My lips are near but my heart is far away

May 31, 2010

Bom dia, everyone! I survived another week out here, even though I'm slowly going crazy.

I think it's easier to think of things to write to you guys when the work is going really well. It's kind of hard for me to think of what's been going on this week.

We had zone conference on Tuesday. It was, as always, a really great spiritual boost for me. It's still kind of obnoxious how often the mission leaders talk about baptisms baptisms baptisms, but I guess I've gotten used to it. At this conference I saw Elder Woodhouse, my companion from the CTM, for the first time since my first day on the mission. Having a real friend among all these elders really makes a difference, and I loved catching up with him and telling each other mission stories and all that. I can't believe that it had been six months since we had seen each other -- is time really passing that fast?

At every zone conference, the missionaries who are going home that transfer have the opportunity to bear their testimony to everyone for the last time. I think it was during that part of this conference where I had a quiet, special moment to myself. I can't really explain how it felt, but as I was sitting in that crowd of elders and listening to the mission vets talking about the blessings that have come from their missions, I felt a strong feeling of peace and gratitude. I guess I just realized how wonderful this opportunity is and how much I love being a missionary. It took a while for me to figure it out, but I love it out here. For the first time in a long time (maybe ever), I was grateful to have such a small amount of time on the mission. I get to wear the Savior's name on my chest for another year and four months. What an honor and a privilege!

Of course, that doesn't mean that it's easy. Even though I love my companion -- he's easily the coolest Brazilian that I've met so far -- I struggle with different challenges every day. He's hitting his year-and-a-half mark this week, and he's pretty trunky. He's a great teacher, and he doesn't sleep in or anything, but there are a little things that I wish the two of us did better. For instance, we rarely even study as companions anymore. I think it's easier for me to work hard when I have a companion that wants to work more than me; I'm not a very proactive person. Perhaps that's the lesson to learn from all this: self-motivation, personal responsibility and all that. It's definitely something I need to work on.

I don't think I ever told you guys, but this is my mission president's last full transfer. He's supposed to serve for another year, but he's leaving for some reason (I think it's because he received a higher calling). I guess it's a pretty huge deal, but I won't really see the effects of all this until next transfer. I'll keep you guys posted.

We have a few good people we're teaching. That guy that went to church and a bar last week, João, is progressing nicely. We've been working with him to put an end to his smoking habit, and he has actually been improving. Unfortunately, he didn't go to church yesterday. Dunno what happened there. We did have an investigator there, though: his name is Catarino. He's an old ripped black guy who obviously smokes a lot. We just stopped by his house this week and quickly explained the Book of Mormon to him. He assured us that he would go to church on Sunday, but I was pretty skeptical because we hear that a lot. But sure enough, he went to church clean shaven and everything all by himself. The bad news is that he's going to be in São Paulo for two weeks, so we're not even going to hear from him until after this transfer is over. Who knows if I'll even be here when he gets back.

We're teaching this old couple named Elídio and Nalva (Brazilians have such weird names, guys). They have raised six kids to adulthood in the Catholic Church, so they're apprehensive about changing religions or even making big commitments with us. But Nalva, the wife, has read every part of the Book of Mormon that we've marked for her, and it seems like she understands the importance of our message. They decided to hang out with their family in a chácara (a small countryhouse kind of thing) yesterday instead of going to church. Bummer.

I'm teaching my Brazilian companion to be a stereotypical, indignant black teenager. I've already taught him how to say "You don't know me!" and "You don't know what I've been through!" My favorite, though, is when he says "What am I supposed to do without my cell phone?!" That's not racist, is it? Oh gosh, I'm sorry.

Anyway, I'm doing fine. If anyone asks you how I'm doing, just tell them that I love the people, I love all of my companions, I love teaching the gospel, and I LOVE Brazil. You would be telling the truth if you said all that.

Anyway, I hope you're all doing well. The Church is true! I love you!

Tchau,

Booga

Our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up

May 24, 2010

I made a contact with a dude yesterday he cut me off in the middle of my spiel and said he couldn't attend to me. He said a few things I couldn't understand and then showed me the handle of the gun he was concealing in his pants. So I tried to be polite and took off. I could have gotten shot! Wouldn't that have been cool?

We went to a little health clinic on Friday so my companion could get vaccinated for swine flu (I was already vaccinated in Leme). While we were waiting in line, a nurse came out of the vaccination room with a syringe so she could administer the vaccination to an old man. The guy didn't seem to realize what was going on, so he sat quietly until the needle entered his arm, which made him shout a quick "Ah!" He did it again when the nurse pushed the medicine in. As she quietly explained that there would be a little prick before she gave him the second shot, he continued to sit in silence. The nurse gave him the shot, and the old man shouted, "Ah!" again. Everyone in line was laughing. The nurse politely assured him that he didn't need to yell like that. The old man replied, almost in tears, "But it hurts!" Poor guy.

That same day, we went downtown to a huge hospital so we could give our bishop a blessing. He has cancer of some kind and has been in the hospital for the last week or so. He specifically asked that we go and give him a blessing, though I still don't know why. The hospital ward that he's in has very strict rules about visitors: only two people can enter his room per day, and they cannot enter together. A senior missionary had already visited the bishop before us that day, so it looked like only one of us would be able to go in. At the last minute, the doctor in charge of the ward allowed the two of us to go in and administer to the bishop. I had just learned that same day how to anoint someone in Portuguese, so I was pretty nervous. Everything turned out fine, though. Our bishop is the kind of person who is always enthusiastic and genuinely interested in what you have to say, so it was a bit disconcerting to see him in such a weakened state.

I bought glasses last p-day. It was crazy because we only went to one glasses store, and I ended up buying the very fist pair that my helper placed on the table. I had already been to a bunch of other places before that, and I never found anything that looked good on me. That's not to say that my glasses are right for me or anything -- they're thick and square and black and plastic. Awesome. I look like such a dork when I wear them, and I love it! They have been helping me a lot: I can see things much better now, and all the snakey girls are staying away now.

Oh, speaking of which, I had my first real snake encounter. I was doing a division with Elder Jeffery, the other American in our district, and we were trying to find an address that I had. We started walking down a street, and a teenage girl passed by us. She was kind of staring at me the whole time, so Elder Jeffery said hi to her to make things less awkward. In response, and without stopping, she said "Nossa, que moço bonito!" (Basically, "Wow, what a handsome boy!") We spent the rest of the day trying to figure out which of the two of us she was talking about.

We only have one progressing investigator right now. His name is João. He was the guy who came to church last week semi-wasted. He accepted baptism, so we have been working with him to help him stop drinking and smoking. He's been doing well so far. But he didn't go to church yesterday.

We taught the first lesson to a few people this week, but they're lazy or they don't get it or their crazy wife is a rude Catholic or something, so none of them went to church yesterday, either. We need to do something to get the work moving faster around here.

My companion is awesome even though he's pretty liberal with the mission rules. My area is awesome, even though we don't have very many good people. My testimony grows every day, as long as I make good use of my study time.

The Church is true!

Eu amo vocês!

Abraço,

Elder Wing-eez

Shout at the world because the world doesn't love you

May 17, 2010

I hit eight months on the mission yesterday! Hooray! Does it feel like it's going fast for you guys? It does for me (sometimes)!

This week went by pretty quickly, and I think it's because we had a few days where we didn't get much work done.

On Wednesday I went to the eye doctor. I've noticed that my vision has gotten worse since I came to Brazil, and it has been bugging me for a while. I'm not blind or anything, but it has been difficult to see things clearly at a distance. So we scheduled an appointment with a doctor for Wednesday and headed downtown after lunch. The visit was pretty routine; the doctor pointed flashlights into my eyes and made me look through weird machines. He had me read letters on the wall and I did well until he screwed everything up and made the letters really small. I didn't do so well then. He told me that I'm not the kind of person who would depend on glasses to be able to see, but that I could use them to help me out. He gave me a prescription. My companion and I spent the next few hours walking through the city and stopping at various glasses stores to see if we could find a good pair for me. I almost bought a really huge pair of black plastic ones, but I wimped out at the last minute. The rest were either too ugly or too expensive, so we're going to go back down there today to try to find some chic specs for me.

On Thursday we walked all over our area to try to visit people, but it was one of those days where no one was home.

On Friday I did a division with the other American elder in our district. We had lunch at the stake patriarch's house. The food was great -- she even made us french fries -- but my comp couldn't stomach it. While the patriarch's wife was talking on the phone in the other room, he sprinted to the bathroom and puked his brains out. I figured he wouldn't want to work too much because he was feeling so gross, but we actually got a lot done that day. We made a ton of contacts and made a visit to the lady I baptized, where we gave her photos from her baptism.

We are once again in that stage where we're finding new people to teach. We taught the first lesson to a few new people this week, but only one of them went to church, and he was only partially sober. He kept interrupting during the Gospel Principles class with awkward comments. Between the second and third hours, everyone was mingling in the hallway. A recently returned missionary was talking to me about his mission and stuff, and when he heard that I was from California he mentioned that the San Diego temple is beautiful. Our investigator, João, commented that people say that the light is there. When asked to elaborate, he said that the light that the founder of the Church saw is there. That's what people say, anyway. He doesn't even know what a temple is. He was pretty wasted.

We actually saw him as we were walking to lunch yesterday; he was drinking and reading the paper at a bar. I guess he went straight to the bar after church. I guess the lesson about repentance didn't really register.

I'm having a lot of trouble doing this in English -- can you tell? Sometimes I write things in here or in my journal and become completely lost in the middle of a sentence. Sorry if none of this makes sense.

So that was my week. Not a lot going on lately. We're just trying to find new people. I'm still liking my area and my companion a lot. He told me the other day that he's been feeling pretty trunky, which complicates things. He only has six months left on his mission, so I can't really blame him. We're still working hard, though, which is what matters.

I love you guys and hope all is well back home. The Church is true! Tchau!

luv

booga

Jack of all trades, master of none

May 10, 2010

Hey everyone!

It was so great to talk to all of you yesterday! Even though my time with each of you was short and I couldn't think of a lot to talk about, I really really enjoyed my phone call home. It was nice to remember that you guys (all of us, I guess) are still basically the same despite all the crazy changes that have been happening to everyone.

I guess I don't have too much to say beyond what we talked about yesterday in the phone call. I don't know if I told everyone, but I had my first real baptism on Saturday night ("real" meaning that I was actually at this one). We baptized a lady named Ivanilda who we've been teaching since I got here. Sometimes she says things that are a little weird because she used to go to churches where people just yell and speak in tongues and stuff, but she was definitely ready to be baptized. Honestly, I was kind of taken aback by how fearless she was about the whole thing. She agreed to be baptized a while ago, and nothing has happened to keep her from doing it. She has been going to church alone, which is huge. I was the one who baptized her. I was nervous because it was my first time baptizing anyone, but everything went well. The bishopric confirmed her in sacrament meeting yesterday. It looks like she has every reason to stay firm in the church; we've done everything we could so far, anyway.

Other than that, this week wasn't too exciting. My companion and I helped the first counselor in the bishopric move, and I hurt my back the day after as a result. I'm doing fine now, but those few days were pretty rough.

Oh, I saw another dog die, too. I told Andrew, Sam and Dad on the phone. The dog was hit by a truck right in front of my companion and me. It had run out into the road and saw the truck coming, and it looked like it couldn't decide whether it should finish crossing the street or turn around. So it stayed in the middle of the road and was pulverized by a truck that didn't even slow down. The truck drove off as the dog urinated on itself and began to screech and roll around. It limped off into someone's yard as everyone started coming out of their houses to see why the dog was screaming. I'm pretty sure it didn't survive.

It's a crazy world down here, guys.

I guess I shouldn't end on a downer like that. It was really great to talk to you guys and hear how you're all doing! I miss you!

luvz

boogaz

(I was going to send you guys photos from the baptism but this computer won't let me. Oh well.)

You will lift his body from the shore and bring him home

Guys, this week went really well. It seems like a lot has happened since I got here, but I think that's just because it can be pretty overwhelming to be in a new area with new people and all that.

My comp's name is Elder Urbani. I think I mentioned it last week, but he's Brazilian. So far things have completely turned around from what it was like with my last companion. Elder Urbani is one of the most calm, patient people I've ever met. He's from the city of São Paulo, so he's not that far from home. He's a really cool guy, and he is somehow also a great missionary. He's good at teaching and he doesn't treat me like an animal, two qualities that I didn't find in my last comp (I'm still pretty bitter about all that).

Unfortunately, I haven't spent that much time with my actual companion. The other dupla in our district work in an area right next to ours. One of the missionaries is American, and the other is Brazilian. They don't get along at all. I have already done a few divisions because they don't like each other and because there were interviews and everything. It's not too bad because I just work and speak English with the American and we have a good time. I've already become fast friends with him and the other elders in our zone. Things are picking up, for sure.

Our area is tiny. Rio Preto is a huge city, so there are multiple duplas spread throughout the city. Elder Urbani and I cover a small area right next to the chapel, which is located across the street from our house. It's pretty crazy how different the work is here. I feel confident in inviting people to church because it's right next to everyone's houses and the chapel is gorgeous. It's easily the nicest I've seen so far in Brazil, and it's nicer than some in America. I've only been to church once so far, but it seems like the members here do their part. I'm hoping that we'll be able to work better with them this transfer than when I was in Leme.

I made a contact with a drunk guy carrying stuffed animals. They were rabbits. He didn't give me his address.

I made a contact with an old guy. I asked him if we could come by his house to share a message with him, and he just stood there. I gave him a second before I said the message only takes a little while and it's really special. He stayed quiet. I started making faces at him. I'm going insane.

Killed two cockroaches in the middle of the night this week. I just about peed myself because I was half asleep and they were scurrying all over the place. They almost ran onto my feet.

We sleep outside on the porch here. It reminds me of sleeping out on the balcony back home during the summer. I wish I could send you a picture of what I look at right before I fall asleep each night. The buildings and the windows and even the sky look foreign to me.

We're looking forward to a baptism on Saturday. Reeeeeeeeeeeeally hoping that this one goes through. We've been teaching a nice lady who sincerely wants to join the Church. We're going to help her quit smoking and drinking coffee so she can be baptized on Saturday. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I can't wait to call home THIS WEEK. Oh my gosh it's going to be so gostoso. It's a good thing I'm in my new area because I won't be all bitter and grumpy for the phone call. I hope.

The other two American elders and I are going to Wal Mart after we finish our emails. Even though I think Wal Mart is an evil corporation that's going to ruin the world or something, I am so excited to go. I hear they have those raspberry-filled donuts that Dad used to buy every Saturday night for us. I'm going to buy twelve boxes.

Anyway, I love you guys! Hope everyone is doing well back in the promised land!

luv

booga

Banshee Beat

Boa tarde, everyone!

So, I was transferred.

My last day in Leme was a bit of a fiasco. My companion and I walked across the city to pick up an investigator for church. When we got there, she said she was busy cleaning the house, but she would go. This investigator is really good. Her name is Jamilla, and we found her when we were making contacts this week. She's twenty years old and has two little kids (eek).

Anyway, she agreed to go, but we were going to have a hard time taking her and her two children by foot to the other side of the city. So my companion and I told her we would come back a little later to pick her up. We couldn't call anyone because our cell phone had run out of minutes. We went to a nearby member's house to see if they could give us a ride. No one was home. We walked to another member's house, and no one answered the door (we later found out that they were home). We walked all around that part of town afterwards trying to find a taxi on Sunday. No dice. We finally decided to go back to Jamilla's house and just walk from there.

By the time we left, it was already after 10 o'clock, and sacrament meeting starts at 11. Elder Pantoja was scheduled to give a talk, but it didn't look like we were going to make it. We walked forever and finally made it about halfway to the church when the branch president called us and picked us up. We made it just in time for the sacrament, after which they announced that I would be the final speaker of the day! I hadn't prepared anything because I wasn't supposed to speak that day, but I guess our ward mission leader purposely switched my name with my companion's because I would be leaving that day. I ended up just reading a few scriptures about being of good cheer and bore my testimony. It turned out all right, I guess.

I ate lunch for the last time in Leme and said goodbye to the city. I stayed in the assistants' house last night with a bunch of other elders, and after a five hour bus ride, I made it to my new area. I'm with another Brazilian this transfer. Everyone says he's really cool though, so if I can't get along with them there's probably something wrong with me. A lot of elders said my area is awesome, too. I'm going to be working in a part of Rio Preto (that's not Ribeirão Preto, by the way), which is one of the biggest cities in our mission, I think. My area is called El Dorado. Isn't that cool? The chapel is right next to our house, and it looks so cool. I haven't been inside yet, but it looks like a real Church building. It even has a real-life steeple!

There isn't much to talk about yet because I just got here. I'm hungry, thirsty, dirty, and tired, but I feel good! I remember feeling like this when I got to Leme. It's like I have a fresh new start to try to wrap my head around the mission thing.

I freaking love you guys to death, I swear.

luv

boooooooooooooooga