Elder Lundy's Apartment/Home

Pictures of Elder Lundy's Apartment/Home

Living room

The Closet room

The Kitchen

The Bathroom

The Bed room

Yeah, sorry about all the snacks that I left haha. The trees here are really starting to come to life and a lot of them are growing fruit. 

Question answering time

1 I'm using the Portuguese hymnal because I keep forgetting to use my mini one so I have to use the one a church. And yes I can sing in sacrament more or less.

2 I haven't really been studying either much recently but I'm starting to be better about it. To clarify I haven't really been using the books to study either of them but I've been practicing with the other Elders. 

3 The language is getting a little more difficult because people recognize me a little more now so they're not talking as slowly as they did when I first arrived.

4 I got my jeep shirt at a little shop near the MTC on my third or fourth p-day. There's a member lady who has a little shop specifically for missionaries. 

5 (What do I know about my companion?) Still not much. It's hard to communicate with the guys. I know he likes a bunch of the same anime as me. (not exactly what you were looking for, I know :P)

6 I'm sleeping alright now. Mainly because I'm always exhausted at night because I'm actually doing stuff now including getting out of bed at 6:30 every morning. But I still wake up around 5:50 to 6 every morning cause that's just when my body wakes up.

Okay, other than that... I'm apparently famous at a glasses shop in Taubaté now. Three of the Elders needed new glasses in the last two weeks so we were there a few times. One of the young men from the ward works there so he was introducing us to everyone and he always made sure that the people knew that I was from the U.S. haha. We were proselyting in a far off area and there were three employees waiting to take the bus to work and they saw us and were waving energetically.

Oh! I started reading the Book of Mormon on my second day in Taubaté and I finished it in 22 days! So now I've restarted it and I'm reading a chapter in English then rereading it in Portuguese. I accidently fell asleep while reading once and Elder D. Silva took a picture to use as blackmail or something and I came back at him with a scripture. 1st Nephi 1:7 when Lehi was "overcome by the Spirit" and returned to his house, collapsed on his bed and had a vision. :3 As Nephi said in 1st Nephi 19:23 we need to like the scriptures unto ourselves, so that's what I did haha.

And another thing. There's a man that I've seen at the bus station twice now that I'll be trying to talk to about the church if I see him again. He likes the appearance of foreigners so he waved us over the first time he saw me to say hi and introduce himself. We saw him a second time while we were walking home from something. He remembered me and said hi and stuff again. I was too nervous each time to really talk to him but I'll try harder next time.

OH!! I'm going to the Campinas Temple on Wednesday!!

I guess that's all! I love you!!!

Pindamonhangaba

(Sister C's letter arrived at home) - Ah!! You got the letter! Yeah she told us all that she was going to send all our mothers letters and she had us read them first before she sent them. She's in the Salvador mission. I think it's pretty far north in Brazil. Oh and the picture was while we were waiting to return from the São Paulo temple on p-day some time ago. 

(I asked Elder Lundy about the name of a city he was in and where it got its name from) -

There is a river in Pindamonhangaba so it's probably the second option. Churrasco was referring to pretty much any grilled meat and it was pretty good, not much different from grilled meat in the U.S. though.

Hooray for the new Baker baby!!!  - (Elder Lundy's cousin had a baby this past week)

The food's hitting me fine. I haven't been taking probiotics for a while now

Elder Matos is leaving for Caçapava today cause he's finally getting an official new companion. His old companion had to return to the hospital 2 times and has finally been sent home to heal. Poor guy is 18 and was only 3 months into his mission and he had a heart attack... not cool.

I haven't been talking much about who we've been teaching cause we haven't really been TEACHING much. We visit investigators every night but we usually end up just leaving them with a little message and a challenge. We did have one investigator come to church after he weakly said he'd think about it. We do have one investigator who's going to be baptized soon! His name is M...., he was one of the very first investigators I met. He and his family were the ones who fed me and my companion popcorn for dinner one of the first nights.

I'm in the Taubate 1st ward. (Ala means ward in Portuguese btw)

Oh btw I've officially lost 30 pounds since the start of my mission! (August 19th) I got a jump rope last week and I've set aside 7 to 7:30 each morning for jumping rope and working out.

I don't know if I told you this but I'm doing the ponderize challenge so my scripture this week is

Alma 1:26  And when the priests left their labor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of God. And when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God they all returned again diligently unto their labors; and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers, for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength.

Oh!! I started reading the Book of Mormon on the 30th of September and I'm already in 3rd Nephi.

Ermehgersh... I forgot to tell you! Our joking pronunciations of Nephi and Abinadi are nearly correct for português! Haha!

Okay so yesterday was an adventure..... We had a leadership meeting in Lorena (my companion is a district leader) While walking from the bus station in Lorena to their church building some drunk guys stopped us to talk. They focused on the foreigner (aka me) and explained how through God we're all connected. Then one gave me a "kiss of respect" on my cheek and the other, an older very shirtless drunk gave me a big hug.... It was very... interesting. And I've been assured that it was the first of many times that will happen. After the meeting we arrived at the bus station at 9pm. We waited for a bus that was supposed to arrive by 10 but by 12:30 it still hadn't arrived. So we took a taxi to half of the way to the Lorena Elders' casa and walked the rest of the way finally getting there and getting to sleep by about 1am. We got up at 7 (oops 30 minutes late) and got a bus to Taubaté at 9. It was definitely an experience......

Well I guess that's all I can think of right now...

I love you lots! 

Elder Matos has been really helpful

That's great about your talk! I wish I could have been there for it. And I'll definitely be praying for Uncle Jerry.

Okay to answer your questions... I didn't get to take a picture with my mission President, but I did have an interview with him where he asked about my thoughts on being a missionary and about my family (just cause he was curious)

Okay so we have a little house, not really an apartment (technically it's an apartment I guess but it's more like a little house) it's got a kitchen, one room with all our beds, two bathrooms, a living room/ study room, a room with all our clothes, and a laundry room. And fyi... I'm the only one who actually kinda sorta makes my bed :P

Elder Matos has been really helpful with teaching me Portuguese. He's been working on learning English so he talks to me in English most of the time and I respond in Portuguese and we help each other translate what we can't communicate.

Food... I don't really eat breakfast. We have lunch at a member's house everyday but p-day usually and lunch is the biggest meal of the day. Then I either have dinner with an investigator or every once in a while back at our house or just not at all. And I haven't really shopped for food much yet.

I haven't personally taught much yet, but I have shared some spiritual messages with the members who fed us lunch. 

So here's a story. Yesterday was a holiday in Brazil so none of the LAN houses (internet cafes) were open. We took a bus to Pindamonhangaba and joined the two missionaries from that area at a members house for churrasco. Before eating we played futebol. It was a game with 9 Brazilians and 1 American. And I surprised them all by being the first to score a goal! after that game we ate. Then we had a water balloon fight in the street. Luckily I wore my quick drying athletic clothes. Then we played futebol one more time and I scored again! About 10 goals were scored between the two games, and two of them were by me! So I learned that I can hold my own in a futebol game with Brazilians! (As long as they're not playing too seriously that is ha-ha)

OKays... I love you a lot!! byebye

This was the group of missionaries from yesterday.

Standing from left to right is
Elder Alves, Me, Elder Matos (my second Brazilian companion) Elder Bicca (a roommate).
In front, left to right, is
Elder D. Silva (roommate and companion of Elder Bicca)
Then Elder C. Santos (my trainer) and Elder Detoni (companion of Elder Alves) 

My first Companion - Elder Webster

My first Companion  - Elder Webster

Handmade Scripture case that Elder Lundy bought.

Sister's Hilton and Charles in front,

Elder Lundy Webster and Kebker in back.

Elder Lamb.

This guy and I are going to be author buddies in the future

What Elder Lundy Currently looks like.

Okay first off.... I'm really sorry for not putting up the I Love You hand sign when I left airport security. I can't express how sorry I am about that. Every time I think about it I start tearing up or even crying. I really do love you so much and I'm sorry for not saying it more.

And I knew you would say that about the hand sign but I needed to say what I said.

Anyway, I love you, I love you, I love you 

Okay...

So Elder C. Santos is 20 and has been on his mission for about 15 months I think. 

We're currently in a trio because another Elder in a nearby area needed a companion to stay with during this unexpected transfer because his companion had a heart attack and is currently being taken care of in the capitol.

So for the first time in my life I was actually excited for general conference. (and not only so I could rest my feet :P ) I actually got things out of it and I realized as each session ended that I wished it was longer! I watched the beginnings of most sessions in português until the english version was set up for me in another room. I only got to see the final session completely in english.

I'm in Taubaté. I think Guaratingueta is my zone currently.

General Conference was a live broadcast with a português dub over it, but the bishop set up a tv in another room that had the regular english version so I could understand.

So I'm taking up the ponderize challenge. My scripture this week is:  "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:" John 10:27

I'll be ponderizing in english and português.

My feet are starting to heal a little... OH! and my jeans that I brought barely fit now! I have to use my belt to keep them up and that barely works because my belt doesn't have a hole to make it really tight enough for me anymore.

Um.. I guess that's it for now...

I love you.

I told Elder Lundy about John being baptized this past Sunday...His responce "AH!!! AWESOME!! tell him congrats for me please!!"

Elder Lundy is in the Mission Field

Elder Lundy is in the Mission Field as of Tuesday this week! :)

1. Do we send letters to the Mission Home or somewhere else?

I think the mission home.

Elder Eric Robert Lundy

Brazil São Paulo East Mission

Rua Caa-Açu, 229 Belenzinho

-SP

Brazil

2. Did you spend the night on Tuesday in the Mission home?

I went to my new casa (house) in Taubaté Guaratinguetá.

3. Where is your first assignment? 

Look at number 2

4. What is your new companions name?

Elder C. Santos... There are many Elder Santos in Brazil so they Give the first letter too.

5. Where is he from?

Não sei ainda... (aka I don't know yet)

6.  Any other info on him? 

Like how long has he been on his mission? Mesmo resposta de numbro cinqo (aka same answer as number 5)

7. How many elders came from the MTC with you to your Mission?

    6 Elders (including me) and 4 sisters

8. Take a picture of your apartment, scripture case and especially your new companion.

You'll get pictures later... I didn't bring the right stuff from the casa to hook up my camera to the computer.

9. Assuming your language skill have a ways to go still - Does Elder C. Santos speak English?

Elder C. Santos can understand a little English, but he doesn't speak much of it.

10. Last weeks statement about  "important change in my life" I am so happy for you! What made this amazing change in you? 

I've never had a purpose like this in my life before and it feels so different, so much better, than before. Plus It's been a long time since I've experienced this much love from people who aren't obligated to love me. People actually looked up to me as a zone leader and my district in the MTC all loved me. I really need more time to be able to tell you specifically about this one Sister in my MTC district. Sister C. is a wonderful person. She's been a member for a little over a year I think and she's super strong in the gospel. And she really reminds me of Bridget. Remember how Bridget used to call me hers when we were little? That's kinda the sort of relationship that Sister C. and I have now. Sister C. called me her Lundy (pronounced Loondee because that's how a few Brazilians said my name and it stuck in my district) She was always happy to see me and was always worrying about me when I was struggling with shin splints (despite the fact that she had fractured feet and ankles) She wrote me encouraging notes and she wrote me a letter before we left the MTC about how my smile and positive attitude made her care about me and how it helped her to stay positive and how she was really going to miss me (like more than she'll miss french fries which is apparently a major deal for her ha ha) Overall, I was just extremely touched by the fact that someone I had only known for 3ish weeks could love me that much while I still have trouble loving myself sometimes.

Anyway... we have lunch with members most days... I've only been out for two days and I've had lunch and dinner with members. Yesterday's dinner was actually with investigators. We had popcorn. So yesterday was my first full day in the field and We walked so much that I have a blister under each big toe, my ankles were rolling to compensate, my sock had a hole cut into it by my toenail, we walked home in the rain without an umbrella, and yeah dinner was just popcorn. And I had no problem with any of it! I have never felt like this before in my entire life. 

I can finally say in complete honesty that I'm glad I came on a mission. I can feel the blessings of Heavenly Father in my life and I can feel the love of others as well. I love Heavenly Father and I love you all so much.

PS... I think I've lost about 28 pounds already.

PPS... You might be getting a handwritten letter from Sister Charles.

PPPS... I forgot to mention that I got a letter from Sister Garrison while I was in the MTC... I'm not quite sure how I'm supposed to respond so for now could you tell her that I'm really grateful for the letter and that I'm really grateful that she was thinking about me.

PPPPS... I don't know if this is going to be my regular day for emails or not... My companion and roommates said that I could email home today so I'm following their counsel.