tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38127609314321796202024-02-19T16:41:13.457-08:00Called to Serve- Elder ParsonsParsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-81185431539198970902012-08-21T08:54:00.000-07:002012-08-21T08:54:05.352-07:00HE'S HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Garrett made it home after 36 hours on Friday August 17th, 2012. It was wonderful to see him! He hadn't changed much, but he had changed. His luggage however did not make it and it took two days to finally receive that.<br />
<br />
He had a couple of days to adjust and started working back at the ranch on Monday, where he has worked since he was 15, through the harvest. Then he tells us he head to Utah to work and go to school at BYU if he gets accepted in January. Parsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-3076418396594468292012-08-13T21:42:00.000-07:002012-08-13T21:42:00.050-07:003 DAYS HE LEAVE FROM BRAZIL AND 4 DAYS TO BE HOME!!Hey family!<br />
<div>
Wow it is so crazy. I can´t believe it is actually
coming to an end. I still don´t really believe it. But its starting to
hit me now. It will be bittersweet. But its always like that. I feel
that I worked and tried to help the people while I was here, so I can
go home proud for what I´ve been blessed with accomplishing. This last
week didn´t end the way that we had planned...we were shooting for a
baptism. But in the end everyone fell. It was kind of a mess. But it
will all work out in the end. </div>
<div>
So awesome experience. We just got back from Itacaré. It is
suppose to be one of the best beaches in Brazil. It was super sweet.
There were people from Germany, USA and other parts of Brazil that we
saw there. But there are suppose to be tons of people that come from
Europe to visit as well as the states in the summer season. I was able
to get some sweet photos at least I hope so...i haven´t looked at them
yet but it was super beautiful. We were on the bus and there were a
bunch of people speaking in German. It just made we want to study
German again...but it was weird after a little bit I started to remember
German and I almost understood a couple of phrases that they were
saying. Anyways it was a sweet P-day. We went with a member...a
returned missionary. He only has 1 month back from the mission. I was
asking him if he had any advice for me. He was like just have something
to do when you get home. Well I should be fine with that....I´ll be
working almost right when I get off the plane. </div>
<div>
So for food that i want. I left my list at the house....haha i
made a list of food that I want when i get home. But anything will be
awesome I know. Some of the things that i´ve missed the most are
mexican food, lasagna and stir fry. Also for lunches if theres
watermelon and maybe some chips that would be nice. Oh and do we have
peaches. I want to eat a peach so badly. But in the end i´ll be happy
with anything....i´m not picky. </div>
<div>
So for doing something in Spokane....I can´t really think of
anything that I´d want to do well at least that I can do. I´d like to
play hockey but I think that will have to wait for a little bit later
on. And I want to be released if that isn´t too big of a problem. I
don´t want to have a companion anymore...i´m done with those days...well
until I find an eternal companion that is....haha. </div>
<div>
So I actually saw some of that soccer game. We were at lunch with a
member and there were watching it. They didn´t take to well to loosing
to Mexico....but there weren´t riots or anything. If they had lost to
Argentina it would have been a different story. They hate Argentina
here. But yeah the people watch a lot of olympics here. It kind of
sucks because you´ll be walking down the streets and just see bits and
parts of it. I´m always like who´s winning, whats going on. Haha. But
everyone tells us how good the USA is doing...so thats nice. I guess
we have the most medals....or did the other day. I´m not sure anymore. </div>
<div>
Well I´m super excited to see everyone....this last week will fly
by for me...i leave tomorrow for Salvador and then Thursday I leave for
the states! </div>
<div>
I love and miss you all,</div>
<div>
love Garrett </div>
Parsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-6602007878813399482012-08-09T07:47:00.001-07:002012-08-09T07:47:28.125-07:007 DAYS TO END OF MISSION 8 DAYS BEFORE HOME!!!Hey family!<br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
Well first off....Happy late birthday Mom! I forgot to
send that last week. But I hope that it was great. This was a crazy
week for us. It didn´t go like we wanted it too. We wanted to have
baptisms this weekend but sadly 6 baptisms fell. But we will hopefully
have more luck my last week. But this week started out really hard.
Everyone was falling or didn´t want to meet with us anymore. Until the
end of the week. We are starting to teach one of our Recent converts
son´s. The missionaries already talked to him with little success. But
we were able to get him to open up and have a good convo wtih him. At
the end we asked him to pray and he accepted. The prayer was so
spirtual. One of the most spiritual experiences i´ve had on my mission.
There were pauses of like 2 or 3 minutes in the prayer. At the
beginning it was just quiet. But the spirit was so strong. I was
shaking a little bit it was so strong...then he started to talk. He was
like God I don´t know what to say but I know you can give me the words
to say. After that he just started to pray for help with some problems
he had. But it was super awesome. But he should be baptised this
weekend if everything goes as planned.</div>
<div>
So right now i´m in Salvador. It kind is lame because I´m going to
be going back to Itabuna tonight. I hate sleeping on buses! I´m so
not looking forward to my flight home...i´m just going to be miserable.
But it will be alright in the end. I can do it. I´m here because I
had to renew my visa for the last week i´m here. I´m been illegal here
since April so I guess they think its about time to get me legal. Oh
well. What are you gonna do?</div>
<br /><div>
Well I agree with you Dad about it being a good thing i´m coming
home soon because I´m out of things to say as well. So I guess I´ll
just end. I love and miss you until next week!</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Love,</div>
<div>
Garrett</div>Parsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-50988513581339305972012-07-30T20:00:00.001-07:002012-07-30T20:00:43.123-07:0018 DAYSHey family,<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Wow so it was a crazy week. So my comp
actually didn´t have dengue which was good, he just had a really bad
virus but by Wednesday we were working strong. We had a wedding...my
first on the mission! A baptism the next day and then sunday....we went
looking for people to go to church. The first 5 people that we stopped
by didn´t want to go or weren´t home. So we were starting to get a
little down and then at the last moment things started to work out. We
ended up having 16 people in church! I´ve never had more than 5 so that
was a huge blessing. We are excited about what could happen this next 2
weeks. We are going to try and do some big stuff here. But we will
see what God has in store for us. But its cool to see the results come
from the work. We just have to keep going strong and finding the people
that want something. Then it will be easy.</div>
<div>
Man that is crazy that everyone is getting married here in the
ward. Well I guess that is a good thing. Means that the Prophets
advice is being used. Haha. Also makes me feel old. But oh well.</div>
<div>
The
mission been a crazy experience for me. Actually it doesn´t feel like
it will end in 2 weeks. Because nothing changes here. Its the same
work everyday. But i´ve changed I know that...that has also made the
end of the mission scary. Will it be the same back home....will people
accept me how I am now? But its also a good thing. I have grown a lot
in my testimony about the gospel. Also i´ve seen where i´m weak in the
gospel. All of these things have been brought into a bigger light. I
see why we need the gospel here on the earth. The gospel doesn´t need
us...we need it to return to the presence of God. It is the only way.
We can´t do it alone or without the saving ordenances that are so
needed for our progression here on the earth. Testifying about the
truth of the Book of Mormon has come to show me how true it is. Really
all we do it enter and tell people that hey we have this awesome test
you can do. Read a part in this book, think about it, and then ask God
if it´s true! Its so simple and its sad when people wont even do that.
The simple things confound the learned or prideful. I know that its
true because everytime one of our investigators askes God if the Book of
Mormon is true I feel it in my heart as well that it is true. Its an
undeniable peace and warmth. Its all true....the people just aren´t.
And if we can overlook that part we have a chance a big chance to
getting what we all want...to live with God again! I know the church is
true and that it helps us. That God has a plan for us all and that all
we have to do is trust in that plan. We are here to have joy! The
gospel is joy. In the name of Jesus Christ amen</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Well I love you all....Garrett<br />Parsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-73923371149281237342012-07-23T19:09:00.001-07:002012-07-23T19:10:03.547-07:00THREE WEEKS!!!Hey family,<br />
Wow another week went by. This was a pretty good week.
Started really well. We had a lot of success and were finding a lot of
people. The only bad thing is the end of the week we didn´t have that
many people in church. But its still all good. We should have a few
baptisms this week and at least one until the end of the mission. At
least that is our goal. Things are a lot better here...i´m happier.
It isn´t always easy. My companion and I don´t always agree but we are
able to talk and get things done so its a working relationship. The
only problem is he got dengue. Its a sickness that you get from
masquitos. Its really bad and knocks you down. He still wants to work
so it shouldn´t hold us back too much. But we will see. <br />
So a crazy thing happened. There used to be sister missionaries as well
here but they are being transfered out. So everyone in their group we
will have including the baptisms. So that will be cool. We will just
add to our group and in the end we should baptise a lot. If everything
works out then we will be super busy. <br />
So they had a talent show here. And there were like 3 skits that little
girls did belly dancing stuff. I was like this is so inappropriate. I
felt like an old person watching it though because I just felt so
uncomfortable. I`m like this is a church activity and this shouldn´t be
happening. But the last skit was so good. It was a Michael Jackson
skit. The kids that did it could dance so well and they dressed up
really cool. It was awesome. So in the end it turned out well.<br />
Well I hope that its a great week for you all. <br />
Love you all,<br />
GarrettParsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-62362450234037554072012-07-16T17:49:00.000-07:002012-07-16T17:49:02.479-07:00FOUR WEEKS!!Hey family!<br /><br />Well things have changed.....it didn´t work out. I
was emergency transfered to a new area. It got to the point that he was
like I don´t want to be here and i´m not going to help with any
decision making. So I was like well then lets talk to President. We
did and I ended up leaving. Oh well its better. I like my new area.
The ward is so much better. There are members that help and we have
lunch everyday! I´m so happy about that. It was rough not having lunch
all the time. I´ll be able to gain some weight again. I´m getting
unhealthy. My new comp is also happy with the new change. He was like
you can actually teach me something. I´ll do my best to help him out.
He is a complete nerd...its all good though. He likes to talk all the
time so thats better than never talking I guess. But the ward is
awesome so thats all that matters. We were able to get some good
numbers in just 3 days that i´ve been here. Oh so i´m in Itabuna
Fátima ward. Its close to my other area. It is just another city. Its
a lot hotter here. So I guess thats a good thing. I´ll be used to the
heat again. <br /><br />
Well thats cool that the fence is almost done. It will be a lot
different having a fence in the back now. I´m excited about that. Jury
duty. That´s never fun. Hopefully it is a fast case. I forgot about
those types of situations. I´m going to go into shock coming home. I`m
almost certain of it. I`m so used to strange things. Flavela and 3rd
world living standards. It will be so messed up to go back to American
standards. Hopefully its an easy transfer....haha. <br /><br />
Well i´m doing well here. And 4 weeks and i´ll be home. That seems
unreal and doesn´t seem like it will really happen but i´m excited to
see everyone again!<br />Love and miss you all,Parsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-58214923580291169682012-07-09T19:49:00.000-07:002012-07-09T19:49:57.468-07:00FIVE WEEKSHey Family,<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well it was a up and down week. A lot
has happened. It wasn´t all that great as companionship unity goes. We
had problems all week but yesterday I was able to talk to one of my
good friends here on the mission who is the Presidents Assistant. He
talked a lot about what you talked about Mom. President is inspired and
there must be a reason that i´m together with him. Also he was like I
don´t want you to end your mission and be like I could have done more so
when it gets hard just remember that. It will help you endure to the
end.´ Its true. So i´ll just have to suck it up and find a way to make
it work. Somehow we have to be able to get along. We just have to
find what ´that´ is. </div>
<div>
Other than the companion situation a few other things happened this
week. I got sick. I had a fever and felt week for like 3 days. I´m
pretty much better now. My companion got even sicker than me though.
He ate some street food. Not a very good idea most of the time. He´s
been pucking and on the toilet for the last 3 days. But he´s a little
bit better now. We aer still trying to find a group. We are having
problems finding news of quality. Hopefully this week we will have more
success finding becuase it makes the work even harder when all you do
is look and don´t have people progressing. Time goes a lot slower as
well. But I´ve got hope that things will change. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The
weather here is normal for this time of year. They are saying that it
could get colder. The problem is that i´m just used to the hot. I used
to only be used to cold so everything felt hot. But in Salvador its
still hot its just in the interior that it gets cool.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Well I love and miss you all. <div>
love,</div>
<div>
Garrett</div>
Parsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-32425035683170760242012-07-02T17:02:00.001-07:002012-07-02T17:02:43.774-07:00SIX WEEKS!Hey family!<br />Wow so i don´t know where to start. I think i´ll just
start with the good the releif that I received to know that i´ve got a
job! That is nice. The bad part. My new companion. He got here and
just wasn´t showing desire. He doesn´t talk to the members almost at
all or to anyone for the matter. Turns out he had problems with his
knee and was in rehab for the last 2 months and President gave him the
choice try and stay or go home. He is still on the doubt about it. I
lost my cool a little and said some stuff I shouldn´t have. I don´t
know if I´ve got it in me to help another missionary out....it seems
like thats all I´ve gotten on the mission. But i´m giong to try
harder. I want to end the mission well...i was just hoping to stay with
my other comp because he wanted to stay and had desire. I guess we
don´t always get what we want. It helps us grow. Thats all the mission
is...growth. I guess I needed more that other people. <br />
But I do agree with what you said about leave the past in the past with
my old comp. We are actually on good terms. He talked really well
about our work together. He was like we baptised everyone that you and I
found together. His comp was a huge slacker. I´m happy that they
baptised the group the we left there, I just wish that I could have seen
it happen as well. <br />
Today we played soccer. It was fun....i played a lot better today so
that was a plus. Its always the worst when you suck it up. I´m super
sore though. I´m so out of shape. I´m trying to do what I can to get
kind of back into it. Jump roping and such. Its better than nothing. <br />
Happy Birthday Dad! You´re only as old as you feel. When I show my
pictures to people they are like your parents are so young! So that
should make you feel good. Especially since everyone here has 3 kids by
the age of 17. So you are really young.<br />
It has been super cold here these last few nights. I´m almost dying. I
have to sleep with socks on at night! I´ve never done that in my life.<br />Oh
so yesterday of all days...we help a member moves some stuff. Well
because we are in Brasil no one has a car so we walked stuff from one
house to another. It was horrible. It sucks to move in the first place
and worse when you walk a half a mile to the other house with a couch
or stuff. Oh well...its the last time I do anything like that.<br />
Well I love and miss you all. But these last few weeks should go by pretty fast.<br /><br />
Love,<br />GarrettParsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-81340848572799707282012-06-25T20:27:00.000-07:002012-06-25T20:27:48.534-07:00SEVEN WEEKS!Hey Family!<br />
<div>
Wow so it was a week! It was a holiday here and holiday
just means bigger parties than normal with lots of alcohol. Oh well
its pretty much over now. Just a few people that are still trying to
keep the party going. But it will be my last big holiday here in
Brazil! I`m stoked about that. I´m not a fan of their parties here and
its horrible for the work. So this holiday is called São Joâo. It
must be some catholic holiday with its name. But what everyone does is
dress up as cowboys and cowgirls....also they have these firecrackers
called bombas, the only thing they do is make a loud noise and a bright
light. I think they bought them from the military (flash bangs)
because they are super annoying and i always get super jumpy when they
start throwing them. I´m glad i´m not in Salvador though. It was so
much worse last year there. I thought i would die. It wasn´t super bad
here. Also they have special food...corn that they cook until its dry
and doesn´t taste good and also they have raw peanuts that they cook in
water. I´m not a huge fan of it. Peanuts toasted are so much better.
Oh and also they have huge bon fires in the road that just create a
bunch of smoke that comes into our house. But oh well....its over.</div>
<div>
The President of the branch here is so cool. He is what saves this
branch. There are a few other cool people but there are a lot of
people that I could do without. All they do is complain and do nothing.
But President is so calm and he is like an actual friend, not a
leader. We can actually have conversations with him.</div>
<div>
But on a better note we did baptise this week. So that was nice.
We baptised the daughter of a recent convert. Completing the family.
Its always nice to see the end result. A family more united with the
gospel to help them in their day to day life. It is a blessing. </div>
<div>
The weather has been crazy here. It is super hot during the day
with a really strong sun. And then at night its cold. So at least it
is easy to sleep. I hate it when its hot at night as well. Makes it so
much more miserable to sleep. Sounds like the weather is about the
same at home right now. But its humid here not dry. I´m a little
worried about that. I think that i´ll be getting a lot of bloody noses
when I get home because of the dry weather. </div>
<div>
So this week we were knocking doors and we found the most elect man
ever. He is so cool. He loved the message and was at church this last
sunday. He loved church as well. Only downfall....he is a truck
driver and leaves for 20 to 25 days and is only here for 4 or 5 days.
So that will make it super hard for him to be baptised. But he loves
it and when he gets back he wants to continue going to church. We are
also teaching his family. They aren´t as elect but they are at least
nice. We will see what happens. </div>
<div>
So we went to a museum...well thats what they said. It was so
small and not that cool. We were hoping for something a lot bigger and
cooler. But we don´t always get what we want do we. Then we went to
the center. While we were there i fell pretty hard. We were walking
and i stepped off of the sidewalk and here in Brazil nothing is level I
hit something unlevel and my ankle just gave out. I was more
embarrassed at the time but now i´m a little sore my wrists and knees.
Oh well. I should be fine. I´ve only got 7 weeks left I can´t break
anything now...haha. </div>
<div>
Oh yeah so transfers came. I´m not happy about them. My
companion is leaving. He didn´t want to leave either. I finally get a
companion that I like and he leaves. And to top it off my last comp is
coming to an area right next to mine. I was hoping that I wouldn´t have
to see him for the rest of the mission. Oh and even better I´m his
district leader so i´ll have to be in contact with him. My new comp
will be an American....i really wanted to end my mission with a
Brasillian. Its so much easy to speak the language when you have a
native. My Portuguese was getting so much better again. Oh well....its
my last transfer so i´ll just have to make the best of it. Also the
President of the Mission leaves. So a new President will be
here...we´ll see how that is.</div>
<div>
Well I love and miss you all,</div>
GarrettParsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-10494119074914038222012-06-18T17:28:00.001-07:002012-06-18T17:28:44.997-07:00EIGHT WEEK COUNTDOWN !Hey family,<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well it was a week for us. It was a week
of trials. We ran into every drunk person you can imagine here. I
don´t know why but it was annoying as all get out. They wouldn´t leave
us alone. But hopefully this week will have more success. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
We did have a baptism this week! That was a blessing. Makes
things a lot better when you can help people out to that point. Its
even better when you can go back and see them firm in the church after a
bunch of time away from the area. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Today we had a activity with the zone. We played soccer. Wow it
just made me depressed. I´m so out of shape and sore now. I´m going to
have to do so much to get back into shape when I get home. But it will
be a good thing. I´m tired of being out of shape. I got super
sunburned as well today. I even used sunscreen but it has been overcast
for a long time so i´m getting white again. Today was sunny and hot so
i just burnt with the sunscreen and all. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
So this last week I did a division with elders in my district. Wow
am I thankful for my area. Their area is horrible. It only has stairs
and hills. I´m glad finally for the flat area. My knees can´t handle
the up and down much more. They needed a break and i´m getting it now.
It was nice though to see another area and new people. Its crazy how
the areas change so much when we are only 15 minutes away by bus. But
it was a completely different atmosphere. The people were a lot
different. </div>
<br />
I know what you mean Dad. I´m running out of things to say as
well. I do the same thing every week so I forget what to say that will
be worth reading. Haha...oh well. I still love reading your emails
even when its just random things that happened.
<br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
Love and miss you all,</div>
<div>
Garrett</div>Parsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-56832722165327963062012-06-11T20:39:00.000-07:002012-06-11T20:39:32.215-07:00MANAUS TEMPLE DEDICATIONHey Family,<br />
<div>
Wow Moscow weather is really messed up. It has been
cold here as well....low 70´s high 60´s. So not all that cold. It´s
actually quite nice now that i´ve gotten used to it. When I first got
here I was freezing. But now i´m liking it. My friend in the south of
Brazil said that it was 28 degrees in his area this last week! Thats
cold and humid cold is the worse. But it happens.</div>
<div>
I´m still blown away that Brianne will be
getting married here in 2 months and a couple weeks....haha. Its so
weird to me. But its also cool. It gives me an excuse to go to the
temple and I really want to go back. It has been way to long for me.
So we saw the Manaus temple dedications. It was super good. The
translator is very good at translating english to portuguese but it was
still good because I understand English. Also we saw the cultural
celbration. I was super disappointed. I was hoping that it would be
some huge cool event and it was lame. But oh well...we don´t always get
what we want in life. </div>
<div>
Sis and Presidnet Vecchi leave the 29th of this month. So i´ll
just have the other president for 6 weeks. Actually the son of the
other President served here in this mission 6 months ago he finished.
He was a good missionary. I knew him a little bit. </div>
<div>
So last week I was trying to save those pictures to my memory card
and in the end it ended up deleting all of my pictures. At first I
thought that i´d lost 2 years of pictures but then my companion was like
there is this program that can recover the pictures! And it works...so
good news i still have my pictures. But haven´t sent any to you guys
because I still need to finish using the program.</div>
<div>
So we have a few people that are progressing really well. They
know that the church is true. We just are teaching the last stuff to
them and they will be baptised in 2 weeks. We should have 2 baptisms
this week. I´m hoping...just depends if they don´t travel. So we will
see. But it is good. We are making progress.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Well I love and miss you all.<div>
Garrett</div>Parsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-33355258332129746152012-06-04T20:30:00.003-07:002012-06-04T20:30:44.538-07:00ZONE CONFERENCEHey Family,<br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
Wow so its been a week. We had zone conference today.
President Vecchi and Sister Vecchi did their good bye. It was so crazy
to see them at the end. I can´t believe that its almost ending for
them and for me here the next. Its D-Day. I´ve only got a little bit
of time to make the most of it. I´m liking the area here. There is a
lot of potential. I feel that we are being blessed we have new people
that can be baptised these next 3 weeks or so. So i´m hoping that
everything goes well for us and for them. </div>
<br /><div>
This week we had stake conference. It was good. And this weekend
will be the Temple dedication. I´m excited about that. It should be
super sweet to watch. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Well sorry its a short email this week. Thanks for the pictures and I love and miss you all. </div>
<div>
Love,</div>
GarrettParsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-67568273149152851382012-05-28T16:08:00.000-07:002012-05-28T16:08:16.993-07:00TEOTONIA VILELAHey family,<br />
<div>
Wow so it was a week! Where i´m at is called Teotonia
Vilela it is ghetto! I feel like i´m living in Genese or Potlatch. But
its a pretty good area to work or at least these few days were good.
When I got here is was so so cold! I almost died. I wasn´t sleeping
well because i was freezing and would walk around the house with all my
clothes and shoes on because i was dying haha funny how our bodies get
used to stuff after time. My new companion is Brazilian. He is pretty
cool or at least for this week he was. The house is good and dry. But
the shower broke and there is only cold water. We have to buy another
shower head we should get one tomorrow or the owner is getting one. It
was about 8 hours by bus here. I´m hoping that its a good area.</div>
<div>
Sounds like there will be a lot of awesome food when I get home. I
love barbecue. And i´m tired of beans and rice so it will be a great
change. I used to be fat for ever but in these last 2 months i´ve lost
around 10 pounds. I´m like at my normal weight now. I feel better as
well. I just need to get back into shape now. And with the smoker you
can make jerky! So that would be awesome. </div>
<div>
Well next week i´ll try to load pictures. It seems like the internet is pretty good here in this lan house so we will see. </div>
<div>
Mom....can
you send me a photo of the family...one that´s really good and would
look good on the wall. Also if there is one...one of the guys Dad,
Ryan and I or Dad and I or something like that. Thanks.</div>
<br /><div>
So I got my flight plans i´ll send you them.
I`m going into Spokane. I not sure why. If you think it´d be better I
can see what I can do to get it into Lewiston. But i´m not sure.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well I love and miss you all,</div>
<div>
Garrett </div>Parsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-42901531942795735702012-05-21T19:41:00.000-07:002012-05-21T19:41:22.408-07:00YEAH FOR TRANSFERS!Hey Family!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So it was a crazy week! We were running
around trying to get a lot of people ready for baptism. In the end only
1 or 6 were baptised. A lot of them didn´t feel quite ready to make
that step in their life. But i feel that this next Saturday they will
be baptised. Sad thing is I wont be here to see it. But i´m happy to
leave as well. I´m going to Ilheus! Its in the interior of Bahia. Its
next to the beach like it is here so that should be sweet. I´m hoping
that its cool there. I´ve been so ready for a change. It has been
rough with my companion for 4.5 months! I´m not sure how I got through
it....well actually I do it was the people in my house that saved me.
But it should be a good change. The only part that i´m not happy about
it the bus. I really don´t want to have to be on a bus all night. Its
the worst. </div>
<div>
It is crazy to see the change in people when they just accept. We
have been working with a family for a while and they are just so much
happier now that they are living the commandments more closely. Its a
night and day difference. That is one of the things that i´ll miss
after the mission. Is see the gospel really change people. I wont be
able to see that on the same level anymore after the mission. A less
active just told us the other day how much she is grateful that we found
her. I remember the day I knocked into her house when I was doing a
division. She wasn´t all that happy and didn´t want a whole lot to do
with the church. But we just started to teach her and know she is so
happy and has a calling in the church. The change is crazy!</div>
<div>
So the weather is getting cold again here. It´s feels a lot colder
than it really is. Its in like the 70´s but it actually feels cold.
Its crazy how your body does get used to the heat after time. I do love
the cold though. It makes me think of hockey. The worst part though
is its been raining so much that they are having mud slides and the
roads are all messed up. Our house was completely wet inside as well.
The roofs here suck. They have the stupid tile that is good for
nothing. So all of my stuff is wet and i´m leaving for a new area
tomorrow. Hopefully my new house will be good. </div>
<div>
Well i´m hoping the new area is sweet and that i´ll like it. It
could easily be my last area since i only have these 2 transfers left on
my mission! We will see.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love and miss you all,</div>
GarrettParsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-81018063715322048092012-05-14T20:07:00.000-07:002012-05-14T20:07:07.635-07:00Mother's Day Call<br />
This was a short entry. We got to Skype with Garrett for Mother's Day on Sunday. It was great to see him and visit with him! <br />
<br />
<br />
Hey family,<br />
<div>
It was so great to talk to you all! I loved it. I was
thinking though I don´t think that I even said Happy Mothers Day. I
feel horrible so i´ll say it now. But I hope it was great. The next
time i´ll be talking to you all in person! </div>
<div>
Well i´m not sure what to say. I miss you all a lot and love you all.</div>
<div>
Love,</div>
<div>
Garrett</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
P.S I got the photos thanks!<br />
<br />
<br />Parsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-46661676981341009092012-05-07T14:31:00.004-07:002012-05-07T14:31:58.736-07:00<div>
Hey Family,</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Well it´s been another week. Today we went to the Barra. Its
along the beach front. It was pretty fun. Got some pretty cool photos
there. I´ve been doing a lot with my old comp thats here in Salvador.
Its been really fun to meet up again and see the sites here in
Salvador. A good break from my companion as well. </div>
<div>
So this week we had some good success finding news. We are
teaching the rest of the family of our recent convert. We did a family
night in there house and it went super well. Everyone liked it and
wanted to learn more. So it was a huge success. We are hopefully going
to baptise 2 of them this week because they´ve already been to church
with us before and then the other 4 next week. But we will see what
happens. </div>
<div>
So I got my glasses done here and the other day they fell and
cracked up near the frame. I brought them in to get checked out and the
guy was like i wont know the answer until tomorrow. So i guess i´ll be
using contacts for another day. Oh well. But hopefully they´ll replace
the lense. It isn´t too bad because it cracked in a spot thats not in
the direct line of sight. But its still annoying. But we will see.</div>
<br /><div>
I´m excited to talk to you all Sunday! It will be an awesome present for the end of the week.
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
I love and miss you all,</div>
GarrettParsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-2816532479326429872012-04-30T18:32:00.000-07:002012-04-30T18:32:20.757-07:00Hey family,<br />
<div>
So it was a crazy week. I´m glad that the week ended
and that we are on a new week. It was super stressful but had some
really good parts. We were finally able to comfirm our baptism that was
baptised 4 weeks ago. What a relief. </div>
<div>
So Elder Clayton, his wife and Elder Carmargo talked to us in
person. We combined with the other mission but only the elders in
Salvador got to see it. It was so good! He talked a lot about how we
need to baptise more people but people that will stay firm in the church
not the once that will enter and leave in 2 weeks. He also talked
about the importances to reactivate people. One of the things he talked
about it if we ask them to do harder things they will be better
investigators. He was like ask them to ask God if the BOM is true in
the first prayer/first lesson. He also talked about planning for the
future. Seems like there are a lot of missionaries that have been going
home and don´t know what to do. He was like make something of your
life have a plan. If you are poor its because you didn´t try to make
something of your life...or about that. He said that this was what the
Brethen had told him to say..everything he taught. It was super good i
liked it.</div>
<div>
So we used his advice and are asking péople to ask if the BOM is
true in the first visit. It has paid off. Rafaela and Aline can be
baptised any day but their parents wont give them permission to be. In
our lesson with them we had Rafaela pray and ask if the BOM was true.
She was praying fast and then asked God if the Bom was true. The
spirit was so strong that she stopped praying for like 10-20 seconds.
It was one of the strongest times i´ve felt the spirit on the mission.
What a great experience it was for me.</div>
<div>
So I guess the members like me here. I got another B-day cake!
This Sunday we had lunch with a super cool member. And she made me
B-day cake. She was sorry its late but its for your b-day. I was happy
and super appreciative. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So I´m planning on calling home around 7:00pm sunday. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In
our house we have 3 Americans and 1 Brazilian. Also the kids that I`ll
be going to Vegas with are from St. George. Or one of them is and the
other is from Boise area. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Well I´m glad to hear that all is well and things
are getting better for everyone. Today we went to the Levador a tourist
area. We toured a lot of catholic church´s. I´ve got some crazy
photos i´ll show you all when I get home. It was super fun though.
Went with my old comp from Eunapolis.
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well love and miss you all,</div>
<div>
Love,</div>
<div>
Garrett</div>Parsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-53707076389030801522012-04-23T21:26:00.002-07:002012-04-23T21:26:34.897-07:00<div class="ecxgmail_extra">
Hey Family!</div>
<div class="ecxgmail_extra">
So
guess what i´m still......in the same area. Haha. I think President
forgot about me here. Oh well also i´m with the same companion. Things
are getting better though with him so thats good. I´m sad though
because my friend one of the zone leaders that lived in our house got
transfered. It kind of sucks. He saved me....we helped each other out
because we both had bad companions for a long time. But his companion
misses him as well. But we´ve already planned before he left after the
mission we are going to go to Vegas together us 3. So that will be fun.
Go to some concerts! Anyways.</div>
<div class="ecxgmail_extra">
So I got the birthday package today. It got
sent to El Salvador first...so it just got here. Its crazy how good
the mail system is. Oh well. Thanks so much. I loved the picture book
and man granola bars. I forgot all about those but they were delicious
and the other candy as well. </div>
<div class="ecxgmail_extra">
Oh my glasses. I´m not a fan of them. I
don´t think they know how to do things here in Brazil. They are alright
but the quality is just so much crappier than my other ones. I´m want
to get another exam when I get back. I´m pretty sure the exam was paid
for by the mission and then i bought the lenses with some reserve that I
had so i´ll just get better stuff on the plan when i get home. They
should hold up for the rest of the time that i´ve got here, or at least I
hppe so. </div>
<div class="ecxgmail_extra">
So this week we found 2 really cool
investigators. One of them Tacio and man had bought a book of mormon.
We were like well we give them for free so you bought it from a non
member. But he hadn´t really ever read it because people said bad
things about it. When we explained what the book of mormon was he got
super excited. He was like a book that compliments the Bible! I love
the bible and to have more knowledge...who wouldn´t want that!? I was
like that is a good question but many people don´t want it
unfortunately. But he´s super stoked to read. Only problem he goes to
college in another city and is only here every other weekend. Other
investigator Robson. He is great as well. We explained the book of
mormon to him and gave him some homework to do. He did it and the next
lesson was awesome. He was like I know that its true and i´m working
towards baptism! So we are stoked about that. They are blessings for
sure. Hopefully we can find more people like them. </div>
<div class="ecxgmail_extra">
This week should be awesome....well at least
Thursday. An Apostle is coming to talk to us. He is in the presidency
of the 70! There will be 2 zones from our mission and 2 from the other
mission here in Salvador that will get to watch it. I love hearing and
learning from these things! </div>
<div class="ecxgmail_extra">
So crazy story. This week we were walking
and some guy starting asking us a question. He was like are you guys
from the same church as Mitt Romney? I didn´t understand how he was
saying Mitt Romney at first but then I got it and was like yeah. He was
like awesome I hope he wins! I love the USA and its great that they
have someone running that puts God first. We also got a return
appointment to talk to him. I´ll talk to anyone that loves the
USA....haaha..jk but its a plus. But its crazy how Mitt Romney running
is making the church´s name get out not just in the USA but in the
World. Great news.</div>
<div class="ecxgmail_extra">
<br /></div>
<br /><div class="ecxgmail_extra">
I love and miss you all,</div>
<div class="ecxgmail_extra">
love,</div>
GarrettParsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-31237402835588661732012-04-16T20:09:00.000-07:002012-04-16T20:09:55.732-07:00<div>Hey family,</div><div> </div><div>Wow so it was a week and a half. I think everyone is just stressed out in the Branch here. We get burned every week fro something or other. But at least we have a majority of the people on our side now. We will just have to work to get the rest on our side. </div><div>This week I was able to go on a division with my comp from Eunàpolis! It was awesome. Great to talk about the old times and our old investigators. Also today we were together all day because I´m getting my glasses. They´ll be done here in a bit. Hopefully it will be a lot better.</div><div>So i´m not sure if the packages came yet. I think the other Elders passed by the office today to get some stuff. But I got cake for my birthday and today i´m going to a party for my birthday! Should be fun. I´ll get another party or at least cake if i stay here in this area as well at another members house. So thats nice to know that at least they like me enough to make me cake...haha. </div><div>So this week the other Elders baptised 3 people and one of them we know pretty good. He is 9 and we´ve helped them out a little with him. He is super smart and always talks about going on a mission. But the other sunday he was in our ward and i was sitting by him. He was like why did you cut your hair like you did. I was trying to explain that I didn´t like the way they cut my hair because no one knows how to cut hair here but he was like it makes you look super old! But if you did a Mohawk it would look super tight....why don´t you do a mohawk and he was trying to stick my hair in a mohawk in the middle of sacrament. I had to laugh...he´s s funny kid. The first time he saw my companion he asked him if he was from Mars. My comp was like why....because you have the face of E.T. It was a little funny. The little kid is burning the older people. But at their baptisms the church ran out of water, so we had to bucket water in from the sisterns out side of the church. It was crazy. But they got baptised in the end.</div><div> </div><div>Well I love and miss you all. </div><div>Love,</div>GarrettParsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-59312771092365181432012-04-09T19:01:00.000-07:002012-04-09T19:01:00.580-07:00Hey family,<br />
<div>Wow so what a week. It started out awesome. We were having success and things were going well and then it blew up on us in the end. 3 of our baptisms fell. 2 becuase the parents would sign the form and the last one because she doesn´t want to change some things in her life, but knows its true. And then the one that got baptised wasn´t comfirmed because she left with her dad for the day. And to top it off my wonderful companion got us into a bunch of trouble but i´m the one that took the burn. So right now our teaching group mainly consists of girls because we have only been getting references from girls from the ward. Not by my doing i´d rather teach men. So i guess someone made a comment about this and my comp was like yeah well you got to do what works...or some stupid comment like that. Making it seem like we are stokers only looking for girls. Anyways the President of the Branch called the mission President and now we´re on tight watch because of the misunderstanding. The most annoying part is after this incidents my comp is like i was just kidding....i just want to say well your sense of humor sucks and its been getting us in trouble. This isn´t the first time its happened. I can´t stand him anymore...i´m praying that I get a cool companion my next transfer. I would like to leave here as well but i might stay because its probably my comp will leave because the mission prez is mad at him. what can you do?</div><div>So yeah we have been mainly finding our baptisms by reference. We knock doors but they usually don´t last that long as investigators and the ones that progress are the references of members. Its crazy how its never just one thing bad that happens but its like when something bad happens the snow ball effect happens. I´m praying it gets better. It´s been a very stressful week and my companion doesn´t help the process. I´m ready to not have this stress anymore.</div><div>Well changing the subject. Still snowing there that is crazy. Its starting to cool down here a little. Its not super super hot just hot now. Hopefully it will cool down even more. We will see though. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Sorry if this email just sound like i´m complaining. I be better next week. Thanks for the pictures!</div><div>Love,</div>GarrettParsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-91764244441193487462012-04-02T18:55:00.000-07:002012-04-02T18:55:27.156-07:00Hey family,<br />
<br />
I don´t know what you consider cooler but it feels a little cooler at times. Actually i just thinks its because the sun goes down so early. Its like 95 during the day but the sun is down by 5:30 which is so awesome. Makes this place bareable.<br />
Is it flooding there like that one year it was really bad or just flooding in spots? Sounds like it has been a messed up year. Or messed up spring there.<br />
So we had 2 baptisms that were planned this week. Unfortunately they both got cold feet. They will be baptised though this week. I´ve got faith. One of them we needed the moms permission because she is younger than 18. When we got there she was completely against it. Just closed heart all the way. But i was able to explain why we were there and why baptism is important. In the end she accepted to sign the sheet. It was all the spirit on that one because she wasn´t having it in the start. It was a testimony builder for me. <br />
Conference was good. I enjoyed it. We were able to get 5 people there, that was a huge blessing and we are super excited about that. We are finally starting to have success here in our area. I´m so stoked about that. Hopefully it will continue to go that way. The only thing that could make it better is a cool companion but we don´t always get what we want. Well it should be a good week. We could have 5 baptised this week if no one falls but i´m thinking only 3 will be baptised. But we will pray for all of them. <br />
Well have a good week. Love and miss you all,<br />
Love,<br />
GarrettParsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-50385262517747352422012-03-26T21:43:00.000-07:002012-03-26T21:43:08.240-07:00Hey,<br />
<div>Well I´ll write even though you forgot about me. We had a pretty good week this week. We were blessed by finding 2 elects. They had already been to church multiple times and just weren´t baptised for one reason or another. They are super excited now and progressing. I`m hoping that they will continues to progress. If everything works out they will be baptised this weekend. Conference and baptisms! What better combo can you get. </div><div>So we have reactived a really cool famliy. They are so nice and are helping us out a lot with the work. They found out about my birthday and were like we are going to make you cake! So i´m stoked about that. I`ll get cake from them and then another member will invite me over because the 13 is her sisters birthday so i´ll get cake 2 days in a row. I celebrated my birthday in her house last year she is super cool. I love that family as well. That is the good thing about being in an area for a long time you get to know the members well and they do things for us. Makes the work so much more fun.</div><div>So the other day I was on a division with a member and I made a contact with the drug trafficers. Invited them to hear our message and go to church. They didn´t accept but they were like hey...you can walk anywhere in this area. Please come back again. So it just got a lot safer there. If they are on your side you have nothing to worry about. But the member was a little bit scared about it. </div><div>So crazy story. My comp from the MTC is in the area of one of the mssionaries that is serving here. We used to live in the same house together and I was talking about how we always drank maté at night. His mom got super excited and was like i´ll send him a cuia and bomba. So i´m going to be getting stuff from another mission. I don´t even know his mom. But i´ll send her a letter thanking her. Another birthday present. Hopefully its a good cuia. But i can´t complain she is sending it for free that was super nice of her.</div><div>Well I hope that all is well there. I´m trying to think about what has happened but i´m not sure what more to write. </div><div>I love and miss you all,</div><div>Love,</div><div>Garrett</div><span style="font-family: '"Helvetica","Tahoma","Arial","sans-serif"';"><span style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></span>Parsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-60860375450133844862012-03-19T19:09:00.000-07:002012-03-19T19:09:00.401-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJsmzF851u-EWYhp8EmAslBji35I0gZ0T-UvMe72vAAGL-hZPmUAg0NXKJjV49n6daIUm9gwzOtn0mIL9Ayz5XnkOEhmIJ8mYVTh1SYxAFz9NKYH0Amno2T-n61TzdvtPLiE7YfLPBYAr_/s1600/DSCF8630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJsmzF851u-EWYhp8EmAslBji35I0gZ0T-UvMe72vAAGL-hZPmUAg0NXKJjV49n6daIUm9gwzOtn0mIL9Ayz5XnkOEhmIJ8mYVTh1SYxAFz9NKYH0Amno2T-n61TzdvtPLiE7YfLPBYAr_/s320/DSCF8630.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Hey family!<br />
<div>It was a crazy week. It went by super super fast! But we finally had a baptism! So we were stoked about that. We had given up on him but then we passed by this week and he was like i want to be baptised. It was crazy. Just shows we need to be patient with people and they will progress at their own rate of speed. </div><div> </div><div>We had a lot of spiritual experiences this week. One of our investigators that we had given a part in the Book of Mormon to read was like that night I wasn´t going to read. I didn´t want to. But there was something that kept telling me I needed to read it. So I read it and i felt really good. It is crazy how the spirit works. The lord really is preparing people we just have to find them.</div><div> </div><div>Also we had a family night this Friday at a less actives who we got to invite some friends that weren´t members. We did a message about the book of mormon. It went super well. She is stoked and wants to learn more. She is inviting us to her birthday and everything! That will be cool. Cake and a future baptism. </div><div> </div><div> We are starting to have success though so thats good. Also that night we went to a members house that was celebrating the birthday of her mom and an Elder we live with. The member is so cool and it was a lot of fun. </div><div> </div><div>Oh Sunday we came home that night and there was a birthday party for a young kid so because its brasil everyone was extremely drunk! But as i was going by this guy grabbed my arm and was like hey take a picture. I didn´t want to but he would let go of me so i´m probably going to be on facebook or youtube with a drunk guy just what i want. Elder Polatis a kid that live in our house just laughed. He was with me when it happened.</div><div> </div><div>So it was the first week in the Branch. We had 45 people. A big jump from 170. But it was good. It looks like everyone wants to work more and help us baptise people. I´m hoping that we can have success and help this branch grow. If the members help it will grow!</div><div> </div><div>Did you get a letter with a arrival photo in it? When i got here to brasil not california. If not let me know and i´ll get one sent or tell the office to send one. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I´ll send some pictures. We went to the levador today. It was pretty good. Got some good pictures.</div><div>Well i love and miss you all,</div><div>love,</div>Garrett<br />
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</div>Parsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-20964342452978673172012-03-12T19:36:00.000-07:002012-03-12T19:36:08.615-07:00Hey family!<br />
<div>What a week! A moose in the yard. That is crazy. Its big too. Hopefully it doesn´t do too much damage to anything there. </div><div> </div><div>So its going into spring there. Its finally going into fall here. It rained a couple of days this week which was so nice. It has been so hot here. I`m ready for a cool down. Everyone has been saying its almost winter. Haha winter to me doesn´t exist unless there is snow or its cold. Winter here is 88 degrees. </div><div> </div><div>This week was really rough for us. Our baptism fell because he met a girl that talked bad about the church. Then we had problems leaving with members and finding news. But this sunday the ward split. So I´ll be in the branch now. That is exciting. I´m hoping that we can get some help from the members and make it a ward fast. My comp and I aren´t doing super good together. We just don´t see eye to eye on like anything. Hopefully we can find some common ground somewhere or it will be an extremely long 5 weeks. We do have plans this week that should help us get more news. Hopefully people that want to progress as well. </div><div> </div><div>So i´m going to the eye docter this next week. My eye is super bad its really bugging me. But i don´t think it will effect you guys at all. I think the exam is paid for by the mission and the lenses i´ll buy with some money that i´ve got here. I know a elder that is in good with an eye doctor so i think i can get hooked up really cheap. AT least i´m hoping so. The exam is on the 20th so if there is something you want me to get at the exam just let me know next email.</div><div> </div><div>So the mate here is called mate chimarrão. I think that its about the same or the same as what we had at home. I didn´t see much of a difference. I´ve just gotten used to the bitterness. Actually it doesn´t even seem bitter to me anymore. Its just super good! </div><div> </div><div>Oh and we just changed from daylight savings time a couple of weeks ago. Worst idea ever. The time we´re in now is so much better. I don´t like daylight savings. </div><div> </div><div>Well thanks for the pictures as well. I hope that its a good week for everyone.</div><div>love,</div><div>Garrett </div>Parsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812760931432179620.post-18780953406440662862012-03-05T17:33:00.000-08:002012-03-05T17:33:45.131-08:00Week 73Hey Family,<br />
<div>Well it was an interesting week. It was extra hot this week. I almost died it was so hot. But its cooler now so hopefully it will stay that way. Its starting to go into fall so that is a huge blessing. I did feel cold the other day. But I think thats just because i walk around all day when its 95 and then at night whens its 75 it feels cold. I´ll die when i get home but i´m so ready to actually feel cold. I really miss the cold. </div><div>The end of this week was terrible. It is sad how distinct the sin is here. All you can smell is alcohol and BO on Saturday and Sunday. And then what you see is worse. It makes me really appreciate what we have in America. Quiet...I don´t even remmeber what that is or privacy.</div><div>So this week we will have a baptism. I`m excited about that. Its been too long. Transfers came and I´m still with my same companion. I`m not too happy about that but I´m not the one that gets to choose these things. Hopefully it will work out alright. The only good thing is that the zone leaders in our house are way legit. </div><div>This whole week I was drinking maté! With the quia and bomba! Its so good. And then if you drink it with a piece of chocolate in your mouth its even better! Today we had a BBQ as well at our house. The 4 of us. It was really tasty. It made me think of home and summer time. I miss eating meat. They don´t eat very much here. Its just beans and rice. </div><div>So easter is huge here. Its one of the bigger holidays that they have. Last year we did an egg exchange and they said they´ll do it this year as well so i´m stoked about that. Also i know where i´ll be going for my birthday...the same place as last year! So that is the good thing about staying one more transfer. </div><div>This week i did an exchange with my companion from Eunàpolis! It was so good to talk about the old days and how things are. It is crazy how fast time goes by. Its almost been 6 months since he was my companion. I could be his companion again but i don´t think that will happen. </div><div>Well another week down. I miss and love you all.</div><div>Love,</div>GarrettParsons'http://www.blogger.com/profile/15792792856638897982noreply@blogger.com0