April 4, 2011
So, general conference was wonderful. I didn't get to watch the whole thing because we weren't able to get it in English on Saturday because of technical problems, but I got to watch the Priesthood Session and both sessions on Sunday. It was so good! Seriously, every single talk was so powerful and spiritually moving. I loved how every time general conference comes around, I feel a renewed sense of duty and a desire to live the gospel of Jesus Christ more fully and more diligently. I hope you guys enjoyed it, too!
I took care of my BYU registration. President gave me permission to go on BYU's website on Friday and just take care of everything myself. I'm taking an English class (for the Civilization requirement), Portuguese, New Testament, Biology, and Physical Science. Assuming I don't screw anything up, I will be just about done with my generals at the end of this semester, so I guess I'll have to figure out what I want to major in soon. I also have to figure out where I want to live and with whom, and where to work and everything, but I'm trying not to let any of this stuff distract me. But anyway, as far as registration for classes is concerned, I'm all set.
That's really all that happened this week. We were just working hard until conference came, and now it has passed. Not much else to talk about, so I won't bother.
I hope you're all doing well! Let me know what's going on in your lives! I love you! The Church is true!
luv
elder wiggins
Sunday, May 29, 2011
I woke up with this song in my head this morning
March 28, 2011
Hey família.
This week was pretty normal. We walked a lot. My companion came down with a pretty strong cold, took some medicine, and got better. Somewhere in there, I also got pretty sick, but I too took some medicine and got better. We lost a day of work because of that.
We're just kind of putting our li'l shoulders to the whill and pushun' right along (read that in Jimmy Stewart's voice).
Dadal and Elen were both confirmed at sacrament meeting yesterday. Woo! Things are moving out here. And they're both strong and firm in the church now. They really were converted de verdade. It has been really cool to participate in their conversion, even in such a small way.
Last night we had dinner with Cristiane and Fernando, that couple I mentioned a few weeks ago whose son is currently living in Utah. They've been going to church for the last few weeks in another ward, and we haven't had very much contact with them since they were just kind of being our friends instead of actually investigating the Church. I still don't really know how it happened, but Fernando expressed interest last night in being baptized. We started chatting about the Church and why they have been going and everything, and he just kind of blurted it out. Cristiane is a little more hesitant because she doesn't think she's ready to change yet. Buuuuuut, now they have agreed to let us go by there with the clear intent to prepare them for baptism. This could be huge. I think it would be awesome if their son baptized them when he comes home next month. We'll see what happens.
That's pretty much it for this week. We're just trying to find new people to teach and stuff. I'll try to think of something more interesting to write about next week, kay?
Oh, I have to register for BYU classes on Friday. My mission president said I could just do it all here, but I don't know what I want to study or major in or anything, and I'm a little stressed out and nervous about signing up for classes. Any help?
I'll send you guys a few photos to make this email cooler.
The first one is of me making a matter-of-fact, Jim-from-The-Office face when I made a year and six months.
The second one is from when we were walking back to Américo from a nearby city called Santa Lúcia. We ended up getting a ride from a member who drove by.
Okay, I love you guys! The Church is true! I'm happy, and I hope you are too!
luv
elder wiggins
From one morning to the next
March 21, 2011
Today is Américo Brasiliense's anniversary, so the whole city is shut down. My comp and I took the bus to Araraquara, ate at Subway (there's one close by, can you believe it?!), and now we're doing the email thing. How are all you guys doing back home? I imagine that it's starting to warm up a little bit back in the real world, but here in the Matrix it's starting to cool off.
Big news this week: Transfers are today! Woo! But my companion and I are both staying in Américo, so it turned out pretty anticlimactic; actually, almost our entire zone stayed where they were, so there's that. Elder Harris, my companion from around Christmastime who is now a financial secretary, called me at 6:40 this morning and told me I was being emergency transferred. But then it turned out to be an unsavory joke. So, we're all still here.
Much bigger news: we baptized yesterday! Woo! Na verdade, for the first time in my mission, we baptized two people on the same day! We baptized Dadal, that woman that I mentioned last week, and a fifteen-year-old girl named Elen.
It was actually pretty insane because Dadal has a bunch of family members in the Church and has seen tons of missionaries come and go over the years. She has even been to General Conference (only two more weeks, by the way!) and to some branch activities here. I honestly don't know what we did differently than any other elders -- if we did anything differently in the first place -- I guess Dadal's time to get baptized had simply come. Dunno. It was really cool, though.
It's also pretty cool how we came into contact with Elen. We were just walking around the city and making contacts during our first or second week here, and I walked by a big morena lady (is it politically incorrect to call her "black"? I don't remember anymore) and said hi to her. She said hello back and was so nice that I just kind of did a 180 and contacted her. That lady's name is Maria (surprise), and Elen is her granddaughter. It turns out that Elen already knew quite a few of the branch members, so it all worked out really well. And now we're going to try to go after the rest of the family. It's just hard because their family, just like everyone else's, is not very united; at least, it's almost impossible to find everyone at home at the same time.
There was actually a third baptism yesterday, but it kind of fell apart. And I still kind of feel like it was my fault. There's a family in the branch whose son Lucas is eight years old and still hadn't been baptized. We had to go and teach him a few things so he could get baptized this week. I'm guessing he chose me to baptize him because there's no father in the family; I don't know why else he would have picked me. Anyway, we were the last ones in the "baptismal font" (it's a small, above-ground pool) yesterday. The water was pretty cold, and when I baptized Lucas, a tiny little part of his head didn't quite go under. And I think he got water up his nose. Anyway, we had to do it again, but as soon as he came out of the water, he said he didn't want to do it again and everyone tried to convince him to just do it really fast but he just wouldn't and I felt really embarrassed and I'm sorry! Anyway, I guess someone will have to baptize him this coming Sunday.
Elder Gillespie always said that there's no such thing as a perfect baptism, and it's really true. The little fiasco with Lucas kind of put a damper on the two baptisms we did have. But now I'm deciding to try and just shake it off. Sei lá.
Did you guys know that President Obama is in Brasil? He was, anyway. Don't know if he still is. People have been talking about it quite a bit.
Anyway, that was this week. Oh, I also made a year and six months this week. But I think I talked about that in my last email. It wasn't that big a deal. I have been on my mission for a long time.
That's all. I love you guys! Tchauzão!
booga
Today is Américo Brasiliense's anniversary, so the whole city is shut down. My comp and I took the bus to Araraquara, ate at Subway (there's one close by, can you believe it?!), and now we're doing the email thing. How are all you guys doing back home? I imagine that it's starting to warm up a little bit back in the real world, but here in the Matrix it's starting to cool off.
Big news this week: Transfers are today! Woo! But my companion and I are both staying in Américo, so it turned out pretty anticlimactic; actually, almost our entire zone stayed where they were, so there's that. Elder Harris, my companion from around Christmastime who is now a financial secretary, called me at 6:40 this morning and told me I was being emergency transferred. But then it turned out to be an unsavory joke. So, we're all still here.
Much bigger news: we baptized yesterday! Woo! Na verdade, for the first time in my mission, we baptized two people on the same day! We baptized Dadal, that woman that I mentioned last week, and a fifteen-year-old girl named Elen.
It was actually pretty insane because Dadal has a bunch of family members in the Church and has seen tons of missionaries come and go over the years. She has even been to General Conference (only two more weeks, by the way!) and to some branch activities here. I honestly don't know what we did differently than any other elders -- if we did anything differently in the first place -- I guess Dadal's time to get baptized had simply come. Dunno. It was really cool, though.
It's also pretty cool how we came into contact with Elen. We were just walking around the city and making contacts during our first or second week here, and I walked by a big morena lady (is it politically incorrect to call her "black"? I don't remember anymore) and said hi to her. She said hello back and was so nice that I just kind of did a 180 and contacted her. That lady's name is Maria (surprise), and Elen is her granddaughter. It turns out that Elen already knew quite a few of the branch members, so it all worked out really well. And now we're going to try to go after the rest of the family. It's just hard because their family, just like everyone else's, is not very united; at least, it's almost impossible to find everyone at home at the same time.
There was actually a third baptism yesterday, but it kind of fell apart. And I still kind of feel like it was my fault. There's a family in the branch whose son Lucas is eight years old and still hadn't been baptized. We had to go and teach him a few things so he could get baptized this week. I'm guessing he chose me to baptize him because there's no father in the family; I don't know why else he would have picked me. Anyway, we were the last ones in the "baptismal font" (it's a small, above-ground pool) yesterday. The water was pretty cold, and when I baptized Lucas, a tiny little part of his head didn't quite go under. And I think he got water up his nose. Anyway, we had to do it again, but as soon as he came out of the water, he said he didn't want to do it again and everyone tried to convince him to just do it really fast but he just wouldn't and I felt really embarrassed and I'm sorry! Anyway, I guess someone will have to baptize him this coming Sunday.
Elder Gillespie always said that there's no such thing as a perfect baptism, and it's really true. The little fiasco with Lucas kind of put a damper on the two baptisms we did have. But now I'm deciding to try and just shake it off. Sei lá.
Did you guys know that President Obama is in Brasil? He was, anyway. Don't know if he still is. People have been talking about it quite a bit.
Anyway, that was this week. Oh, I also made a year and six months this week. But I think I talked about that in my last email. It wasn't that big a deal. I have been on my mission for a long time.
That's all. I love you guys! Tchauzão!
booga
Man, it passes right by me, it's behind me, now it's gone
March 14, 2011
Oi família, tudo bem! How are you guys doing today?
This week was pretty great, I think. Our work here in Américo has been improving a lot. It helps that the rain has stopped -- I had never seen so much water in my life! And it stopped at just the right time, because the umbrella that I bought about two weeks ago is already destroyed. Bummer. Anyway, it has been much easier for us to get around and teach people, and we actually have some investigators that are progressing.
Dadal is the mother of two young girls who are members of the Church, and she is also related to a few other members of the branch. The branch president challenged her to be baptized, so we have been teaching her like crazy. And she accepted baptism for this Sunday! Woo! She's going to be interviewed on Thursday! Woo!
Cristiane and Fernando are a thirtysomething couple who have been taught a few times by multiple missionaries over the course of the last few years. They have a sixteen-year-old son who is a member and currently living in UTAH. I guess he managed to get a six-month visa and has been there since November. He loves os States so much that he wants to study at BYU after he graduates. Fernando and Cristiane are about the nicest people I've ever met -- I have still have never been to their house without being offered dinner. We're trying to help them progress and gain testimonies and get baptized and all that other important stuff. It's hard to teach them because they are already the missionaries' permanent friends, but we'll see what happens.
So yeah, I'm still the branch organist. I want to start giving piano lessons to people, but it's hard to find the time for that kind of thing. I have been getting Mococa flashbacks (that was my first area) because the organ here is the same piece of junk that they had there. It's not even a full keyboard; it's kind of split in the middle and stacked crookedly one half on top of the other. And it sounds like an old Nintendo. But the members of the branch here sing nice and loud, so you can hardly notice that the accompaniment sounds like an old Megaman soundtrack.
All is well comigo. We're working hard and getting stuff done. Don't tell anyone, but in two days I will hit the year and a half mark on my mission. Does that just blow your mind into a million pieces?! I'm trying not to think about time, because I don't want to go home. Also, when do I need to register for BYU? Tell me if you want, or don't.
I love you! The Church is true!
luv
booga
Oi família, tudo bem! How are you guys doing today?
This week was pretty great, I think. Our work here in Américo has been improving a lot. It helps that the rain has stopped -- I had never seen so much water in my life! And it stopped at just the right time, because the umbrella that I bought about two weeks ago is already destroyed. Bummer. Anyway, it has been much easier for us to get around and teach people, and we actually have some investigators that are progressing.
Dadal is the mother of two young girls who are members of the Church, and she is also related to a few other members of the branch. The branch president challenged her to be baptized, so we have been teaching her like crazy. And she accepted baptism for this Sunday! Woo! She's going to be interviewed on Thursday! Woo!
Cristiane and Fernando are a thirtysomething couple who have been taught a few times by multiple missionaries over the course of the last few years. They have a sixteen-year-old son who is a member and currently living in UTAH. I guess he managed to get a six-month visa and has been there since November. He loves os States so much that he wants to study at BYU after he graduates. Fernando and Cristiane are about the nicest people I've ever met -- I have still have never been to their house without being offered dinner. We're trying to help them progress and gain testimonies and get baptized and all that other important stuff. It's hard to teach them because they are already the missionaries' permanent friends, but we'll see what happens.
So yeah, I'm still the branch organist. I want to start giving piano lessons to people, but it's hard to find the time for that kind of thing. I have been getting Mococa flashbacks (that was my first area) because the organ here is the same piece of junk that they had there. It's not even a full keyboard; it's kind of split in the middle and stacked crookedly one half on top of the other. And it sounds like an old Nintendo. But the members of the branch here sing nice and loud, so you can hardly notice that the accompaniment sounds like an old Megaman soundtrack.
All is well comigo. We're working hard and getting stuff done. Don't tell anyone, but in two days I will hit the year and a half mark on my mission. Does that just blow your mind into a million pieces?! I'm trying not to think about time, because I don't want to go home. Also, when do I need to register for BYU? Tell me if you want, or don't.
I love you! The Church is true!
luv
booga
Thursday, March 10, 2011
I am waiting 'til I don't know when, 'cause I'm sure it's gonna happen then
March 7, 2011
This week was nuts, sabe porquê? Because it hasn't stopped raining for the last eight days. I don't know what rainy days are like for missionaries who have cars, but for us walkers it's kind of a pain. Like, it's really, really hard to do missionary work in the rain because there aren't any people in the street to talk to, and when you get to people's houses, they don't want to let you in because you're all wet. My raincoat has been getting some good exercise. My companion and I were kind of imprisoned for a while because neither of us had umbrellas -- I accidentally left mine in Birigui, my last area. We both bought cool umbrellas with the little hook handle at the bottom and a huge metal spike at the top.
Anyway, the work has been going really slow. I'm in a good mood today, but this week was kind of a downer. Our current investigators are all getting really flaky with us, and we're not really finding any new ones. The members here are really cool, though, and I'm liking our area a lot. I'm still getting used to having a big area. In the last three areas that I worked in, you could go from one end to the other pretty quickly. Here in Américo, we have to be smart about how we plan because it takes forever to get from one place to another.
I'm a little behind on my Livro de Mórmon reading. I've been meaning to finish Alma for a few days now. Fun fact: "Alma" means "soul" in Portuguese. That's kind of cool, right? Anyway, I've been pounding through the war chapters lately. It isn't the easiest part of the Book of Mormon because there is so much discussion about strategy and defensive tactics and stuff, but it's still interesting. I was impressed by how often it talks about how the Nephites were successful in battle because they prepared themselves beforehand and were dressed in strong armor. And I love the story of the two thousand stripling warriors (duh), even though reading about them makes me miss Mom.
Elder Nobre and I are still getting along well. I'm glad to have him as my companion. He has a way of talking to people and getting them to like us that I just don't have. I guess I still need to learn how to come out of my shell. Que saco.
So yeah, this week was pretty uneventful. I'm doing well, though, and I'm happy. Trying to stay focused. Trying to talk to strangers. I love you guys, and I hope you're doing well! The Church is true, sabia?
luv
elder wiggins
This week was nuts, sabe porquê? Because it hasn't stopped raining for the last eight days. I don't know what rainy days are like for missionaries who have cars, but for us walkers it's kind of a pain. Like, it's really, really hard to do missionary work in the rain because there aren't any people in the street to talk to, and when you get to people's houses, they don't want to let you in because you're all wet. My raincoat has been getting some good exercise. My companion and I were kind of imprisoned for a while because neither of us had umbrellas -- I accidentally left mine in Birigui, my last area. We both bought cool umbrellas with the little hook handle at the bottom and a huge metal spike at the top.
Anyway, the work has been going really slow. I'm in a good mood today, but this week was kind of a downer. Our current investigators are all getting really flaky with us, and we're not really finding any new ones. The members here are really cool, though, and I'm liking our area a lot. I'm still getting used to having a big area. In the last three areas that I worked in, you could go from one end to the other pretty quickly. Here in Américo, we have to be smart about how we plan because it takes forever to get from one place to another.
I'm a little behind on my Livro de Mórmon reading. I've been meaning to finish Alma for a few days now. Fun fact: "Alma" means "soul" in Portuguese. That's kind of cool, right? Anyway, I've been pounding through the war chapters lately. It isn't the easiest part of the Book of Mormon because there is so much discussion about strategy and defensive tactics and stuff, but it's still interesting. I was impressed by how often it talks about how the Nephites were successful in battle because they prepared themselves beforehand and were dressed in strong armor. And I love the story of the two thousand stripling warriors (duh), even though reading about them makes me miss Mom.
Elder Nobre and I are still getting along well. I'm glad to have him as my companion. He has a way of talking to people and getting them to like us that I just don't have. I guess I still need to learn how to come out of my shell. Que saco.
So yeah, this week was pretty uneventful. I'm doing well, though, and I'm happy. Trying to stay focused. Trying to talk to strangers. I love you guys, and I hope you're doing well! The Church is true, sabia?
luv
elder wiggins
Somebody lurks in the shadows
February 28, 2011
Good morning, família! How is everyone doing? Well? Okay. Let me tell you a little bit about my life.
So, my area. Américo Brasiliense is really small. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but the city that I'm in has around 30 thousand residents. It's almost like a separate district / village thing from the nearest big city. Anyway, my companion and I are the only missionaries in the whole city. And even though we aren't working in a big city, the area itself is pretty huge for one pair of missionaries. I haven't been in an area that was even near as big as this one since my second area. We have been walking a lot.
The Church, like I mentioned before, isn't reeeeally strong here, but so far it seems like the branch is pretty vibrant and energetic. We're really working hard toward the goal of turning the branch into a ward, because in so doing, they can get their own chapel. That would be awesome. The members that we've met have been really cool. The branch president is awesome. He's the first bishop / branch president that I've had who seems to have a good amount of experience and really knows what he's doing. For the first time, I feel like I'm really working with the branch leadership because they want us to. It's cool!
My companion, Elder Nobre, is nuts. He's actually really funny, and we've been getting along well. He has the kind of trademark Brazilian sem vergonha way about him, meaning that he likes to joke around and stuff. But he hasn't been too obnoxious or anything, and he has made me laugh more than any other companion I've had so far. I'm going to start being a little more chato with him and get on his case about making contacts and stuff. We just need to tighten the screws here and there, and things will improve a lot.
I am forgetting how to speak English.
So, anyone remember Elder Gillespie? Probably not. He was my companion for three transfers in São Carlos, and now he's my zone leader. So that's fun. We were actually going to go to Araraquara last night and sleep over at the zone leaders' house, but it started pouring rain, so we're still here. Anyway, it's cool to have friends in the mission.
I'm sending home a couple photos for you guys. The first one is from my last day in Birigüi. This sweet little Japanese lady and her daughter lived next to us there, and they have a giant pit bull named Killer (in English). That's me and him.
The second is of my companion and me. The sunsets here are amazing, although I'm not sure if you can tell just from this photo.
The last one is of my comp living out his dream with a two-liter of Fanta Uva (grape). Look at the bottle's lid.
Okay, I think that's enough for this week. I love you all so darn much! The Church is true!
luv
elder wings
Good morning, família! How is everyone doing? Well? Okay. Let me tell you a little bit about my life.
So, my area. Américo Brasiliense is really small. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but the city that I'm in has around 30 thousand residents. It's almost like a separate district / village thing from the nearest big city. Anyway, my companion and I are the only missionaries in the whole city. And even though we aren't working in a big city, the area itself is pretty huge for one pair of missionaries. I haven't been in an area that was even near as big as this one since my second area. We have been walking a lot.
The Church, like I mentioned before, isn't reeeeally strong here, but so far it seems like the branch is pretty vibrant and energetic. We're really working hard toward the goal of turning the branch into a ward, because in so doing, they can get their own chapel. That would be awesome. The members that we've met have been really cool. The branch president is awesome. He's the first bishop / branch president that I've had who seems to have a good amount of experience and really knows what he's doing. For the first time, I feel like I'm really working with the branch leadership because they want us to. It's cool!
My companion, Elder Nobre, is nuts. He's actually really funny, and we've been getting along well. He has the kind of trademark Brazilian sem vergonha way about him, meaning that he likes to joke around and stuff. But he hasn't been too obnoxious or anything, and he has made me laugh more than any other companion I've had so far. I'm going to start being a little more chato with him and get on his case about making contacts and stuff. We just need to tighten the screws here and there, and things will improve a lot.
I am forgetting how to speak English.So, anyone remember Elder Gillespie? Probably not. He was my companion for three transfers in São Carlos, and now he's my zone leader. So that's fun. We were actually going to go to Araraquara last night and sleep over at the zone leaders' house, but it started pouring rain, so we're still here. Anyway, it's cool to have friends in the mission.
I'm sending home a couple photos for you guys. The first one is from my last day in Birigüi. This sweet little Japanese lady and her daughter lived next to us there, and they have a giant pit bull named Killer (in English). That's me and him.The second is of my companion and me. The sunsets here are amazing, although I'm not sure if you can tell just from this photo.
The last one is of my comp living out his dream with a two-liter of Fanta Uva (grape). Look at the bottle's lid.Okay, I think that's enough for this week. I love you all so darn much! The Church is true!
luv
elder wings
I know someday we'll be happy again
February 21, 2011
Hey everybody!
So, my first week in Américo was pretty good, I think. I have been really stressed out, actually. The area is cool, though.
Like I said, my companion and I got here together, so we have been spending the whole week trying to figure out what to do here. The last elders who were here had quite a few investigators that they were managing to take to church, so we're trying to pick up where they left off.
We taught a lady named Maria every day this week. She is addicted to cigarettes and coffee, so we're helping her stop. We invited her to be baptized, and she accepted. But then we talked about the law of chastity and found out that she's not married. Also, her "husband" is always away from home, and he only comes back for five days at a time. So we're hoping that they will at least want to get married. Who knows. She didn't go to church on Sunday because she slept at someone else's house (or she told her nephew to tell us that), so there's that.
There's another lady named Rosilda who is also progressing nicely. She's a sweet lady who the other elders were teaching, and she also accepted baptism this week. She, too, is addicted to coffee. And she didn't go to church this week. Hrmph.
My companion's a cool guy. He's short and plump and has a huge head. And he's from Tocantíns, and no one is from Tocantíns. He's really tranquilo, though, and we've been getting along well. He only has six months on the mission, and his other two comps were hard (read: bums), so I'm trying to help him learn how to be a missionary. Like, how to actually be a missionary. And it's working out!
The Church isn't very strong here; like I said last week, we meet in a house, and there's only a branch here. Oddly enough, though, church attendance in the branch here is actually higher than it was in my last ward, and the members seem a lot more willing and excited to help with the missionary work. And there are teenagers in the branch here! So far, the members have been really cool.
What else? I'm still wearing socks and sandals. I tried to wear shoes one day and it hurt like heck.
I made a goal to read the rest of the Book of Mormon in Portuguese this transfer, which will be pretty tough because this is a five-week transfer. I have to read at least ten pages a day to keep up, and I'm loving it! I'm just getting to some of my favorite chapters now: Alma 32-ish to Alma 43-ish. Reading the Book of Mormon so much has really helped my testimony grow. I feel like I can testify to people of the truthfulness of that book now more than ever. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God because I have read it, pondered the teachings that it contains, and asked God if it's true. I received an answer to my prayers, and every time I read in the Book of Mormon, I feel the Spirit so strongly.
And that's all that matters!
I love you guys with all of my heart.
Tchau!
Elder Wiggins
Hey everybody!
So, my first week in Américo was pretty good, I think. I have been really stressed out, actually. The area is cool, though.
Like I said, my companion and I got here together, so we have been spending the whole week trying to figure out what to do here. The last elders who were here had quite a few investigators that they were managing to take to church, so we're trying to pick up where they left off.
We taught a lady named Maria every day this week. She is addicted to cigarettes and coffee, so we're helping her stop. We invited her to be baptized, and she accepted. But then we talked about the law of chastity and found out that she's not married. Also, her "husband" is always away from home, and he only comes back for five days at a time. So we're hoping that they will at least want to get married. Who knows. She didn't go to church on Sunday because she slept at someone else's house (or she told her nephew to tell us that), so there's that.
There's another lady named Rosilda who is also progressing nicely. She's a sweet lady who the other elders were teaching, and she also accepted baptism this week. She, too, is addicted to coffee. And she didn't go to church this week. Hrmph.
My companion's a cool guy. He's short and plump and has a huge head. And he's from Tocantíns, and no one is from Tocantíns. He's really tranquilo, though, and we've been getting along well. He only has six months on the mission, and his other two comps were hard (read: bums), so I'm trying to help him learn how to be a missionary. Like, how to actually be a missionary. And it's working out!
The Church isn't very strong here; like I said last week, we meet in a house, and there's only a branch here. Oddly enough, though, church attendance in the branch here is actually higher than it was in my last ward, and the members seem a lot more willing and excited to help with the missionary work. And there are teenagers in the branch here! So far, the members have been really cool.
What else? I'm still wearing socks and sandals. I tried to wear shoes one day and it hurt like heck.
I made a goal to read the rest of the Book of Mormon in Portuguese this transfer, which will be pretty tough because this is a five-week transfer. I have to read at least ten pages a day to keep up, and I'm loving it! I'm just getting to some of my favorite chapters now: Alma 32-ish to Alma 43-ish. Reading the Book of Mormon so much has really helped my testimony grow. I feel like I can testify to people of the truthfulness of that book now more than ever. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God because I have read it, pondered the teachings that it contains, and asked God if it's true. I received an answer to my prayers, and every time I read in the Book of Mormon, I feel the Spirit so strongly.
And that's all that matters!
I love you guys with all of my heart.
Tchau!
Elder Wiggins
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