Walking in White Fields: On Top of ... well, not much in Brasil‏

Hello friends and family and it's time for the weekly "what the heck your friend/brother/son is doing on his mission to BRASIL"!!!

I have to warn anyone serving in a house with more than two missionaries that even though it's much more entertaining serving on the side of the majority in the house the dogs on top always have a bone to pick. And that usually falls on me as I'm the more experienced in the group of my companion and me. I'm having fun and playing back, but, do know, it's not nice to steal another mans’ flip-flop [sandal].

Now I have a few stories and not many photos (sorry Mom) but I will try my best to describe what's going on.

In our apartment (yep, we're definitely moving up in the world) we have more rooms than we need, and the other two missionaries work in the city that we live in and we ( my companion and I) have to walk for 15 minutes every day to get to our area. And we don't start working until ... well , sometimes it's 20 minutes later. That is always fun .... and to make things better we live in a border city. The states are Parana and Santa Catarina. So we actually tease a lot about what side of the river that divides the states people want to be baptized on.

This week for the first time on my mission, we were EJECTED from a house. No we weren't thrown, but it was close, the darnedest thing. We were pleasantly teaching a young woman of 19, she felt the spirit, we explained, she learned, and when we got to the end of the lesson the irritated, sickly, Catholic father exited the house and demanded that we leave. I tried to be pleasant with the man, I told him my name, who we were and as pleasantly as I could, asked his name. His response, translated of course: “My name is mine, and I don't need to tell you it.” Patience, patience....PATIENCE!!! That was the end of the lesson as I'm sure you can guess.

We also had a wonderful time on Independence Day singing the national anthem in the morning and night as the three Americans in the apartment. And making pancakes. We actually don't have maple syrup here so we have to make our own ... and it's not the same! But that said, we are getting along fine and all wishing that our girlfriends are pretty at the end [of our missions?] ... because it is cold, and raining, and the house doesn't have a heating system. What's up with that? And after a day of teaching someone for 2 hours that the resurrection of people in general will happen when Jesus comes again in the cold front yard of the house, it would be nice to have a heater.

I hope you all have a good week and tune in next week to hear if Elder A. Smith and his companion survived the P-day Lunch of Elder Chase!!!

Até Próximo!

Elder Joel A. Smith