yup.

This week, has really been the week that we gave it all back to the abism....

I know that really somehow, there's a word that rhymes with schism....

I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about baptism....

and all the water we now use is frozen

and all the saints that need our help have spoken

there are many people that I would like to get wet, 

and I know how.....

its called baptism,

you know its going to happen,

be baptized now..... (X3) 

 

okay, I had that song run through my head about 200 times this week, it has been placed on the music-car playlist to attract people to the attention of the banners..... 

okay, so this week rocked in the fact that next week we will have at least 5 baptisms. We had 7 investigators come to church!!!! que coisa maravilosa!!!!!

okay, so heres what happened.  

Dr. Etsuko, the wife of our branch president, Presidente Chiake, found this family trying to hitch hike to the hospital where she was going to work...well, turns out that the dad passed out on the road because a car hit him and drove off, and the 4 kids (ages 10-16) were trying to find somebody who has a cell to call for an ambulance or give a car-ride... they are extremely poor, living out in the middle of no-where between cities.  Dr. Etsuko picked them up and after a couple of days, they returned to the home, with the help and care of our branch president....well, they asked them if they frequent any church, and the fact was that the father was looking for a church, but no pastor would let them in because they didnt have anything to pay tithes... (sound like the story of almulek and the rammeumptum?) [I'm certain that I spelt that wrong...] well, they went to church yesterday, and they loved it so much that they all want to be baptized this sunday! what an incredible miracle!  Im so excited for them.   Funny things about this family- the daughter is 12 and told me that her biggest desire in life is to be baptized.  I almost cried.  2nd thing... they had a giant painting of a naked woman on their wall, that they had found on the side of the road.  I was on a division when we went to visit them for the first time, and my DL, elder De Oliveira, when we entered asked if we could take the painting and burn it.  well, we started a fire outside...and burnt that pornography..... hahahahahahahaha, well, things that only missionaries would think of doing...  3rd thing. they have a wood stove, but no chimney, just 2 holes in opposing walls...so the smoke passes through the house and is taken out when the wind blows (*something that is possible in Osório only because the wind NEVER ceases here), when Entered, I thought that the house was on fire and hit the deck to avoid inhaling pure smoke....

We had a branch activity on Saturday, we had a combined churrasco....so everybody was to bring a dish for everybody to eat, and your own meat to be roasted.  Well..... we had about 50 people show up, and about 100 kg of raw meat.... it was AWESOME, and EVERYBODY got completely sick from eating so much meat. But it was soooooooo  goooooood....... Definitely an awesome ward activity that I will suggest when I return to BYU... 

So if anybody doesn't know by now....my family is going to move to Utah.  I still don't know how I feel about that....but it will be nice to not have to use so much money to visit the fam. on vacation. 

Today we had transfers again, I wasn't transferred but my companion was, So I'll stick around for another 6 weeks here in Osório and help this branch become a ward.  our average frequency for the last 4 weeks is over 100, as opposed the 50, 6 months ago.  Just something to chew on.

anyways, thank you for the wondeful emails everybody, have a fantastic week :)

Keep your stick on the ice,

Elder Eliason

Semana de chuva, e lagrimas, e mais chuva

Well, the title basically sums up what happened.... It rained, A LOT, our city doesnt travel by road anymore, we travel by canal....where the roads were.  Everything is soaking wet... HOLEY SMOKES!!!! Just witnessed a car crash in front of my computer....Im sitting by the door and booom!!!! wow.  Well it took about 10 seconds and there is military on the scene...its all taken care of, back to the week.... it rained A TON, and its the beach, so theres no drainage system, the drainage system is "wait until the sand absorbs all of the water...after 2 or 3 days".... yeah.  we were wading this week.  On top of that, it was cold.   About 40 degrees- and LOTS of wind.

These are the physical things that happened this week.... 

- A kitten climbed up my pants while I was teaching a lesson.  (it was surprisingly fast) and when it got up to the upper half of the calf, as I was trying to get it out, it hung on. By its claws.  >:(  that was pretty funny for all of us. Except for the allergic reaction afterwards- Mom, yes, Im still allergic to cats.

We were victims of a Drive-by shooting.  They shot us with rubber bands.  funny.

My companion, who doesn't eat a whole lot of sweets, got a huge packages filled with cookies and wafers, and more cookies, and a ton of ramen.  = HAPPY DAY

I got a blue card (dear John in portuguese) Thanks :) you know who, My companions couldn't stop laughing with the quote: "You know I hate it when you cry."  again, thank you.

We had lunch in a Pasteleria that is owned by some members, (a restaurant of pastels. like closed semi-hard shelled tacos, with whatever you want in it).  They gave us Churrasco e pastels.  I almost died, I ate 2 pastels (the size of my FACE) that were full of strawberries and white chocolate. my mouth is still watering. SO GOOD, afterwards, they told us that we could have anything in the restaurant for free whenever we want.  My companion got some ice-cream and we got some candied coconut.  Its pretty awesome. 

okay, Spiritually: 

Eder, our incredibly elect investigator that I found last week (my contact on the road) was almost baptized yesterday, but he had some problems.  He is super ready to be baptized, but has only 1 problem, everybody has only 1 problem..... He likes to drink.  His parents died 2 years ago, and to evade the pain, he drinks.  A LOT. Well, we visited him, worked with him, he quit for 5 days, super super excited and such, but Friday night was the birthday of one of his friends.  We were going to visit him and make sure that he was still clean for the interview Saturday, but unfortunately Elder R. Santos got really sick, and we had to stay in house and avoid the pouring rain.  He went to the party, and without thinking accepted a beer and began drinking. Well, halfway done with the beer, he realized and remembered, but got so sad that he finished the beer......and 19 others. Went out, found a "woman of the streets" and yeah....it just goes downhill from there. We remarked for this weekend.  He's still an awesome guy, he's 35 and completely ready.  Just needs some refining and polishing. 

We had some problems with Natalia, Luciano, and Sonia.  They had a really hard time understanding that they can't be sealed to their kids without them being baptized (kids age 15, 13, and 9)  who live with other parents.  Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but then runs the other questions, of hey, they have other fathers and mothers, who would be sealed to who???? with this, coupled with some other things that happened (super-gung-ho home teachers that want them to progress fast and accept all of the deep doctrines of the church, bad gospel principles class, etc....) They ended up being so offended that they decided and told us that they never want to set foot in the church again and that neither us nor anybody from the church is welcome in their house again.  Yeah, this week was rough. 

anyways, I know that the church is true, in any local in the world, it's true.  People are weak, and can be false, but the doctrines are pure and true.  Continue on :)  

Keep your stick on the ice.

Elder Eliason

Quote: Absolute faith is not knowing that God can, but that God Will. (Henry B. Eyring)

hey

A long long time ago, in a "[Country]" far far away......

there was a missionary.  Who completed almost every goal set by his leaders, but at the end of the day, the only investigator who was capable of being baptized, decided not to.  Imagine his sadness.  Imagine the sadness of that investigator's mother and father that were baptized last month and that sadness that they won't be able to be sealed with the investigator.  time.  Time. TIME. Time will tell.  oh well, that basically sums up the week. yup.

We hiked mount Bourussia,  the local mountain.  The other elders, (we live in 4) wanted to take the trail, not the road (not a problem), but we couldnt find the trail (problem.) and so they decided that we would climb anyways.  straight up the face of the mountain, through the forest.  The brazilian semi-tropical rainforest.  yes. Many spiders and mosquitos.  many many many mosquitos. We survived.  It was fun.

I did a division with elder Rollings, from Georgia. He's awesome.

I watched "Charlie" the chick-flick from the church..........it was pretty awful, until she died.   then it got a little bit better.  whatever.

There's really not that much happening here.....its all typical.  I'm trying to remember if anything cool happened last week.  Oh, Doctor Itsuko, (the wife of our branch president) a little japanese woman who is about 55, burnt the living tar out of the evil grandma of Carol, our recent convert.  pretty funny. We blew all of our monthly money making a marriage possible for a couple that is super dear to us.  it's going to be a weight-loss month again. :) it's all right, the ward takes care of us, they give us dinner sometimes, but always lunch, it's pretty sweet :)

I love the fact that Brandon Blake ate the chili peppers from the garden, out of all of the peppers, I think that Chili peppers have the best flavor.

no mom, I still haven't Kicked the habit. -----hahahahhaa, get the pun! hahahaha.

we made tacos last pday, this week I think that we will make breakfast casserole-my idea.

Love you all....

Elder Eliason