Mata

Monday, September 16, 2013

Hey,

So this week was our turn out of the two sets in our area to travel.  I was in another area this entire week and did my first 24 hr exchange.  We went to the furthest part of the mission called Juquitiba.  Part of it is mata, jungle. We walked for thirty min to get to a family and encountered a bull and a couple of horses.

Mata (jungle) in Juquitiba

Will send pics.  Also had chá, tea, not actual tea though. Here only black tea is not allowed.  It was kind of minty and lemony, but it wasn’t tea like we think, so don’t worry. This week we had stake conference and got a new stake president.  We also finally had our two baptisms!  They

finally made it to church.  Last week the car was being used by the father for work.  But they came and were baptized.  We have some investigators that are amazing and are preparing for baptism in October I think.  The language is coming great.  I can understand the majority of what people say depending of the person.  Everyone says that my language is really good for the amount of time I have been here. 

As to your question about what is above our house,  it’s three other houses. We are at the bottom of a hill and there are three other houses above us. Ours is the very bottom.  A couple cool/strange things here.  For candy they like to eat Halls cough drops.  For some reason they really like these and sell them at candy stands.  Members will come up and say "you want a Halls?"  It’s actually good after you try a couple.  Another cool thing: here instead of using the nos, (we), form of the verbs, a lot of the time they will use "a gente", (the people).  So the first time I heard it was from my companion and he was doing a street contact and said "Você já conheci missionarios como a gente?" which means literally: do you already know missionaries like the people?  I was really confused and couldn´t figure out what he had said so I asked and he said that it means us.  So what he really said was "do you already know missionaries like us?"  It’s nice because everyone uses it and it means one less conjugation to worry about.

Also if you get the chance look up "The Character of Christ". It is a talk by Elder Bednar at the MTC (Missionary Training Center) and it is amazing.  Watch it for family night or something, will change your life.  Thanks for the letters and the pictures.  Happy birthday Meg, have fun at the dance.  Have a good week of school. It was great to hear from ya’ll, have a great week.  Pray that my talk on preaching the gospel will go good!

da mata do brasil (from the jungle of Brazil)

Elder Anderson

Milagres sao real

Monday, September 9, 2013

Milagre desta semana (miracle of this week)

This week the Bishop told us of a family whose father had been in the hospital and he had visited.  They lived out in the jungle pretty much.  To get there is a 20-30 min. bus ride on dirt roads passing ranches and people riding horse drawn carriages, really cool.  But we got there and were thinking that there is no way that this family will come to church because of how far it is.  So we find the house, everyone was home, all 6 of them.  We brought them all into the living room, if you can call it that, and taught the restoration.  It went so well, best lesson here yet. Everyone was feeling the spirit and my companion and I were working so great together.  After the lesson we committed them to go to church and to get baptized.  All said yes to baptism, 2 sons have work on Sunday which is really common here.  So we were really happy, but still worried that the family wouldn't show up to church because the mother is a nurse and works the night shift and wouldn't get done until 9 in the morning and church starts at 8:30 in the morning. So we went back to our house and the next day got to church and were waiting for them, luckily Sacrament is last.  And they all showed up!  They really had a good time, and the father said that he had read the chapter we had left with him and that when he prayed about it he felt really good.  They are so excited.

The bad thing about this week was that we had two baptisms scheduled.  The same ones that didn't make it to church last week.  This week the parents said that they would have a car and that they would be able to make it to church.  Sunday come around and we´re waiting for them and they aren't showing up.  So we try to call them, cell phone's not working, they only have one cell phone and no house phone which is common of the really small flavellas.  So we were really worried and were waiting and waiting, but they never showed up.  We hope that it is just a problem with a car.  Haven´t been able to go over there yet, on the plans for today.  

Went on splits for the first time this week.  Was with a Brasileiro from Rio who has only been here 6 more weeks than me and has only been in the church for almost 2 years.  He is really cool and we had a great time.  We found 3 new families that said we could come and teach them.  Saw a "gypsy" the other day too.  She was dressed in really colorful clothes and had only gold teeth and gold jewelery, and a high school musical backpack.

Went to the federal police on Thursday to get registered.  Was a lot of fun because we were sitting waiting for them to call us to get registered and up the stairs walks a group from the CTM, all people that we know.  They were pretty excited to see us.  They kept asking us questions and were so excited because they leave this week.  They all said we looked so much older after just almost two weeks in the field.  Also got to see some friends from the CTM that are in São Paulo Sul missão.  One of them was in the same stake as my companion and was super excited when he found out who my companion was.

Everything is going great here.  Sounds like a crazy week with cross-country and the sealing and trips and everything.  OH! Another thing-Dave I got your letter finally!!!!! And I got the letter that the young women sent.  Tell Sister Leavitt thanks for the talk.  Speaking of talks, this week my comp. gave a talk.  Afterwards the bishop asked me and the other new elder to give talks the week after next, because it's stake conference next Sunday.  So I have two weeks to find time to get a talk together.  Should be fun.  Would love to see pictures of the first day.  If you already sent them I didn't get them, got the email about them though.  

Love y´all,

Elder Anderson 

First week

Monday, September 2, 2013

Hey everybody!!

This week has been so much fun.  I am in an area called Embu das Artes.  It means Mountain of the Artes, or mountain art, or art mountain, most probably the first. But it lives up to it's name. So many hills and stairs and always going up.

Embu das Artes

 It's not too cold at night and the house has blankets for everybody so I don't need to buy one.  This week we had two meetings at the stake center which is in the suburbs but compared to here it is the city.  We took a bus for an hour and a train for 15-20.  Then we walked another 15.  Our area is the second largest in the mission.  In order to get to another neighborhood we take the bus.  The food here is amazing.  The first meal I had was spaghetti, rice, beans, salad, meat and soda.  Then last night we walked for 40 min to the bishop's house to eat my first Brazilian bbq.  Was amazing.  The bishop cooked three steaks per person, also there was rice, salad, chocolate cake, sausages, coke.  And yes, I ate all three steaks.  So amazing.  We also had a baptism yesterday!  We were going to have two, but they weren't able to get to the chapel because we only have one chapel here. It's two stories with the chapel upstairs, and they have to take the bus because they live in the other neighborhood.  But they don't have a lot of money so its really hard for them to come so we didn't have 3, just 1. But this last week we contacted a husband and wife and came back three days later and they told us that they already stopped drinking.  Then they came to church and asked if they could come back again this next week. We already have a baptism date of the 28th for them, they have to get married first though.  A lot of people don't get married here because you have to give money, dowry, or something like that so a lot of people have to get married first.  Got my haircut today, and it was really scary because I already have no idea what they are saying because I only know gospel words. The guy comes in with a glass of something alcoholic and I thought he was a manager or something, then they motion for me to go over to a chair and he walks up and cuts my hair.  He did a good job though.  They use actual razors for part of it so I was a bit nervous during that.  A dog bit my pants, so now I need to go sew that up, didn't bit me though so don't worry.  We have washing machines, but not dryers so we hang everything up.  It's very rural here.  Will send some pics maybe next week of a house with a farm and huge pigs.  So fun though.  The flavelas have some great people.  Attaching some photos of the house and the outside view from the door.

First mission apartment

 The area that I am in is one of the more touristy areas. Yesterday they had a big market where people brought items to sell.  Apparently it happens every week. Wish it happened on p-day. They have people that dress up like statues and they look so realistic, like made of wood or something.  Then when you put some coins in a cup they move, it's so cool.  The language is coming along great.  I am beginning to understand people really well and am starting to speak better.  So cool here.  Wish y'all were here to see it.  Hope all is well.

-Elder Anderson

In the area

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Hey everybody,

Just wanted to let y'all know that I got to the area today.  My companion is really cool.  He is from Houston and knows the Dicksons, the Websters and the Hancocks.  The area that we are in is really cool.  It is not a very rich area, but we already taught a lesson tonight about the gift of the Holy Ghost and it was really cool. I don't understand a lot of what people say, but they seem to understand me more or less so that´s good.  We have a baptism this Sunday and a couple of confirmations.  I will send pictures when I can.  P-day is Monday.  Today we met the president of the mission.  We got dropped off at a apartment building and someone in the group thought that the mission home was on the 11 floor.  So we walk all the way up the stairs that look like Escher´s staircase drawing only to realize that it was really on the first floor.  We got there and they have an entire floor for the mission home.  It's really cool.  We ate, my old companion from Provo arrived and we went to the church.  An embarrassing thing happened though.  When I arrived at the mission home we all went to sit down and I tripped and used a table to catch myself.  The table had a plant on it and because I bumped the table the plant fell.  Luckily the plant was fake and the vase was a wooden box, but Pres. Pinho says that he will always remember that I knocked over his plant.  He is a really cool guy, I sat next to him at  lunch and he is so cool.

 We went to a church by the mission office to get our companions and then we were driven by a member for almost two hours to our area.  It's really cool where we are.  The houses are small, they don't have ac or heat.  It's cold here, could see my breath tonight.  The nicest thing in our apartment is the shower head, not even joking.  We have a meeting tomorrow and the day after that at the mission office. We get to leave here at 6:30 to ride the bus and train to the mission home.  So excited to be here.  Will send you pictures when able.  If you have any letters or packages send them to the mission office, I will get them every week or every 6 weeks, don't know which.  Got to go.  Tell you more on Monday.

Love Elder Anderson

Forgot to tell you some things.  The president said that the next couple of transfers only one missionary is leaving and 35 are coming in.  He said that this means in 12 weeks most of the new people will be trainers. Really excited.  Got to go. Almost 9. Love y'all again.