Full of Gas Still

This week was no easier but I feel more energized. I´m just stoked, I´m not tired and I get more and more excited about the progress we are making in the ward. It´s funny becaues honestly it was a slow week number wise but I feel like we got so much done. We are really getting after the members trying to build a strong relationship with them worthy of their trust so that they will help us in the work. Any missionary knows its way easier to spend 30 minutes with a member to get a reference of a family that already has LDS ties rather than knock doors looking for a pin in a haystack, i just wish I would have figured that out earlier. We had a great experience with that last night when we were frustrated with nothing working, and decided to step back and say a prayer. It was incredible how right after that everybody starting picking up their phone, we got two visits done, and then went to the 2nd counselor in the stake presidency. We ate dinner with them and shared a message not even asking for a reference simply telling them they could confide their friends in us. Before we finished he startled me by suddenly just getting um and making a spontaneously call to a friend of his. On the spot he marked an apt with him and his wife and 2 kids for this Sunday. Ironically at my favorite pizzaria for lunch today this same guy stopped me and said "Hey are you Thiago´s friends that are coming over tomorrow?" I chatted with him for a few minutes, super cool guy, I´m stoked to go there tomorrow. Lesson learned. Members have people that are prepared for the gospel, but they will not give them to missionaries that A. They don´t trust, and B. Don´t ask.

Yesterday we had a good zone council with all the zone leaders and we also went to Caxias this week to do a division with the zone leaders, i feel like all we do is travel or plan trainings these days, but it´s good because it keeps you busy. Tomorrow is going to be sick, we asked for some help from our zone leaders here to come help us make up for the time we lost this week, so we are going to blitz our area!! We are going to divide and just go crazy, looking for news and contacting the references we got this week. Then at night I promised them we would make Hot dogs (Brasilian of course...) and my famous mate doce. (It´s basically chimarrão but and Elder taught me something that revolutionized my world (Just like the day I figured out that Corn and Bacon Pizza with chocolate crust is delicious) But he taught me that if you put erva doce (sweet herbs) cinnamon, sugar, orange, and clove in the cuia (the wooden cup thingy) it created the most delicious mixture of heavenly goodness that man have experienced after the fall of Adam. All those going to the RANCH will be eternally blessed as we pass the cuia and drink sweet sweet erva doce late into the night while we gossip on others. 

I am doing well. I have gotten so sad at a few of my recent converts decisions to throw away the eternal truths they have learned for pitiful worldliness. I can´t understand how a person´s who life is already a piece of trash can not be willing to make a few changes. I have definately felt changed by my mission learning that my parents haven´t lied to me all these years: keeping the commandments not only protects us, it brings us true happiness.

Stay classy.