My Last Day as a Junior Companion

Let me start from the beginning... Cause its been a stressful week.

Tuesday, I arrive at the Bus station to pick up my companion. I am greeted by 3 Brasilians hugging me and chanting WE ARE NOT WORTHY WE ARE NOT WORTHY, telling me I am a hero for killing Elder W. Silva. Yeah, it was a little funny... That being said i actually missed him after about 3 hours...

Wednesday and Thursday were not my finer days as a missionary. I broke the cardinal rule and absolutely blew up on my new companion. His name is Elder Gonçalves. I just could not take it anymore.. And I am here now to testify there is a reason Doctrine and Covenants says without the spirit ye SHALL NOT TEACH. Jeffrey R. Holland loves to emphasise this, and I can bear witness as well. It would have been better just to stay home all day. We did not do that.. But it would have been the same.

So as you can imagine I woke up Saturday morning feeling a little down... I got bit OUT OF MY MIND, by who knows what kind of Brasilian bug. And I wasn´t exactly in the mood to perform companion study, so i was in the other room on the couch studying portuguese. It was then i received a call from my main man and new Assistant Elder Feller!! I was more than excited to talk to him but a little confused at why he was calling. We chatted for a minute and then he asked me if i was ready for good news. He said "remember when we were talking and I told you you were going to turn senior and train at the same time??" I responded a little annoyed "yeah, and i told you it wouldnt happen..." Well, it happened.

The details. Two American missionaries arrived this week. And my soon-to-be ex companion will both be training one, and opening new areas. As you can imagine this has been an incredibly busy week of working with ward leadership trying to figure out how we can divide passo fundo, and preparing our apartment to house 4 people! An experience that is rare in our mission but i am excited to try. Yesterday we spent most of the day buying a new bunk bed, and trying to figure out how we could get two more dressers.. Still a LOT of cleaning to be done.

Mostly I´m a good mix between incredibly nervous, excited, and frankly a little relieved at this new opportunity. Its going to be incredibly difficult, but something new and exciting. And I am not sure how much longer i would have survived as a Junior Companion. Its time for Alex to do things the way Alex wants to.. Like i did the ENTIRE last transfer... alone. But im happy. It will be very fun to have 4 people, and im excited to have a son! I will get to call Lynn when the AP´s get here and introduce him to his grandson! Our lineage is rich with history....

Other than that it has been a pretty typical week. Trying to explain to people that THE GOSPEL MAKES YOU HAPPY. Not sure if i´ve ever told you about Maria and Jesus. Yes, that is literally their names. Jesus is a long time member that is a complete alcoholic, and basically doing everything he can to impede us from baptizing his girlfriend. (Maria) And last night come to find out his mother who is completely active and endowed in the temple... has been attending another church. She argued with us for almost 30 minutes last night that there was NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT! I sat there in unbelief for about 5 minutes and then proceeded to explain... I wanted to ask for her temple recommend...

I did have an AWESOME visit this week. Saturday i got a call from one of my favorite ward members asking a favor. She has a brilliant doctor friend that is going to the U.S. to present some new live saving discovery thingy and wanted to speak English with a REAL American. I agreed to meet with him for 30 minutes and mostly just thoroughly enjoyed talking to him. He´s a great guy, a family man, and was deeply interesting in WHAT i was doing in Brasil. Originally we were just talking but the conversation shifted to the gospel and basically i ended up teaching the first lesson. IN ENGLISH! It was...SO DIFFICULT. I found myself stumbling and forgetting important things and unable to relate the first vision... It was so strange. But he accepted a Book of Mormon, told me he would give it a read and I am going to meet with him again on Wednesday!

Pray for me. This will be very different. But im excited and ready for the challenge. The church is true.

--

Elder Alex Allred
Terra de Gaúcho Tchê

Caixa Postal 13008

91010-971 Porto Alegre-RS

Brasil