What, In Brasil???

Então como esto esquecendo inglese, Vocês vão precisar pouco de google! [So how they are forgetting English; you will need some Google!]

I'm glad to say that I haven't forgotten everything, however.

This week I have worked and worked, and finally, yesterday, we had a little success. I was worried that we'd be working the whole time with people that didn't want anything to do with the church, but we found a few diamonds in the sand.

First off, we came back into contact with Jose Carlos, who unfortunately did not get the surgery done that he needed. But he will be recompensed for the time lost. He is also returning to smoking, and to our disappointment, coffee. Yes, he drank coffee that he'd stopped drinking in the first week we found him. Unfortunately, there is no “face-palm” button. But we are working with him whatever way we can. And our family preparing for marriage is doing well; we had a fun experience that I will tell in a story at the end.

We also have an interesting problem. ... All the camiões [trucks/truckers]are on strike. That's right, so at the moment there is no import or transport of goods. I'm probably going to be looking at the same boxes of milk, eggs and cereal for a while in the supermarkets. DON'T SEND FOOD TO ME!!! It'll never arrive!

So my fun story: We went to the home of Jose and Noile, our casal [couple] that will casar [marry] this month. And guess what? Talison, their youngest son, was there! So we puxamos a orelha dele [pulled on his ear]. And he understood why:  his parents are fighting to get to church, get baptized, and get married. And up until now, Talison has been slacking. PARABÉNS [Happy Birthday]!!! So we demos uma ameaça para ir a igreja, ou Elder A. Smith chega com água gelada para jogar no rosto dele [threatened him that if he didn’t go to church, Elder A. Smith arrives with cold water to throw on his face]. So he went.  Jose was happy, Noile was happy, Luan (his older brother) was busy as usual, but he was at church. So everyone ganhou [won]! YEAY! 

That's all for this week, stay tuned for the news on the Strike of the Caminhoneiros [Truckers]!

Elder Joel  A. Smith

Brasileiro Coisas, e Moito Água (Brazilian things and lots of water)‏

Friends, Family, and other relations who I still haven't decided what I want to call you, I'm pleased to announce that I'm still alive and excited to work.

So as my time is short, I'll cut to the chase: My week started well, ended VERY depressingly. The start of the week was great with the announcement that I would be staying, my companion also, and my friend from the MTC took off to Curitiba again. ATÉ PRÓXIMO ELDER ADAMS, SENTIREMOS FALTA DE VOCÊ!! [UP NEXT ELDER ADAMS , will miss YOU!!]

All the work this week ended up on my shoulders when we started in search of new people to teach, our efforts were rewarded with 3... out of the 67 people I talked to and the 50 my companion talked to ... that was a lot of digging for a few flecks of Gold. But it would appear that of these three, two have a great potential to progress! God knows best.

Fun story of the week, we got a green missionary out of the MTC Brasil this week, he's being trained by Elder Soares, Elder Ibarra of Equador. So he talks fast, his accent is great to imitate, and he's a pure joy to be around. He ended up meeting Irmão Akihiko (yes, he's Japanese) and they had a ball, the accents were a nightmare!!

We had a few sad points this week as well. Saturday, on the bus ride home from Xarquinho, we knew a trauma happened in the ward, Sunday morning we found out what happened. A young man in the branch of 17, drowned. The funeral was held Sunday afternoon. We only had the sacrament on Sunday, classes were cut short, and no testimonies were given. One good thing, I got to play the violin in the ward during the reunion, that was a small plus. But it was a sad weekend.

Have a great week! Amo Vocês (a quem pertence!) [I love you (to whom that pertains!)]

Até Próximo!

Elder Joel A. Smith

Jose Carlos, investigator, and Elder Smith

Mansion from the 80s

 

Brasil..... Ç And All Those Fun Accents!‏

Olá, e BOOOOM DIAAAAAA! [Hello and Good Morning!]

So after one more week of fun, conferences, and DRAMA!!!! I'm still in one piece and still in Guarapuava as transfers just shaved my head. We have a few fun stories to tell, I don't know if last week’s email made it to the blog so I'm hoping that it's alright to just go forward.

I'm still working with that amazing investigator that fell right into our lap, Jose Carlos. He's already stopped with the coffee; we're now working on cigarettes. It's all good, he only smokes 8 a day. Other than him, we have the family of a recent convert of the church that will be ready to marry on the 20th of next month. Baptism the day after. 

So my story this week comes from the trip from Xarquinho. We were happily running along home with a member driving us when suddenly out of the shadows we saw GARBAGE!!!! Or more like a cross dresser trying to get picked up. Garbage. Alright it could have been worse, but ever since we passed that corner with a member, there he/she/it was, every night, 8:40 pm on out. We came to call this "visão urubu" [vulture vision]. 

But that said, we did have a cool experience this week. We were working closely with a family that only the sister and daughters are members. The fun thing is, ever since I've been here, the sister has never wanted to get married, has always wanted to finish college and then work with her parents. Everyone here knows about my study to be a fashion designer, so, she asked me to design her graduation dress and (to my surprise) wedding gown. (I CAN'T SPELL!! English is a problem my friends.) But I think she's accepting that she needs to get married.

Take care! Amo vocês, Cuida suas responsabilidades! Fica firme na fé! [I love you, take care of your responsibilities! Firm in the faith!]

Elder Joel A. Smith

Angry Bird - quero quero [Lapwing]

Joel's doodle of "The Bird Man and the Word"

Joel's doodle of "The Monkey Man"

My Brasil, Your Brazil

From October 19, 2015

My dear friends, Family, Related others.

I have some good news and some bad, and as I'm optimistic that the bad won’t last long, I'll start with it. I'm Forgetting INGLESE!!! Desculpa mai! Mas é verdade, esto virando uma destas pessoas que será gringo em todos os países! Então, com permissão de tudo mundo, eu vou falar em um língua estranho, Americano. [Sorry, Mom! But it's true, I’m turning into one of these people who will [?] in all countries! Then, with permission of all the world, I will speak in a strange language, American.]

The good news is that we are working ourselves until a baptism comes out of this transfer!!!! And it's starting to pay off. We have two potentials, one is the ever persistent Robson... He's great and all that, but we have an issue with him. GO TO CHURCH! The other is a man we found this week, and I'd love to tell you all the story.

We were walking to our last "programmed" lesson of the day on Thursday. In Xarquinho, about 7:30 at night, meaning we had about 1 hour to get walking to get home in time. I was tired, it had been a hot day, and I was about ready to just teach the last lesson and get on the last bus home. My companion, however, was paying a little more attention to the Spirit, thank heavens he was, and felt impressed to knock one last door. Out came José Carlos, dark, thick beard, baseball hat and all. I thought O shoot, this contact is going to be a handful. I'd had some moments on my mission where I had been surprised; this experience knocked my socks off. He let us in after an introduction of under 2 minutes, introduced himself, and said "I already talked to some of your friends in Curitiba; I read the pamphlet they gave me; I'd like to know more." So we went back two days later, taught the plan of salvation, and he marked a date with us to be baptized on the first Saturday of o próximo mes [next month] ... Sorry forgetting inglese [English].

LESSONS: 1, the day is never over. 2, the least likely of people can be baptized with faith. 3, DON'T GET CAUGHT BY STEALTH RAIN! 4, Read the scriptures every day. 

My ponderize scripture this week is Helaman 10:4: “ Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.”

Have a great week!  Elder Joel A. Smith

Joel's doodle of "The Dog Man"

Rain out of Nowhere with Elder Adams

The Best Medicine in the World:  Scripture Study