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