Braden will be leaving for Brazil on Tuesday August 30th!! Please start writing him there. His email wll be the same, here is his new address.

Elder Braden Knudson
Missão Brasil São Paulo Interlagos
Rua Eusébio de Souza, 121
Jardim Londrina
São Paulo, SP
05638-100
Brasil

Please write.

Week 3

Óla Everyone!
this has been a pretty awesome week! i don't even know where to start!
yes, all the elders in my district are going to brazil, and all but 3 are going to my area! i'm not sure about the stamps and envelops bc i don't know how all that is supposed to work down in brazil so we'll see about that one
we get to go to the temple once a week! it is awesome! i love it!
we have devotionals every sunday and tuesday evenings! on sunday we had a general authority speak on the importance of obedience and following the spirit, it was a great talk, he was a pretty funny guy too!
don't worry, my clothes still fit! hehe! but there is always SO MUCH FOOD here! it is very hard to portion sometimes! but the downside is that the food gives you pretty bad gas... and when you stick 11 Elders in a room together... you get the idea! hehe!

so this friday i found out i got my VISA!!!!!!!! i was so happy! so this is how it went!
our district leader got the mail for us around lunch and walk in for during our study time and said that 2 people got their visas and told us to guess. immediately my heart went to my throat and some one guessed me and one of my companions, he said one of them was right and since i knoew my comp was having a little trouble with his i knew it was me!!!!!!!!!! and the other one that will be comeing with me is Elder Nielson! so later that day i went to the travel office just to make sure that it was real and not some practical joke, so i went in and asked a ladie who was a little busy if my travel plans means that i got my visa, she said no, and that that could just be a optimistic thing, immidiately my heart sank and i almost felt like thowing up, but then i talked to a different guy who went and checked on the computer if i got it and he came back and said that i did have my visa! i felt like i was floating out of the office!!!!!
so i leave from SLC at 12:50p and get to dallas tx at 4:30p
then i leave from Dallas at 7:40p and get to Sao Paulo at 7:40 am... long flight!!!!!!!!! but i am so excited! i cannot wait to be in brazil! i am pretty nervous! 1 cause of the super long flight time 2 cause i haven't been out of the country before!

so my basic schedule here is
630 wake up
800 breakfast
1245 lunch
545 dinner
and between them i have and hour of gym, 2-3 hours of personal study, two 3 hour blocks of Classroom instruction, an hour of TALL (tech assisted language learning), and 30 min of daily plannig time

i am beggining to realize just how much our Heavenly Father loves us! the Book of Mormon is amazing! it has such potential to bring joy into our life! Scripture of the week! 2 Nephi 32:3

i love you all!!!!!!!!
Elder Knudson

VISA... AT LAST!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Querido Familia!

Hoje, I got my........VISA! It was a pretty crazy day and it is late so I can't write much, and you'll prob get my email before this too! But I leave on August 30th. 13 hours of flight time! I'm so excited and nervous all over again! I love you all so much! Thank you for all the Dear Elders and the package! Don't worry more info to come about the Visa!

I love you all!

Obrigado!

Elder Knudson!

Week 2 Letter @ the MTC

hello everyone!!!!
this week has been pretty eventful, and i probably wont remember half of the stuff that went on this week, but i'll do my best. so my companions names are Elder Ogasawara, he's from japan, and Elder Cox, from Seatle Washington.
it is really hard to think back on a specific day and tell you about it cause all of the days are muddled together... i'm starting to get into the swing of things and figuring out how i study best! the spirit here is so amazing and so uplifting! we have a fireside every sun night and a devotional on tuesdays, this sunday we had the mtc director speak to us, he spoke about doing everything we can that PERHAPS we might bring people unto Christ. he talked about how success is not measured by how may baptisms we have or how many lessons we teach, but how pleased the Lord is with our efforts! he said that missionaries tend to think that there is a formula to missionary work, that if they put in X amount of hours they will get X amount of baptisms or whatever, he said their is NO garunteed baptisms, he talked about how all the great missonaries in the Book of Mormon had their attitudes while on their missions, they did all that they coud so that "perhaps" someone might come unto christ and listen to their words. it is difficult to have that type of attitude to give everything you have and expect nothing in return, but i am working on it and i hope by the time i leave for Brazil that i have got it down pretty well! I am doing this so that those people that i talk to will have the chance to choose to come unto Christ, but because they have their agency they can also choose not to. i feel so blessed to know that my Savior has trusted me with the responsability to take his work to the people of São Paulo Brazil!
this past week my testimony has grown so much! it still amazes me how you can feel so strongly about something one day and then the next you feel even stronger! i love this gospel and the message that it brings and the joy that comes from living those teachings!
the language is moving right along! slowly and surely along with lots of hard work! But again, the Lord continues to bless me! He has enabled me to learn so much in 2 weeks that it is quite shocking! yesterday we taught 2 lesson, one was a surprise spur of the moment and one was planned, but both ernt very well, me and my companions were strengthened and were belssed to have the guidence of the Holy Ghost and we were able to successfully give a 30 min lesson about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith in broken prtuguese, but the investigator was able to understand what we were teacking and the spirit testified of the truthfullness of our teachings! it was truely amazing to feel the Spirit of the Lord work through me and my companions to touch the hearts of our investigators!
I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lords church restored in its fullness here upon the earth! i know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that through the power of the priesthood he was able to tranlate the Book of Mormon! i know that everyone can experience more joy from this gospel than through any other means!
I love you ALL!!!!!!!
Love, Elder Knudson

Elder Knudson Spotting at the MTC!

Our good friend Nick Bond works at the MTC in Provo, He has been on the hunt to see Braden all week! He finally tracked him down today at lunch! Thanks so much Nick! We love this pictures! So glad you found him!
I tracked him during his lunch time. He sounds like he's doing great; he's loving the language and teaching. He also said he cried when he read your letter and for me to thanks you for sending it.

I took this right before he knew I was standing there... he had like three different drinks on his plate (taking advantage of all the free food :-)

HAHAHA!! This is great!!

Everyone write Braden a letter. :)

Provo, UT, MTC Aug 3, 2011

My Sister Anita picked Braden up at the SLC airport!

She met Sally for breakfast then took him to the MTC in Provo!

He was SO ready to go and so excited to get there!!

Departure day! Sacramento Airport Aug 3, 2011

Arriving at the Sacramento Airport! 5 am

Braden's flight was EARLY! 6:20 am! We had to have him there by 5 am. We were all so excited to see him start his mission to Brazil, but saying goodbye was HARD!

As we drove to the Airport I started to worry about Braden having never flown before! He did Fly once with me when he was 2 but can't remember it!

So I was telling him all you have to do to go through security, like take off your shoes, & Belt and Watch. Get a tray and put everything in it, your bags and everything have to go through the scanner... It was at that point I realized he was just going to have to go for it & I couldn't be there to help! He is an adult after all! So I prayed a silent prayer in the car that he would have help if he needed it, That I was turning him over to Heavenly Father now and Please send him help if he needs anything in the airport.

As we were saying goodbye and he headed off to security a woman in a blue security uniform came up to us and asked us if we were sending our son off for 2 years?

"Yes" I cried! She said she had a daughter that just got home. Then she asked if he had eaten breakfast? My tearful reply, "I don't know" ( I forgot he had me make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before we left).

So she said she would take care of him!

I cried even more as I watched her go around and wait for him, He says she called him Elder and it surprised him, Then she told him what he needed to do.




She took him after he got through security and bought him a little breakfast, then took him to the gate! Sometimes Heavenly Father answers my prayers in a way that leaves me speechless! I was grateful for that answer!

It was probably more for me than Braden I know that & I feel so grateful!

We love you Braden!