Hello! It's my P-day today, and not tomorrow because transfers are happening. Opa! Another week here in Marau, Brazil. It’s a day earlier than I would usually be writing, which is why I didn’t have any mail in my inbox (except for Lynsey’s sick drumming videos! Yeah! Thanks Lyns). Normally I’d get sad about this, but I’m all excited to see what’s gonna happen for transfers, who’s gonna be my next companion, and it’s also been a shorter amount of time since last P-day than usual, so actually, it’s all good… :) (but I don’t think I could take another week of it so please continue to send me e-mails!). This week was a bit dry again also. It was Easter weekend, and also another big Catholic holiday here, and seriously, since last Friday the town has been visibly “dead”. This, combined with the fact that we had a baptism last week and that this was the last week in the transfer, unfortunately lead to a lot of dragging our feet and not having very much energy in the work. It’s really a very horrible situation, and I’m hoping that by having a new companion here I’ll be able to pull myself back up by the bootstraps and get into my old “go-get-em” attitude. So this is why I’m excited for transfers.
We’ve done the math and calculated that, if President was promoting people to Senior companion based solely on the amount of time they had in the mission, 1 person from my same group in the CTM would turn senior. It could be more if we had a bunch of incoming new missionaries. The question of “will I turn senior” is now, I’m sure, a much bigger pressing matter than it really should be. I should just leave it all to the Lord and President’s inspiration, but I am SO ready to be able to take the reins of a companionship now. It’s usually a sign of respect to state your opinion on what the companionship should do, but then leave the ultimate decision up to the Senior, and that’s something I don’t want to worry about any more. I think I could get a lot more excited about the work if I had that kind of direct responsibility for the area. Who do you have to blame if the work isn’t going well when you’re Senior? Only yourself. I think that would be good motivation for me.
At the same time, I feel like I could easily stay Junior for the next transfer. Which might be better. I would have another chance to learn how to keep motivated even with an unmotivated senior. What would be cool is a motivated senior sent my way, of course, with every companion I’ve realized that it made complete sense that I was matched with them, and even though I may not have completely overcome the challenges that I was given like I would’ve liked to, from each companion I’ve found specific things that I needed to learn. So, for surely, the Lord knows what he’s doing and the next transfer will be exactly what I need. At this same time I wish the learning could be done more through someone else pushing me and not through me pulling someone else. But, just like the people of Alma the Older, sometimes the Lord gives us strength to lift our loads instead of taking that load away. So bring it on, I’m ready!
Sorry if that felt like a rant, but it’s what’s in my head right now.
Conference was really cool, and I loved the spirit that I felt watching and also the testimony of Jesus Christ that the apostles have. How cool is it to see living Prophets and Apostles in our days! Speaking directly to us. For surely, if you want a testimony, just listen intently to the Prophet speak. How could you deny the love and sincerity that constantly eminate from those great men? This should be enough.
Unfortunately, I was only able to watch the Sunday morning session, because Marau doesn’t have satellite and we had to bus to Passo Fundo and they didn’t have a bus back to Marau after the second session. So I was a bit bummed about that. It was good however, to see Sabino, who we baptized last week, there watching the prophets and apostles for the first time. I’m excited for him and all the spirit and learning he has in his future. Cool.
But I’m totally looking forward to the next Liahona which will bring with it the rest of the words of the Prophets that we missed out on. Yeah!
Here’s a gross story you will not believe. Yesterday, after a long day of work, we arrived at the apartment tired and hungry. We didn’t have food in the house and couldn’t buy any either because it was Sunday. So, with a grumbling belly I went to our dusty cabinet and pulled out the huge 10kg sack of rice that another missionary had bought before Elder Silva (so at least 3 months old now). It was food storage or something. I looked at the rice, looked good still, so I poured a pot fill and started to cook like, a lot. Enough for two people. (but Elder Silva didn’t want any, so I was going to eat both portions) I cook it up, it’s steaming, I pour a bunch of hot sauce and salt on it, it’s not much, but it fills your belly. And I’m chowin down, reading scriptures, swiggin it all down with a cold glass of coke (coke makes everything better right?), listening to music, all good. For about 20 minutes I’m eating. I’m really almost done with a plateful, about to serve myself another, when I SEE THESE FREAKING THINGS IN MY FREAKING RICE!!!!!!?@?@¨$#¨&!#!:
(INSERT MY ONE PHOTO I ATTACHED HERE, ON MY BLOG) THANKS!
Why!!!! Seriously, they looked exactly like rice, while I was eating, cooking, looking in the sack. My rice was FILLED WITH THESE THINGS. Like one worm for EVERY 20 kernels of RICE!!! I looked at the rice in the big sack with better light, and sure enough, after a couple of seconds, now that I knew was I was looking for, THE LITTLE BUGGERS WERE ALL CLIMBING AROUND INSIDE!!!@$@$
I freaked out silently, put it out of my mind, took a picture, told Elder Silva, and he commenced to tell me that the larvae was inside the rice and that they were going to mature in my stomach and emerge out of my skin one day, but I say that 20 minutes of boiling and stomach acids are enough to take down those larvae. And about 10 extra cups of Coke I drank after my realization (it can dissolve a nail in 3 days, why not larvae?) That’s all I have to say about this. I’m thoroughly mortified.
Bah, I wish I had more to say this week. Everything goes in waves. This week, there was less going on, in a while, maybe I’ll have TOO MUCH to say.
But, enjoy Easter! Hope the trip to Arizona was fun! Loved the sweet video! You guys are real. Cool. After seeing, for example, Nick and Zach and Fam, I realize I haven’t forgotten a thing (N&Z, man I love you guys!). Homesickness disappears. It’s like I’m there.
Dad, love you, work hard. Mom, love you, thank you. Lyns, love you, take care. Kait, love you, big hug. My bro, love you, good luck. Everyone else, love you, rock on!
And on and on and on!
Love love love! – Elder C
No comments:
Post a Comment