly fast! i cant believe it's monday again! As far as the language, it is coming along! Im really trying to rely on the Lord..and i have felt his influence strongly! honestly nothing really spectacular happened this week,everyday in the MTC is pretty much the same! haha i do have one complaint....the foood! the sunday food is especially the worst! so i enjoyed a couple of bowls of cereal last night for dinner! i would do anything to even have Reubs specialty sphagetti! haha

i teach about 2 lessons per day in portuguese with my companions...im am beginning to speak more and more which is awesome! went to the temple this morning finally! it has been closed for the holidays the past few week!

Im so happy you got to talk to the boys! i heard from kim this past week which was awesome! let them know i love them and miss them! i hope all is well for them. its really nice being able to see them. Yes church was great yesterday! the spirit is always so strong here.

i love you all so very much and hearing from you makes me so happy. Yesterday i taught my district a lesson on gratitude, and i realized and reflected on how blessed i have been in my life.I am so grateful for my family! i am also so grateful for all my friends and people that are in my life! :) Mom, i am writing you a letter so i will write more! i am mailing it today. I still cant believe ive almost been here a month! sorry if my emails arent good enough! i try hard to say as much as i can in the limited time i have plus the space bar im using is terrible so it takes longer! hahaha anyways i love you so much and you are in my prayers every single day! hopefully ill hear from you this week :)

your son,Elder Ryan Murray

Today's letter from Ryan

heyy! thanks so much for the pictures! HAPPY NEW YEAR! i cant believe its already 2012! it's so crazy! This past week was good! i had my ups and my downs but in all they are always great because the spirit is so strong! Dont worry about sending me to much mail or clogging up my email! it doesnt bother me at all! :)

Yesterday was a motivating moment for me..i dont want to be just a normal missionary..i want to be the best missionary i can be and one that the lord can trust and count on. i was asked to give my first blessing this past week...a sister in my branch asked me to give her one..OMG i cant even explain the feeling, i felt a burning throughout my chest. The spirit was so strong. After the blessing she turned got up and had tears running down her face and i had so much compassion and love in my heart. 5 minutes later i had no idea what i had said..she told me later that i said things that no one else knew about to comfort her. It was such an amazing experience. The spirit of the Lord was in the room, we all felt it. I cant wait to get out into the field and help the people of Brazil! But i need to work hard to get the language so i can be an effective tool in the hands of the Lord.

I will try my best to send pictures next week! the computers were packed today so i had to wait and go to the Labs and i have to make it quick! i will send a letter this week! :) Give all my love to the family and friends..Give michael a hug for me...i felt so bad when i heard his mom died. I will keep him and his family in my prayers. Yeah a blog sounds awesome! i promise i will send pictures next week so you can get that started! :) i love you so much!

ps. that mother/son bonding time sounds amazing for when i get back! :)

Meeting up with friends

Ryan ran into Bishop Loveridge's parents who are leaving to Armenia!

First Letter

Well i have survived my first week in the MTC! I must say i missed you all dearly but i am definitely doing much better! my companion elder petersen got his VISA last thursday and he is leaving tomorrow! im excited for him! im thinking and praying my visa will come in the next few weeks! i love my district, there are 2 other elders and 4sisters in my district. I was called to be district leader by the branch presidency. i must say learning portugues is a challenge! Eu estou gratos por a meu salvador jesus cristos. :) we learned how to pray on the second day! MY instructor's name is brother johansen.the first day he didnt speak any english to us! it was crazy haha on the second day we had to teach an investigator! i understood most but i couldnt speak much! the spirit is so strong here. yesterday was amazing. first sunday and it was definitely the spiritual boost i needed! The night fireside was awesome! i got the package today! i didnt look throught it all but thank you so much for the laundry bag mom! i love you! I was going to ask for you to send it but you were on it! it is true that mothers know best ;) i hope everything is going well at home! give everyone my love and let them know i miss them. The food here is okay.....nothing special! I definitely cannot wait to get out into the field though! I have finally realized i need to use all the time i have in the MTC to prepare to serve the lord in the way he wants me too.It is going to take a lot of hard work though! the gift of tongues will come as long as i work hard and put all my faith in heavenly father. I have met a lot of nice elders and sisters. i saw sister cox yesterday and ive seen elder hogge quite a few times! i love you all so much and you are all in my many prayers i say daily.. I still cant believe im on my mission, It seems surreal at times. Again i love you and i hope heavenly father blesses you with the things you need. i cant wait to hear back from you! love you. -Elder Murray