Mudanca (Change)

Mais uma semana,

It´s clear that I am in Brasil. Elder Vieira pointed out to me that there are various rubber trees along the road from Anchieta to Piúma. Sure enough, there are plantations of rubber trees with tubes inserted in the trees in such a way that the rubber drips out of the trees into containers. Also, we became aware of the fact that Praia Guanabara (Guanabara Beach), which lies on the east end of Anchieta is a breeding ground for sea turtles. They come up on the shore and lay eggs. Then two months later, all the eggs hatch and the little turtles try to get to the sea. There is a little museum thing that we visited. The sea turtles are HUGE. They have a stuffed turtle, and it is the size of my armspan! Also, I ate bananas for dessert at a member´s house. She had just plucked them from her banana tree in her backyard.

We ran along the coastline for exercises. It was a refreshing experience. The sound of waves crashing and the sun coming up over the city.

I left my planner on a long distance bus from Guarapari. I realized about 20 minutes later and I called the bus company. My little planner went to Cachoeiro de Itapemirim (way out of our area), back to Piúma, and then up to Guarapari before it finally came back to Anchieta where we picked it up. What luck!

I did my second baptismal interview for Sister Dias and Sister Neylla. She passed and was baptized on Saturday. The district is having much success, outside of Anchieta, at least. Tonight we set out for Guarapari to do FOUR baptismal interviews for the Elders there.

Elder Claudio R.M. Costa, formerly of the Presidency of the Seventy; currently the Area President of Brasil, came to visit the mission Tuesday and Wednesday. We went to Vila Velha and slept on the ground Monday night. We crossed the Terceira Ponte (always an enjoyable experience for me) and heard President and Sister Araújo as well as Elder and Sister Costa speak to us. It was a very inspiring, very powerful meeting. Everyone from the Zones of Vitória, Vila Velha, Cariacica, and Campos were there. (Everyone on the mission, minus about 30 missionaries.) He spoke a lot about having the Spirit with us while we teach. He talked about helping people experience conversion before being baptized. Elder Costa served as the Mission President of the Brazil North Mission when it first started. He told the story of a man who after being baptized as a middle-aged man never missed a church meeting until his death. The thing is, he lived in the boondocks of Manaus, practically in the jungle. The man had to cross a small river, with currents running waist-deep, and walk two miles to the main road which was made of dirt and mud and filled with potholes. There he waited for a car to pass and give him a ride. All this on SATURDAY, because the chapel was in a city two hours from there by car. There, upon arrival he slept every Saturday night at the branch president´s home and attended meetings Sunday morning before repeating the process in reverse to arrive at home Sunday night. I love stories like that of people with real dedication and understanding of the Gospel and its importance.

On receiving constant revelation, Elder Costa shared the following quote, which comes from Elder Russell M. Nelson: ´´The Lord always answers the inquiring mind.´´ We have to inquire, seek, live worthy of, and work to receive and recognize the Spirit in our lives.

Oh.

And this week, WE MOVED. This is a joyful statement, but it was a horrific experience. We were left on our own to figure out a way to rent a truck to move all of our stuff, after packing all of our clothes--dirty and clean-- all of our books, materials, and supplies, and after cleaning out a house with years of missionary residue and refuse. We found lots of interesting things. Like yoyos that don´t work. A broken Playstation from 100 BC. Don´t ask me how that got there. A great pair of Levis jeans that fit me perfectly (score!). Etc etc.

Also, there is the closet. It is too big to get down the narrow staircase. So, a member is going to help us take it apart and set it up in the new apartment. We still have to sweep, mop, and clear out the old apartment. Also, the furniture people showed up a day late at our new house, and still haven´t set up our beds. They are coming tomorrow. The moving guy charged R$70 to take the stuff to our new house, but then didn´t even help us carry the stuff up to the fourth floor where we live. So, we carried the refrigerator, the cabinets, the dressers, the washing machine thing, our study tables, etc etc up the four floors to the apartment. Alone. The building does not have an elevator. We are sleeping on mattresses on the ground.

However, the new apartment is super neat. We have access to the roof, where we can put up our clothes to dry, and enjoy beautiful views of the city, the forest, and the ocean. And there is always a breeze up on top. The new apartment has two nice bathrooms, a room for the beds, and a room for study. All with big windows. And a tiny little balcony looking out over the forest. Definitely an upgrade. And it´s nice to have some privacy. We don´t live above a member anymore.

Also, Elder Bagley suffered a grave accident this week. I don´t know why, but him and his companion had the idea to catch a ride on a cargo train, except Elder Bagley slipped in between two cars of the train and the train ran over his leg. They did surgery, but had to amputate his leg. It was in the newspaper, on the news, and news of it passed to us my the mission leadership. He is going home after his health stabilizes, if he is not already home. This was shocking and very sad news for all of us here. He was my companion from March 1 to April 5 of this year. He would have finished his mission on November 1.

Until next week.

Elder Bodily