January 7, 2013

Hah Hello Momma! 

            How is the new living quarters? 

            It is super small; we have a lot of bugs. To work out I tied two bricks together so I could do curls and a bunch of other things. My feet look like I have chicken pox from all of the mosquitoes and it is just perfect. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I am in total bliss and happiness, I only wish some of the people I love could experience this fun way of life here. So simple but so happy.

            Now that you have been there a week what is it like to be out in the real world looking for people who are seeking the truth?

            So this week we taught a couple lessons that were just awesome, we really focused on getting to know all of the ward members and it was super good. They have just been feeding us contacts and helping us to find those people who are ready for the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is so funny to teach here because there are probably ten different types of churches within a mile from where we live. So many different beliefs. It just makes me laugh, there are plenty of blind hard hearted people here but our members are helping a bunch. Hopefully we’ll have three baptisms this week. Yesterday we confirmed two members that were baptized a month ago, and I bore my testimony in our church building. It is different but it is church and I love it. We have sixty members in this ward, the church bought land to build a big legitimate building but won't build until we have 100 members, and once we have that building membership will explode here. I hope I can come back when it is all done towards the end of the mish. 

            Are you only speaking Portuguese since your companion is Brazilian?  

            Yes it has only been Portuguese. An investigator of ours spoke some good English but my senior comp banned me from speaking any English. Ha-ha it has been good and I am learning a ton from him. The key to baptism is the members, their references and the friendliness they show to the investigators. So don't forget your responsibilities as members you guys! 
             Package was great and yes I got it all. Thanks so much momma!  Don’t worry about sending anything; you can just wire money if I really need something. I can buy just about everything here too.

Oh I think you can just cancel mission ties. I have tons of time to email and write and I wouldn't worry about it anymore. I just think it was super useful for the stay at the CTM.

            Should we still always send your letters to the mission home or do you have a new address?

            Yes all things will be sent to the mission home throughout the mission. That will always be the address and we have zone meeting every week so I will get them then! Yes I got the first letter, no worries mom. I love you all so much and thanks so much for the email. I have tons of time to email and write.

            So I am further in land, it is great. It rains every now and then, it is super cloudy or super sunny here I am loving it. The other night after we talked with our investigators we started walking home in the rain, we forgot our umbrellas but it was a nice shower. I love the rain and the thunder here. It is just so beautiful and it cleans the streets.

            Are you in the rural country?

            Our areas are so big that they cover rural and urban. It is like pockets of houses built super close together between big rolling hills with trees. Gorgeous!

            We have been living on a steady diet of coca cola (elder Leal loves coca cola) ice cream bananas, crackers and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. I love it!

            How do you like the members?

            Members here are so loving and we have huge lunch appointments every day with each of them. The bishop here is the best ever. He helps us so much and is just the most relaxed guy ever. We played soccer with the ward members the other night on this artificial turf field with nets and a fence around it. It was so fun. I played goalie basically the whole time but they were super impressed and said I did way good especially for not playing back at home. It was a blast.

            There are tons of dogs here that just live on the streets. They eat some scraps and just run around smiling all the time in their freedom. In the morning when we see them they are just waking up from their little shady plot of land. It is so funny.  

            Well everything is great here in Campo Limpo Paulista. It is going to be Zion when I am done here but until then it is great. I love you all so much; I will have much better things to talk about next week, like my first baptism!

            I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Elder Paynter