I'm On My Way (almost)

What´s up people

I honestly don´t have much to say. I´m tired and happy. We spent the week doing divisions, nothing very exciting. The idea of me actually leaving this place is starting to take effect, It still doesn´t seem real, but i know I will be leaving ever so soon. 

Thursday was great because it was the first day this transfer that I could work in my area with my companion, it was awesome, and super important for me to try to pass everyhting i know about the area to Persinger before I leave. At night we had one of those incredible visits that make you want to stay on the mission longer. It makes me sad to think i had almost forgotten how that feels. Good people, good understanding, good spirit, real example of how missionary work when it is done properly can change a persons life. It was a lady that has been coming to church the last couple weeks but always rejects our visits when I ask.. finally last sunday after sunday school she came to me in tears and said she was ready to recieve our visits. We went there and met her whole family and they loved us. They were intelligent and understand the restoration, they responded wisely to deep soul searching questions. It made me miss having all day every day to preach the everlasting gospel of Christ. I have loved the administrative work of being an Assistant and helping the mission, but for a few weeks I almost forgot my purpose of helping people. The mission has been an unforgettable experience that will serve as a foundation for the rest of my life.

Today was an awesome p day. I came back from Novo Hamburgo on a division and we went to the church to participate in the helping hands service project. After, Eduardo and Danielle made us a sort of goodbye churrasco. It was delicious, they bought me a sweet original inter jersey, i love them. Then we went to the church to play basketball with a few ward members, the second counselor and the young mens president are going to call president this week to ask permission for me to go play paintball with them on my last p day, pray that he lets me! After that we are going to eat with a bunch of members. 

I honestly can´t believe this is my last week on the mission. I don´t think it will register until I sit down on that plane next Tuesday. We´ll see, this week will be pretty crazy, there won´t be a whole lot of time to sit and think, so that will be good. 

Chances are if you are reading this I´m stoked to see you.

Stay classy.

To the People

Yo

This week was awesome, I don´t think I taught a single lesson... but it was awesome. We were so busy. Tuesday was transfers and I had no idea how difficult that would be without any help from another assistant (my comp was picking up his parents) or President Pavan. Missionaries have no idea how much time and money go into the small things to make a mission run, Tuesday I was running all over the city. Wednesday was our planning day, we weren´t able to get out of the office, mostly just spent the whole day mapping out the next 6 months for President, buying bus tickets for missionaries, and planning our leadership meeting on Friday, which went awesome. We invited two guest speakers, a recent convert and the most renovator type Bishop we have here in the mission. We also gave a couple trainings. Thursday we went to GRAMADO!! If I haven´t spoken much of Gramado I will now, its the biggest tourist city south of São Paulo! It was legit, the closest thing I can describe it to is like a Park City on steroids, its there that people come all over the world for Christmas time for that big show. Me and my comp had mostly just planned on going there alone because the district was struggling but when I mentioned it to President he was like "well I´ll go with you!" (it´s like 3 hours away...) I love that guy, he came ready to work! He wants to divide with the missionaries and watch as many district meetings as he can, what a champ.

My companion is the MAN, seriously the perfect companion. Not only is does he work hard and keep the rules he is NOT a wierdo! Something we both have in common that I have grown to treasure... I went and played basketball with him at the church today for the first time in 23 months and it was wonderful. After we went to Outback, then came back here to play War until now. Fantastic p day, I didn´t even have time to be trunky, and that´s how I like it. My comp´s name is Elder Persinger and he is from Colombus Ohio, but his family now lives in Denver. We will be at BYU together.

My mission is starting to scare me... Everyone tells me I´m dying and going home soon, my body is starting to cease to function, and Dad is giving me marriage tips which is never a good sign... It´s all gone so fast I feel like I need another two years to be able to appreciate all the things I´ve learned and changed. The funny thing is I still feel like a little boy waiting to one day "grow up." Here soon I will have to enter the real world and go through the refiner´s fire, and I couldn´t be more stoked for it.

I have loved my mission, am I excited to go home? Yes. Will I miss this place? Demais. (look it up.)

Love you all.

Stay Classy.

New President

Oi Gente. (Pictures of our goodbye dinner with Pavan, our hello dinner with Wright, at the "laçador" statue, and at the temple.)

This week was a turbulent week, as I mentioned last Saturday night we picked up our new President and his wife, President and Sister Wright. It was way more diffucult for me than i imagined to say goodbye to Pres and Sister, particularly for President. I have spent so much time with him over the last few months and he has had a great influence in my life. That being said I already love our new President and his wife. He is very different from President Pavan, he is very outgoing and excited, he will be a great President. His wife couldn´t hurt a fly if she tried, and if she tells every missionary in the mission that she personally loves them i think she goes to bed happy. 

We spent most of our time this week traveling to various cities doing zone conferences for the missionaries to be able to get to know President. It was a lot of sitting and doing nothing and repeating to the 200 missionaries that asked me that No, I dont know anything about the transfer yet, and no I dont know if he will prohibit Coka Cola or Chimmarrão. On on the last two conferences i wised up and slipped out for 30 minutes to drink a coke while we were waiting. We raced home all of the nights to be able to salvage a bit of our teaching pool, and we actually had some great lessons this week. Our group is small, but solid, President even left with us to teach on Tuesday night! The guy came willing to work! Sister already wants to go knock doors with the Sisters... 

Thursday we amped ourselves up for a long day in front of the trasnfer board. We had to pound it out in about 5 hours because if not we wouldn´t hvae been able to make the necessary preparations yesterday for the transfer. Seeing that this will be the last transfer that I will actually be here to assist in the process after we picked our next Assistant we called him in for an interview and to watch the process so he can catch the ropes. I couldn´t be happier with my new companion, his name is Elder Persinger and he is the man. He will not officially be here until Tuesday, and no one knows yet so don´t let the word out Di, I know what kind of a gossiper you are. 

Yesterday for the last distirct meeting of "The Council" my future comp and zone leader Elder Persinger prepared America Jeopardy. One of the categories was "Countries that End in Merica...", all of the answers were The United States, and you got double the points if your team spontaneaously broke out into chants of U.S.A.!! U.S.A!! Needless to say it was a rousing good time. (I remember once when I said that in a Preiesthood church meeting and everyone laughed embarrassed and asked me if I knew what that meant. I responded, Yes.) I love America. 

I can´t believe I have one month left on the mission. That blows my mind, Im excited for the transfer, i need one last breathe of new air before I put my head back down to finish strong. We are going to be traveling a lot until the end so I should get home with holes in my shoes and pretty worn out, that will be good. 

I put Mitt Romney faces on our Mission Newsletter, Go Mitt. 

Stay Classy.