A Morte De Anchieta (The Death of Anchieta)

Well, the Group here in Anchieta exists no more. We will become, once more, Ramo Guarapari. The Stake President came to give a talk and give the news. We will have a van that takes us and our investigators (when we have them) and those with difficulties in health or financial conditions to Guarapari every Sunday. Effective now. This is interesting news. This will make the missionary work here more challenging, but I believe that it will strangthen the Church organization in the area. In the past two years almost everyone in Anchieta knows where the church here is, but now we start the work of informing everyone that the nearest church is way out in Guarapari. 45 minutes by bus.

Our investigator that went to church thanked us for our visits and said that we inspired her to be more active in her church. She does not intend and never intended to be baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she told us. Instead of visiting once again with us this week, she went to her church for the first time in a long while.

We missed the first hour of church because we were trying to pick up the four people that promised us they would go to church with us. They live in all corners of the city. Two were sleeping, one went out of town Saturday night, and the other said they would take a shower and come--but didn´t ever show up. So we arrived in time to catch the last 2 mintues of Elders Quorum and I was completely drenched in sweat.

It rained a lot this week. I miss my umbrella. It is better than direct sun, but it makes for ridiculous humidity. I don´t feel hot, but I am totally sweaty.

We have several people we are teaching that are showing a sprout of interest. Especially a father and son that made friends with the first two missionaries here in Anchieta but then fell out of contact with them and the church. We will continue to pound the pavement and beat the bushes looking for someone awesome to teach. We will see how many we can take to church in Guarapari. It will be interesting now.

Good week to all,
Elder Bodily

Anchieta, Anchieta

Well, we had interviews with President Araújo after the Zone Conference in Cariacica on Wednesday and he said that it is most likely that he will pull the missionaries out of Anchieta. He said that there are a lot of areas that need missionaries more than Anchieta. This is sad. He helped to comfort us, and said that the missionaries deserve to serve in areas where they can be excited and productive.

A van with us and five converts from the group went to Guarapari for church yesterday. Four families with cars from the Group also attended. Two couples from Guarapari, one couple and child from Iriri, and one mom and two kids from Piúma. With both of us missionaries, Anchieta had a showing of 18 there in Guarapari. I played the organ, including the ever famous God of Our Fathers, Whose Almighty Hand complete with the organ trills. (I had to rehearse this with the music leader for half an hour on Saturday before she got the hang of it). No one is used to singing with a piano/organ here.

We will be losing a big group this transfer. About 14 missionaries are finishing their missions. Elder Bagley would have been finishing his mission right now. Word has it that 11 missionaries are arriving. This will make for a very interesting transfer.

We met a man who supposedly knew everything about the Church. Even though he has never visited, never read the Book of Mormon, and never talked with missionaries. He told us lots of nonsense about Joseph Smith. He said he learned it all from a documentary on the TV. Very reliable source.

It rained all week with a breeze. It was nice and cool every day.

No one that we are teaching has the desire to go to Guarapari to visit the church. This is sad. We are continuing to work and will continue to work until President tells us we are done.

Have a good week everyone.

Elder Bodily

Semana Exigente (Demanding Week)

Friends and family,

We are now well into the month of October. We had an investigator in church yesterday. She is 21, has read several passages in the Book of Mormon, and is interested in continuing to get to know the Church. This is only the second time in nine weeks that we had someone come to church with us. In comparison, every single week in my 18 weeks there we had AT LEAST THREE people with us at church.

We are walking a lot. One of my pairs of shoes is starting to look like a missionary shoe. Holes are visibly beginning to develop. Good thing the soles are ridiculously thick. When I started the mission I almost didn´t buy thick-soled shoes because they are ugly, but as time goes on it worth it to have ugly yet comfortable shoes.

There is going to be a big change here in the Group. The house in which we are meeting is also home to a couple. The leader of the group here and his wife. They will be moving. I don´t know what is going to happen. The stake president already told us that they are considering a decision to close the group and be reabsorbed by the Guarapari Branch. If so, it looks like I am a group killer. The Serra-Sede Group was also re-absorbed by the Serra Ward while I was serving there.

Groups are difficult.

We talked with fifty-four people on the street yesterday. It took four hours, but we succeeded. We set goals every week on how many people we are going to talk to. This week we were running behind on our goal of 190 people. We only had 136 as of Saturday night.

We had another zone meeting in Vila Velha this week. We practically live half of our lives in Vila Velha. Speaking of which, the trip to the Convent last week was super neat! It was a little foggy, so the views weren´t perfect, but it was cool and moist. We beheld the Terceira Ponte, Vila Velha and Vitória all in our sights. We took some really neat pictures too. My companion did not enjoy himself very much, but he forgave me. He prefers to sleep and sleep only on preparation day.

Two Elders in my district had a baptism, but as they filled the baptismal font in their chapel, green water came out of the tap! They had to emergency transfer the baptism to a chapel 30 minutes away! But it all worked out. In all truth it was two baptisms. A mom and her son. The Sisters there baptized one of her other sons several weeks ago.

We are really working hard to make things work here. We both want to at least have one baptism here in Anchieta.

Have a great week everyone. Love you all!
Elder Bodily

Time is Short

Gente,

I got my wish. We both will be staying here for one more transfer. However, there is a possibility that the group here is going to close. The stake president was here yesterday. No one knows what is happening, but there is a special conference of the Guarapari Branch and its Anchieta Group on Sunday. We´ll see what happens.

I saw a boy, ten years old go by on a bike. He stopped. Took off his flip flop, threw it at a fruit tree (mamão), caught a falling piece of fruit, put his flip flop back on and went pedaling down the street already eating the fruit. All in about twenty seconds. Only in Brazil.

All four of the Sisters in our district were transferred, we will see if they are replaced by Elders, or what will happen. Transfers are tomorrow. The Elders in Guarapari stayed.

We met two inactive members by accident this week. One recently moved from Belo Horizonte, after being baptized a year ago in Serra. He was waiting in front of the church at 8am wondering when the meetings here start. He saw the plack of the church and decided to see when the meetings are. Also, doing contacts on the street we met a lady who moved from Colatina some time ago who was baptized in 2003. We met and talked with them.

Time is short,

Elder Bodily

Weekend in Cobilandia

Dear everyone,

This week was crazy. Tuesday we worked in Anchieta until 6pm and then we took the bus to Vila Velha where we stayed the night with the Zone Leaders. Wednesday morning I went to Vitória for a training meeting for district leaders. Elder Vieira went back to Anchieta with another Elder. It was way neat and inspiring. We did a lot of practicing and teaching. It was also good to get to know President Araújo a little better. I had to do a practice on making commitments with people, in this case it was extending the invitation to be baptized. I had to do it in front of everyone else. Afterwards, in the feedback everyone gave great comments including President. That was pretty neat. It´s good to know that I have learned a thing or two in one year on the mission.

On our way back to Vila Velha our bus rear ended a BMW in front of us. It was quite a hit and jolt, but only damaged the bumpers of the bus and fancy black sports car. One elderly lady in the front of the bus was standing up and when we hit she fell down and hit her head, but it seems that she was okay...they called an ambulance and everything. Adventures every day.

Then I worked the rest of Wednesday and Thursday here in Cobilândia with Elder Fischer, the zone leader. Thursday night we switched back, and I worked with Elder Vieira in Anchieta all day Friday. Saturday morning we caught the bus to Vila Velha where we watched conference in the chapel in Itapoã. We stayed the night in Cobilândia again and watched conference there all day. Then we decided to stay the night AGAin and hike up to the Catholic Convent way up on the hill here in Vila Velha. It is the most popular tourist attraction in the Vitória area and symbol of the city of Vila Velha. So we are here in Vila Velha still. Conference was excellent, though I was only able to watch the Sunday morning session in English due to various complications. Everything else was in Portuguese. Taking notes in English while hearing in Portuguese is quite a feat. I am sad that it is already over. I love conference. Now the long wait until the talks get pubished in the Liahona.

I think I forgot to mention that at the transfer all the Sisters left Terra Vermelha and were replaced with four Elders. Still all Brasilians. Our district is the only district of EIGHT Elders on the mission.

I have little time once again, but next week I will write an email of real quality. I am starting to feel more and more like a Brazilian citizen especially as I get very familiar with the cities, the bus lines, the church buildings, and the people here.

Health and happiness to all!
Elder Bodily

PS. GO ON A MISSION! See Jeffrey R. Hollands talk in the Priesthood Session of conference. www.gc.lds.org