Hey family,

 

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

 

Well I love and miss you all. 

Love,

Garrett

Hey family,

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?

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.

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.  

Sorry if this email just sound like i´m complaining.  I be better next week.  Thanks for the pictures!

Love,

Garrett

Hey family,

  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.
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.
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. 
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. 
Well have a good week.  Love and miss you all,
Love,
Garrett

Hey,

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.  

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.

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.  

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.

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.  

I love and miss you all,

Love,

Garrett

Hey family!

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.  

 

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.

 

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. 

 

 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. 

 

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.

 

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!

 

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. 

I´ll send some pictures.  We went to the levador today.  It was pretty good.  Got some good pictures.

Well i love and miss you all,

love,

Garrett

Hey family!

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. 

 

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.  

 

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.  

 

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.

 

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!  

 

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.  

 

Well thanks for the pictures as well.  I hope that its a good week for everyone.

love,

Garrett 

Week 73

Hey Family,

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.  

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.

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.   

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.   

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.  

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.  

Well another week down.  I miss and love you all.

Love,

Garrett