Language students

I asked Elder Lundy about the Language students he got to listen to last week.

Yeah they got to choose their own topics. One was about his vacation to Italy, another's was about the movie industry, and the third was about Selena Gomez ha ha.

The baptisms went well! V..... was baptized on Saturday. He had most of his family there and his girlfriend too. And most of the people he's interacted with during church meetings were there as well. The only little hiccup so to speak is that the font was filled to overflowing so when he went down in the water people had to evacuate the splash zone haha. H..... was baptized on Sunday by the Bishop. Bishop had a little trouble getting him out of the water because H's a considerably hefty fellow. When H's youngest son understood the difficulty he broke out laughing. His mom and older brother told him to stop laughing and his response was, "Why? He's my dad! I can laugh if I want!" Oh that boy... haha. And ward 2 had a baptism as well... but it was me who baptized her! F, M's younger sister, asked if I would baptize her when M. Pereira asked her after her baptismal interview. I was surprised but honored, and the baptism happened without any mistakes! Yay! 

Oh and Sunday, after all the baptisms, a big group of us rushed to the house of the Bishop's in-laws and we had a big barbeque party.

I heard from our Bishop of a custom in Brazil so I asked Elder Lundy if they do that custom where he is too...

Bishop's right. We wait outside the gate and clap. If they don't hear the clapping we knock on something or ring something or call their phones. Pretty much every household here has a locked gate so we couldn't get close enough to knock on their doors anyway.

1. Have you heard from President Silcox? Do you know if you are staying or being transferred?

I've actually talked with the president a lot this week (I'll explain at the end) and all four of us in this area are staying here until at least February when the next transfers happen.

2 . Will you still be able to email us next Monday even though we are getting to talk to you on Christmas?   I'm pretty sure I'll still be emailing you on Monday.

3. I wish we could send you a box of things for Christmas. If one of the USA elders gets a box please ask him how his parents did it. Then maybe we can send one for your birthday. And Yes we've been buying the DVDs for your Christmas present. ;) Pretend that you don't know you are getting them when you return from your mission. lol 

haha alrighty

So I've probably lost a little more weight but I haven't had the chance to weigh myself yet.

So I've more or less gotten over my cold, but I'd rather deal with that than with what I delt with this past week and am still dealing with. I woke up Wednesday morning feeling dizzy. The world was spinning while I sat still, I almost fell if I tried to walk anywhere, etc... Later that night we went to the church for a welcome home party for a returning Elder from the ward. Once the eating part of the party began, I rushed to the bathroom and threw up rather extremely. I got a blessing from my companion and the ward mission leader Yuri. Then Yuri took us back to the casa. Thursday I woke up dizzy, tried drinking some water (taking little sips) and threw that up. Then the comp gave me a glass of water with some powder in it that was supposed to help with intestinal regulation. I threw that up. Then he gave me a glass of water with sugar and salt (I think) and surprise surprise, I threw that up too. (this is where all the talking with the president started) A little while later, I got ready to go to the hospital. I showered... then threw up in the middle of getting dressed. Then I sat in a chair in a room in the hospital for about 4 hours hooked up to an IV and was prescribed some intestinal regulating medicine because I had gotten an intestinal virus. I haven't thrown up since but I'm still working with the dizziness a little. On Friday, the other 3 Elders went to the Capitol for the mission Christmas party and I stayed in the Miranda family household. They Miranda family is wonderful. The parents are the only ones who live there now, their oldest lives in Campinas, their 2nd lives close and is married to our ward mission leader, and their youngest will be returning from his mission in February. They took really good care of me. I got to sleep, then Sister Miranda made a chicken and rice soup for me for lunch and dinner, and Brother Miranda and I watched Meet the Mormons and a bunch of church related music videos and such.

I think that's all...

I love you a lot and I'm really grateful for everything you've done for me. I'm really excited to talk with you one Christmas.

Oh, and incoming pictures!

Pictures from the Baptisms!

 

Campos do Jordoa

Campos do Jordoa

Elder Lundy had a visit to the Hospital

What's left of his shoes

Elder Lundy's Christmas tree

It got good around Friday

And thanks mom ha-ha :3 And I'm healthy enough... My body still thinks I should be dealing with winter weather so I've had a cold for a little while.

I'm happy to hear that you're getting better! Transfers are on the 15th, so a week from tomorrow. There's the chance that I'll be transferred, but if anyone from my area gets transferred it'll most likely be Elder D. Silva or my companion. D. Silva cause he's been here the longest, or my companion because of his knees. We'll be spending Christmas at members homes. I believe we'll be going to one of two different member houses to Skype call you, then to another for a meal and such.

Okay here's the week: It got good around Friday. I went on a split with Martinez to language school because a member from the ward 2 teaches English there and he asked if I would sit in on his students final presentations. It was a really cool and weird experience. First off, when the member was talking with me in English I was replying in Portuguese and he had to ask me to only talk in English and I had trouble staying with just English! Then It was weird for me being on the reviewing side of a foreign language course where the students I reviewed were learning my first language. But it went really well. During this time M. Pereira and D. Silva were meeting with P.... to see if he was really going to get baptized this Sunday and not only was the answer finally yes, but his mom (the reason his baptism was delayed for so long) told the Elders (through tears) that she wants to be baptized too! So now we just have to work with P...'s parents a little to get them to finally get married and I'm pretty sure that they'll both get baptized once they can and then it's just a year after that that they can go to the temple to get sealed! 

Then there's Saturday: We went to Campos Dos Jordão again to teach V.... We showed up earlier and taught him the four remaining lessons, so now all that's needed is his baptismal interview and he'll be set to be baptized on the 12th! Usually while teaching, I sit there and wait for M. Pereira to say, "And Elder Lundy will talk a little about such and such." But when it came around to the word of wisdom, I practically snatched the pamphlet out of my comp.'s hands and said with much enthusiasm that I was going to explain the word of wisdom. I started by showing the picture of me on my first day in the MTC. Then proceeded to ask him what he already knew about the word of wisdom (and he knew pretty much everything already) then I went on to explain that it also talks about things we SHOULD partake of, not just things we shouldn't. And I used my recent experience of healthful blessings as my message about the word of wisdom.

Then comes Sunday! We had P...'s baptism after church. It was a really good experience! His uncle baptized him, and both of his parents cried (his dad cried more than his mom :3 ) and I almost cried when I saw them.

So hopefully this week we'll have at least 2 baptisms! V... and H..... (he was due to be baptized yesterday, but he was out of town due to the fact that he's a truck driver)

My town is nice, it's a city but it's pretty calm and safe.

Interesting food? I like paçoca! It's basically a compressed peanut powder candy that tastes like the filling of the Ritz peanut butter sandwich crackers! 

Holiday preparation: The stores have Christmas stuff all over the place, but other than that and a few houses with some lights up, there's not much. I'm going to draw a little Christmas tree to display on my desk when we get back to the casa. Today is the 7th after all :3 {Our Family tradition is to decorate on this day}

OH!! and remember how I said that I screwed my legs up in the MTC during the first physical activity time? Well we had to do 5 laps around a little track before we could do sports or anything and it took me forever and I was always in too much pain to participate in the rest of physical activities after that, but this week we returned to the casa at 8 pm one night and I started working out a 8:20 and stopped at 9:25 and I didn't really hurt at all! My typical workout routine: stretch for a while, the jump rope until I'm winded, then pace and stretch some more until I can jump again, then jog and pace and stretch until I can jump again. I do this for about 30 to 40 minutes usually. Oh and I throw in some push-ups too, I usually try to get 10 more than the last time. I'm up to 60 today!

Okays... I gtg now I love you!!!

Where's he going in Brazil

I'll bet the Skouson house is full of excitement! Where's he going in Brazil again?

For Thanksgiving, we were at P.....'s house to celebrate his dad's 39th birthday. I did buy food like you told me to though. I told the guys (the other elders in the apartment) they could get whatever they wanted and I'd pay. Their response: Wide eyes, "Really?! Well in that case..." They jokingly grabbed a giant cake that cost 100 reais. haha We got stuff for *cough* weak *cough* hamburgers. So yeah, not turkey haha.  Then they asked the limit. I said 50 reais cause I really didn't know what limit I should set. We got bread, cheese, "hamburger patties", barbeque sauce, and some drinks. It ended up being about 80 reais haha.

We've got a new family of investigators. The mom seems interested and excited, the dad was interested about some things, and the 4 year old girl was asking her parents when we were going to leave haha. Our other investigators are progressing well. :) My Portuguese depends on the person I'm talking with. If the person speaks well and enunciates (hope I spelled that right) then I can usually understand them and reply correctly.

I am eating, we have lunch everyday, and dinner most days, and today I made breakfast for myself. As for service, we helped set up for the ward talent show on Saturday. That was a fun event. I wanted to sing something, but I kinda had an anxiety attack while thinking about signing up and for the rest of that day. Luckily M....... (ward 2's newest member) showed up and sat with me and we talked. I'm really happy I had the chance to meet her. She reminds me of the Haworths, the happier she is the louder she gets haha :D 

Well, I'm running out of time so byebye

I love you a lot

I love you lots! 

Booyah!

Makeshift tie clip!

booyah! I felt like a genius coming up with this idea!

When we arrived

My first companion Elder Webster and I (3 months in)... 

Check out the difference!

We had to walk through heavy rain to return to the 

casa after grocery shopping so we had Elder Martinez 

take our picture while we stood in the rain outside our casa

Okay so currently, Elder M. Pereira and I have 4 investigators with a baptismal date. Three for December 6th and one for the 12th! If all goes well, L.., one of the young men in our ward who just got his mission call, will be able to baptize his Dad on the 6th! 

Possibly the highlight of my week: Our investigator V.... lives in Campos Dos Jordão. It's about an hour away (by car) from our casa and technically in a different zone/stake but we're the closest ward to his house. We went there with our ward mission leader Y... and his wife. V.... has a baptismal date set for the 12th of December, but honestly I think he's pretty much ready now! Oh he's 23 by the way. He's studied a lot and everything that he says is pretty much answering all the baptismal interview questions! We visited him at his home with his two younger brothers, his mother, and his girlfriend who arrived a little after we did. We talked for a little while, then had dinner, and then gave a message about the gospel of Jesus Christ and his whole family was participating. It was a great visit. Oh and Campos Dos Jordão is a pretty freaking pretty city! It's a major tourist town. It's basically Brazil's Frankenmuth! And I mean that literally, because it looked almost identical! I almost felt like I was back in Michigan ha ha.

Oh and I'm finding families here that I'm starting to grow close to. :)

Um... my toe is almost completely healed! I can finally exercise again.

We had a zone conference on Thursday and it was pretty good. The president and wife and assistants came and gave us a message and training. Sister Silcox is a little worried about my weight loss ha ha. I've almost gotten to the point that I can make a new hole in my belt to tighten it again!

I like the scripture you sent :3 I think Matthew 21:12 is histories first recorded table flip :3

Okays... I love you! byebye

I've officially lost 21 kg (46.3 pound)

Hi,

I've officially lost 21kg (46.3 pound) since the start of my mission!

Okay answers to your questions:

1. Who is your new companion?

 Elder M. Pereira

2. What do you know about him?

 He is 18, has 10 months on the mission, he's gained about 13kg on his mission, he played basketball before the mission and doing this messed up his knees

3. Where is he from?

 He's from Fortaleza

4. How is it going - getting around town I mean?

 I don't really know how to get to many places but he's pretty good with getting around.

5. Did you have Elder C. Santos sign your neck tie?

 I did have C. Santos sign my tie.

6. Did M... and her son G....... get baptized this past weekend?

 They did get baptized! I didn't get to attend though because we already had a commitment during that time. She said that we're gonna have a little "WE'RE MORMONS!" party later though haha.

7. Who took Elder Bicca's place?

 Elder Martinez, he's from Guatemala. He's pretty cool. He came from the same casa as my friend Elder Beatty (from the mtc)

8. How's the toe doing this week?

 My toe is getting better slowly. It's no longer pussy at the end of the day, but there's still blood on the bandage.

9. Is Elder Matos still there helping you on your Portuguese? How is his English coming?

 Elder Matos is actually in Caçapava now training an new American! He calls every once in a while and talks with me though, asks how everything is going, making sure everything is fine and all.

10. Hey how is it going asking a barber to cut your hair for you? Does he do what you want?

 I got my hair cut the Friday before leaving the MTC and haven't done it again since but yeah it went well. I got a 2 on the sides and back and scissors on the top. A super basic Brazilian/missionary haircut I guess.

Okay, honestly, my fears were made worse by my knew companion for the majority of this week, but on Sunday it kinda all worked itself out. I gave a talk during sacrament about missionary work and I talked about my struggle to get on a mission and the blessings that came from it already and then the fact that every member is a missionary and I talked about Dad's conversion. Elder M. Pereira said I talked for about 13 minutes. Honestly about 3 was spent in silence trying not to cry. (I did a lot of that this week...) After sacrament I got a lot of complements on my Portuguese because apparently I'm a bit more advanced than most people thought (due to the fact that I don't talk much because I never know what to say) Then later we went to the house of a part member family and taught the lesson of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the non member father who's been investigating the church for many months now but never agreed to get baptized. M. Pereira included me a lot more than I've participated in other lessons so far and then at the end I extended the baptismal invitation and he accepted! So we're aiming for the 6th of December for his baptism. It was after my talk and after that moment in the family's home that I finally started feeling better.

Other than that... I've got nothing. 

I love you!

Roosters

(I told Elder Lundy that we are up to 8-9 Roosters in our flock and that we were going to have to say goodbye to most of them.)

Darn roosters :( We've got one nearby our casa that's always crowing (is that the right word? Not sure)

Sister Charles wrote you again?! Yay! She's wonderful. And I feel that her culture shock experiences are a bit more extreme than mine.

(I was teasing Elder Lundy about his pants slipping because of his weight loss)

I poked the hole in my belt after almost running out of my pants. That event was the indicator that it was time to make the new hole. And I think I'm kinda getting into shape. We did a service project helping a family move. Elder D. Silva lent me a shirt that could "get dirty" (aka a plain black shirt) and It was basically a muscle shirt on me haha. 

As for the shaving, I'm all good on razors and I'll have to start the second container of shaving cream soon. And my skin's somewhat alright, but my left cheek specifically is a bit roughed up.

I'll be praying for Diana! (tell me if she does anything funny if she has to use the loopy gas stuff)

Okay, other than that here's the rest of my week:

I found two little otakus in my ward! :3 We had lunch at the family's house and apparently someone mentioned to the son of the family that I like anime, so he asked me to confirm then he and his older sister proceeded to show me their personal artwork from different anime and cartoons that they enjoy and

A) I recognized what their art was from,

B) A bunch of the drawings were from some of my favorite animas , and

C) They're art was really really good!

We had two baptisms on Saturday! M..... and M..... M. is the girlfriend of one of the members from our ward, and M. is someone the other Elders met. He was interested in multiple churches and "stumbled upon" the missionaries, took the lessons, and wanted to get baptized.

Possibly at the end of this week Ala 2 will have two more baptisms, a mother M. and her son G.

The other big news is that

A) we were wrong about transfers, they're tomorrow, and

B) Elder Bicca AND MY TRAINER Elder C. Santos are being transferred. We're a bit confused about that. And I'm pretty nervous because

A) I'm still having lots of trouble communicating with people and

B) I don't know the area well enough to get to and from many places.

Oh, and I tried to do a foot surgery... on myself. And I failed. I got an ingrown toe nail and it's been quite the nasty little bugger. I've had it for about a week now, and it MIGHT be getting better.

I've been putting table salt directly on it because that's the best we've got at the moment. 

I think that's all now...

haha yeah...

I love you mom.

I gotta go now though. Times up :(

I love you a lot!! Byebye!!

FHE at a few member homes

We've gone to FHE at a few member homes and a part member home recently. One time we were heading for one in the rain. The rain got intense so we had to run through it. My belt didn't work too well so I was struggling to run through rain that was difficult to see through while holding up my pants ha-ha. That was an experience.

I also found out that I'm definitely the fastest of the four of us Elders but they could probably run longer. Another special one was the part member FHE because the non-member is one of our new investigators we started meeting with this week. His girlfriend is a less-active member and her family's house was where we met for the FHE. He is pretty receptive to what we've taught so far. He even came to church! Our next goal with him is to get him married to his GF because they're living together and their baby girl was just born. Oh! We got to stand in on the baby's blessing in church yesterday! 

Me and the Comp. at the Temple

 

The Trio reunited at the Temple

The Temple trip was great! The Campinas Temple is a bit different than I'm used to because it was made with the fact that people would have to travel a lot to get to and from it, so there's a cafeteria in the lower levels and a whole extra building with "hotel rooms" pretty much. It was just my zone and the next one over and the President and wife that attended.

The other zone happened to be the zone of Elder Matos and Elder Kebker so I got to see them again.

 

Oh Matos

Elder Matos said he was always reminded of me whenever he'd see certain things so he collected a bunch of stuff to give me. He gave me a Halloween themed piece of candy, a twix, a minion figure, a Torkoal figure (Pokémon), a Magic card, and a papercraft Mystery Machine.

Oh!! The devotional from the MTC in Sao Paulo that was recorded when I was there was finally broadcast! I watched it after lunch at a members house on Tuesday but everyone else saw it at the church on Sunday a week ago. When people saw me the next time at church they were all coming up to me saying that they saw me in the broadcast! It was weird to watch though cause I kept seeing so many people I knew and that never happens with church broadcasts.

As for the pictures from last week... Everyone drinks from the blue bottles depending on where they live. We actually drink from the kitchen faucet in our casa. And I have no idea about the microwaves but we never use the bottom one. We actually hang a lot of our clothes, and all of my church clothes are hanging. the machine in the laundry room is a washer, we hang our clothes to dry them. We do our laundry on any day we need and whenever no one else is doing theirs.

For the backpacks, Elder Bicca has a messenger bag too. Mine works very well, especially to keep things dry!

The bedroom: mine was the one under the window, we've got two fans and one was pointed directly at my bed. One fan was taped to a stool to keep it from falling off as it rotated. Elder Bicca re arranged the bedroom though so now all our beds are against a different wall framing an open space in the middle of the room.

Transfers are next week I believe, and I'll be staying in this area at least until the end of December. Training is for 12 weeks with the same companion. I'll possibly stay at least one more transfer after Elder C. Santos leaves. Elder Bicca started in Taubaté and has been here for 7 months so he'll possibly be leaving next week. As for the study... We technically have the same structure as what Chris had, but... in this particular casa the Elders are a bit less structured. I'm doing my best to keep a structured schedule though.

Oh those puppies (Our family dogs)!! I miss them a bunch so I'm always petting the members dogs (if they allow them inside) It's a struggle when I see the stray dogs in the streets too.

The pen is a reference for the
distance of the new hole in my belt

One more thing! I can see my ribs and the top of my abdominal muscles again!! I've lost at least 34 pounds last time I checked.

Okays, I love you lots!! Bye byes!