(This email is from Friday 9.6)
Heyyyy!!!
I’m allowed to email today
since I couldn´t when I first got here!!
This is a totally different
world down here!! That’s for sure! Ha It isn’t the United States.
So the flights to get to
Brasil were super long and I started feeling sick after landing in Sao Paulo
and I have felt super sick until last night. I started feeling better and today
I feel good!
Once we landed in Brasilia, we
went down to grab our bags. One of my bags never showed up.. haha I was
thinking, this would happen to me on the first day. My bag ended up showing up
about 20 minutes later on a moving belt from a different flight. It was super
weird. ha. Elder Brown spotted it.
Elder Brown served for 4
months in New Mexico before receiving his visa. We met up with him on the
flight to Sao Paulo. In Sao Paulo I had to say goodbye to a great friend, Elder
Robb who was going to Teresinna. Its hard saying goodbye to these guys that you
bond with. Me, Elder Kesler, and Elder Robb were all on the plane together in
the middle section so we had an awesome time!!
After we got our bags, the
President and his wife, and the Assistants were there to pick us up. So me,
Elder Kesler, and Elder Brown got into a van with the Assistants and we took a
tour around the city before meeting back with the President for lunch at the
Mission home. My stomach was killing me and I had a bad headache. Lunch was
awesome, but made me feel worse haha. Sister Gaertner started giving me
medicine. She’s awesome!!! She was so worried ha.
I was expecting to relax
and stuff but we had our interviews and then headed off to the local ward
building where we would meet our new companions and head off to our area.
My companion is Elder D.
Call from Arkansas. He is almost 21 and has been in the field for a year and
five months. Kesler and Brown got native Brasilians who know little English so
I got kinda lucky with that ha. We then hopped back in the van with a bunch of
missionaries and drove like 3 hours dropping people off. I was the last stop of
course. Ha. At this point I was feeling so sick!! It was hard saying goodbye to
Elder Kesler at his apartment. He’s a stud and will do great!!
Our mission area is about 2
hours by bus from Brasilia, and in one of the poorest areas in our mission. Our
apartment is pretty small, dirty, and old but its got a refrigerator and
running water :) haha
It’s taken a lot of time to
get use to this lifestyle. Its totally different than I expected. The area that
we are serving in is really dirty and poor but the people are so humble. They
are great!! Mostly everyone is catholic and there is a huge cathedral across
the street from our apartment, and for the next week or so they are having a
fair and fireworks every night and blasting music so it gets kinda loud
ha.
My first two days in the
field weren’t ´normal´ days. Wednesday we had District meeting so we had to
wake up at about 5 (after already being exhausted from traveling) and take two
buses for about an hour and a half for our district meeting with 4 other guys.
The buses are super packed and you stand most of the time. The other guys in
the district are way cool!! That afternoon I was feeling super bad so my
companion called Sister Gaertner who demanded I lie down and get some rest.
haha.
The next day we had an
emergency zone meeting, so we woke up at 5 again and took an hour bus to the
area where the meeting would be. It went good, and our zone is awesome. About
half of the missionaries are from Brasil and the other half are from
America.
I realize now my Portuguese
wasn’t all that great. haha. I’m so lost here but trying my hardest. I
understand more everyday. Some people look at me funny when I speak ha.
I taught my first lesson
yesterday!!! My companion at one point went to the bathroom and left me to fend
for myself..haha. It went good though. Talked about the World cup. The lesson
was about Jesus visiting the Americas and recognizing the Holy Ghost witness to
you that the words are true!
At the bus stop one guy
said, ´have you ever seen the devil, cause you have now.´
I had no idea what he said
so I just smiled liked a dork and said ´bom dia´haha. My companion later told
me what the guy said. haha.
The people are awesome
though! We met with Arthur (Art-Tor] who is in his 20s and the rest of his
family beside one of his brothers are members. His stepmom and her three kids (Bruno
age 16, Marianna age 11 and I forgot the other brothers name but age 15 ha)
Marianna reminds me of Olivia. haha. She teased me about my Portuguese and she
was pretty funny. Even though it is really hard here, I know this work is
important and I will get the language eventually. Just takes patience and
diligence.
I love you all so much and
think of yall constantly. I miss you like crazy but I know this work is
important and yall will be blessed for it. Thanks for everything yall do for
me!!
I am starting to understand
why I am here and growing to love the people! The language will come! I love
you!!!
Love,
Elder Bean
(This email is from today, his PDAYs will be on Mondays now.)
Bom Dia,
Brazil is a whole new
world, especially where I live in Santo Antonio (spanish translation is San
Antonio).
I’ve been having a really
rough time but I think I’m starting to adjust. It is so hard. This is not easy.
Being away from family, comforts of home, and the way of life. I have been
having a hard time with the language. I feel so lost and confused most of the
time. This isn’t the language they taught me in the MTC`haha. Last night I
broke down. I couldn’t handle it I thought anymore. I want to just share the
gospel and let people know how I feel about how important it is, but I can't
explain how I feel and what I know since I can't speak it. I use to laugh or
just shrug it off when people would laugh at the way I speak or not understand
even though I am trying, but now I’m just getting tired of not being able to
make any sense and say what is really on my mind. I keep struggling with the
fact that I keep feeling I would be so much better stateside, speaking English.
Where the members and the ward support you and you can say how you feel. In
this area, the bishopric doesn’t seem to care. We ask to do ward council and they
say no they don’t want to have it. It's pointless they said.. there are some
awesome families in the ward but others that just don’t seem to care. We
brought 3 investigators to church on Sunday and members hardly fellowshipped
with them. During the talks, the bishopric and members would just stand up and
walk around talking and making noise and saying bye to people. In the middle of
the talk.. it was hard to feel the spirit.
It’s totally different
here.
I survive off peanut butter
and nutella sandwiches since they sell nutella here.. haha.
I know that this period of
time of struggle will pass. Its just hard going through it and questioning
myself why I am here. But I know I can’t quit.. it just isn’t my personality
and it wouldn’t be a good example.
I just want these people to
feel in the happiness that I have from this gospel. I love you all so much and
pray for yall everyday!! I miss yall like crazy. Its so hard growing up at home
and then just leaving. I’m the first high school graduate in this mission. I question
at times if I am really ready and mature for this yet.
I know I am meant to be
here at this time in my life, and that it is just Satan putting thoughts in my
head but it is so hard.
People here refer to me as
Mr. Bean, the comedian. haha. I also get called Senhor Increvite (Mr.
incredible) or Dolph Lundgren. I have never heard that one before but everyone
here has seen this guy in some movie, don’t even know who it is, ha.
I know this church is true,
and that God is our loving Heavenly Father. He answers my prayers and is
watching out for me and all of you. I know he is. Last night after I was done
crying...ha I felt we should go visit Michael. Michael is someone I just found
on the street and I gave him a Book of Mormon. I love just saying como esta or
tudo bem or como vai to everyone I see. And then my companion will do most of
the talking about church stuff since I can only bear my testimony really. But
for Michael I did majority of the talking and he understood.
So we went over to Michael’s
and sure enough he had read some of the Book of Mormon. We taught him about it,
then I went over and sat by him and had him read the last two paragraphs of the
introduction and showed him the restoration pamphlet talking about Joseph Smith
and God and Jesus restoring the church. He believed God and Jesus were one
person, but after I explained to him and had him read it he knew, he said that
they are separate. He understood everything I taught him. The spirit was so
strong.
After the lesson on our way
home, my companion told me he witnessed a miracle, that I was speaking with the
gift of tongues and that the spirit was so strong.
It made me realize that
through God´s will, Michael was able to understand what I was saying. He could
feel the power of the spirit, testifying to him that the words were true.
It was amazing.
I pray for yall and miss
yall so much, but I know this work is true.
I love you!!!
Love,
Elder Bean
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