woohoo, another week has passed here in bento Gonçalves...more and more miracles are happening all over the place...
this week I had the privilage to baptize Irmão Luiz. He is an amazing individual...quite the character too...he works in construction, is missing his middle finger, and loves to do everything himself...but he also has the soul of a saint. Elder Bryant and Elder Christaldo (the elder before me) ran into him by clapping doors (yes, we really do stand outside and clap until somebody answers, its illigal to enter a yard/porch without permission but it's easy since none of the houses are insulated, most of them are either brick or concrete, or if they're poor, particleboard... all of the houses here have large gates and fences and usually barbed wire or razor wire, or broken glass above a cement wall to keep us out too...) and he let them in and accepted the first lesson...well, elder Christaldo felt something with him, and asked elder Bryant to go back, even though he reacted the same way that most of the people who are uninterested act...kind of say cool, thanks for the story type deal...and it came up that he smoked, heavily, chain smoker...but then when they arrived to teach the second time..they asked him to stop smoking, and said that it'll help him spiritually.... he said he'd stop. he hasn't touched a pack of cigarettes since...we tried teaching him when I got here, for two and a half weeks we tried and nobody answered the door, we had all but cut him when we knocked one last time (note: he has gone to church every week since the elders met him) and he answered with having read all of third Nefi and wanting to be baptized....miracles.....well, we talked to him about the word of Wisdom, and turns out, alcohol played a huge part in his life....well, he stopped in one day. talk about intestinal fortitude.... His family is planned to be baptized in two weeks, seeing as how transfers are next monday, I really hope that I get to stay here and be a part of it....
we walked over 12 miles on wednesday....with the hills, we basically killed ourselves, and we got absolutely nowhere because of it...except 4 lessons...only one of which was productive...during the companionship inventory, we reviewed the week and decided how we could improve our abilities in teaching, how we teach, and how we can be more obedient. President Wright, our current mission president has only been here for 4 months, and Elder Bryant said that when he arrived, he made a promise to us that if we start working with our heads and not with our legs, this mission could double the number of baptisms....so we took that to heart, and have started planning better the areas where we teach, and keep all of our appointements relatively close to one another...and let me tell you, I can already see improvement...
I have been working really hard to understand and comprehend the language here...and it is coming along very well, I can follow any conversation now for the most part, as long as the person is speaking in my general direction...for some reason, the words sound different when the're speaking to somebody else... something that I definitely could improve on is how I ask questions... here in Brazil, you ask questions the same way you would say a statement, you just use tone inflection at the end of a sentance....but when your accent is thick, that becomes nearly impossible...
I just tried to send a picture, bot for some reason, the computer is not allowing me to upload any photos, so I'll try on another computer in just a second....thanks for the patience...
Let me tell you, I have discovered the best panini-sandwich thing yet....cinnamon, bananas, sugar and dulce de leite between two slices of buttered bread in the grilled-cheese sandwhich maker that we somehow obtained....AMAZING....banana pies...basically, theyre delicious.....
Sorry to hear that you're bummed brittany, you know, most of the sister missionaries that were here at the CTM that I made friends with had boyfriends back home.... you dont have to be solzinho para servir um missão.....
anyways, tanner, you are nuts for loving winter track...i loved running out in the cold, not the circles part...
Preston, I can't wait to see your facebook account
blake, I mean Brandon......you're just awesome, I thought of you this week...the gummy-bear song has gone insane here, everybody loves it, in PORTUGUESE!!!! ugh.....
Best of luck,
com amor
te amo
Elder Tyler Eliason
p.s. that photo of the changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is absolutely fantastic....makes me get shivers inside...
prayers out to NY.....
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