Week 38

Hey,

This week was crazy!  At district meeting we got chewed out by our district leader because he said our numbers weren´t good enough.  He was like if you don´t start getting more people from you english class you won´t be able to do it.  We have the second most baptisms in our district and our district overall was the highest baptising in the mission.  I think its just because he is short and likes to have power.  Oh well.  We had a baptism this week of one of our English students.  He is way cool and we reactivated his grandparents.  They are way solid now. 

There is this guy in our ward that is schizophrenic.  He has been a help at time with getting referals but today he told us that the millenium has already started and that Armageden will start in December.  We were like who told you this.  His reply was the Lord.  He´s out there.  Oh well.

So I still don´t know where I´m being transfered or if I am yet.  We will find out today some time.  I want to leave.  I really don´t like my area.  But my companion is cool so it is a double edged sword. 

  But I think that I´m going to the interior because they want me to come to the office to do something with my visa and you have to have a paper with your visa info to go the interior.

So this week was a holiday.  It was terrible.  All of the people here were drunk, playing loud music and throwing fireworks all over the place and the fireworks here are just loud they don´t do anything cool.  I hate it. 

Well I hope that everything continues to go well at home and that the weather continues to get warmer for you there.  The farmers need some warm weather.

 

Love,

Garrett

Week 37

Hey family,

It has been rainy here for the last few days.  I actually kind of like it because its so hot when the sun is out.  And the rain here is warm.  We went back to my first area today to visit the members and our recent converts.  It was really cool to see them again.  

We had a baptism this week so that was a blessing but our area is just hard.  No one wants to listen.  Everything has to be done through the members.  Hopefully we will get more referals soon.  I´m probably going to be transfered out this next week to another place.  I´m kind of happy about that.  I´m just hoping I get a companion that is as cool as Elder Hales, he has 17 months on the mission.  It doesn´t feel like much happened this week.  

I´m glad that things are going well and that you´re all being blessed even though America is having problems.  I can really see that you´re being blessed from your emails.  God will bless his children when we follow is commandments.  It just proves he exists and the gosple is true.

I love and miss you all,

Garrett 

Hey,
This was a crazy week. The week started out really good.  We have zone conference on tuesday.  It was really good!  Elder Hales said that it was one of the best he has seen.  I learned a lot there.  But then things just started to go downhill.  It was a hard week during the middle.  Its really hard to find people tracting here.  All of our solid people are from referals.  We are trying to get the members to help more.  They are pretty good but the more help the better.  The english class is a huge sucess.  We have 50 or more people going.  And each day we keep getting more.  I think that they shut the doors to the class because there just isn´t room for more people.  I´m glad that Elder Hales is good at the Portugues because I´ve only been teaching a little bit and its really hard when I can´t really explain myself in Portugues.  We also have gotten 3 references because of the class.  Hopefully we will continue to get people to teach from the class.  It is also nice because it gives us something to do at night.  Nights are slow here and most of the time its a pain to find successful things to do. 
One of our recent converts has been really nice to us.  Everytime we go over there she makes us something to eat.  We had something that was similar to an elephant ear.  It was so good!  I love Elephant ears.  And then she also made this tea from some plant. I got the name of it somewhere.  It was way good though.
Yesterday at lunch we had Bahian food.  I was worried at first because the first time I had it I didn´t like it.  But this was diferent and it was really good.  It was some of the best food I´ve had on the mission here in Brasil.  I guess its just on how you prepare it if its good or not.  But the food overall has been a lot better here in this area.  I think its just because there is more money in this area.
I had a cool experience yesterday.  After church we went to a recent converts house because she hasn´t been going to church.  We had a really good talk with her.  I was able to talk about leaving the church and coming back in and shared a scripture and stuff.  After she was talking to Elder Hales and she said Elder Parsons doesn´t talk much but when he does it is beautiful.  It wasn´t me talking if it was beautiful it was the spirit because I know I was making a lot of mistakes.  But most of the time they can understand what I´m trying to say.  At times I can understand when people are saying and participate in the conversation.  But a lot of the time I just get really lost and don´t know how to say because I don´t understand.  Its starting to come...slowly but surely.  I just have to continue to have patience.
Its been another week.  I´m hoping things pick up here.  I think that they are starting to a little.  I hope all is well at home and that the weather continues to get better.

Love,
Garrett

Hey,
So Moscow is finally going into summer now.  Its about time.  It is getting cooler here.  I enjoy it more now.  But its always hot...its just less hot now. 

We haven´t started the english class yet. It will start on Wednesday.  BYU has created a book that has lesson plans for the class so it should be pretty straight forward to teach.  We will see though.  Right now we have 30 non-members signed up to take it.  It has gotten so big that the employment department for the church here is working with us.  They are donating supplies and stuff for it.  So that is a big plus.  Hopefully it works out for the best.  We will see though.

The drug raid wasn´t too close to our appartment.  It was a little ways away.  But they were walking down the street when we saw them so I´m not exactly sure where it was.  My area right now boarders the most dangerous area in the mission.  So that is why we always see cops here.  I liked Engenho Velho more.  Most of the members here are really cool.  So that is a plus.  They are the only thing that makes this area work.  Knocking doors is a flop.  No one accepts because the area is small and has been knocked so many times.  Its really frustrating.  Hopefully it gets better.  We are starting to get more referals so that is a plus.

The view here is pretty sweet.  But our apartment is a dump.  Its horrible.  We don´t have water all the time and its just crap.  I´d rather just have a good apartment because we can´t even do anything at the beach.  And actually the beaches here suck because people throw trash all over the place.  Its really annoying.  All the missionaries tell me constantly the rest of Brsil isn´t this bad.  Only Bahia is.  So I guess i went to one if not the most gettho part of Brasil.  Oh well.  There still are some cool things here.  So far I just haven´t found anything that would make me want to come back after the mission.  Its just too dangerous here.  I guess a lot of it is because when the cops did the raids in Rio all the drug dealers came here.  Or that is the word on the street.  Now the cops are trying to clean them out here.  Hopefully it gets better.

This week we had a division because we needed to have the district leader interview some of our investigators for baptism.  I went to his area and there we were able to teach a lot of lessons.  It felt really good to be able to teach again.  That is pretty much the only part I like about the mission is the teacher and helping people change their lives for the better.  But we haven´t had success here to be able to do that.  Hopefully that will change.  We did have 2 baptisms this week.  That was a blessing but other than that the week seemed really bad.  I hope that this next week is better. 

I love and miss you all,
Garrett