Wk 16 - Parnaiba take 2

Area: Parnaiba, Brazil

Companion: Elder Passarin

Well guess what?! im still here in Parnaíba with Elder Passarin. So let me explain just how this last week went down....

Monday we went to eat out with a member and things just went downhill. We were a good 40 min walk from our house when it hit 9 o clock. Turns out we didnt get to our house till about 10 30 and i just felt horrible. I was with my comp and elder melo still and anyway it was a rough night.

Tuesday morning we got a call from the mission President about exchanges. We heard that we are picking up an American at 8pm for elder melo. So turns out we got elder Roberts that was elder blackhams comp. So he is now with us. This day was kind of a long day and we didnt get much done.

Wednesday my comp was up and down and all over again. It was a crazy day and i couldnt help but think that this is going to be a long transfer. But that night i was just thinking that maybe im here for a reason and i need to help him. So i pretty much straight up talked to him and asked what was his deal. Why he was always mad and happy and anyway i just straightened things out with him.

Thursday things improved a ton. With the Christmas decorations starting to appear, i think it helps a little because we are getting into the Christmas spirit. I talked to him again about how we can stay happy and so now things are a lot better.

Friday was a good day and we were still getting along, even though we are very different people, we have the same purpose here in the mission. Our investigators i thought were progressing and we had a couple of good talks with Lucas and another Irlanda. ( i will explain about them in a bit) So with things getting better, my comp decided that we should have a fake fight to mess with Elder Roberts. Ended up being an epic fail, but whatever it was pretty funny.

Saturdays here are pretty empty. Everyone goes to the beach and all the stores close at noon. On sat, sundays, and holidays, the streets are empty. Everyone is either in the house sleeping or at the beach. So it was another good day with my comp and we had some good lessons. That night we watched the Restoration movie and it seriously was so strong. It is cool that no matter how many times i watch a movie or hear that story, it hits me hard and with the same spirit every time. And we watched this movie with Ciro and Vanessa who came to church last week with a member in our ward that just invited them. We talked to them and they just want a new life they said. This gospel is perfect for that! i was honestly super excited. Turns out he had work the next day and so they werent at church, but i hope they progress.

Sunday we went to go pick up Lucas again. This time he was up and all, but he was babysitting his little brother is what he said. So that will be pretty tough to keep going with him... but i have hope that he will change. So in my opinion, something i heard in the MTC, is that if we arent following our own mission rules, or keeping our commitment to follow the rules, how can we expect our investigators to keep their commitments. So hopefully i can continue to follow the rules and help my comp a little more. To be honest, i have just kind of been his friend and tried not to go against him in anything, but i will try this next week to help him follow the rules a little more. I really feel that he changes when we have the spirit super strong with us, and he even mentioned it to me a couple of times this week that he was feeling the spirit and it was nice. So lets do that all the time! Anyway we had a couple of italians in church though which are friends of a member. They are super cool and one speaks english. So we are going to go visit them this week. My comp absolutely loves italy so he was super happy to talk with them. That afternoon my comp wasnt feeling good so we went to the house to rest for a while.

So things are getting better with the companion and i think that is interesting. I really think it is important to humble yourself and this is from some advice that i got from Wesley moss this week was pretty sweet. It helps so much to hear these pointers and stuff. I honestly dont know if ill be really good friends with my comp after the mission, but i do need to get along with him now. So i will focus on my faults and try to do all that i can do and thats all i can do.

I am still missin the snow! and i sing ´Im dreamin of a white christmas´ to myself quite a bit. haha. But all is well.

Thanks for all the prayers and advice! i feel so strengthened, especially this past week with all of the prayers and the advice i read today. I will definitely use it!

I know i have one package that is at the other Parnaiba house for the past week, so i will get that tomorow at district meeting! wohoo!! Thanks mom love ya!

SPECIAL SHOUTOUT TO JENNIFER STACEY! WOHOO PARTY ON! GOOD LUCK!

So now all that changed in our house is we got the new american elder in our house. I really like to talk with him about things, but i have to be careful because my companion gets jealous or something when i talk to other people.

Love you all and have a great day! HAPPY THANKSGIVING

ELDER SMOOT