And we don't care about the young folks

Dec. 6, 2010

Dear fambuhlee,

Well hello! So, it's my birthday today. I haven't really done anything special yet, but after my companion and I finish our emails, we're going to meet up some other elders from our zone, eat lunch, and watch The Other Side of Heaven at the church. It will probably make me really trunky but that's okay. The birthday only comes once a year, right?

Honestly, I just about started bawling when I saw that everyone in the family wrote me special birthday messages and then read them. I kind of thought that everyone would have forgotten about my birthday, or at least that you would have forgotten to write. The mission is the hardest thing in the world, always, and a lot of times it just takes a reminder that someone, somewhere, cares about you to make things better. Thank you so much for remembering me and helping me feel loved. It makes such a big difference.

I actually received a very special, slightly early birthday present: we baptized yesterday! Hooray! There's a twenty-year-old rapaz (how do I say that in English? young man? dude? guy?) named Bruno that we have been teaching for a good little while now. He has been going to church for over a month because he's going out with a girl from one of the other wards in the stake here. He was interviewed on Friday night and baptized yesterday after church! It was actually pretty crazy; his interview, I mean. One of the assistants was spending the week in my city here because there were some emergency transfers and stuff, so he was the one who conducted the interview. He and Bruno came back into the living room where Elder Harris and I were waiting, and the assistant said that Bruno was absolutely ready to be baptized on Sunday. So, of course, my comp and I start freaking out and congratulating him. As we did so, his (suuuuuuuper Catholic) mom came storming down the hall saying, "You're going to get baptized, Bruno?!" She went on to talk about how we're from a cult and how Bruno was already baptized in the Catholic Church and blah blah blah. I got a little worried, but the assistant handled it like a pro, and everything settled down, and Bruno was baptized! Hooray! Que milagre!

There is another girl named Franciele who we've been teaching for awhile that was also interviewed on Friday night. She passed with flying colors, but she thinks that she's still missing something. She thinks she's not quite ready to be baptized. That same elder who interviewed Bruno set a goal with this girl so that she could be baptized on Sunday (yesterday) as well, so we went back to her house on Saturday night and talked to her. She talked about how she didn't feel like she was ready and everything. Elder Harris and I were fasting, and we were having a pretty rough day anyway, so we just bore our testimonies from the depths of our souls and talked to her about baptism, but she still didn't quite accept. I've seen a lot of people reject the gospel or fall when they were progressing. I don't know exactly why, but this time it really hurt. All hope isn't lost, but Elder Harris and I both walked away from Franciele's house crying our eyes out.

She went to church yesterday, and we're going to do what we can to get her ready for baptism soon, so it'll all work out. That was a rough night, though.

So, funny story: I have a birthday cake at my house. The ward mission leader from my zone leaders' area has a lot of money and a tendency to buy things for missionaries that he likes, and this week he was kind of rude to me on the phone when he was trying to pass a reference to me. Keep in mind that I don't really even know this guy. Anyway, there was a little bit of drama and it seemed like he hated me, but then the other night he showed up in a taxi at our house with tons of food, asking for forgiveness. He bought a R$50 chocolate cake that is now going to be my birthday cake. I'll probably eat so much that I get sick, but that's okay.

I need to let you guys know how jealous I am that everyone seems to be getting snow back home. I don't know who decided to switch things around down here, but I guess that "winter" in Brasil actually means "hellish, scorching summer"! Who knew! It's so hot out here, gente.

Anyway, my time's up. Thank you SO MUCH for the kind birthday wishes. I can hardly express to you how much that helped me this morning. Thank you thank you thank you!

I love all of you with all of my heart. Please forgive me for not having time to respond to each of your emails individually. I know it's not that much fun to write someone who doesn't write back, but I already have to sign off and go celebrate my b-day!

luv

elder wiggins the fourth (or fifth, if dad counts. or, like, billionth, if all the elder wigginses count)

ps I'm sending a couple photos your way. Enjoy!

[Photos not in a format that can be uploaded here . . . Sorry! Send me an email at wigginsbrad@yahoo.com if you want me to email the photos to you.]