Email 9/28

Familia- Wow. Serious leyla? This is getting absolutely ridiculuos. There are only so many hours of praying i can do for that little girl. She´s stressing me out. Again, its wierd having no idea what goes on. frustrating. So, while chels is probably currently in labor, anything i have to say seems very insignificant, but seeing as how i have 17 min and ticking, i will start typing... First, let me just say. I´ve been waiting for this week for a month. it all gelled. I speak portuguese. It was SUCH a hard weak. I worked my butt off, but im starting to see results. I taught the first full lesson in portuguese, numerous times. my spanish is kicking in. my teachers tell me im way ahead of where i should be. unfortunately for as far as i am ahead, my companion is that far behind. im not exaggerating, he CANNOT say 10 words in portuguese. he always starts with0- oi, somos missionarios do igreja de jesus cristo... and then i teach the whole lesson. its sad. i dont understand it. With my comp... im about at my last strand of patience. a few days ago he stopped me on my way to gym- can we talk for a second? We had a full 30 min discussion about how i may have hurt another kids feelings for calling him retarted, and he couldnt feel the spirit all day. i wanted to backhand him across the face and say can you feel that? but i didnt, its a trial of my patience, and if i accept it well the lord will bless me. Wy- there are two ways you can serve obediently. you can go through the motions each day doin what your supposed to but all the while just trying to `get through`each day, going to bed as early as possible so time starts to go... or you can just embrace your calling, laugh with all the geeky kids at lunch, make jokes and enjoy the people that you would NEVER be friends with back home. trust me, ive done both, and im done with the first one. Have i ever mentioned i love my coutry? there is just about nothing more humbling than watching these brazilians kids walk in here with pretty much a duffle bag... it is literally all they have. i couldnt figure out why some of these guys were on a mission, cause they would sleep till 9, not really care about the gospel, i was like WHY ARE YOU HERE! but i finally realized it, TONS of these guys live way better here than at home... 3 meals a day and a place to sleep is worth it. its sad, and INCREDIBLY humbling. thats another thing i was kind of shell shocked of, how many missionaries dont want to work. i was sayin yesterday ive given up way to much of a life to come here, im going to WORK! Dad asked some questions about my roomates. (ps i didnt get those dear elder letters sent on the 10th till the 24th!, it kinda sucks, i love seeing dear elder cause it usally means like 3 letters in one envelope but they take forever) so, as i told you elder melo and elder andrage were our first 2 roomates, they came the same day i did and i was REAL close with that group of brazilians. we got 2 more after they left but i cant remember their names, im not as tight with this group. theyre good guys though and really helpful, i like them a lot. ahhh i cant remember what else you were asking about dad, i should have brought your letter. but i love brazilians, oh, and we got a few more guys from provo added to my district, i really like one of them. he played ball at a.f. It has really helped me deal with my companion situtation, im really frustrated with that. Unforunately though they brought me tales of the provo mtc that made me really jealous... american food, and they got like NICE scriptures with their names on them! i am probably gonna have to pay like 50 bucks for ones like that, and they wont have my name on them. PLUS they had a place to develp pictures and send, and a bookstore and money to spend every day. jealous. i love it here though. and im blessed to have a visa. so blessed. theres no substitute for being around brasis 24/7. So di i loved your letter about living in the moment. its kind of been my theme for the last couple weeks. im trying to be excited for things in the next few weeks/months not years. ive kind of settled into a routine here, its good because im really used to this place but someimtes i really feel like a robot not gonna lie. and you all know how much i hate being told what to do 24/7. thats my least favorite thing about being here. i need to be independent. that will probably be very helpful to get out to my mission. speaking of, ha, few thigns i heard about my mission. they are GREAT. apparentlkly from a guy that lived there pretty much all the houses are old wood... and FANTASTIC habitation for gigantic tarantulas from hell. really looking forward to that. and ALSO i am gonig to the least baptizing mission in brazil. yay! no you all know that doesnt bug me. ill turn it into the most. those europeans wont know what hit them. so like i said ive really developed a bond with my ´mentor´group. and they are leaving next week. it will be really hard. i will miss nightly prayer with them ,and our nightly hug. elder burright (my ap) and i have had some loving embraces the last few nights, our oppourtunites are coming to a close. i will be very sad. other things, weather here is unreal. it will be like bright sun, then... pouring rain. it prety much rains here 7 days a week. im convinced it never stops. family. i love you. leyla. your a joke. come out of my sister. tell byu to stop sucking. and keep writing me with updates on your meaningless lives full of sin. perverting the ways of the lord while your son/brother is doing the work of angels. jk, im not that egotistical, maybe i am. i love you. -elder allred (oh, and will you please get me ian schmutsz address!)

3rd Week- 9/21

WELL. let me first just start off my saying serious leyla? ive been worried sick all week, not knowing something that important in someones life thats that close to you is really wierd. tell her to hurry. FIRST, i need to say i was SO mad at myself after i finished my email last week. For three days i had it written in my planner to write adam a birthday note, since i couldnt send pakcages, and then i completely forgot. ridiculous. Ad, i love you. your my best friend, happy birthday. 1 month left today. it will FLY. i promise. di, take ad to holiday to get a drink and a donut on me? (when i say on me, i really mean on you.) So last week you were supposed to recieve a picture of me and my two companions? hopefully you did, and hopefully you could see the temple. its beautiful. Speaking of pictures di NO send them by letter! sending them by email i barely have time to look at them and sometimes they dont load. i barely saw dads moto pics. and loved them. but send them in mail. no, i cant send pictures from here. and i can only take them on p day, and i cant take my camera outside. yeah, it blows. but i have a lot to send the first day im out in the field. elder melo left today. im sad, but we took a lot of pictures.
to answer some questions. i recieved some letters this week! letters are such a huge boost. dad/brit/ad can tell you what they do for morale. i am quite satisfied with most of what we purchased di, except those jordan shoes. i dont dare wear them, the courts here blow. so we mostly just play speed. and everone sucks at basketball. im like kobe bryant here. so i just wear my old ones. thinking of some way i can send them home. others. i kinda hate my short sleeve shirts... for some reason the sleeves are like super long. anything i can do about that? if i iron the sleeves right out of the wash will they shrink? and i can wash my pants and all my shirts right? speaking of pants, i got a big tear in my grey ones! freakin mr mac. you would have been so proud of me di i totally stitched them back up. then they split again.... so i did it again but they will probably come apart. oh well, i cant impress chicks anyways. so, we had a new provo added to my district, and we have 2 more coming tomorrow. neither moake. i cried. were up to 7 in our distirct now, so thats good. and hoepfully they will continute to loosen up. the additions made it so i am no longer in a threesome. i got a companion, and it wasnt the one i wanted. its okay though, its kinda like someone saying want me to kick you in the face? or the nuts? neither are great options so it doesnt really matter... so yeah dad if scott came/comes he will for sure be in my district. and we would spent literally the whole day together, cause your dist goes to class/lunch/mdt everything same time. you were right too.. i dont have much trouble sleeping. im usually SO exhausted by the end of the day i just crash. keep the gum coming di. and yes i do my own wash, i just throw all my shorts/garments etc in the same load, is that okay?
i hit my first real language barrier this week. i had an absolute mental BLOW UP like ad was talknig about. i had no idea HOW hard it is to actually start teaching in a language. cause at first we were just doing like grammar and stuff and it was easy, but peacing it all together now.... its so unbelievably difficult. to say im a little frustrated is an understatement.
the doctor. no structual damage in my knee. but some scar tissue build up. probably still from my it band... gonna do motrin for a while, and see if it gets better, hopefully. funny thing when i went. sooo i told you abuot how it was amazing i think i had figured out why i always got sick, and was rushing to the bathroom all the time after i ate back home? i thought it was the soda, cause i dont drink any here, and i was NEVER having that problem. but... then it started getting wierd. like seriously about a week since ive had some quality time on the banhero.. i started getting concerned. sooo apparently, food in brazil has like NO fiber. hence, my bathroom struggles. i voiced my concern, the doc hooked me up and lets just say me and the toilet have gotten re-aquainted the past few days. (dont you edit this out di i want all your little friends to know about me and my bowel movement schedule) it was scary though, i thought i was beginning to have similiar problems to dad in his mission.
Other than that not all that much is new. i pray for leyla, scott, and strenth to keep going every day, and every day i press forward. ABout to go out onto the streets, have a few letters to send, grab some candy (im out, yikes.) and then stop at my favoirte guava juice place. (so sick, delicious jamba juice type stuff for practically nothing, like 75 cents.) oh yeah, and as for my scriptue on my plaque- 1 cor 10 13 or dc 21 6, choose one, i love them both. Also could someone get me wes christensens address, and also jake parkinsons? i think i have letters from them up in my room under my lamp, but they might be old addresses... i love you all. good to hear byu is sucking. and that dad is loving fantasy. dad was right, id give a finger right now to play a game of settlers with you. press forward. send pictures. go leyla. -elder allred

2nd email- 9/13/2010

Well, missions are still hard. Haha. hello family. yes, it bothers me as much or more than you that i cant use tabs or enters. maybe di you can seperate it into paragraphs so its easier to read?? first off, ive been dying to know all week about leyla! i really thought she was gonna be here. chels, i pray for you and her every single night. im so excited for you. she will be beautiful. ha its almost kind of good to hear byu lost. i was dying to think the year im gone they have a killer year and go 12-0 or something! haha. thats tight about wyatts coach! i know SOOO many people from fortaleza. i swear everyone is from there. it is RIDICULOUSLY hot there, and its way up in the northeast, so its pretty different from sao paulo, and WAY different from porto alegre. ive become quite the scholar on brazilian citites, and i already know sao paulo so well. ive seen tons of it. we get the chance to walk through and drive through much of the city. its a crazy place... icant even tell ya. its sad though, ive seen unbelievable poverty. youll see like gigantic high rises and big buildings everywhere, and then just like right in the middle HUGE sections of just slums... not to mention people everywhere on the grass with tents and all their clothes.. anywhere where theres a bathroom youll find that. but next to the slums today i saw like 10 square acres of people literally living in boxes. i was heartbroken. it seems like they all bundle together and rely on each other for moral support, only way to get through. its so sad.
this place is hard. a mission is hard. but i love the weekends.. its funny because the things that i used to absolutely hate doing.. are pretty much my favorite now. (firesides, devotionals, personal study) sat and sunday are great, we have a devotional and a fireside, and its like a complete re charge. spiritually and physically. its what keeps me going, to hear the great stories of others that came before me. i told you a little bit about the last one in a letter i sent (two on the way youll have to let me know about how long it takes, my guess is 10 days, sucks. really bad) but he was kicked out of his house to serve a mission. anyways he said he came home with 40 rejas (30 bucks) and didn~t know where he was going to sleep that night. i was immediately overwhelmed with how blessed i am. between the poverty i see and stories like that i realize how much i have, not to mention a family that i could not love any more if i tried.
its unfortunate that i cant take my camera outside the ctm. because i would love to show you this city. but we cant for obvious reasons. theres no way we would hang on to it... and i cant send pictues while im here, so we may ahve to wait till im in the field. bummer. cause this place is pretty cool. youd think the ctm would be in like a nice area....nope. anywhere that doesnt have a gate and a security system, which, any somehwat respectable building does, is ridiculously vandalised and tagged beyond recognition. but theres some fun stores. this one we call the tie lady, sells these sick watches and ties and soccer jerseys ,for like nothing. im buying a watch today. think ill wait on the jerseys. porto alegre ones will be cheap in the actual city.
my teachers are legit. i grow to love them more and more every day. irmao borges was born in fortaleza, served in menaus. getting married in jan. irmao veras was born in sao paulo, served in florianapolis. just barely got home. haha he was a serious tagger (grafiti dad.) before he left, and his girlfriend is 17. hes hilarious.
on the bad news. my knee has been bugging me. i have never been able to kneel since the lake powell thing, but i thought it was just a bruise and would go away. but now its bugging me to walk. so im gonig to go see the doctor tomorrow and have him take a look at it. cause it hasnt returned to size. so we wills see. ill keep you updated. im starting to love the poeple around me. i seriously love brazilians. and i couldnt tell you enough about my roomate if i tried. its funny how we can barely understand a word each other says, but yet we can sit for an hour and just talk, and laugh. he loves slipknot, red hot chili peppers, and killing people. with all sorts of weapons. (hes a little bit insane) but all brazilians are really. they cannot get enough of me. they all come up and touch my face and my hair. their standing joke is ohhhhhh bonito gravato!! which, literally translated means beautiful tie. but i think its slang for pretty boy. ive told them im from utah like ten times, but they think im a surfer from california, from my quicksilver shirt.
anywyas, sad to hear about byu. wish you had news about my car. wyatt, if you get any addresses from facebook email them to me. im missing a lot. if i have time in just a sec im going to write a note to scott, and have you post it on dear elder? p.s. you should try that once, im curious to see if it works here. i love you all more than you could know. these last two weeks have been the HARDEST ones of my life. and its not close. but im starting to see the love a man can get from the work. im hoping time will start to pass, cause it hasnt yet. we~ll see. i love you. chels, i pray for you. ash, looking forward to your letter. i miss all 3 of your boys. -elder allred

A few last pictures

The last hurrah at Angel's stadium

The night before Al left we dined at Fudrucker's- a classic family favorite.
Lunch at Kneader's before heading to the airport.

Too bad that screen behind us didn't say "flight canceled" instead of on time!

The beginning-email 9/8/10

Familia- not gonna lie. that was the longest week of my life. i only have 24 minutes, so im going to try and cram as much of my thoughts and feelings of the week into here. and then try to write you all back personally. also, i cant space, so sorry this is going to be horribly written. guys, that was a ROUGH week. no lie. i had NO idea it was going to be that difficult. but its okay, cause im better for it. and i think im over the worst part, as apparent by a few things that happened over the weekend, that i will try and hurry and write. and you guys will probably get a letter in a few days. ignore it. its from your whining crybaby of a son, not your strong-willed tough s.o.b. of a son. but i do need to first let me just make SURE you guys know HOW much i love you. it takes realizing you will be away from someone you love so much for so long to realize how much they mean to you, who knew i liked you guys so much? i didn~t, so theres no way you could have. ] i got on that plane and didnt really know what to feel. not sure if you know but we couldnt land in dalls because it was such bad weather, so we landed in san antonio. and i sat on that hot stupid plane for 3 hours. i thought i was going to miss my flight and spend the night in dallas. it was awful. but we eventually took off and i rushed and barely made my flight. (by the way the int plane was the biggest and nicest plane ive ever seen) i was still too busy and rushed to feel anything, so i ate and fell asleep, and when i woke up, and saw HOW far away from home i was on my little digital map, i felt the most longing sense of misery and fear i~ve ever felt. but i took out my fathers blessing, which i read just about every night dad, and read it. and immediately felt one of the most calming feelings i could possible feel. i knew that i was an elder of the lord, that i was on the right plane, and that i had tons of loved ones at home pullnig for me. i was still a little on edge though, as all alone i was thrown into an airport with people yelling at me in a language i didnt understand. i finally found a little lady with a sign, and since i was alone, she put me in this wierd car with chinese symbols all around. someday ill have to tell you the full story, but he was a 17 year old kid who just kept smiling and wouldnt answer me, and i 100 percent thought he was taking me somehwere to rob me. no lie. ive never been more afraid in my life. long story short i made it. i went through one of the biggest culuture shocks of my life, i wish i had time to tell you about sao paulo, ive already seen much of the city, but it is something else. i never knew people lived like this. anyways, back to the ctm. i wish i had more time, im summarizing everything so much as my clock is winding down. my companions are....interesting. they both played in the marching band. enough said. i NEED scott here. pray for visas everyday. i can~t tell you how much it would help. anyways, my first few days i literally did not smile and felt horribly ill everytime i wasnt in a class having information shoved down my throat. i still cry every time i see moms quote, and read dads letter. (yeah, i cry a lot, get over it) and by about sunday guys i have to be honest i did NOT know that i could do it. i fully thought that this was not for me, and that coming home might just be for the best. but a couple things happened. a. that sunday we had all of our interviews, and i was given a calling. this was kind of the icing on the cake, i was already stressed out of my head and the last thing i needed was more responsibility. i expressed some concerns about signs of depression. he asked well is it a girlfriend? I MISS MY MOTHER/FATHER/FAMILY SO MUCH I WANT TO SCREAM. after a while of talking he basically responded with nonsense, your way too tough too have any of that crap, will you accept a calling as district leader? too say i was overwhelmed was an understatement. of course i accepted but i went home and basically fell apart. i wrote letters like i was dying i acted all dramatic, but then i read both my blessings that i treasure so much and i noticed two things. 1. dad told me about gordon b hinckley. how freaking selfish am i?? i was born in the usa. my family has money. im white, good looking, and girls love me. i was blessed with SO much, this is the lords time, forget yourself and GET to work. dad, lots of your words ring in my head quite frequently. going home is NOT an option. your blessing was inspired. 2. arent patriarchal blessings funny? callings of responsiblility will fall on your head? the lord knows whats up. lets see if i can get a couple logistics in befoere my time is up. i went to the temple today. still wierd. but nice to have a break from class. i enjoyed it. im starting to get that bro commrodery with some of the elders. brazilians are CRAZY! they are seriously insane, so loud, so funny, but so nice and willing to help. they are awesome. i wish i could send you pics of me and my roomate. he was in the braz. army and is so funny, he loves rhcp. i told him yesterday if he spoke english we would be best friends. usuaslly my p day is on tuesday, so expect from me then. but yesterday was brazilian independence day. thats SO awesome about byu! i miss so much eating pizza and yelling at the tv with you guys. portuguese is coming along. sort of. its the language of hell. spanish is a curse. lots of words sound similiar but EVERYTHING is prounounced differently. i realized over the last week how much spanish i know. i talked with a mexican for like a full 10 minutes but im still cluesess with tese freaking brazilians. food- holy hell. (sorry still a young missionary) chels youd literally starve here and im not exaggerating. im losing weight, fast, cant wait to cook my own food lets put it that way. two nights ago i got really sad thinking about wyatt. i dont want him to change. i love him. out of time. lastly, write LOTS of letters. idont have time to type, and i cant tell you how much they help. dad and britten can testify of that. tell EVERYONE to write me. ill write back. i LOVE YOU all. SOOOOO much. you will NEVER understand how much family means to me at this point in my life. love life. take pictures. -elder allred

Wahoo-We know he at least got there!

Dear Parents,
We are happy to send the good news that your missionary has arrived safely at the Brazil MTC. What a great joy and privilege it is to greet each missionary as they come through the front door of the MTC for the first time. We promise to take good care of your missionary.
They now have companions and are settled into their rooms. They are assigned to a district with capable and caring instructors for language and lesson study. The branch presidents and their wives, will soon give them a second greeting. These couples are rewarded in their callings through the love they always develop as they embrace and watch over the missionaries.
The MTC has a full time live-in physician to care for their health needs. He is assisted by his able wife. We are also happy to report that the Cafeteria food is abundant and very good.
Your missionary will be able to e-mail home on Preparation Day after a morning at the Temple. This will be either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on individual assignments.
Your very important young person is about to make an eternal difference in the lives of others. We hope you will be encouraged and comforted by this quote by President Lorenzo Snow: “There is no mortal man that is so much interested in the success of an elder [sister] when he is preaching the gospel as the Lord that sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord’s children.”
Please accept our love,
President Donald L Clark and Sister Zaza Clark

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION . . .

DO NOT SEND PACKAGES to the Brazil Missionary Training Center. All packages must be sent directly to the mission where your missionary will be serving not the MTC. If you have already mailed a package to the Brazil MTC and it arrives after your missionary has left for the field, please understand that the package can not be forwarded to his or her mission and will be returned to you. The only other option is for us to open the package and forward the letters and photographs, giving the rest of the content of the package to the missionaries that are here.
WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE SENDING HAND WRITTEN LETTERS. Please write your missionary´s first and last name. Your missionary will provide you with his district and box number. Also, please DO NOT SEND ANYTHING BY FEDEX, DHL, UPS, or other private carriers. The cost to get this type of correspondence is exorbitant.