Elder Jacob Hillstead

  Siri, can you tell me what time it is? I’m just joking you guys, we don’t get Siri out here. But it’s okay cause I already know the time, and it’s time for another Elder Hillstead Mission Email! A good ol’ E.H.M.E. So what’s new this week you say? Well this last week had a ton of great moments. I’m getting the hang of the missionary lifestyle more, speaking and listening a little better each and every day, and getting that testimiony crazy strong. The language learning process is long and tiring, but I’m taking President Nelson’s advice and doing 1% better each and every day. The Portuguese word of this week is “Sotake,” which means accent. This is the word this week because my Sotake absoutely stinks, and I didn’t realize how necessary accents were to understand others before but now I do. Sweet, combined with last week's email, you guys now know 2 Portuguese words! That’s about as much as I do. But see I’ve realized learning Portuguese is just a simple 4-step process: I just ne...

Well guys today's the day. Not THE day, but the day before the day. Tomorrow is the day that I head out of the MTC, and start the trek to Belém to start off the new life, which makes TODAY the final day of the MTC. Honestly I love this place. Sometimes it gets a bad rep, but overall the MTC accomplishes it's purpose and then some. I really enjoyed all the lessons I learned, testimonies heard and perspectives shared, and 100% feel more prepared for Brazil now than I did when I arrived, which is the whole goal. All of the people here have such a purpose and drive to be successful, I've for sure been inspired in my time here to be a hard worker and to make the most of the time I've already set aside to be a Missionary. I've only got one recommendation for this place though, that I really think could be the cherry on top. You know how at Disney Land they have speakers everywhere playing Disney music, so that you're really immersed in the environment? I think they ne...

Fala Tudo Mundo! It's official, Brazil IS in fact a real place in the world and I'm reporting to you live from the heart of Belém currently as proof of that. What a week it’s been! Since the last time I sent out an email, so much has happened.     First, I had to find some sort of way to actually get to Brazil. I had the idea to walk but that probably would have taken too long. Luckily, the MTC provided a travel plan for me to get here which was a big weight off my back. Last Tuesday me and the other Missionaries in our travel group woke up at 3 in the morning, dark and early. We took a bus to the Frontrunner, and a Train to the Trax, which got us to the airport, which got us to a flight to Atlanta, then Sao Paulo, then Belem. A quick 30 hour travel day never hurts. And so I arrived! When me and the travel group left the baggage claim area of the Belem Airport, there were a bunch of other missionaries from the area and also President and Sister Ribolla there to greet us i...

  What is up everyone. This is Elder Hillstead reporting to you LIVE from Provo, Utah, thank you for tuning in for yet another week of this adventure of mine it's great to have you all here once again. This week has had so many highlights and a lot of fantastic things I'm excited to share with you all! First and most notably, this week had so so many good talks and lessons. Since my email last week my wisdom has gone up tenfold, like in the Grinch how his heart grows 3 sizes but it's with my brain. This Tuesday we had a lesson from Elder Boom, one of the members of the Quarum of the 70, about how there are so many people in the world whose lives could be blessed from the Gospel, and how we've gotta work hard on the mission to acomplish the work the Lord has set out for us, and making the most of his time.  He also shared about how comparison is the thief of joy which will never not be a good message to recieve.      We also had the super cool experienc...

That title is no lie folks. Officially 2 weeks left until I'm off to the real world. Pretty scary but I'm so excited for Brazil and feel like I've made good progress here at the MTC! This week has been a pretty standard one, cause when you're this far along in the process the days are basically groundhog day. Since I don't have a lot to report on this week, I want to share a spiritual message with you all that was really powerful to me from this week.  If you can learn how the spirit speaks to you, the power and direction you gain in life will be immesrable. A lot of the time when an idea randomly comes to our mind, we question whether it's from us or whether it's the spirit trying to give us a message. Elder Bednar taught us that we should try not to overcomplicate this question, and that a quick way to judge the ideas that come to mind is this: If the idea even has the POTENTIAL to bless you or other peoples lives, then follow it. Sometimes you won't s...