March 16, 2010 - Letter Home

 This weeks vídeo:  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqH0A71Vllo

Hey my family! Another week hás gone by like the blink of an eye. 
Tomorrow I’ll be 20. Woah! Seriously it’s very surreal that my 20th birthday hás finally come. I remember imagining having my birthday as a missionary since I was little. And in a little less than two week, I’ll celebrate 7 months in the mission. That’s nearly a third of the two years I’ve got here! It’s really freaking me out because it feels like this time is just going to slip out of my fingers and I’m gonna get back home not knowing what the heck happened. 

The people here in Marau, especially, are really needing help, and it just seems there’s not enough time in the day to help all the families in the ward that are needing help, not to mention all of the people here in Marau who havent even heard of the restored gospel. It’s a bit frustrating but the work is going. Elder Silva and I are continuing to be good friends, and we’re really set on making a difference here in this tranfer. It’ll be good.
 
So this week we played futbol with an investigator and his family and a bunch of friends. We played for about 3 hours. The goal is to get to know all the friends (about 20 people, maybe 10 different families) to teach them. However, for some reason we just played soccer, and afterwards everyone scrammed before we could talk to them about any church stuff. But we’ll meet with them this next week and hopefully it’ll all work out good. It was fun, and I’m definitely getting better at futbol, but I also got a litttle frustrated when they picked me to be goalie, and then kept telling me to be goalie for the next 3 games. The only advantage I have on the field is that I can run. I don’t really have any other skills other than being able to sprint to the ball and try to knock it out of the reach of the person who’s got it, or (maybe) sprint to it and try to knock it in the general direction of the goal. So I totally spaced on a bunch of the goals when it was getting pretty competitive, and I opted to sit out the next couple plays to mull around a bit. Oh well. It happens. Just gotta put it behind ya.

We had Zone Conference. It was really good. I had an interview with President Pavan similar to what Brendon talked about a couple e-mails ago, and I feel like I’m going to start over again, make some changes, and rededicate myself to the work. 
Zone Conference is usually when we receive packages that the mission home hás gotten, and so I was totally looking forward to my Birthday treat. But.... alas, the president’s car had no package with my name on it! I almost wanted to lie for you guys and say I got it, but it didn’t make it, and I guess I’ll just have to wait for 3 weeks until transfers to get my Birthday presents... 
:( Let’s all cry together for me shall we? 

:) Seriously don’t even worry about it. Us missionaries are so wrapped up in the work that 3 weeks will seem like 3 days, and while I’ll try to do something to celebrate my big 20th, it’ll be just as well to get all the cool stuff you sent me in just a little while. Tôo bad!


At conference, however, I got a customary box of candy that Presidente gives all the people with birthdays, and I also got a sweet letter (s) from Ashley which was just super awesome. I sat on the bus from Passo Fundo to Marau (about an hour), just going through everything Ashley put together and Jack’s handprints and drawings and it was really cool to think about all of the memories Ashley had on her mission and all the ones I was making here in Brasil. So I just sat on the bus, looked out the window, and had just a really nice peaceful ride, time to think and get my thoughts together and adjust my perspective on where I am in my mission and my life and everything. Really cool. Thanks Ash (and fam)!

I also received a letter from a girl in a family we reactivated in Boqueirão. It was covered with hearts and pretty much a full blown love letter. Woah. Maybe it was a good thing I left when I did. That would get weird. She wants me to write her through my mission but I don’t think I will....

Ahem. 

My iPod nano broke. 2 weeks ago. And I’ve been without music (well, my own music). So I went out into the city and bought another one (but 2GB this time). But then I talked to another missionary who said there’s a place where they sell them for 70 reais cheaper. Shoot! So I’ve got music but it’s a bit bittersweet.
 
Man, nothing else really to say about my week. Just visiting families, sharing scriptures, trying to help, talking to people on the street, giving lots of first lessons (that talks about prophets and Joseph Smith and the Book of Mórmon), walking alot, and having some really good study time. Yep!

Thanks so much for all of your e-mails, photos, vídeos (Brendon, Lyns, and Dad). I feel like I could go next door and just go and talk to you guys. Sweet! I love that we can still feel somewhat close even 9 thousand miles away from eachother.

Dad, I love you buddy, my best friend, and am so glad things are going well. I that you’re gonna have to do a bunch more work, but how cool it is that we’ve received some blessings from the Lord! So awesome. He really is watching over us. I am so grateful that our family just got a good dosage of hope. Let’s be super grateful and just continue to pray and fast and depend on the Lord for every little thing. I tôo am a bit in the middle on whether you should sell the quads or not... :) Seriously, if you guys need to, go for it and sell them, they’re just things. At the same time, wouldn’t it be cool to schedule a trip to the dunes soon after our return, and just arrive all ready to go? Oh yeah, that’d be sweet. Hmm... better pray about that decision... :) 

Also Dad, keep working out! It’s not just for your body or your outer appearance, it’ll also help you think clearer and work more effeciently if you have a habit of excersize. Most importantly, I think it’ll also help you spiritually, because we are commanded to take care of our bodies as they are temples. So if you haven’t excersized today, go for it! You can always fit a 20 minute run into your day or something like that. I love you so much man, have a good week!

Hey my Mom! I love the idea about inviting the kids over for our birthday! Such a good way to spend the day. More than presents, it’ll be good to remember tomorrow that somebody else gets to share a bit of happiness with our family. You’re a saint Mom :P. So glad that you’re keeping up strong with Releif Society and helping people get prepared. I second the thought that it’s very important what you’re doing there. For surely. Also cool that you got together with the Porters... I’m jealous. Good times we had together. Thanks for the advice, and I’ll try to follow it more strictly. Mom, I love you so much and am so thankful for your efforts to make sure I have a good birthday. Even though your package didn’t come through, it’s going to be exactly as meaningful to me in a little while when I get it. (I’m excited!) Also, thanks for the photos! My new ipod supports them so I’ll keep em with me through the week. You’re a really good Mom, Mom. :) Have a good week!


Hey Lyns! Thanks so much for the vídeo and the letter! I love you lots and am thankful that the work load hás gotten a bit better. Summer is soon! Yeah! For me, it’s just started to get colder. Weird eh? I love seeing you and think it’s so cool that you can just converse with me about the things I’ve just been going through. Love you so much my beautiful sis. Have a good week!

Hey my Kaitlin! I love you so much! I hope you had a good week and that you’re learning lots and having fun with the family! Ashley told me about when she visited you with Jack Jack and you told her cool arabic stories! So cool! I bet that was really fun with her and Jack and that she is going to have a baby. It will be cool to see all the new baby cousins I have after the mission! I love you, and hope you have a good day and a good week! A big hug for my sweet sister! Love you sis.


Hey Brendon, loved the vídeos buddy and I totally laughed out loud like the rest of the family. That fruit looked outright alien. They don’t have them here. I’m jealous about the hike because I want a Zone activity like that (all the rest of the zones have them).
Hey, real quick, here’s the scripture chain I created to mark in LdMs, they teach the 1st lição: 1st-2nd paragraph of the Introduction, Alma 30:44, Mosiah 4:9, 2 Nephi 9:17-20, Mosiah 2:41, Jacob 4:4,6, Mosiah 13:33-35, 1 Nephi 11:26-29,31-34, Alma 7:11-13, 4 Nephi 1:27-28, 2 Nephi 26:20-21, 2 Nephi 9:1-3, Guia de Estuda: Primeira Visão, Guia de Estuda: Restaracao do Evangelho, 4th-9th paragraph of the Introduction, Moroni 10:3-7, and then page 621 (which is a blank page where you would write a testimony or post something about the steps of how to pray). Maybe this is useful?!?!
I love you buddy. Happy Birthday! That might be the first time I’ve needed to say that: we’ve always just enjoyed birthdays together. Here’s to the first birthday we’ve had seperated in our whole life! Hopefully there aren’t many more. Love you bunches man. Have much success.

Jody, Karen, Grandma Imogene, thanks for the e-mails tôo. I love you my aunts, my Grandma. Thank you for keeping in touch and thinking about us. 

Have a good week!
Love love love everybody!
Big Elder C