Companion: Elder Braga
So im getting to know the area a little more and meeting people and this week was a lot more exciting then last week!
Last tuesdayi just remember we set up a baptismal date with a girl named eliane. She is really cool, about 27 and was married but got divorced and has a kid. She really eats up about everything we teach her, and the first time we taught she accepted to be baptised, so i hope it continues good, but a lot of the times it is what we like to call snakes. A snake is a girl that kind of does what the missionaries say because we are boys and she is girl... get it? So i am hoping it isnt a situation like that, but it is looking pretty good so far and normally they dont accept baptism if they are a snake. Anyway, we were walkin down the street and i almost stepped on this giant iguana. First i saw its tail and thought it was a snake, but then i saw the body. I mean it was probobly one of the biggest iguanas ive seen yet.
Wednesday Elder Almeida went to Teresina for training for 2 days so we had elder Magalhães with us. It rained hard that day and there was some really cool lighting. The lightning here lights up the whole sky i like it a lot.Also there was a crazy part of the day we were walking across this field and all of the sudden stuff started flying past our heads! I couldnt tell if it was someone with a sling shot or a BB gun, but it was pretty intense and i couldnt see where it came from, but obviously we were protected haha.
Thursday.... we walked to the end of the world and back. Sometimes i feel like we just walk forever. Some houses can take about an hour walking just to get there. So some days, like thursday, i was really tired so the long walk took forever. But it turned out to be a pretty good day.
Friday guess what??? Elder Almeida came back from Teresina with all 4 of my Packages! and with that was 5 letters. JACKPOT. Man i never new how cool it was to receive packages and letters haha but it was awesome. It was a basic day after that, but it made it a whole lot better. All of the presents were awesome! I will use the Plan of Salvation puzzle and the candy was sweet. I am trying to jump rope too... but i havent done it more than 30 sec yet.
Saturday it rained a ton again.... I am thinking about buying an umbrella haha.... just maybe. But it was an awesome day and even was the birthday of Eliane (our investigator) and so we passed there to wish her a happy birthday and she like gave us food and stuff. It was pretty awesome not gonna lie! But i will be honest. So far my problem hasnt been eating to little, but eating too much. I am always full, but there is always food to eat so i eat it... but its better then not enough!
Sunday... We get to church a little late, ya my comp slept in, and we go into class. I sit down next to the Branch pres and he says, ´are you ready for your talk´ i was like what! your joking! he said ´i dont beleive it´ I guess Almeida forgot to tell me! So i spent the time in class preparing a talk about missionary work. Luckily we had class before sacrament meeting! It actually turned out super good! the one i did in parnaiba was really not that good, even though i had time to prepare. I feel like when i get up to give a talk in portuguese, it is way better if i just have ideas and rely on the spirit to help me. It really was a gift of the spirit! I felt like i spoke clearl y and got out all of the thoughts i wanted to and even talked for almost 10 min. Its crazy! I never would have thought i could do this. But thats not the end of the day. After church, we went to lunch as usual. This time in a members house, her name is Glenia. I showed her my pictures, really common to do with members here, and she showed me hers of old missionaries that passed through and other things. I was flipping through and guess what? there was Elder Washburn! haha it was pretty cool. She showed me a notebook she kept with little letters from the missionaries and i saw his little letter for her and man it was pretty cool. Turns out quite a few people in the area remember him. So that was an exciting day.
Today, as you see in some of the pics, we went to this little museum on the edge of the town and it had that red bridge thing over the road. I love how the missionaries like to do stuff here. This morning we played basketball and then went to the mini museum after. My last area we went to internet, grocery shopping, then home. this is way better!
So a little more about my comp. He is from São Paulo and he owns a factory that does aerosal cans. He is a good missionary... but he loves to sleep in! I have to admit it is pretty hard when i see him sleep in. I always get up, but sometimes after i eat i lay back down for a little. I feel like we have been a little lazy, but it is getting better. It really is way better still though. After my first two transfers, i am still lovin life here! Elder Almeida is a stud and he is from Bahia. He is pretty big and good at soccer. Elder Magalhães loves basketball and is a tall white brasilian... pretty uncommon. But he is cool too and he is from São Paulo.
btw. thanks for the videos last week they were awesome!
So my bug zapper broke... first it was just a problem with the button, but i think it was a problem with certain people in my house spraying water on it to make it spark! But no worries. I just went and bout another one of 11 reais in the Carvalho market. It is recharchable and pretty powerful. I use it a lot haha.
The work here is moving, but i feel like it could be moving faster. I feel sometimes like we are a little lazy, but its kind of how the missions been so far. A little disappointing numbers and what not... but ill pull through here soon enough and get this goin hopefully. I still feel pretty new in the mission and i am still learning a lot.
So my district is us 4 and 2 sisters who are in Altos. So its pretty small but i like it. Our zone is one with people in teresina. I am still not really sure how the branch works... like if they are part of a district or whatever. If i ever find out i will let you know.
Dad thats awesome you have so much going on with work! It helps a lot to keep busy with things, even though the stress is no fun. I pray that things go well for you and that you continue to enjoy work, because for me its important to enjoy the work.
So i guess you didnt get that map showing more or less where our house is located? We live pretty close to the Bus station and the church...
About Joseph Smith... Really there is tons and tons of material on him mom. Basically what we say about him is that he was a young man that had doubts about religions and he wanted to know the purpose of his life on earth. He did his part by searching out all of the churches and reading in the bible and read that scripture in James 1:5. He read, pondered, then prayed, and God responede, because he prayed with faith. So basically Joseph Smith was prepared by God to be a prophet and restore the gospel. The last two paragraphs of the introduction of the Book of Mormon are really cool too. That basically if we read, ponder and praysincerely, we will know that Jesus Christ is our savior and Redember, Joseph Smith is a true prophet, and that The Church of Jesus Christ is true... Im not really sure what else to share! Just read some material and it helps a lot!
And Happy Birthday T. Austin! Man i miss that kid so much. I did get an email from Laurie so i will send a quite note for him. Man i cant beleive we are getting so old! I swore i would never be a grown man... but look whats happening... darn.
Well the days are goin by pretty fast! P days come and go like nothin! Hope you have an awesome week and keep up the good work.
with love,
Elder Smoot
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