This week.

Well, This week has been quite the journey. Starting on Monday, there has been much happening, we have reactivated the family of 12, who are the most incredible family, but have only 1 problem, they have to get a car ride to the church because they live over 2 miles away from the church (for us is not a problem) but for them, with a multitude of little kids, doesn't go over too well. We also have the problem that there are only 5 families in the ward that have a car, let alone are disposed to offer a car ride when we ask. Well, we managed, and I had the privilege of baptising Ênya this weekend. She is the sweetest little 10-year old that I have ever met. We had 3 baptisms marked for this last weekend, but one didn't show up, he lives in another city, and the little sister of Ênya, Carla, who is 9, began to bawl when she saw the water in the font, and refused to enter. We shall see what we can do, maybe we will have to wait until the father is worthy to baptise her, which should be here shortly, but who knows. This week we had stake conference, we recieved the conference via satellite here in Erechim, and we had over 150 people show up, 9 were active investigators and a multitude of people that I have no idea who they are, most were from out of town, and so we can't teach them, but anyways it was an incredible experience, President Richard G Scott talked in Portuguese, very slowly, with about a fourth of the vocabulary in spanish, but that's alright, everybody understood what he was saying, he talked on the importance of keeping the commandments and how we may observe and learn of what we need to do in our lives through the examples of the prophets in the scriptures, what we need to dedicate to the Lord. It was swell.

 

My friend and investigator, Vilmar stopped smoking!!!!!!!!!! Woooohoooo!!!!!!! and we are hoping he will be baptized this sunday! :D :D :D :D Thats the plan at least.

 

We got a reference from a person we met in another investigator's house, that her son had received the missionaries some time in the past and had almost been baptized. We passed by his house and learned that he in fact wants to serve a mission! WHAAAAA!!!!!!!!! Well, he asked, "So elders, what does it take to get baptized?" I almost explained sober it in my own words, but then I remembered that there is a very specific verse in Doctrine and Covenants that explains this very question that Joseph Smith made...D&C 20:37, its a good one :)

 

anyways, everybody is asking me if I will have to return to the United States if the USA goes into war with Korea do Norte..... I said, well, we shall see....(I have no idea whatsoever if that is even close to happening), but for now I will focus my thoughts on Erechim.

 

Mother, Pinhão is the equivilant of a cousin of a pinecone seed. it falls from the Pineiros (pine-trees that everybody has in photos and paintings, brazilian trees that are super tall and have no branches until the vere top) they are terrible plain. They are bearable if you cook them in water. They are excelent if you roast them or cook them in water and then take off the cask and then roll them in salt. Irmã Roma put very little salt on them. Angela gave us a TON of them with a bucket of salt to dip them in. SO DELICIOUS. and mother, its not barbacue, thats very very very different, its Churrasco :)

 

anyways, thank you all for the birthday wishes, Yes mother, I got the package last month :) thanks for the music

I'll send photos :)

 

Keep your stick on the Ice.

Elder Eliason