Belaza!
Hey everybody, family and friends!
This might be a shorter letter... don't have much time. We did not have a temple trip this P-Day, so we got to tour Sao Paulo more than weve ever been able to do before! We walked all around the CTMs district, up one street that would have been at home in San Francisco. Sao Paulo is really cool. It is fun just walking around and trying to blend in with everybody else, even though we couldn't do that even if we changed all our clothes and everything. We stick out like a sore thumb. We hiked up to a Stake Center they are building on a hill close to the CTM... its still under construction but it is HUGE. Like, three, four stories with a huge steeple. Really cool.
Settling into a routine. Learning Portuguese, doing scripture study, reading "Jesus the Christ" by Talmage, making friends and having good conversations with other Elders, Americans and Brazilians. I love it... every week my conversations with the Brazilian missionaries last a little longer. I can't wait to get a Brazilian companionship in our room, that'll help my language ability so much.
Yesterday we received some awesome news! Because of a mission president conference, we'll be leaving four days early to Fortaleza! Haha! That's really cool. I can't wait to get out there, the sooner the better, even if I am more unprepared. Speaking of departure, a lot of our friends left yesterday, both American and Brazilian. We keep on moving on up through the heirarchy, but I still feel like I just got here some times.
I sleep in a room with three bunk beds and six huge closets. All made out of mahogany. Apparently mahogany is really cheap down here. There are six of us in a room. I really like all my roommates and some nights we stay up a long time talking about our lives, stories, doctrine, and it seems we just stay up longer and longer after the curfew. No one has really told us that we can't talk while were all in our beds, you know? It's fun, I like these guys a lot.
I'm learning alot of Portuguese, but I'm always changing my perspective on it. Some days I feel like I can say anything, but then some new rule is introduced and I feel completely incapable. I've heard it all starts coming together in the last few weeks, and that no one leaves the CTM fluent, so I'm looking forward to that.
I'm getting more time to spend with Connor lately, and that's been fun. I hate being away from him so long, it's like when I see him again it takes me a few moments to warm back up to our "twin-jive", you know? I miss hanging out with him all the time.
Man, I'm going to have to cut this really short... but I'll get a letter to you through MissionTies that'll make it worth it. Not as long as the last one but hopefully it'll be more informative. But, I'll let you all know I am doing fantastic, really no problems, just trying to absorb as much information and grow as much as I can while I'm here. I hope everything is going great in the outside world!
Love all of you,
Elder B. Carpenter
P.S. Belaza is a greeting that means Beautiful. I say Belaza, you say Belaza (bah-LAY-zah), we both give each other the thumbs up (very popular here in Brazil, as standard as waving to someone or giving high-fives or handshakes), and then I know we are both doing well today.
---Later that day-----
09-15-2009
Dear Friends and Family half a world away,
I’m so glad I got your letter! Well, so far I’ve only received Mom’s, Lynsey’s and Kaitlin’s. It took three days to get here! The letter only arrived Monday night. The lame thing is another elder in my district received a letter sent on September 11th, the next day. It is still much better than waiting a couple of weeks for snail mail, folks. Don’t get me wrong, I get very antsy for letters the closer it gets to P-day.
Thank you for your prayers, Mom. I am sure it is helping me. There are others that are getting really exhausted and homesick, but I feel blessed in that I feel everything is going well and that I’m learning the language so quickly.
Thanks for getting those notes to me concerning my getting set apart as a missionary. I can’t remember anything specific, though I do remember being blessed with the spirit, with learning the language quickly, and that I will bless the lives of many people. I’ll definitely include those notes of yours in my “Little Plates” journal, though. Thanks again and great work.
It’s not cold enough here to need a sweater or jacket. We’re inside a lot. The Brazilians (Brasileiros) tend to wear more clothes than they need for cold weather. It’s kind of funny.
Great job with the plum jelly! I bet it’s great! Ahh… we don’t have jelly here, or toast… But I do get hot chocolate every morning and every night!
I’m praying for Lynsey to be able to cope with all of her responsibilities. Sounds like she’s doing great, though, as usual, though being bored sounds crappy. I’m glad Kaitlin is doing well.
Kevin and Becky having another baby finally? Great! I wonder what the name will be? Pedro? Tiago? Jono? Andre? Yeah, those are the only Brazilian first names I know of, since everyone goes by their surnames here. Nascimento and Santos are popular last names… I’ve met three Nascimentos and at least ten Elder Santos’, no joke.
Para bems, Michael and Natalie! That means congratulations! I wonder what kinds of little kids these two new additions to the Christensen family will be like? Cant’ wait to meet them.
I’ve done laundry twice now, yeah, it’s no problem here. Very easy. No theft, but I’m very careful on the streets.
Hey, Lynsey, thanks for the letter. Have fun at Homecoming! I really appreciate all the news. I love you so much too! Keep at it, all of your responsibilities and everything.
Hey Kaitlin, I miss you too girl! I hope you’re having fun on my old computer. I’m glad school is great! I speak a little Portuguese: “falo Portugais pocco!” That’s how you say that in Portuguese. Brazil is a beautiful country and I’m just trying to learn the language now. I love you!
Looking forward to Dad’s letter! By the way, thanks Dad, for your awesome letter, last time. It was really great. I love you!
Could you guys check Wikipedia every time you send me a letter to get me short updates on world news? It’s in that box in the corner, with the bullet points. I’d like to know vaguely what’s going on. I know that when I was on my mini-mission that I missed the entirety of the Russian-Georgian War, and I don’t want too much specific information, just the gist of things. News from the U.S. would be great too. Don’t devote more than a few sentences to this though.
Man, I have a pretty bad headache right now. I’m going to get this letter to the MissionTies box and sleep the rest of my P-day. I love all of you, and please email me, anybody… don’t be shy. I know I had trouble sending letters to missionaries, so no pressure, I know it can be difficult sometimes. But you really don’t have to send a beautiful, intelligent letter. Just be casual, I’m not going to make fun of you or anything.
Adeus! Ciao! Falo com voce segunda-feia! Eu amo voce!
Elder B. Carpenter
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