Hey my family!
Another great and fast week here in Marau, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil! This last week was marked by thunderstorms, rain, general cold weather, and the fact that these storms simultaneously knocked out our cellular services and every pay phone in the city was down as well. So we went out of contact with the rest of the mission for this last week, but today for P-day traveled to Passo Fundo to let the Zone Leaders know what happened and that we were still alive. We were also at a disadvantage because our awesome investigator family, Tiago and Mônica, live in a neighbooring city and have a weird schedule, so we weren’t able to get into contact with them this week, and they didnt come to church and we’re hoping everything will go well with them when we get back into contact.
I am both loving and hating the rainy weather. And it’s coming out a bit even. The rain and cold is a bit tough in the fact that it’s hard to talk to people on the streets when you’ve got the batter of raindrops all around you and an umbrella in the way. And if you forget to dress right and bring an umbrella you can get pretty miserable. What’s one cool way to dress right? Put plastic bags over your socks and then put over another pair of socks!
I was pretty miserable with wet feet in the rain for a while, but this trick made all the difference: I love having dry, warm feet. But the cold it’s awesome in the way that you can always layer on more clothes and get to just the right temperature, whereas you can’t do that with the blistering heat of the summer.
I love carrying an umbrella with me. Know why? Because in the spotty rain here, you don’t always want it drawn as you’re walking along. So I made a little strap on my backpack to strap it to my back. Why do I love this? Because when it starts to rain I get to draw the umbrella from my back LIKE IT’S A SWEET LONGSWORD! Yes!!! Stopped raining? Sheath that sucker up!... Yes... I have an overactive imagination and I like to imagine I’m a knight instead of a missionary sometimes. Does that HAVE to be a crazy thing? Okay, I’ll stop talking about that.
The cold weather is also a lot nicer to go to sleep in the cold, covered with comforter blankets (but harder to wake up and get out of them, I’ll say). It’s also nice because you get to wake up and start boiling water as you do excersizes, and having chimarrão after your hot steamy shower (heh heh, Brendon). Chimarrão is part of my life now. I drink it every morning during personal study. It’s a natural tea that is not against any standards of the church, keeps you warm, and fills your belly so that you don’t feel hungry until our huge lunch with members. I don’t know if they sell chimarrão in the states, but if they do I want to keep the habit of drinking chimarrão after the mission, as a remembrance of the good olé Gaúcho country.
Yesterday was pretty awesome, because it officially marked my 8th month here in the mission, and also it marked the day I finally got to start showing off by saying I’ve read the Book of Mórmon out loud in Portuguese. Woah! So I’ve heard, Gordon B. Hinckley gave a promise to the world saying that if you read the whole Book of Mórmon in a foreign language out loud, you will become fluent. So BAM! I read Moroni’s final words, said Amen, and something clicked in my brain and I suddenly was fluent in Portuguese! Serious! My companion started talking to my in fluent english after I finished the book, and I started conversing with him, but then I said, “Wait! When did you learn English so well?” And he said, “English? I’m speaking Portuguese, you’re speaking Portuguese, in fact, when did YOU learn to speak Portuguese so well?! You sound like a born Gaúcho!” I can’t even speak English naturally if I try! I am typing this letter IN PORTUGUESE, using Google Translator to help you guys understand what I’m saying. It’s crazy. It’s like a switch flipped in my brain suddenly. So awesome... April Fool’s! Heheh, that would be awesome right?! Like that movie "the Other Side of Heaven" where he just wakes up speaking Tongan. Ahh... Were it so easy... I’m doing awesome with the language, but I think President Hinckley’s promise there is a bit like the promise made in the Garden of Eden, “If you eat the fruit, you will surely die.” No time period specified there.
Actually, the language is going very well. We were meeting with a member the other day, he was talking about his mission, and he said, “I had a companion from Curitiba (another Brasilian state) ect...” And I started to think, “Oh, he had a Brasilian companion, I wonder how he learned how to cope with his companion and learn the language.” And my brain TOTALLY flipped out because as he was telling this story in Portuguese, I’m serious, I thought I was in the states and he was speaking in English about his Brasilian mission. I started to laugh in the middle of his story and they all stopped to look at me with curious stares. Heheh.
But, reading and finished the Book of Mórmon was sweet. Man, 3rd Nephi is just so awesome, reading about Christ, finally after so many pages of predicting his coming, and hearing his counsel and love for that people. Mórmon 9 is one of my favorite chapters now, for no specific reason, but I had an awesome spiritual experience reading that chapter and receiving information that just seemed perfect for me. Wish I could explain more about that... Last time I finished the Book of Mórmon I sped through Ether, and this time I really let the story sink in and let myself get attached to the Jaredites, brother of Jared, all the kings and prophets and stories. The Book of Ether is like a compressed Book of Mórmon, and hás a lot of compressed meanings and messages in there if you look for them and compare them with the stories you just finished reading in the previous books. The last words of Moroni are sweet, and I honestly really feel that he is, as he says, “Speaking to you from the dust”, as a friend and counselor, but not just because he says so. It’s a strange effect... Anyway, I love the Book of Mórmon. Man, how it is true. If anyone could just download all the words of the Book of Mórmon in to their brains, they would instantly have a testimony of the restored gospel. The thing is, getting all that information in there is the hard part, especially when you see how resistant people are to read, to cope with the sometimes difficult language, and to really seek for understanding as they read. The truth is undeniable, but it’s hard to get people to really give the truth a fair chance. But I am so thankful for being able to read and digest the book here, having the right spirit to study it. Cool.
A couple of fun stories about my companion, Elder Carvalho. He is ALWAYS wanting to go into every single market and look at the prices of all of the groceries, looking for deals. If we happen to walk by a market as we’re working, he practically runs in and starts listing stuff. I’ll wait, bored by the door, and he’ll come running to me excitedly, “Elder Capench! Flour for only 1.69! That’s 10 cents cheaper!!!” ... “Wow. Cool. Thanks Elder Carvalho.” And he’ll go running back into the store for more prices. One day I told him, “Cool! A kilo of grapes are 5 cents cheaper here if you buy them in bulk! I don’t care! Just finish up looking at prices and lets get out of here!” And he looked at me with his wide eyes and started spouting out loud and fast Northeastern accented Portuguese about how Americans just want to eat and sleep and play videogames. I blink my eyes and walk out of the store. 10 minutes later he comes running out telling me excitedly about how they have bigger cups for cheaper, walking fast and talking quickly to himself/me. Heheheh. Elder Carvalho is awesome.
He played a trick on me in a members house after I used the bathroom, shouting at me how the member had told me that the bathroom wasn’t working and that the flushed water emptied straight into the rooms beneath us, and how I would have to go clean it up. I totally freaked out because I still mess up in the language sometimes and it would be very possible to misunderstand that. Got a towel and ran downstairs, where they had a family laughing at me. Heheheh. All in good fun.
Hey guys! We get to talk! 2 weeks! I’m super excited! When should I call? Want to start planning that?
Happy Birthday to my Dad! I made a vídeo for you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd8eAQmr8E8
It’s a little confusing in the song, but when I say, ME, I mean, YOU. Heheh. I love you Dad. Wish I had made a special vídeo or something. Hope you guys get to do something awesome. I will be thinking about you. Just another year right Dad?
Time seems to be going fast to me tôo. Dare I say it seems faster here than the summer before we left? Yes. I’ll be at 1 year in no time, and other missionaries say it just speeds up after that. Worrisome in one way, but cool in another. We’ll see eachother in no time.
Hey Mom! I have plenty for food here, but extra is always appreciated. The problem with other missionaries is that their weekly budgets HAVE to include coke and sweets and pizza and expensive bread and lunch meat. That is where I was. Now, Elder Carvalho hás opened my mind to another plane of existence, where you can eat like a pig on cheap pasta, tomato sauce, and mango juice for like $5 a week every day. It gets a bit tiring but I’m actually saving up money doing this to buy some cool souvenirs later on. Thanks for the concern! But dontcha worry one bit my mom!
Yo Brendon! Love you man! Gotta be quick but I’m jealous about meeting Elder Holland, and I know how it is to work in a difficult área. Post the ways to know if you’re a successful missionary in the front of Pregar meu Evangelho on your desk and try to just to those. It helps you not to doubt yourself that you’re doing well. But yes, helping inactive families hás been the greatest success so far here in Marau. I love you bro! Can’t wait to talk to you tôo!
Sweet guys! Love love love! I’m running out the door! Until next week!
Elder Carpenter
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