28 February 2011

Hello Everyone!

Thanks for the emails you sent this week, they were really great! This week was really, really good. Worked harder than I ever have before in my life!! Running around, climbing mountains to visit people, toughing it out through the rain, Elder Clegg ran into a pole yesterday when he wasn´t paying attention, we got kicked out of this crazy guys house who didn´t like us too much, taught more lessons in a week than I ever have until now on the mission (the zone leaders about died of excitement when I passed the numbers) and we found a ton of amazing people this week! We found a complete family that is really, really elect that we found while we were visiting another guy who is really awesome, Wilgrer. It has been really awesome to see how the Lord has literally put people into our path!! We run into the most amazing people while we are going to visit others, it´s so great! Friday was really funny, we were literally running from house to house after each lesson just to make it over there on time because our day was just packed full!! Elder Clegg said that his legs are pretty much giving out now haha, but it was such an awesome week! We had a baptism marked, but unfortunately he was lying to us about pretty much everything, saying that he was working when really he was at the bar drinking every time that he said that; and the thing with alcohol is that it´s not too difficult to tell when someone is lying to you, cause you can smell it. It´s pretty sad, we were trying to help him as much as we can, but he has to help himself as well. We found another kid who has been prepared by the Lord; we showed up at his house on Friday as well, and he is about 17, his mom abandoned him and his sister this last year. He had a few problems with cocaine and smoking and stuff in the past, but said that he has been trying to find a church and has kicked all of his really bad habits. We taught him the first lesson about the restoration and The Book of Mormon and told him to read a part that we marked, went back the next day, and received the great news that he hadn´t just read that part once, but twice and was telling us about all of the things he liked about it. We invited him to get baptized the first time that we went there and he immediately accepted, but he wasn´t able to go to church yesterday, so we are going to work with him more this week. We have transfers today though, but I sent an email to President begging him to let me stay here for at least one more transfer. We marked to leave with a bunch of members this week and visit their friends, so I hope that I stay to be able to do all that! I´m praying!

Last night, we went with a member, Israel, and visited a bunch of people with him. We were helping him out with his home teaching because I´m his home teaching companion, and he was helping us out, visiting all of his friends with us for us to teach him. We found this amazing guy named Paulo who was way interested in our church because of our focus on family and he also was way excited to read the Book of Mormon!! It was amazing!! I have never had a week on the mission where I have worked so hard as much as this week, but it definitely paid off and the Lord is giving us a ton of blessings here. The members here are so excited to help us out, it is amazing! We went to visit the inactive members that aren´t going anymore, the ones that Israel is responsible to visit, and they are both families that Elder Glade baptized, so it was good to talk to them. One of the families, the Dad does not like us at all and he kicked us out of his house right when we were in the middle of the lesson with him. I think he was drunk or something and wanted to say something to him, but he´s just one of those people that doesn´t want to listen to anything, just wants to yell and talk. So whatever, he´s nuts. We went to the next house and found this family that looked really depressed and annoyed when we showed up there. They didn´t even want to let us in. But I told them that it would just be 5 minutes and they let us come in, and it turns out we were there for like an hour because we ended up really hitting it off there and we couldn´t get them to stop talking by the time we left, it was really funny how that all worked out. I like when that happens :)

I really love our zone. I have a feeling that it´s going to change a lot after today. Elder Livengood, our Zone Leader, is going home this week. He´s a really great missionary! Works super hard! We have had an amazing zone and amazing results this transfer! It´s been great to work with these amazing missionaries! I feel like I´ve grown a lot with them and we are a big happy family, it´s great! I have a feeling that Elder Fernandes is going to be transferred because he has already been here for 6 months. I will really miss him if one of us leaves, he´s an awesome guy. He´s going to come back to Utah after the mission; he´ll stay in Brazil with his dad for awhile and then go up to his mom´s in Utah and I told him he can come and hang out at our house haha. He´s hilarious! He speaks better English than Português, it´s funny. Tonight we are going to a Churrascaria for dinner, about 40 reais a person (20 bucks) just to end the transfer here. It´s going to be great! Right after this we´re also going to play soccer at the Stake Center.

So carnaval is already getting ready to start up here. We had our first little taste of that on Saturday, coming home at night. Lots of music and drunk people, what a great mix. It´s pretty funny. I guess it is starting this Friday so we will see how the first Carnaval here on the mission goes, I´m sure it will be very interesting and exciting.

Well, I can´t think of anything more to write for you guys! I´m loving everything here! I´m doing amazing! I hope that you are all still doing great as well! Love you all! Have an amazing week!

Love, Elder McDonald