Dear all of you,
Its been another crazy week.
Probably, actually no, definitely the longest week and a half of my life.
But its been good. Elder Lira is a great teacher which is good because
he is doing most of the teaching haha. :) Whelp, here we go!
Monday (September 10, 2018)
Today
was my first P-Day here, and it was really nice. We went to the store
and got our food and stuff. It all cost like 12 US dollars so thats
crazy. Then we cleaned our house, got lunch, sent emails and my
companion, Elder Lira, got his hair cut. Pretty relaxing day which I
really needed. We even got to take a nap. Noice!
Tuesday (September 11, 2018)
Today a baptism that we had lined up for
Saturday fell though. She says that she doesnt want to be baptised
anymore and we dont know why. We think a less active member told her she
shouldnt so thats awesome. But the Marcelo and Suelen family is doing
great! Marcelo has only smoked once this whole week and Suelen has only
smoked twice. They are amazing.
Wednesday (September 12, 2018)
Today was kind of weird. We went and
taught a recently converted kid named Kevin (for real, Kevin) and while I
was bearing my testimony I thought it was pretty good, some of my
better Portuguese. When I was done Kevin said, "I can never understand
what you are trying to say." So that was rough. But on the bright side,
we have three new investigators that want to be baptised.
Thursday (September 13, 2018)
Today the most exciting thing that
happened was Elder Lira interviewed one of the baptismal candidates for a
pair in our district and from what I understood, he had to be
interviewed by the President of our mission because he still had an
traffic ticket he hadnt paid. But I dont really know. I could very
easily be misinterpreting that haha.*
*(He was baptised on Saturday. Dont worry)
Friday (September 14, 2018)
Today was a really good birthday. 19 is
one of those weird ages that nothing exciting happens but it is my last
year as a teenager so thats a strange thought. It was such a good day
though if I havent mentioned it. We had a zone conference and I didnt
know this but everyone brought something small and they threw me a
little birthday party which was so incredibly nice of them. It really
meant the world to me. The sisters even made a cake! Also, I tried to
make cookies with no measuring cups and no baking powder, baking soda
or vanilla extract so that was an experience. But they actually
worked!!! At least the dough tasted good! They werent like my dads at
all but they were still cookies so that was such a blessing. Thank you
for all your prayers and birthday wishes!
Saturday (September 15, 2018)
Usually Saturdays are for the boys but
here, Saturday is a special day. It is the day we get ready for Sunday.
All of today we were just inviting people to church. We got a ton of
people to say that they would come but I dont know if they actually
will. We will see. I believe in miracles.
Sunday (September 16, 2018)
Today
was hard. They asked me to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting and I
forgot until last night so it was really rushed. But also, while I was
sitting on the stand wondering how in the world I was about to talk to
these people in Portuguese, they also asked me to bless the sacrament.
(It was in Portuguese too) The Priest that was doing it with me couldnt
stop laughing, and I dont blame him. If someone who didnt know how to
speak English was trying to read a prayer in English and pronouncing all
of the words wrong, I would be laughing too. :) After, I gave my talk,
and I think it went alright. I know that is was really wrong but I hope
that they were able to understand me. But Suelen and Marcelo are getting
married and baptised this Saturday so that will be awesome!
And know it is time for everyones least favorite part!
Random Thoughts:
- Elder Lira uses Axe deodorant so our room smells like a junior high locker room.
- There is a commercial that is on all the time here on the peoples TVs that shows a guy talking then a little jingle that says "O Gringo é Certo!" which literally means "The white guy is correct!" I wonder what he is right about.
- Everyone in Sacrament Meeting is tone deaf. And also no one can play the piano. I love it.
- This guy said a prayer for literally 7 minutes during Sunday School. I think I honestly fell asleep. Whoops.
- Dogs are weird. Dogs that have no owners are weirder. Dogs that live off of the burnt beans and rice that people throw out of their front door then proceed to drink sewer water are weirdest.
I hope its been a great week for all of you! Keep believing, keep trying, keep breathing!
Love,
Elder Allen
