aqui achamos o resto de nossa aventura....

well, here we go, here we go again, I surely know, surley know again.... treadmills and all....

well, this week has been hot. very hot.  so hot in fact, that it's hard for me to sleep (pushing 90º some times) we don't have a fan in our house, and so I lay at night sweating, wishing it were winter.  Good news! It's going to storm tonight, which should drop the temperature to a comfortable 60....something, I hope.. :)  Lots of sun screen, water, getting sick after every lunch because of the heat, etc....... life is good.  I remember every day that my blood is Sweedish and English, 2 places where it doesn't get to rediculously hot.  I also miss the air conditioned mission office, where I passed last summer :D   anyways, I'll stop complaining about the heat, and be greatful that the world didn't end in 2012.... 

My companion is AWESOME, after cleaning the bathroom, today I layed down to try and sleep, what did he do? he put on some hymns on my little mp3/flashdrive music player that I bought, and did a super deep-clean of our kitchen, when I finally decided to take a cold shower to try and cool off, 20 minutes later, he was intricately scrubbing the inside of the blender with a toothbrush.

We teach so incredibly well together, it's like we've been companions for a long time.  We found the most elect family EVER this week.  They live in the 1 rich neighborhood in our area, and are christians, but their church that they frequent is very general, doesn't require anything, just a good word to listen to every weekend, but they are SUPER intelligent and SUPER AWESOME!!!!!! they're legally married, which for us just is a signal from God that they are elects.  They LOVE the scriptures, and are super excited to learn with us.  I'm super excited to teach them tomorrow!!!!! 

awwww, our investigator, Anna, just called, she's overloaded at work, so we can't have family home evening at her house tonight as planned :( oh well, Plan B, C, and D put action.....

anyways- a member grabbed us yesterday at church and introduced a man to us, his name is Francisco, I wanted to say it slowly about 30 times (ahem, Elf is a common quoted movie at my house.) He's white, but from Nigeria, Africa.  He speaks english, and LOVED church yesterday and we hope that he can be baptized sunday.  I'm excited.

Anna and her husband, Marcos, have decided that the neighboring kids are bad influences, so they have started having wholesome activities in their house every night for the neighborhood kids to learn positive things, usually involving games and gospel topics. we are waiting for their marrige (dia 21 de dezembro) for them to be baptized.  Yesterday they took 4 of the neighboring kids to church with them, not including 3 of their daughters that will be baptized with them. I'm super excited :D  anyways, I have to go

amo vocês,

elder eliason

Hey now.....

então.........

Zona Gravataí!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have in total... 10 elders and 8 sisters!  Woooohoooo!!!!!!!!!

I am now serving in : Ala do Vale  (trad: Ward of the valley)  

My new companion is: Elder LIMA, e is from João Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil!!! He's AWESOME, about 5'1'' very very brown, and has a personality very similar to mine.....we're going to get along just swell.  Our zone had 6 baptism this last week!!!! I'm so sure that we'll hit our goal of 12 baptisms this month!  

The ward is so sweet!   They give us pizza, cookies, bread, eggs, hamburgers, etc.......  a huge box of food EVERY week!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also we have lunch every day, and sometimes on P-day even! How awesome is that!  The lady who keeps track of who is going to give lunch to the elders has the calendar prepared until December of 2014!  she's incredible.  She's also heading up a fundraiser to buy us presents for christmas. It's AWESOME here!!!!!!!   

 For the last 10 years, there have only been LZs here, and normally they like to show off and baptize a ton so...there are over 600 members in our ward... our ward consists of 4 neighborhoods (almost like utah...hehehehe)  but almost all of them are inactive, we have about 150 active, so ward frequency is normally about 100.  The bishop has asked us to go out and reactivate and visit ALL of the members, and see if the ward list is still acurate by way of their adresses.  We have started, but I am realizing that the greater part of the members have moved.... so yeah.  Yesterday was pretty cool, Elder Lima decided to clap a house close to the church, and who attended just said "hey, the Elders, come on in, its been about 15 years since Ive been to church, but very rarely do the elders pass here" she's got a son who is 17 now and didn't even know that his mom was baptized.  We're going to reactivate her and baptize her son.  It'll be pretty awesome.  

Brittany-Your companion is going to POA Norte?!?!?!?!?!? woohoooo!!!!!! best mission in the WORLD! ahem. disculpe. :)

Really cool story- 2 weeks ago we had recieved some DVD's to deliver, that people had asked for from the internet or called.... Well.... We delivered one of them and as soon as we apresented the DVD, the woman's eyes got HUGE and started BAWLING!!!!!!  We entered and talked to her and her family.  She reached out to her purse and pulled out from inside of her wallet inside the purse a card.  A Passalong card with a photo of a VERY OLD VHS tape.  It was the same film that we had delivered. She had been given that card some 13 years ago and she loved the photo so much (Jesus coming out of the tomb) that she had Laminated it and kept it with her so that one day she will be able to show it to "Jesus" when he knocks at her door.  Well....we showed up and told her that we are representatives of Jesus (without her saying anything) and that we had something to give her.  Yeah, blew her mind. The only thing- she can't read, she did not call the number on the back of the card.  The number is VERY old and no longer works.... how the DVD  and address got to us? NO IDEA!  Turns out that the entire family is Umbandista. A common religion/practice, it involves demon worship and heavenly worship, They've even got the little red sacrifice houses out in front, so....yeah it's going to be a really big fight, but we'll win.  I'm excited.  anyways, 

Eu amo vocês, 

se você está lendo esta carta, você é o cara.

Elder Eliason

Hey you, I just met you, and this is crazy, here's the water, be baptized maybe?

Monday morning and it's cold, dreary,and raining. Again.  The man dressed in black looks at his counterpart, also dressed in black.  A raincoat over an auto-startched white oxford shirt.  Blue tie to match the mood.  Monotonously tapping away at the old broken keyboard.  clack clack tap. clack clack tap. Six months on the same mission.  Same city.  He knows everybody.  He's talked to everybody.  It's always the same, reluctant forced pleasantries.  'No, thank you, your time is not valued to me.'    'Where are you from?'  'How are you?'  Various times a day. over and over.  The cellphone rings.  Generic ring, it's not permited to have a special tone in this town. Riing riing riing... 

"Alo Presidente"

"Tudo bem Elder?"

"Tudo excelente presidente"

"Muito bem Elder. To ligando ao te-dizer que você vai tornar Líder da Zona numa otra area com otro companheiro. Confio em você."

"Nossa! Muito obrigado Presidente."

"De nada Elder, ter um ótimo p-day."

"Obrigado Presidente. Tião."

"Tião"

*Click*

The Quero-queros start chirping. Still no sun, but the rain makes the plants greener.  The damp pants don't seem nearly as damp, the cuts on the hands (from the stupid cat yesterday) stop stinging.  An idea passes through his mind-- The idea of buying a cheeseburger to celebrate for lunch sounds like a fantastic idea.  Maybe a cup of sugar-cane juice too, if it were the purple cane of course, the green is not nearly as sweet. There is a lighter atmosphere  - the counterpartner is joking that the new Líder will be sent to the zone with 14 sisters and 6 elders.  Absolute chaos trying to make sure that everybody is safe and healthy as they embark on their newest adventures in the smog filled city of "Forno Alegre" as the locals call it. "Forno" having meant "oven."  It's getting hotter and hotter every day here in the incredible country of Brazil, getting closer and closer to Christmas as the days pass. Rumors of fresh watermellon, panatones, and peaches fill the air.  Today will be a good day, one of packing bags and a tear-filled family-home-evening with hotdogs.  It will be a fantastic day.  

---------------------------------

wow...its been a while since I've had to write a story....like 3 years.  That first paragraph was really dark... This week wasn't that dark, but I liked the descriptive nature of the words.  We taught a deaf dumb kid.  I signed (thank you to 3rd grade sign language, I still am very fluent in the alphabet, and several months ago, a deaf woman was selling cards that had the portuguese alphabet in signals, so I had been practicing that ever since...it was cool.  He wants to be baptized.  The only problem is that I have been transfered, and tomorrow, I will leave Osorio and Santo Antônio da Patrulha.  

We also were trying to find a contact that Elder Souza did last week on Thursday, and I noted that a woman was following us, so we doubled in some alleys and she still followed us. Finally in the center of the major highway, I did a 180º turn and asked her how can I help her. She was panting from trying to keep up with us.  Turns out that her husband had sent her to follow us so that when we have the opportunity, we can pass in their house and teach them.  Her husband is a member baptized some 14 years before, but moved to Santo Antônio and lost contact with the church. He saw us walking and got super excited and sent his wife to get us.  They walked to church yesterday.  His daughter will be baptized next week and the wife here in less than 1 month.  I'm super pumped for them.  I thank the Lord every day for these little miracles that happen.  

Mom- you became friends with Jully? hehehehe, give her a facebook hug, she gave me a box of chocolates and an "Inter" key-chain thingy as good-bye presents.  mmmm....Biss......

anyways, thank you for everything everybody

Squeetzers- te amo, A Igreja é verdadeira. Focus on the grammer, not the vocabulary nor the fluency.  Memorize and practice all day every day the rules.

amo vocês

Elder Eliason

caracas

Dear world, 

This week was slow.  Again.  Almost as slow as knocking doors.... yeah.  

So, turns out that one of our investigators is a conn artist! We learned that when one saw the other one, and she ran away.... turns out that she had already conned one of our other investigators.  Crazy huh!?!?!  Anyways.  

hmm.... anything else interesting?  I got a couple of gagues (ear piercings that are huge and have holes in them..... I did an interview out in Tramandaí and the investigator gave them to me :)  I'll put them on a necklace or something. 

I went on splits with Elder Pontes on Friday.  He's really funny, in a Mr. Bean type of way. We ate lunch at their Ward mission leader's house.  He's a recent convert of 2 years, and a Master Mason 3* degree (I think..) Way cool.  He had all sorts of symbols all over the house...and he made churrasco of cow heart.  It was a really cool experience.  He also offered to give us a tour of the masonic temple that he's in charge of...its neon pink and ...on P-day if we wanted....too bad that it's not my area.

I'm running out of time, I had too much fun writing to the other people this week. Sorry...

Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I almost forgot! 

I had the maravilous experience of passing the priesthood for the first time.  My recent convert, Ismael-  I passed him the Aaronic priesthood Sunday. It was awesome.

Anyways, Halloween was a huge letdown.  We knocked doors, but nobody was giving out candy :(

amo vocês

Elder Eliason

P.S.  You know what my grandfather said!?!?!?!?! GET BACK TO WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hehehehehehe