Manaus...Week 11!

So, this was a crazy, crazy week. (This is Elder Links Mom)  I hadn't had time to write him, and by the time I got my letter to him, the computers where he was started crashing....so this week is short and sweet.

Switched lanhouses. So I am now back.  So about skyping... what will happen is that we will get a laptop from a member and then head to the church. One of us will use the church computer with a borrowed camera and the other will use the laptop. I don't think we will have a problem with time. So we should be pretty good. As for what name it will be under, I have no idea. That one will probably be figured out day of. But, we will be emailing during that time too, so we should be able to figure it out. 

So I don't have too much time, so I can't write too much. Sorry but switching lanhouses and waiting for your email took away a lot of my time. I'll catch you up on my week next week. Just know this week was super good and this upcoming week will be pretty awesome too. No baptisms, but we will have them next week. I hope. 

I love you guys a lot. I'll try to send some pics too. Pretty sure I can here. Love you guys. 

Tip of the week real quick. Be happy in your work. If I have already done this, I will do it again. Be happy in your work... and find ways to have fun while walking or with your investigators. If it isn't fun, you won't wanna do it. So find a way to make it fun.

Love you all!

Manaus....Week 10!

 

So lets answer some questions!!!  The companion business is goin pretty well.  We are getting a lot of teaching done.  Over 40 lessons a week. We are kickin some serious butt here.  My portuguese is doing pretty well and no one can believe that I can speak as well as I can after only two months. I´m doin allright I guess.  So about the Christmas Devotional I did not get to watch it...lame sauce.  But I´m sure eventually I will be able to see it.  Maybe. Who knows.  We will just have to wait and see.  So this week had some fun stuff. We just had transfers and I´m with my hispanic companion again, but a sister from my mtc district is now in my district and my district leader is an American as well. Pretty cool.  But so this week had a pretty awesome baptism, wasn´t sure if it was gonna happen but it did.  All thanks to the fact that my new district leader had a good talk with him during the interview.  Pretty sweet.  His name is Gabriel, and he´s 15 years old...pretty chill kid.  Took a while to get this point, like the whole time I´ve been here.  But we were supposed to have more but the guy was drinking until 7 in the morning...yeah.   But so, that´s what has happened.

Walked right through the middle of a drug deal, that was pretty funny. ...In a back alley that´s a shortcut to our house.   Right after lunch on a Sunday.   So it was like 2 in the afternoon. And the best part is at first they tried to hide it by covering the scene with an umbrela that they tilted into our line of sight. It was pretty funny to be honest.  So that about sums up my week. Oh, apparently I also am now an english tutor for kids who are taking english in school.  That´s pretty fun.  Kinda silly sometimes when they really just don´t get it.  But I´m trying.  And I guess it helps them.  Their teachers are suprised they do so well anyways. 

So, I have not yet gotten my box.  If all else fails I´m pretty sure we will pass by the place that it will be sometime for the mission Christmas reunion.  I hear all the missionaries in the entire city will gather.  So I´ll be able to get it then if I don´t get it anytime soon. So yeah, don´t have my box yet but I´m sure it´ll come soon. So I would really love to have that scripture set I asked for...Only Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. Thanks!

So, I´m glad to hear that everyone is doing pretty well.  Hope that Caden gets his grades up.  NO MORE 0´S!!!!  Keep up the work in the cold!  LOve you guys a bunch! Hopefully pics to follow!

Advice for the week! Remember to thank everyone who gives you food and do it with real intente. The members will provide many dinners for you (here it´s lunch but same concept). They go out of their way to help you out so Always have ready for them a message and a prayer and thank them. Very importante.  You need the members to like you cause when they like you they trust you with their friends and your teaching pool will grow exponentially. Allright!  

Love you all!  Until next week!

(No pics this week....it totally just depends on which computer he gets)

Manaus Week 9!

Welcome to the rainy Amazona!!

Well, glad to know that everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I however had no Thanksgiving. It was kinda sad. Got a bit trunky for a minute. But yea I took some time to be grateful. So my Portuguese has definately improved a ton. I could go off on my own if I wanted and be just fine. But I'm always with my companion of course. So this week has been a fun one. Had exchanges 2 times in one week. One was with the zone leaders because I´m technically being retrained, and then another one with the district leader to do interviews for our baptisms. Only one this week, but we have another one set up for next week too, and that´s at the minimum. So this week we baptized a guy named Tiago, he was baptized by a recentish convert which is super sweet. Tiago believe it or not is 20. He doesn´t look it at all. But so here is his story. Elder Colgrove and I were teaching him and his Family but he never did anything. We baptized his cousins, mom, basically everyone that lives in one of the 2 houses he stays at. But he never did anything. Then Elder Diaz came in. While I was on exchanges, Elder Diaz spoke with Tiago..... And he was baptized. Strange how it Works, but pretty sweet to see him finally moving somewhere. So I don´t really have too much this week, but I do have something you´ve been waiting for for quite some time now. Pictures!!!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

 

 

 Pictures of Tiago!  He's on the right and the recente convert is on the left.

Opa! Right, I almost forgot. But now I am reminded and am ready to give my weekly advice. Be sure to pass all of my weekly advices on to Bro. Cook for his mission prep. class. Should be able to help. At least a little. So this weeks advice is work with your leaders. All of them. Whether they be other missionaries in leadership positions or Ward leaders or the mission presidente. All are there to help you in your work and if you dont use them and the knowledge and experience they have you are wasting a lot of valuable resources. Learn how to listen to and work well with these people and the work will accelerate. So that is my weekly advice. Oh and for Bro. Cook especially. In the mission prep. class, watch `the district´ vídeos. They will do a lot of teaching. allright, until next week!

This is Lucas!  He's awesome!

 

 

 



 

So we have a young man leaving on his mission soon and the ward had a party for him.  Super Cool!

 

 

 

 

These are the young men that are awesome in our ward.

 

 

 

Two Baptisms....Emmerson and Erivielton.  They are brothers.  Super Sweet!

 

 

 

 

 

My Companion Elder Diaz....From Chili!

 

 

 

 

This is Guilherme...baptism that we had last month.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A picture of how bad my shoes are getting.....

 

 

 

My shirt that I ripped while we were walking home...one of the long sleeve ones.  I wasn't vey happy.

 

 

 

Here is the dirt I swept up on our floor after 1 week....7 Days!!!

 

And...I continue my tradition of a new car every transfer....2012 Mustang.  It's pretty.