Elder Jacob T.: Dec 1, 2008

Querido Família e Amigos!

I´m sitting in a crowded computer/ video game café. For the second week in a row our beloved, quiet, fast computer, cool, internet café is closed. I´m a little bit gaulded; I paid 10 bucks in advance for the internet there, just our luck. This week we are writing at a different time and different day, but still, it's closed. Still, because it's the season of thankfulness, I'm 1) thankful for the opportunity to communicate almost instantly with all of you , 2) and I am thankful to have a subject to start the letter with (its always tough, should I always just say, yet another week, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah.

Not just a CTMissionary, not a Trainee, a true, blue, died in the wool missionary of the church of Jesus Christ! Today is the 6 week mark. The first transfer and today is the day I become a junior companion!

This week I had my first official holiday away from home, Thanksgiving, usually my favorite of all the holidays. We started the day of as normal, and, because it was Thursday went to Elder and Sister Baird´s house for our weekly district meeting and the meeting with the branch president. Its kind of funny, the district consists of me, and my companion, the district leader, and the Baird´s. So it would be hard to call it a meeting, more like a casual chat around a table. Especially because the… older couple likes to chat about every single subject…which, is fantastic, we love them. Then, after the meeting, which should last an hour, but usually lasts 2 hours (if you catch my drift) we have the weekly meeting with the branch president… Elder Baird J Sometimes I feel like we are just going around in circles.

So, this Thursday, once we had completed our two meetings we had the opportunity to celebrate the greatest American holiday ever, with Americans! Sister Baird made it all, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, etc, etc. She bought a chicken (the kind you can buy at Albertsons for 6 bucks) It was delicious, and rolls. Then we had ice cream and strawberries for desert. Yummy! Food makes me so nostalgic… Sometimes I think, I eat to live, but other times I think I live to eat…

After the yummy dinner things took a turn for the worse. Elder Abdo (my comp) elder Baird, and I went knocking doors of inactive members. But the problem was that's all we did. Knock doors… nobody was at home. Summer is just about in full swing here, and everyone is doing last things to make their city as inviting as possible for the tourists.

Elder Baird sure is a good guy, he´s 70 years old, and loves the lord so much he will do anything to move the work forward. And his wife, is just as bubbly as can be, her Portuguese is terrible, (in reality better then mine) but her hug is genuine (something I can't do) they both remind me just like Grandma T and Grandpa T.

So anyway, if the food sister Baird made for us wasn´t enough to make me feel at home, the cleaning at the chapel we did Saturday was. From 9:00- 4:00 about 15 of the most faithful members came to the church house to clean it up. The grass (mostly weeds) was 1 foot high, the couches had mold on them, wires were hanging loose (read on and you will hear more about the wires)

So we cleaned, and it felt so good to get me hands dirty. I seriously am starting to get girly hands, at least my left hand, my right hand has been saved somewhat by the simple practice of shaking hands (I bet I shake 60 hands every day)

O course, I chose to help outside, with the grass, weeds, power washing off the gate, etc. I pulled weeds, and mowed the lawn with a little 1 foot wide electric lawnmower and electric weed eater; they were actually pretty pathetic. But you do what you need to do using what you have to use.

Others, including my companion stayed inside and put coverings over the speaker wires to hide them better, before, they were just hanging from the walls and ceilings (every structure that is erected here is made of cheap, very cheesy red clay bricks, then slapped with cement, hence, they cannot hide any electricity or pipes.) So, Elder Baird bought some coverings that can stick to the walls; unbeknownst to me, they actually stuck them to the walls, with just that double stick tape stuff. I learned from sad experience that this stuff doesn't work, from the plastic sheeting in the shop falling down, and the next day, that's exactly what happened at the chapel, they fell down, three times. Once, sometime during the night, twice in-between class and sacrament meeting, and a third time, just when Elder Abdo was making the main point in his talk.

So Sunday, was another awesome day. I am now assigned to be the teacher of the principles of the gospel class every Sunday, so, needless to say, I was preparing for it Sunday morning. On the way to church we went to the house of a 14 year old named Denifer (Jennifer) so she could walk with us to church. We arrived, to find the Dogs (which are my favorite part of Brazil… not) had gotten into all the trash we had set on the sidewalk the previous day from the clean-up. After that was cleaned up, and the fallen wires fixed we headed upstairs for a special class to be given by Elder Baird about food storage and budgeting money. By this time we had 4 investigators with us, so we both had pretty big smiles on our faces. Karen (the daughter who´s dad died of cancer…she is now coming every week) Denifer, and an older couple we have been trying to get to come for 6 weeks named Zilco and Nelí. Elder Baird started, and the room just kept filling up. Célia and Edson, two other investigators showed up (my favorite… missionaries can have favorites, grandparents Cant.J) and various other members.

The lesson and the content were overall fairly good. I would have been perfectly happy about it if I didn't have 6 investigators whom I was trying to impress, and if the lesson hadn't gone for nearly 2 hours (remember about Elder Baird??? He likes to talk, Gosh bless himJ)

So, because of the long windedness of elder baird I didn't have to give my lesson, we just went straight to sacrament meeting, there we found 3 more of our investigators, a mom, Terezinha, daughter, Aline and son, Daniel, bringing the grand total to 9. At this point I was praying for one heck of a sacrament meeting…to impress the investigators. Sacrament started, and wouldn't you know? No speakers!!! Brazilians have the phrase, poís eh, which I think means, go figure. So, Elder Abdo and a member were asked to give impromptu speeches. Everything ended up working out; I think all the investigators ended up loving it. The spirit made up for anything that was lacking. And despite the nerve racking 2 hour class of elder Baird, and falling wires and no speakers in sacrament meeting nobody could wipe the smiles off of Elder Abdo and Mine faces. We had 9 investigators (we think an overall record, at least in recent years,) and a family of inactives. Overall bringing the grand total of 31 people in attendance.

Side note. There are some Brazilians over in the corner playing guitar hero… so right… take it easy….

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT: This week I have been thinking a lot about blessings. Actually what is the definition of blessings? For one to have success in this life? To not have any problems? Be happy? These may be the type of blessings desired, but this isn´t always the type blessings come in. We are blessed by God giving us an opportunity to progress and become better people, in whatever form that may be-- learning and struggling in Portuguese, cancer, no snowJ, We do not know the thoughts of God (Isaiah 58: 18-19, Helaman 4: 9) we do not know how we are being blessed, so we must trust in God (Proverbs 3:5) trust that he is caring for us, doing what is best for us. Remember, the actual thing in which we are cursing could be the one blessing we asked for sent from God.

Love you all!!!

I´LL PRAY FOR SNOW!

Jacob