Crayon angels, songs are slightly out of tune

May 16, 2011

Hey fambily, tudo bem!

So, I'm kind of getting the hang of things in my new area now. Elder Woolley and I are getting along really well and working hard. We have a lot of good investigators that we're teaching, too, and some are getting close to baptism.

We were knocking doors last week when Elder Woolley found a kid named Carlos, who invited us in. Carlos is 15, and we ended up teaching him, his grandma, and his 21-year-old cousin, Maurício. It turns out that Maurício was really curious about the message we shared. He went to church last Sunday. Yesterday, Carlos, Maurício, and their other cousin Marcos all went to church practically by themselves. It was awesome! Maurício seems especially interested, and his baptism is scheduled for this Saturday. The other two should be baptized next week. We're working hard with them to help them keep the commandments and continue to feel the Spirit. They're really good, though. It was cool to have members help us out while they were at church, too; they were guys sitting with them and helping them out the whole time, which was nice. It makes a big difference to be in a big ward with a lot of returned missionaries. It seems like they get it a little better, you know?

Einstein (yeah, that's his name -- cool, huh?) and Jaqueline are a couple that the elders found while knocking doors a good two months or so ago. Einstein is from Rio de Janeiro and is one of the most alegre (joyful, I guess?) guys I've ever met. He loves the missionaries. Jaqueline went to church for the first time yesterday (!), and she liked it a lot. They were having some marital problems, but they're getting better and better. Actually, that's one of the big obstacles blocking either of them from getting baptized: they're not married. And in Brasil, it's not so easy to get married. It's a pretty complicated process that yields no government benefits, so most people don't even bother. Einstein and Jaqueline are progressing nicely, though. We just need to get them married and help them with a few other little issues.

Rodrigo, Carla, Junior, Isabela, and Isadora are an amazing family that Elder Woolley and his last comp found a long time ago, too. They are one of those families, you know? Like, they are so obviously prepared for the gospel, it seems like a miracle that they aren't already members. The only problem is that things keep coming up on Sunday mornings, so they still haven't been to church. They already know a bunch of members, too, because we have taught them with members multiple times. Unfortunately, it's getting to the point where we might need to let them go for now. I really hope they turn around, though, because they are an incredible family.

We had zone counsel this week, where all the zone leaders go to Ribeirão Preto and receive training from President and the assistants. I had never been before, so it was interesting to see the mission from a slightly new point of view. It seems like the further you get up in mission leadership, though, the more you see the numbers and the harder it is to see the people. I'm trying to learn what I can and maintain a good perspective on things.

I feel like I don't have that much to say, but I think it's because we're just going, you know? Like, we're just moving forward every day and not stopping. My companion is really humble and tranquilo, but he's a hard worker. We're just kind of quietly steamrolling forward and giving everything we have to the Lord, and He is blessing us a lot. I'm doing my best to keep moving up and not allow myself to flat line. It seems like it gets harder and harder to keep progressing as time moves on out here. The more time you get on the mission, the easier it is to just coast along, so I'm trying to avoid that. And things are going well! Tudo está bem!

I love all of you so much! I hope you're doing well!

--Elder Wiggins