Group Details

First, I would like to address the following questions with regards to how a Group functions in the Church. 

1. We were curious about who conducts the Sacrament meetings and who collects the tithing?

Groups function under the direction of a ward or a branch. They must be associated with one or the other. Technically, very technically, Groups do not exist in an official way. Our Group President is the Branch President. In our case here in Anchieta, the Branch President of the Guarapari Branch. There is one counselor of the branch presidency that lives here in Anchieta, and he functions as the leader here when the branch president is occupied in Guarapari. Therefore, typically, this counselor conducts meetings and passes tithing to the branch, where it is then processed in the normal fashion.

2. How much do you as missionaries get to do talks and lessons for the church meetings? Do you pass the Sacrament or other odd jobs or are you just busy helping investigators making it to church on Sunday and helping them to classes etc.

Good question. Depends. This Sunday, only 16 people came to church because it was raining. I was assigned on Thursday to give a talk in the Sacrament Meeting. I was the last speaker, and had to talk for 25 minutes. Because of various meetings and complications this week, I wasn´t able to prepare my talk until Sunday. I woke up at 5:15am to prepare the talk. Except, the power went out at 5:20 because of the rain and the storm. I prepared my talk by the light of cell phone until the sun came up. I spoke about patience and perseverance in trials. We also prepared and blessed the sacrament because of a lack of Priesthood holders in attendance. One teacher passed the sacrament. In Serra-Sede, Elder Wilson gave one talk one week. And generally, everything else was taken care of. There the attendance was a little stronger. 

3. Do they have Young Men’s and Young Women’s during the week?

There is Seminary three times during the week. It yields anywhere from 0 to 6 students. Institute also happens once a week with about 0 to 4 students. The instuctor comes from Marataízes, an hour south of Anchieta.

4. Do most people have their own set of scriptures?

Yes. Materials aren´t a big problem. We have Principles of the Gospel and hymnbooks and scriptures.

5. Is there such thing as a Library in the church (house)?

No. The house is very limited. No microphone, no library, no offices, just rooms. Same thing in Serra-Sede.

6. Does everyone have a calling? Who makes the call?

More or less. The Branch Presidency is in charge of callings. Here we have a Relief Society President, Sunday School Teacher, Ward Missionaries, and a Primary Teacher. The traditional callings end there.

7. Do they have regular stake conferences when you go to a central building? 

Yes. The Group goes by bus to Vila Velha for Stake and General Conferences.

End of questions.

This week I had a division with Elder Fischer, one of the Zone Leaders of Vila Velha. Elder Fischer arrived in Brazil with Elder Anderson and I. He waited for his visa a little longer than I did. We had a good experience. It was good to speak English again.

I had my first baptismal interview. It was with an older woman from Guarapari. It was a little scary at first, but it was neat to converse with her and hear her testimony, and afterwards feel a spiritual confirmation that she is prepared and worthy for baptism. It took a long time because her memory is a little weak, but it was a success.

Yesterday was deliciously chilly. A crisp wind from the ocean, very cloudy, and a light mist of rain. My companion was dying. The lows during winter where he lives reaches the frigid 72 degrees. I thought he was lying, but it is true.

Tomorrow we will receive a visit from a General Authority. We are going to stay the night with the Zone Leaders in Vila Velha tonight so that we can arrive in Vitória on time-- 8:00am tomorrow. We don´t know with certainty who it will be, but I think it is Elder Costa from the Presidency of the Seventy. He is Brazilian.

A lot of people here try to speak English with me. But, they don´t speak as well as they think they do. In fact, it is harder for me to understand their English than their Portuguese. Yesterday as we tried to do contacts in the rain, a man said with a heavy accent ´´Good afternoon. Not now. It is raining cats and dogs.´´ It took a few seconds to compute. By the time I understood, he was gone.

We have not yet moved. We are still living out of our suitcases. It is miserable. We patiently await the red tape process of approval of the new house.

We did a contact with a man who was fishing off a bridge in downtown Anchieta. He was not interested in our work, but he was plucking blowfish (I think that´s what they are called, those fish that are spikey and inflate) out of a net. I was interested in his work.

This week district meeting started only 20 minutes late. Improvement! The meeting in Vila Velha last week was really neat. I gave a training. The key broke trying to get into the chapel, so all of us from the zone waited on the lawn for about 45 mintues until somehow the Elders got their hands on a copy of the key. Vila Velha is a really neat city. I like it a lot. It´s just expensive to get there.

Have a good week everyone.

Elder Bodily

Anchieta

It´s hard to believe that transfers were only six days ago. It seems like an eternity since the transfers. Here is what happened.

I was transferred to a small town of 20,000 people called Anchieta. It is about 50 miles south of Vitória. It sits right on the ocean. Anchieta belongs to the Vila Velha Zone. We will be travelling to Vila Velha tomorrow for a Zone Meeting. It is about an hour and a half to two hours from Vila Velha by bus. We have District Meeting in Guarapari, about 45 minutes from Anchieta by bus. The area of Anchieta is quite large. Half of the members here live in a neighbor city, Piúma, about 20 minutes south of Anchieta by bus. In other words, we use buses a lot. And if you can believe it, the buses here operate without set schedules. Or rather, they have schedules, but the buses come so late that you never know.

I am with Elder Vieira. I did a division with him in Jardim Limoeiro a few months ago. He has about five months on the mission. He is from Sobral, Ceará, Brasil. He is really different than me, but so far there hasn´t been anything I can´t handle.

But, that is not all. Here comes the hard part. We both arrived in the area together. Or, in other words, we arrived blind. Without any knowledge of where members live, where the church is, where the investigators live, where the other Elders were working, or even where the nearest supermarket is. Let alone without knowledge of how to arrive in Anchieta by bus, how to catch the bus from Anchieta to Guarapari for district meeting, or how to get to lunch in Piúma.

Also, the church is tiny here. I am once again working in a Group. Grupo Anchieta. There were 40 people at church yesterday. We meet on the second floor of a members house. It is only party finished. It is very similar in appearance to the Grupo Serra-Sede, before we started going to the Serra Ward.

We are supposed to be moving houses as well this week. Right now we live in a teensy little suite above a member’s house. It doesn´t even have a clothes washing machine of any kind. The new house is a little bit farther away from everything, but it is in a nice neighborhood and is very fancy.

Oh. And I am not just Senior anymore. I am also District Leader now. And our district just happens to be the largest in the mission. I am responsible for our companionship, a companionship of Elders in Guarapari, and two companionships of Sisters in Terra Vermelha. And, all four of the Sisters and one of the Elders in Guarapari were transferred here on Tuesday. Only one Elder is not new in the district, and he only has one transfer in Guarapari. So, all of us here are fighting it out.

But on the good hand, Anchieta is beautiful. We can hear the sound of the waves in the morning from our house. There is almost always a nice cool breeze coming in from the ocean. And almost everything here is flat. No hills to climb. The four members with cars here have all helped us considerably. We are learning the area. Also, Conceição and Mylena, whom I left in Serra-Sede were baptized yesterday! There is so much to tell, but so little time! Imagine how it was for all of us to try to get to Guarapari for the district meeting on Thursday! We all arrived at the meeting over an hour late!

Have a good week everyone.

Elder Bodily

Pode ser rejeitado mil vezes... (May be rejected a thousand times)

E aí. (Think Ricki Ricardo when Lucy did something outrageous...)

Transfers have come and it appears that both I and Elder Salvador will be leaving Serra-Sede. Two new Elders will be taking our place. We are going to frantically try and prepare information for them and also say goodbye to all our investigators and our favorite members here. Then I am going to go to Laranjeiras, buy a suitcase and frantically try to pack everything up and be ready to be at transfers in Vitória tomorrow at 2pm. Who knows where I will go. There are going to be massive changes in the mission. Almost everyone in our zone was transferred, that´s all I know. Big changes. Will I stay close to Vitória, or will I be assigned to leave the state of Espírito Santo? Will I have a Brazilian or American for a companion? Will I have a ward, a branch, or a group? How long will I stay there? I don´t have the slightest clue. All I know is that my time in Serra-Sede has come to a close.

We have been taking a bunch of pictures and saying our goodbyes and writing emails down. It is a pretty stressful situation. We are leaving two baptisms for the new Elders. Conceição is a 62 year old woman we found knocking doors. She is very quiet and shy. We got along very well because of this. She has come to church three times and will be baptized on Sunday. We bid her farewell yesterday night. In the closing prayer she started to cry which made both of us choke a bit. I consider her my Brazilian Grandma. Or as they say here vovó.

We decided after visiting with her that we can be rejected a thousand times, but if one person accepts our message and comes to enjoy the joy of the restored gospel, our work is worth the thousand rejections.

Also, a niece of Edineia named Myara. She is 17 years old and has a twin sister. She is surprisingly strong in the Gospel already and already shared a Book of Mormon with her friend and has already read 1 Nephi. She goes to activities in the Young Womens, ward activities, and passed her baptismal interview. She will also be baptized on Sunday.

We had a very difficult week. It was a struggle to teach anyone at all. Appointments fell through, the sun shone bright, and baptisms fell through. But, we have passed through the heat of this battle. We will soon be facing other challenges, meeting other people, and learning different lessons.

My companion slipped on a banana peel this week. I heard him start to lose his balance, and I turned around. He caught himself and we looked down and saw a blackened old banana peel as the culprit. It is officially true. Cartoons are not a lie. Truth of physics: Banana peels cause people to slip.

Yzma from Emperor's New Groove
Josh's favorite movie.

A very old woman in our ward who has a voice remarkable similar to that of Yzma shared an experience in Gospel Principles class. She said that before she got to know the church, one day she bought some chicken from a man in a butcher shop. But, when she got home that something was wrong with the skin of the chicken. She got so mad that she marched back to the shop and demanded new chicken and she screamed at him and insulted him. She said she really wanted to throw the chicken in his face. At that point in the story I lost compusure. The Yzma voice and the subject of throwing chicken in one´s face was too much and I started to laugh. Luckily so did several other in the classroom. But, it turns out that she met the missionaries, learned about charity, and has since forgiven the man for the chicken incident. She said I´m glad that I haven´t kept all that bitterness with me all this time. Someone behind me commented ´´and that you didn´t keep all that chicken with you!´´ Hilarious.

I played the piano in sacrament meeting again.

Wish me luck,
Elder Bodily

Growth

Boa semana gente-

Another week has gone by. It was a week of many stresses, and I am happy to have it over with.

Of interest, Edineia is on fire. She has one week as a member of the church, but she has accompanied us in three lessons, given three referrals (two of which now have baptismal dates), and taught an excellent lesson to the Young Women yesterday about the scriptures. She also bought a subscription of the Liahona. And she is learning to lead music. She is a warrior. She also claims to be my Brazilian mother. Meanwhile, Reginaldo and Márcia are lukewarm sideliners.

Also, there was a massive Helping Hands (Mãos que Ajudam) service project in Cariacica on Saturday. All the Elders and members from Vitória, Vila Velha, and Cariacica were invited to participate. The mayor, all three stake presidents, and the mission president were there. The results were pretty impressive. Over a thousand people cleaning up trash, pruning and tending plants, painting sidewalks, handing out public health fliers, etc. It really made a difference quick. We had to take a bus to Laranjeiras at 530am, and then wait for the charter bus to take us to Cariacica. That trip lasts about an hour. Then we worked in the hot sun, and then we did the same thing coming back. It was neat. I took a lot of pictures.

Interesting sidenote: kite flying is very popular here, especially among little kids. But, it isn´t like normal kite flying. It is competitive. They put this glass powder on the string, so that if you bump into another kite string you cut it. You try and cut other peoples´ kites and keep yours from getting cut. When a kite gets cut, there is always a group of little kiteless kids that run after it to try and get it for themselves. It is neat when we are up on top of a hill and you can look out and see all the kites swerving and sweeping and cutting each other.

Other interesting sidenote: I do not like this internet café. The workers here are annoying.

Attendance in the ward this week was phenomenal. Alvino, the ward mission leader quit one of his jobs to be able to spend more time with his family and doing church service. He is starting a bunch of neat reactivation projects and enhancing our weekly ward family home evenings.

We marked three baptismal dates this week. Two seventeen year old twins (relatives of Edineia) and a 60 year old woman. We will be working with them a lot these days.

Gilmar and Silvania failed to mark their marriage this week because of money difficulties. We were so frustrated that this happened ONCE AGAIN, that we found a member willing to pay for the marriage now. Gilmar will pay them back when he recovers from his injury and starts working and receiving regular money again. They are supposed to mark the marriage TODAY. Then we can set baptismal goals with them as well.

I bought a pen drive on sale for R$25, which is more or less $14. It has 4 GB, and is neon pink. It also has a flashing red light on it that screams to the whole world, Here I am! Gee, I wonder why it was on sale? At least it works. I am backing up photos on it right now. I got scared about my pictures when Elder Salvador deleted over 100 a few weeks ago. I am in paranoid mode now.

It is slowly starting to get warmer here again. Already. This is the last week of this transfer. I will have 18 weeks in Serra-Sede as of the coming Tuesday.

An excellent week to all,
Elder Bodily

Madness on a Saturday Night

Queridos,

This week has been a roller coaster. So many things have happened so quickly. What´s new, right?

We did a service project this week in which I helped do some contruction on a brick house. It is Arlete´s house, for those of you who are keeping track of important investigators. I had to mix concrete on the road. It is quite literally manual labor. There is a pile of concrete with water dumped on it, and you have to stir it and knead it with a shovel and a hoe. Then you put it in buckets, carry it up the stairs to the part of the house needing concrete, and dump it. All in the sun. Fun. Concrete trucks now excite me just as much as they did when I was four years old.

We ran into a woman who met consistently with the missionaries three years ago, but who never went to church. Her name is Rosiane. We will see if this time she will go to church with us. She is legally married.

We were able to make a visit in the local history museum. It was pretty boring and a full tour only takes 10 minutes, but the highlight was a book full of pictures of Serra since 1900. It is really neat because I recognized most of the places, roads, and parks photographed because we walk around so much here. Let me just say, a lot has changed in the last 50 years here in Serra.

On Thursday night, we passed by Edineia and Reginaldo´s house. The bishop was visiting there, to our surprise. When we entered, he had talked with them both and they both said that they wanted to be baptized on July 23. Last Saturday! Previously, Edineia was preparing for the 31 of July, and Reginaldo was in doubt about the 31st of July. And their 13 year old daughter also wanted to be baptised with them. We were super excited! We arranged the interviews, the member records, and all the details. We passed by their house right before the baptism. They were great. Everyone passed the interview.
We should have gone to the church with them, but we went to accompany three investigators (relatives and referrals from Edineia) to go to the baptism.

The baptism started at 7. We had a lot of difficulty in catching a bus with our three investigators. It was raining. We arrived two minutes late in a swirl of disarray. Edineia, Reginaldo, and Marcia were not there. I changed clothes and then, at 7:20 Edineia arrived. Alone.

Reginaldo caught the bus with her, but gave up and got off the bus half way to the church and went back home. Márcia gave up before even getting on the bus. The meeting went forward. Then Reginaldo got in touch with us and said he was on his way and wanted to be baptized. Then no. Then yes. All in the middle of the baptismal meeting. We went forward. I baptized Edineia. It was a way sweet experience.

Then after, Reginaldo arrived at the church! And wanted to be baptized! I had already changed clothes, but I went to change clothes to baptismal clothes again. Except, he gave up on the baptism once and for all in the bathroom. It was a mess. Then we all went home in the rain without umbrellas. It was a bittersweet experience. We will see what happens with them.

Edineia was confirmed and is going to give the lesson in the Young Womens this coming Sunday. She is awesome. Her three relatives are really interested in the church, and have come to the baptism, church, and the ward family night. She is on fire. A great example and pioneer in her family.

A lot more happened, but that is the condensed version. What a life.

Have a good week,
Elder Bodily

Demorou Mas Chegou

Finally.

Edineia and Reginaldo got married. Four months after meeting the missionaries, it is official. They are husband and wife. I was there, I saw them sign the papers, exchange rings, quickly and quietly in the government office. Then we went to the little park downtown in front of the park and took some pictures. Now that they are married, they are clear for baptism. Edineia is going to be baptized on July 31. Reginaldo is a little bit in doubt, and has not been to church lately. But we are going to do absolutely everything to help him and also their daughter, Marcia get baptized on the 31st. Edineia is my favorite person that I have met on the mission. She is hilarious, has a bizarre love for chocolate that almost rivals mine, and she is a tough woman, very spiritually strong. She reminds me of my Aunt Heather.

I did another exchange and worked in the area of Laranjeiras. Laranjeiras means orange trees. I like the word. I was with Elder Caceres, who is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. In other words, we communicated all day in Spanish-Portuguese. He is new on the mission, and so it was funny to notice all of the little Spanish-isms he used without noticing in his Portuguese. It is always good to see a new area, talk with new people, have a brief companion swap, and refresh your mind. I have now worked at least one day in every area in the Vitória Zone except for ONE. There are eight areas in the zone.

I played the piano in sacrament meeting again because both of the only other two people in the ward that play were gone. What would they do without me?

The members got back from their caravan to the temple. Now I don´t have to be jealous anymore, except when they show me gorgeous photographs of them in front of the temple.

Elias was confirmed yesterday, and Francismara, the only other person I have helped get baptized here in Serra-Sede was at church yesterday! It was neat to see them both present.

The week was really rough. We found almost no one to teach. This week we ran into an unusually large number of people who were really rude to us or who tried to humiliate us. As if they could succeed.

I am so happy about the baptism of Edineia, and I am really hoping that Reginaldo will also follow suit. We have marked to visit them and leave spiritual messages at their house every day for the next two weeks until the baptisms. We have Family Home Evening there tonight. Wish us luck.

We go to the government office with another couple to mark their marriage this week. They will likely marry in September, next transfer. (Remember, Edineia and Reginaldo marked their marriage in MAY) They, Gilmar and Silvana, are rock solid and will both be baptized. They were at church yesterday even though Gilmar has a dislocated collarbone (bike accident) and it was a long bumpy 20 minute van ride for him both ways. He is a future leader in the church. Never have I met an investigator more wise. He is just a good good person.

Life is a joy, if you aren´t loving it, there´s something you need to change.

Happy week to all of you.
Elder Bodily

PS, the quote on the subject line means ´´it took forever, but it finally came´´ which came from the lips of Reginaldo about the marriage. amen!

Batismo de Elias and Other Adventures

Everyone,

It has been an eventful week. First of all, on Monday night last week my companion was playing with my camera. And somehow he managed to delete over 100 photos that I had not yet copied to my pen drive. They are gone forever. Pictures with Elder Wilson, here in the area of Serra-Sede, with investigators, and even several from my days in Vitória. I will not try to express how distressing I find this.

We baptized Elias yesterday. It was the only baptism in the Vitória Zone. Every zone in the mission baptized at least one person, a first since I arrived on the mission. He gave us a scare because he did not show up at the bus stop at which we pick people up in the van that goes straight to the church. We had to go to the front of his house. All the members and investigators in the van, waiting in front of his house. His sister said he went to the doctor. Stress! But then he emerged and said ´´No! My appointment with the doctor is tomorrow! I just woke up late.´´ What a scare. I would have sent pictures, but Elder Salvador´s memory card doesn´t fit in my converter. It will have to wait. The baptism was simple, small, with few in attendance, but it was special.

Nothing happens in Brazil on the 4th of July. Figures. Not even one firework. The first time in my life that that has happened.

Elder Salvador´s shoes make a gentle click-clacking sound on the cobblestone sidewalks. It´s not like a high-heel clack, just a gentle sound. It reminds me of the Wii Fit. The gentle sound of footsteps that aren´t exactly in time with your own steps.

I have decided that the words of the hymn Come, Come Ye Saints applies perfectly as the theme song for my mission. Especially the second and fourth verses.

Two investigators pleaded with me to say the closing prayer of our lesson in English. Finally, after they pestered me enough, I agreed. I am not lying to you, it didn´t work out very well. I kept starting to say things in guess which language. We learned to pray in Portuguese on the first day in the MTC, and I haven´t prayed out loud in English for a very very very long time. Many months. I actually ended up finishing the prayer in Portuguese. It doesn´t help that Elder Salvador doesn´t speak a lick of English. I taught him to say ´´How do you say...´´ and ´´How are you?´´ and ´´Good morning.´´ Also, he continues to learn basic vocabulary. He told me that he has a speech impediment, which explains even more why his Portuguese is a little different and sometimes hard to understand.

A crazy woman who is sadly addicted to a multitude of drugs came up to us downtown and said ´´Someone told me you are demons. Who are you? Are you demons?´´ We just said we are missionaries, and kept walking because she was not sober. The thing is, we have already talked to her before and invited her to church. Later the same day, she was on the other side of the street but ran across the street in front of us screaming ´´Who are you? Are you demons? Give me a straight answer!!´´ We just kept walking. It was sad slash funny.

It has been deliciously cool these past fews days. A lot of people here are using sweaters and complaining of the cold. ´´Cold´´. Seriously, it´s like a joke. It is not cold at all. Even if I try to feel cold, I don´t. I just look at them and think, if I did 20 jumping jacks right here, I would start to sweat. Silly Capixabas. (Capixaba=person native to Espírito Santo, pronounced coppy-SHAW-buh).

We had interviews with President Araújo in Jardim da Penha on Friday. I took pictures of the chapel and the neat indoor garden that is there.

Elder Salvador was fed for the first time Oreos and macaroni and cheese by his generous companion. He liked both very much. He is now a fan of ´´things of Americans´´.

He taught me how to make popcorn on the stove, which I have been making frequently now. What a delicious blessing! I thought I would have to go without for all this time.

I ate a delicious bowl of ice cream at lunch on Saturday that tasted like chocolate cake batter. Wonderful.

Edineia and Reginaldo are going to get married on Wednesday!! After all this stress and indecision, it is official. They are going to tie the knot, and then we can truly work towards helping them to be baptized. Joy!

A large group of members left last night on chartered buses to the temple in Campinas. They will stay there until Friday. I was jealous. It is a 12-17 hour bus ride between here and São Paulo, depending on traffic while passing through Rio de Janeiro.

If you have a spot of spare time this week, write me a letter! ;)

Have a good week,
Elder Joshua Bodily

Happy Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!

Sadly, no one here is setting off fireworks. I haven´t seen an American flag in months. But, it is still independence day! Independence Day in Brazil is on the 7th of September. All the missionaries that are serving in the Vitória region participate in a parade in downtown Vitória on this day. If I stay here one more transfer and nothing changes, I will get to participate.

We have a baptism scheduled for this Sunday. His name is Elias. But I am worried about him. We will see what happens. He is 47 and single. He has a pretty dark past. I just hope that he has really changed and is really committed to live the Gospel.

We have had a very busy week. We have a lot of investigators. This is good. However, we had a disappointing turnout at church this Sunday. Four investigators. The three wives from our golden three couples. But none of the men. Edineia and Reginaldo are getting married NEXT WEEK and will be baptized here in two weeks. I really really want to help everything go ok, but it is up to them.

One of our investigators brought a friend to church and we have an appointment to meet with them together. Super neat! The ward is also making a special effort to supply us with members with whom we can teach lessons with throughout the week. This is very difficult to coordinate and plan, espeically since the minutes on our cell phone ran out. However, it reaps many rewards.

We had our first zone conference with the new president and his wife. They seem scared, but ready to be awesome. They are both wise, classy, witty people. And their Portuguese is easy to understand, thank goodness. Thank goodness.

This week we have our first interviews with the new president. On Friday.

We have struggled a bit to find new people to teach. We are going to work like mad this week to find people to teach. And we are going to lay down the law about going to church. Literally. We set a goal to have 12 investigators in the chapel on Sunday. Twelve. And the chapel is 25 minutes away. And the meeting STARTS at 8:30 AM. Bring it on.

I had a superb experience with an investigator, Silvana. At church yesterday she said this to me. Remember that I am an imperfect translator:

´´Last night I was determined to finish work early (she runs a little grill and snack shop on the side of the road) and sell all the food so that I could wake up and get to church. Before I went to bed I said to myself, In the name of Jesus, I am going to go to church tomorrow. And you know what happened? I woke up before the alarm went off, Eduarda (her 7 year old daughter) woke up happy and calmly, and we caught the van to the church peacefully. It is clear that when we put God in first priority, the blessings come and He helps us.´´

I could have died in that moment and been happy. It is that message that we try so desperately to share with people. It is so refreshing to have someone who decides with force to do what is right instead of the thousands of people that I have talked with who say things like ´´One of these days...´´ ´´When the opportunity comes up...´´ ´´It won´t work out this time, you know why? ....blablablabla´´, But I won´t guarantee. I don´t like to make a committment and then not follow through.´´. Or, the most ironic answer: ´´God willing, I will (fill in the blank: go to church, read the scriptures, pray every day, etc.)´´. When would that not be the will of God?

Such is life on the mission.

Happy 4th of July. Light some fireworks in memory of me. I will sing the national anthem on the balcony of our apartment. Leave it to me.

Have a fabulous week,
Elder Joshua Bodily

A Time of Transition

Unbelievable--

So much has changed in the past week. President Pickett has come to end of his mission. He and Sister Pickett are flying back to the United States after one year as President of the Rio de Janeiro North Mission, and the first two years of the Vitória Mission. There was a grand fireside in Cariacica last night. The first time that I have been to Cariacica. It was very spiritual. They will leave everyone here missing them very much.

As for transfers. Elder Wilson went to the boondocks of the mission in Nanuque, way in the north of the mission. I stayed here in Serra-Sede. I also turned senior. This means that from here on out, my companions will have less time and experience on the mission than I do. In other words, I am in charge, I have a lot of responsibility, and I carry a little more stress.

My new companion is Elder Salvador. Or translated, Elder Savior. He is from Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul way in the south of Brasil. Where it actually snows sometimes. He has a heavy southern Brazilian accent. I don´t understand everything that he says the first time that he says it. He is my first Brazilian companion. He is awesome though. This is his second area on the mission. He misses his first area a lot, but I was able to comfort him a lot because I suffered when I left the Athens 2nd Ward way back in December. He is a really neat person. He is hard-working, has a passion for the missionary work, and he has a lot of patience with me. He practices English words with me in the street. He has particular trouble pronouncing the words ´´contact´´ and ´´hymn book´´. He does not speak English. Virtually nothing. I sat on my bed the other night and just thought, there is not a fluent English speaker (with whom I am acquainted) in my area. It is a twenty five minute trip to the nearest American elder, my zone leader, and I don´t even know him. Now, at last, my brain is starting to think almost purely in Portuguese. Basically, because I have no choice.

I feel alone sometimes, but I know that I am not.

My companion from the MTC, Elder Anderson, found out this week that his 18 year old brother passed away. I don´t know any details. He just turned senior as well, and he went to a new area very far from here. I know he is passing through way more than I am.

I am so grateful for the things that I have in my life. I am grateful for my family, my friends, and for my knowledge of the Gospel. I know that nothing is impossible or too hard with the help of the Lord. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is exactly what it is named: the Church of the Savior Jesus Christ here on the Earth in these last days. Greater peace and happiness cannot be found outside of the safety of obedience to the commandments and the security of covenants well-kept.

Thank you again for all of you who make an effort to write me. I love you. Know that I treasure your letters and hold very dear to me your words of comfort and encouragement.

Fiquem firmes na fé, (Stay Strong in the Faith)
Elder Bodily

Tardy E-mail From Last Week

THIS EMAIL DIDN´T SEND LAST WEEK, BUT I WROTE IT!

Well,

There have been transfers. Elder Wilson is leaving and I am going to stay behind and try to make everything work here. Transfers are tomorrow. I am worried and a little sick to my stomach. Who knows what will happen.

I was sick this week. I had a fever, chills that alternated with extreme sweating, an achy body, splitting headache, upset stomach, and sore throat. Never all at once but the headache and achy body were pretty constant. It was just a big mix of annoying sickness. On Tuesday afternoon I started feeling a little weird. Wednesday morning we had a celebration of the second anniversary of the Brazil Vitória Mission. I felt pretty bad on the bus there, but I evened out more or less. Thursday was pretty bad and I had to fight every hour. Finally on Friday it was too much. I got permission to stay home for five hours in the afternoon after a long session of talking to people in the street and going to appointments that fell thru. That helped. Then On Saturday we worked a lot with a member who had a car so that helped also. Then yesterday´s schedule was pretty light. Today is the first day I feel mostly recovered. Joy.

Elder Wilson and I made a visit to a church called the Maranata Church on Saturday because one of our investigators invited us. We sang songs, heard a sermon on a few Bible verses, and listened to them pray. Complete with drums, guitar, flute, keyboard, etc. The Maranata churches are wooden and are usually on lots with lots of greenery that are very well kept. The Church was founded here in the state and the world headquarters also is here. Just interesting to note. That investigator went to church with us the next day.

We got to play with a parrot in one of our investigator´s homes. It was crazy. It tried to eat my boot and flew right by my had and has a wicked laugh every time it does something it knows it is not supposed to like bite a flip flop, try to eat the chocolate cake that they served to us, or bite our investigator´s arm.

Have a great week,
Elder Bodily