Sammy's Letters up til now

Apr-15-09
there is one girl in the branch who is 27. she has a problem with her body and we wheel her to church every sunday after we get our investigators. she is the best ward missionary. we baptized 4 ppl because of her and we will have more this week. its really cool to see someone who can barely walk that is a better missionary than some missionaries. tell ppl in the ward to be like her and the church will grow twice as good. this week went really good..we had 6 baptisms last week.it was a blessed week. the avocado shake is just milk, sugar, and avocado.lol. it was pretty good. they sell these things here called geladinhos and they are like otter pops but made from fruit juice and milk..they are really good and only cost 25 cents. we usually get them for free from ppl though. its cool.no they dont have weird crap here..i ate cow tongue but thats it...and every meal here has rice and beans and then some kind of meat and salad..and spaghetti..lol..the food is good.ya they have those bbq places here..they are expensive though..all they do is shishkabob..i dont know how to spell it. but its not that hard. dads is better. lol we know this jew who was born in brasil but lived in israel his whole life. he speaks portugues english and hebrew. and he owns a all you can eat joint. its cool. and he is really funny. he said he would only read the book of mormon if it was in hebrew and i dont think they have it in hebrew… my comp is from ogden and he goes home on may 6th. there are 6 elders in the district. ya i read the article about the new mission pres. already. he seems cool. he was the bishop of an all brazilian ward in utah..cool huh?ya we have alot of investigators..we are teaching a family that has 23 ppl in it..i hope we can baptize all of them. and the area is really big but we work close to the church because we have to walk to get investigators every sunday. there arent any big favelas here like in the hulk movie. its like that in salvador though… i can have conversasions with ppl now. our neighbors are members so i always talk to them from our balcony. anyway.. everything is good here...

Apr-8-09
conference was good. it was hard to understand but i got most of what was said.it was bad though becasue everyone was in the church watching it so there were kids running around everywhere and stuff. it was worse than sac. meeting. my comp is a pimp. im learning how to baptize and how to think like a missionary now. he is teaching me how to learn stuff during study and then apply it that same day. he is really cool. he leaves on may 6th so this is his last transfer.. .brasil smells like beer, horse poop, stray dog, and smoke. it doesnt smell good at all. it only smells good when you are near fruit. because the fruit is really good here. and cheap too. we got two avocados. they are bigger than softballs and we made shakes out of them. it was tasty. i took some pix of them too because when i first saw them i was amazed. its humid here but not as bad as hawaii or the eastern united states. the sun is really strong here so i have a better appreciation for shade.ya out comp. study is just reading the new test. and then sharing what we learn. because neither one of us has every read it. reading in port. is weird but im getting used to it.

Apr-4-09
thats crazy about the new apostle huh?i thought for sure it would be a mexican..lol. anyway we are on the comp. because the church couldnt get conference to play so we watched it online. oh well.

Apr-1-09
everything is going good here. this past week went good. any week where we baptize is a good week but i dont have any stories. maybe this week. we have a baptism today so thats pretty cool. but ya..thats all..sorry this email is lame.

Mar-11-09
the dogs here are pathetic...i want to kill them all because they are dying anyway. we didnt leave the city becasue it wasnt as bad i guess...only in salvador city is it dangerous..my new comp. said he got robbed 5 times..he goes home in one more transfer...im learning alot from him and we baptized 4 ppl last week.

Mar-4-09
i got a new comp. elder naisbitt..he is pretty cool from ogden utah..he only has 2 months left..so ill probably be with him for the rest of his time.its really hard to baptize men..but we have two this week to baptize...one of them didnt want to get baptized til may because his birthday is in may..then i was talking to him and found out that the problem was he didnt have a pair of pants so he was going to ask for pants for his birthday..he was happy when we told him that we have clothes for him..haha. my week was cool...it was just a pain to worry about confirmations and my companion leaving. anyway..the city is busy in a few parts but all the other roads are dirt and there are horses and tons of dogs..the dirt road was a huge dip that we had to walk to get to a service project on a farm. it sucked climbing that hill. carnaval was nuts..our house was shaking all night and we saw them setting things up the day before and there was two huge trucks that were all speakers..it was crazy...but we had to go home early that night bc the mission pres said its not safe.ive only been out 4 months..i left the beginning of nov. bobo is stupid. i dont know what i like the most about brazil..i guess the ppl..most of them are nice..tell us to come in before we even tell them our names..they give us soda and food then ask us what we´re doing there..its cool...alot of them just arent ready for the gospel. my new comp is really good with finding the elect of God and weeding out the flakes..i dont talk to myself in portugues...i can speak a lot though...i just talk with every investigator for a few min after each lesson..its helped alot. dangue fever is a big problem here..both of our zone leaders have it lol...but im surprised i havent gotten it yet because i get bit by a mosquito like everyday. its ok though..the lord wont let a missionary die unless he needs them. funny story...

Feb-25-09
yesterday was really funny. we were teaching a brother and sister and the mom walked in and started talking about baptism. she said she was already baptised but her kids weren´t. then she picks up a bucket full of tobacco and starts rolling a cigarette. she is a pretty big woman. then this drunk guy comes up to the window and startes mumbling something. this guy had a huge under bite and his teeth were sticking out of his mouth and he was drueling everywhere. the mom kept yelling at him to leave but he didnt listen so the boy got a sandal and started hitting him to leave and he still didnt leave. he picked up a stick and tried to get in the house but couldnt so he hit the dog. when the dog yelled the mom got mad and ran outside. i didnt see it but i think she grabbed the stick and started hitting the guy. he yelled AI AI!! and then started crying..it was kinda sad but i couldnt help it.i started laughing so hard..even now when i think about it i start laughing hard. it was really funny.

Feb-18-09
yesterday was my first division and it was with the APs..we went to get new invest. and we taught this crazy cross eyed 50 yr old drunk black lady who, after we have her friend a bom, kept saying, i dont have luck..you didnt give me a bible.i raised my voice to her and said its not a bible..its a book of mormon. then she shut up. lol..we laughed as soon as we left the house.we had two baptisms on sat. but only one was confirmed. i think we will have 3 this week..ive been praying hard for them..so i think they will be baptized… my comp is still here..but we have transfers again this sat. so i think he will go.i dont know about a chapel here..i dont think they will build one anytime soon..the area is 10 years old and we have about 30 ppl in sac. meetings. its not bad but its not great either.today we didnt do anything..there isnt really much to do..just cook lunch...last pday we went to the tourist part of the area. its kinda by the beach. its cool but gets boring fast..carnival is next week so we´re hoping to find the elect bc everyone will be leaving our area and going to center to party...some areas of the mission have to go home around 6 or 7..anyway..everything is going good… my port. is getting better and better though..i can have conversations with ppl now. i still dont know alot of words though.oh and the mtc gave me a triple in port. so i have been reading that

Feb-4-09
this last week went by fast...sat we had two ppl that wanted to be baptised ..only one passed the interview and then she decided last min to not get baptised so we were bummed..then on sunday we had 16 investigators in church!!!it was a miracle...and two of them bore testimonies..it was great...one girl decided to be baptised that day so we baptised her at the chapel sunday at 4 and she was confirmed in sacrament meeting...i think the only reason she was baptised though is because she likes me..so dumb..she is 14 yrs old..here is wierd..age doesnt matter to ppl..anyway..on sunday morning we went to pick up a little boy and girl to come to church,8 and 10 yrs old, and the boy didnt want to go he wanted to play soccer..lol..his mom made him and he was mad when we started walking to church..i was walking next to him and i told him i was american and spoke english then he smiled big and was happy the rest of the day...lol..he kept asking me how to say ppls names in english.lol..it was funny. we did service on a farm yesterday and now im black..lol...oh ya i got some stuff called doce de leite com strawberry..a member sells it and i bought a jar..its pretty good... everything is good here...just really hot and dumb carnival is at the end of this month... my comp is cool...he is a fat brazillian that talks english like a fob...he is good at correcting my portugues so im learning fast.the branch pres is nice..i dont really know him that well bc we dont have to go to the branch for church..we have church in out house...lol.. i mean our house..haha. my area is cool..the ppl are nice but alot of them have problems..esp. now bc carnival.....we do alot of everything..we cant rely on references bc most of the streets and houses dont have addresses...and if they do the ppl dont kno them...so we find ppl at home and remember where it was..the apartment is pretty big..three rooms a kitchen and a living room big enough to have 30 ppl meet every sunday.

Jan-28-09
had another baptism last sat...did it twice though bc the girls foot popped up..lol...its funny here bc theres like 200 churches in our area...which is like the size of 3/4ths of grand terrace...its not that big...and the ppl always say thank god....or jesus te ama..lol...jesus loves you...and i jsut say...ok...lol...the ppl are cool though..they let us in the door and tell us to sit down...give us food and water and then ask what we want..lol... the legit soccer jerseys here are like 150 reis but im talking to my comp to get some cheaper...

Jan-21-09
this past week was really good...last sat i had my first baptism..i baptised a 58 yr old lady...she stopped smoking in a week so she could get baptized...i wish everyone else here had that kind of faith...anyway..sunday was good..we had 6 investigators come to church and i think we will have another baptism this weekend...i hope so. last mon. we had zone conference...it was really fun and i learned alot..pres. silva is a good speaker..we ate pizza..it was alright but i think we costed the pres. 250 reais. its so hot here..i sweat always...i dont kno how much i way but i think i lost more weight..my port. is getting alot better..i can almost understand everything when someone is talking to me... i think this city is alot like the pacific islands in a way...all ppl wear is sandals...there is a joke here that if you see a guy wearing pants here then he is a believer..lol..anyway...tell everyone i love them...

Jan-14-09
im in my area now. porto seguro. right on the beach...the ppl are like surfer bumbs...they all wear boardshorts and bikinis around and talk slow..lol..its funny...the language is coming though...i can teach the first lesson but it still needs work...

Dec-30-08
hope you had a great christmas. mine was awsome. im loosing weight like crazy. my pants are all getting big now. i heard when we get to out mission we get mcdonalds and i heard there was 2000 baptisms this year...and their goal was 1500. its crazy how the lord prepares ppl to recieve the gospel. language is still coming pretty good. i just am getting sick of the mtc.

Dec-23-08
the weather is liike samoa...really unpredictable and rains randomly. really humid..they use reis here. the exchange rate changes from month to month i think..its like 2 u.s. to 1.5 reis., i havent talked to the guards..they are scary..lol

Dec-16-08
i think most of the ppl here are catholics...we went prosilyting last fri...i almost made a lady cry but then she didnt listen to the spirit and kept saying she already had a pastor and church...i was frustrated but then gave my bom so someone else who wanted it..i like prosilying, its fun. the language is coming..i can teach two lessons in port. and hold a simple conversation...
we ride charter buses to the temple..thats cool where danny is going..im going to send a memory card home with a vid for christmas on it.the mtc is pretty big...7 stories with like 80 rooms on each. im so hungry..i was teaching this brazillian comp. and then it was their turn...they were teaching us about the law of tithing but the spoke really fast so i couldnt understand..he asked me and my comp a question and i just said yes bc i didnt understand him and he said it again and again and i kept saying yes...then he just started laughing and yelled...NOOOO...i guess he asked us if god needs money and we jsut kept saying yes..lol...it was great.

Dec-2-08
the days go by slow but the weeks go by fast. over here lunch is the big meal so breakfast sucks and dinner isnt much better. thanksgiving was way good though. there were like 5 different desserts. it was sick.i can teach the first lesson in portugues but its all memorized. we´re an hour from the campinas temple and about 45 min from the sao paulo one..ive been to the campinas twice and sao paulo once...they are both really nice.and no i didnt get any ensigns. ive only seen portugues ones. the mtc is kinda boring but i guess its good bc we learn alot every day.

Nov-18-08
everything is cool my district is mostly from utah but they are cool too.im not dl so im happy about that. there are 8 ppl in the district and 6 to a room so there are 4 americans and 2 brazillians to a room. its pretty fun at night trying to comm. with them. all the instructors are brazillian and most of them just got of their missions so they are easy to relate to. the food is bad most of the time...but there is always rice so i eat alot of that...