You've got to envision the fiery crash

Remember Adriana, that investigator I talked about last week? She doesn't want anything to do with us. We passed by her house every day this week, but she was never home, and she stoped answering our calls. We went to her house on Wednesday and found out from her father that her son-in-law had been involved in a serious motorcycle accident. They spent the night in another city because the hospital here in Leme didn't have the appropriate accomodations for them. We went back the next day to visit with her and try to mark a baptismal interview, but everything went wrong. We walked up to the gate (every house in Brazil has a gate) and saw Adriana talking with her daughter and a friend. She was smoking. When she saw us, she quickly went inside her house. After a moment, her friend came out of the front door holding the two copies of the Book of Mormon and the Gospel Principles manual we had left with her. She told us that Adriana's sister had invited her to go to her church that week. She went and decided that she didn't want anything more from us. Her friend tried to give us the books she was holding, but we told her that they were Adriana's. We didn't have much to say, so we left.

It was devastating. I had heard before I left for Brazil that you experience extreme highs and lows on the mission, but I never really took that seriously. My companion and I didn't know what to do. We had spent so much time teaching this person, inviting her to come to church and to the branch activities, praying for her, and in thirty seconds, everything ended.

I drank two chocolate milkshakes that night (which didn't help, by the way -- I just felt disappointed AND fat).

The other noteworthy event from this week occurred yesterday: I gave my first talk in sacrament meeting. It was a complete fiasco because the branch is so horribly unorganized. The branch president told us during Sunday school that my companion and I would be speaking. He was not sympathetic when we told him that we hadn't prepared anything; apparently the sacrament meeting of every third Sunday here is suppsoed to be devoted to missionary work. Meaning that every third Sunday, the missionaries have to speak so that everyone else can get a break. That might sound cynical, but no one told us in advance that we would be speaking, and our talks suffered from it.

I think my talk itself went all right-- I think everyone understood what I was saying, anyway -- but I was really frustrated by the whole experience. There are plenty of members here who could and should give talks about missionary work, but because no one takes the responsibility to set up sacrament meeting before church on the same day, we had to do it. Blargh.

I'm still doing everything I can to help here. I just feel frustrated because almost all the members seem apathetic towards the Church here. We aren't having a ward family home evening tonight (for the second week in a row) because no one planned one, no one shows up to the activities, no one plans any activities; it's all just really difficult right now. But I'm doing my best and working hard, and I think that's enough.

Anyway, that was this week. We're trying to find some new people to teach because both of our really good investigators have rejected us.

I'm actually pretty happy out here, though, despite how disappointing this week was.

okay bye
booga (is that still my name?)