2 Leaving home for their Mission

Tell Bay congrats for me!! 

and Michael too! (They are leaving on their missions)

I'm doing better now. I only lost 2 kilos but I probably already gained it back.  We've got a few families of inactive parents with non-baptized children we're teaching Elder Alves and I get along very well. I'm starting to get the hang of the branch I think.  The community is still a bit difficult. So I've got one awesome piece of news about this week!  We've got a baptism this Wednesday!! President met with F... and afterward told us all that she can be baptized!!!!! V...'s friends didn't go to church this week. :(  He's been looking really upset lately and I'm pretty sure it's more than a lack of progress with his friends. I think he's in a similar situation as M...  His family is all in the church but he's the only one active. Oh so President Silcox said that within the next two transfers we'll only get about 15  new missionaries and about 30 will go home so that will make our mission shrink a little for the time being. There might be the issue of some wards not even having  missionaries for a while too... As for my testimony: I know our Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us.  He wants us to come back to him and he's provided us with many things that will help  with that. The most important being our Elder Brother Jesus Christ. He showed us the only path and asks that we simply follow in his footsteps.  It's easier than people make it out to be, and it's only hard when you want it to be. Anyways, I love you!

I'm doing better

I did manage to get better quicker this time.

I'm doing better. I'm a bit healthier and I'm working better with Elder Alves.

So my week... a few minutes after emailing you and leaving, I ended up throwing up in the street... Then we just stayed in our house for the rest of the day. 

Tuesday, we did a division with the other elders in our house because we had important things scheduled and they didn't have anything scheduled. I rested in the house with Elder A. Souza, and Elders Freire and Alves went out to work. 

Afterwards we were still taking it slow so we only visited people nearby, but we had some great visits with F... We think she's ready to be baptized but she has to be interviewed by President Silcox because of some things she did many years ago. 

I feel kinda sad for V... (the young man that's been helping us and will soon go on his mission) because this Sunday none of the young men he was helping us with came to church this Sunday and he was visibly upset. But I already know that he's gonna be a great missionary. 

Oh! This Sunday F... decided to participate in the choir practice!!

The Stake conference sounds like it was cool! I already know it's not about who baptizes the person. It kinda seems like my purpose in all of my latest areas is to work out the kinks in the ward's mission work. In Jardim Tietê I helped get the LMA and ward missionaries working. In Brás Cubas I helped them get their ward registry under control (and we got a new LMA and ward missionaries that worked in their calling), and now it looks like that sort of stuff might be needed again here.

I love you! 

Stomach virus again

First things first. 

I think I got a stomach virus again and I've been throwing up a bit this morning. 

And I started throwing up at 6 am, then again at 8 and 9... 

I'm only doing the minimum today.

Second, my connection is terrible. 

Third this is gonna be short because I'll return to our house soon.

Oh, Elder Alves says hello!

So  I got to go to the temple and afterwards I went to the Deseret store and bought 

root beer!!!! But it was super expensive. 2 cans were about 14 reais. But boy was it good.

We're going to have to have President Silcox interview one of our investigators but I think she might pass. If she does she can be baptized whenever. 

You can add the requests on to Facebook please and thanks. 

The majority of the people are from my last zone. 

Even Mauro Leal (my last bishop) searched me out on Facebook. 

I find that cool :)

I love you too, Eric

I'm like Harry Potter lol

The transfer travel went alright. I got help from a random man to get my third suitcase in and out of the train and was able to carry my three suitcases by my own in all the other situations. I'm not eating too well because the little market close to our house is super expensive and sells nothing of value, but today we'll pass the larger and more distant market that should be better. I'm felling alright. A little sore because our casa has only 3 beds and a couch... so my "bed" is a couch under the stairs... I'm like Harry Potter... I live under the stairs now. but oh well...

Question/Answers:

1. Did you get off to a good start with your new companion Elder Alves?

I did. We're were already friends. (He was in my first district when I arrived in the mission) And we started working right away. He's helping me follow the rules better. We're finally doing companionship study and planning. Elders Medeiros and Ewerton are the only other companions that did those things with me.

2. . I tried to look up where you are and am not quite sure, but Santos said it was close to her. Is she right?

She's absolutely correct. It is very close! There's only one or two other areas in between and I see buses that go there on a daily basis.

3. Stats on your companion. i.e. age, family, home location...you know - the run down on him ;)Elder Alves is 20. Is going home in February. He's from Rio Grande do Sul. His family is in the church. I know that at least his mom served a mission, and his girlfriend is serving right now in the north. He's a nerd like me (but I'm a higher level of nerd than him) He told me that he'd been talking with his cousins about opening a nerd store together so he's been asking me what sort of stuff would be good to have there.

4. Describe the area you are in please...

5. Is the area you are in growing.

6. Investigators?

Answers: 4-6. This area is a city. A crowded city. There are A LOT of apartment buildings which are difficult for us to work in, and then there's the standard favela in the mountainside. I'm in a branch instead of a ward. Elder Alves said that the members haven't been helping much, but we got a lot of help from one of the two young men in the branch this Saturday. V... sent in his papers about a week ago. Every once in a while his friends would go to the church with him and they told him that once he leaves they'll have no friends there and no reason to go. What he decided after hearing that was that he needs to baptize at least one of them before he leaves so that one can bring in the rest. He took us to 5 of his friends on Saturday and 2 went to church this Sunday.

 7. How's your stomach doing?

My stomach is alright.

8. What's the name of your ward?

Tiradentes 2nd Branch or in Portuguese Ramo Tiradentes 2

9. What are you studying this week?

I found a Portuguese version of the children's illustrated book of Mormon so I'm giving that a read through.

10. So fall is now here...What is your second spring like there?

It's damp and cold... or its super stupidly hot... ugh...

So I'm going to the temple tomorrow! This will be the third time in the field. I'll go one more time at the end of my mission in the third week of July probably (because I'll be returning home just a little bit after that) And yes, I am feeling better.

Thanks mom

I love you too

Conference Weekend

There might be some baptisms during this next transfer here in this area, but I'm going to be in a different area so yeah...

I liked conference. I got to see it all. I don't really remember much at this moment due to the whole overload situation. We asked some of our investigators to go - but, we couldn't get them to go. They were busy. We did get to see the priesthood session because our house is literally 3 minutes walk from the church.

At this moment, my stomach is worse. The peanut products were paçoca (a Reese's like thing without the chocolate) and actual peanuts...

Transfers are tomorrow. 

I'm going to Tiradentes in Itaquera to be comps with Elder Alves.

I already know him and I like him. He's ending his mission soon I think. 

My companions so far: Elder Webster, Elder Kebker, Elder C. Santos, Elder Matos, Elder M. Pereira, Elder Furtado, Elder Medeiros, Elder Ewerton, Elder Soares, and tomorrow 

Elder Alves. Most of them have signed my tie.

That stinks about the flu (I've been sick this past week) :( I've had a cold or allergies this week and it wiped me out for a bit.

I saw Santos again because every week we have district meetings and the whole zone gets together in the same church building.

I had a cool experience this week. As I was leaving the chapel last night after conference I told a few members that I'd probably be transferred and one Irmão, Irmão W......, gave me a hug and told me I changed a lot of things in the ward. I may not be good at baptizing but I'm able to do something. And it made me even happier that it was him because this Irmão has a history of not getting along with/approving of the elders that pass in the area.

I love you