12-28-2009 Letter Home

Noite Feliz? Conserteza!

Hello friends and family! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I know I did, and in circumstances in which you’d think I wouldn’t. But let us start at the beginning.

This last Monday was very fun. It was Elder Matias’ and Elder Cheevers’ birthday and we celebrated at a member’s house with six missionaries, a big cake and a lot of other food. It was a very fun day, just chatting with each other and laying in hammocks. The fun of that day really set the tone for the rest of the week. I have to admit, Christmas Week was as fun as it was difficult. It was just hard to teach many people this last week, and we spent a lot of time with the members. We had a lot of commitments to check up on different houses and attend Christmas parties and Christmas activities. Yeah, the mission is so TOUGH, isn’t it? Haha. We built a lot of friendships though with the members and that is important for missionaries to work well. I feel somewhat guilty for having a good time, but, I am feeling very energized now to get back to work.

Speaking of work, Elder Hlavaty and Elder Shibata both left the area, the former to the United States for health reasons and Elder Shibata to another part of the mission to train a new arrival. This means that Elder Matias and I practically changed our area from Novo Oriente to Jereseiti, which means new people we’ve got to get to know and new investigators we’ve got to find. We are still sleeping in the same house, now just the two of us, and we don’t have to take the train, which is great. We spent a day just organizing our stuff, cleaning the house and moving the rest of our things from our house in Novo Oriente to Jereseiti. But, we have also now inherited a huge area of Maracanau that reminds me of the size of Juazeiro, and we have to manage four wards and a branch, which means our Sundays are going to be very busy. But… on the positive again, we now get to work with the investigators Elder Shibata and Elder Hlavaty left behind, which includes two sets of couples that are going to get married and baptized! We also have a much larger pool of members to get references from, and we already, with little effort on our part, received references for some friends of members that appear very special and receptive to the Gospel. I am amazed with the members here, actually. If for some reason missionaries were taken out of this city, I bet that in no time at all they would pick up missionary work responsibilities and start proselyting themselves and be just as productive! We are very blessed to be here and it’s just awesome how the Lord keeps on bringing us people to teach and to baptize. Best mission in the world!

This last week I happened to find a copy of the Christmas Books by Charles Dickens, in English! Just lying around the apartment! I don’t know where it came from. So, I read The Christmas Carol, then The Chimes, then The Cricket on the Hearth, all written by Charles Dickens in the 1840s concerning Christmas. What delightful heartwarming stories, those! Very Christian in character as well. Despite the heat and the palm trees here, I was feeling the Christmas Spirit just as strong as ever!

On Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day I wished everyone I saw a Merry Christmas, to the general confusion of pretty much everyone. You see, in this region of Brazil, Christmas is just like any other holiday, really, it is not especially special. People get a day off of work and they get drunk at night. It is kind of sad to me… but I did what I could to spread the Christmas Spirit and didn’t let the lack of it pull me down.

On Christmas Eve we went to a member, Linda’s house and ate Christmas Dinner with her family, rice and beans and chicken like always but it still felt special. I played jump rope for an hour with the kids and we watched a little of television and played Christmas songs on the piano. A very beautiful, fun family and it was a Christmas Eve that will live long in my memory.

(Christmas Eve Dinner with Linda's Family! Linda is a new convert who loves the missionaries and is a very fun and funny person and she invited us to spend the night with her family!)

Christmas Day was awesome! I woke up and immediately opened up my Christmas Present and to my surprise I unwrapped some new black shorts, an awesome, funny shirt made by Lynsey that reads “Got LdM?” LdM being Livro de Mormon, or Book of Mormon, and a nice leather book to put photos in. Thanks family!

We ate lunch with Linda’s family again, then off we went to find a phone to call our families. From six to eight in the evening I was able to talk to my beloved family in Sacramento as well as my twin brother in Passo Fundo.

 (The Greatest Telephone Call I've Ever Had)

What an awesome experience that was! I cannot describe in words how the conversation left me dazzled for the rest of the night, how wonderful it was to hear the voices of my mother, father, my two dear sisters, and my best friend. Everyone is so happy. I’m so grateful to be on my mission! Mom and Dad, do you want to write a little bit here about how the call was, in your own words? It’d be good to have a second opinion here on the blog, hah, and this is a good opportunity to do so. : )



***Per Brendon's request, I'll just say briefly that our phone call with our Brendon and Connor was our best Christmas present ever! We all gathered in one room and had them both on speaker phone. It was so good to be together as a family for those 2 hours and just to move into a very comfortable conversation about their news, our news, questions we had been wanting to ask each other. It was fun to listen to them compare their Portuguese and learn that there are differences in pronunciation and slang from area to area. We also got to say hello to their companions and hear some of the sounds of their surroundings. It was awesome to hear each of them speak so fluently (at least it sounded that way to me) and realize the incredible amount of learning that has taken place. We were not overly emotional until it was time to go, and then it was hard to break that connection. I just didn't want to let go.... that's a Mom for ya! We love and miss our boys! But we are so proud of what a great missionary Brendon is and for his consistent positive attitude and desire to follow the rules, to get the most out of his mission and for all he is doing to make a positive difference in the lives of the people he is coming in contact with.***

After that, we went back to our house and I crashed on my bed, emotionally exhausted, and then was told that we had to attend a Christmas Party. So I got on my clothes and we shuffled off to the ward Christmas party, and despite what you might think, my spirits were never higher. I really needed the members at that time. So I danced as much as I could, I organized a big game of Mingle that everyone loved, and I made people laugh and smile. Made a lot of friends during that Christmas Party and I loved doing so.

( A Present for Me from the Members: Sports Jersey for the Flamengos!

The best team in Brazil and the world! )

The day after Christmas was interesting. We woke up at six o’clock and headed off to the bus stop where we met a huge gathering of members of our ward. A few minutes later, a bus pulls up and picks us all up, just members of the Church inside! I’m standing in the bus, crowded with loud little Brazilian families, looking out the window and watching the streets and buildings become more sparse, watching as we emerge into the countryside and the mountains that surround Maracanau. Then we hit a few narrow dirt roads and right when I think that we are heading into the jungle, we pull to a stop right in front of a huge brick wall and a giant wooden gate, the sign above which reads: “Sitio Deseret”. The gate opens and we all pile out… and what do I find?

Dude. The Church built something out here that is… so cool. It’s a compound, a bunch of nice green fields dotted with houses and ramadas, with banana tree orchards in the back and tucked safely in the mountains. Obviously the Church wants to relocate all the members here when the End Days or the Zombie Outbreak hits.   ;)

(The outdoor large group meeting area at Sitio Deseret,

made for sacrament meetings and other events.)

It was such a fun place. Every ward in our stake found a ramada and began barbecuing a huge amount of meat. All the young men started playing soccer and all the children ran to play in this pool they have. Never did children play so long in a pool as those!

 (Brendon says "Nao a Lagoa Salgada, mas ainda muito legal"
Translation tool says "No the pond salty, but still very cool" )

The weather was perfect, and we changed into sports clothes, played everything from Frisbee to UNO, and I took a lot of pictures and went adventuring into the banana orchard. Such a great day. The Church really loves the members here in Brazil. I hope some of my pictures get through to show you how cool it was.

Brendon among the Banana Trees

 

"The Vacas (cows) Want to Join in the Fun! ...And the missionaries too!"

So that was my awesome, fun week in Maracanau, Ceara, Brazil. Wish it could have been made better with some progress with our investigators or some new baptisms, but I guess the Lord is just giving me a short break. I am having some technical problems with getting the pictures through so I am going to devote the rest of my time here to fixing that. I love you all, as always, and I wish you a Happy New Year!

Hey Mom,
Yeah, the call did make me a little sad and homesick that evening, but lately I have been feeling even more energized and ready for the next five months. The call was definitely a success and helped me more than it hurt. I am so glad you guys had a fun Christmas and that Snow Day looked so fun! Was it the same hill we went to last year? Awesome. I am glad the kids had a good time. You guys saw Avatar? Ah, man, everyone here is talking about that movie and there is a huge banner of that movie in the mall here. I was looking forward to it for months and that was before I left! Tudo bem, all is well, I’ll see it eventually, hah.

Lynsey,
Holy crap, that painting of the pomegranate tree with the birds and the yellow sky and the roots wrapped around planet Earth... that is one rad painting! Man, I can’t believe you are so talented and this being an ability you just cultivated in the last few months! You must have inherited an artistic knack from Mom, hah! Way cool.

Connor,
Hey, loved hearing from you this last Friday. I was glad to hear you are doing well there. It was impossible to not think of all the good Christmases we have had these last few years, you and me. I love you man! Keep up the great work!

Love y’all,
Have a great week!
- Elder Brendon Carpenter

12-21-2009 Letter Home

Feliz Natal Todo Mundo!

God Bless Us Every One!


Friends, family, this is my Christmas letter, but its not going to be super amazing because its not like I have more time than usual to type one. This last week was great! I got my package, which by the way is incredibly AWESOME! I cant believe you planned all of that, you guys! It was perfect!

Everyone in my house was impressed and my companion had a huge smile on his face as he opened his first present addressed to “Elder Companheiro”. Hah, he hadn’t gotten his Christmas package yet, so his spirits were lifted when he received a few little things. Its so funny, some of those little things you gave us were just so awesome because they were from home. Very cool. Our little Christmas tree is like the only decoration we have here for Christmas, but it makes all the difference. Thank you so much, everybody, you put so much thought into that and it really made me feel the Christmas Spirit so far from home.

We were blessed to be able to baptize two of our investigators this Sunday! Vitor is a twelve-year old rapaz (a word used for all young men here, HA-pies) who has a large family that we are going to continue working with. He has a lot of friends in the Church and man, he is just so ready for the Gospel, he is like a member already. Bruna is a sixteen-year old moca (MO-sa, word used for all young women here) whose family are all members, and will likewise be very strong. Two very awesome people have just joined the Church and we are glad for the experience.

That was really our week, despite the usual ground-pounding and door-knocking and teaching people. Oh, we did give out DVDs of “Feliz Mundo”, a Church film about Christmas, and all of our investigators loved the presents.

Okay, responses now… my favorite part of the letter!

Hey Lynsey!! Don’t worry, I understand how busy you can get. That sounds crazy! Wow, Alex ----- is getting married?! That’s great! Congrats to them. Your Christmas sounds like it will be so fun! Yeah, the package is very, very cool. The house I am living in isn’t so bad. I sleep well at night, every night, because I am so tired after work, I have running cold water, no hot water here, hah, and we drink from jugs of mineral water we buy from a nearby store, can’t trust the public water for drinking. The food is different from the food we had in Los Angeles, but it is really good! Rice, beans, noodles, sausage, lasagna sometimes, chicken. They make it great here. You are in a ROCK BAND?!?! That is fantastic! Oh man! That is so cool! I hope it is a bunch of fun and that you will get fans! That’s sweet Lynsey! I love you so much! Talk to you in a couple of days!

Hey Dad! I like Maracanau a lot, but there are some differences between working here and working in Juazeiro, which I still need to learn. As far as comfort, though, it is definitely an improvement. I really need to worry about a freckle? What should I do to make sure it isn’t skin cancer? There ARE a few things that would be nice to have here, hah… little tools that would make life a little easier. I need to keep a list and remember them better, because I can’t quite put my finger on it right now. Hmmm. That is a definite affirmative on the cooking a fresh chicken! Yeah! Maybe start raising it now from a chick so it’ll be big and fat when I get back! Haha. We did not get our new house yet, still waiting for it. I am thinking about the cottage meeting idea a lot, and I think it will be an awesome program. Unfortunately I think I need a little bit more experience with missionary work and the language before I can begin putting it into action. But it will happen! I love you Dad! Thanks for all of your encouraging words!

Hey Kaitlin!
I miss you and love you! I hope you are feeling very Christmasy and have some good gifts under that tree! I’ll talk to you soon and I am thinking about you every day!

Hey Mom! Natal isn’t a big holiday here, actually. It’s kind of just lumped in with all the others, and there aren’t too many decorations. That might just be Ceara, though, because the other Brazilians say that Christmas is a big deal in Sao Paulo as well. One funny tradition is that Santa Claus is depicted differently here. He has a wide-brimmed hat and he rides a flying donkey. No joke! It is hilarious! Christmas here will probably be just like every other P-Day, with perhaps a really good meal (we are thinking barbecue… hmmm…) and Christmas songs and a few little festivities. We’ll definitely do something fun though and take a lot of pictures. I have been writing in my journal every single night and I have filled up the first book quite a bit! I think I am nearing the halfway point, which means it might be a few more months before you receive it. There is a lot of content there; I think you’ll like it a lot!

Yeah, so, the only way I can talk to Connor is if we are on the phone at the same time! It is permitted to talk to him, as he is part of my family. So, I am going to call at 6:00 here, which should be 1:00 there and figure out what the time is in Porto Alegre at that time, because you need to tell Connor to call at that time. There aren’t too many rules here and I will probably be able to talk to you for an hour, maybe longer. NOTE: Just figured out I can call home to set up the call on Christmas Eve. So. I. Will. Call. On Christmas Eve and talk to you guys for maybe five minutes. Connor, what about you guys? Can you do this?

Hey Connor! I hope that we will be able to talk to each other! That video Nunes sent was absolutely fantastic! I could understand much of what you guys said, the accent is different but not incredibly so! Cool to see you at work there! Your companion seems cool from what little was said. Neat, man. I hope your Portuguese is better when I talk to you, it sounds like you have put in more study time than me! The pictures on your blog are great; I am really enjoying your adventures. Man, I’m glad I didn’t have to stay in my first area and guide my senior companion around, that sounds tough.

By the way man, you need to start keeping a record of all of your baptisms. Buy a nice notebook. Keep the first page clear for you to write your testimony at the end of mission. The next page should be a title page for that area you are in, with perhaps a picture of you and your companion. The next page is your first baptism, with a picture, and all the information you need to keep track of them: address, date of birth, date of baptism, date of confirmation, date of temple entrance, who baptized who, who your companion was at the time, what ward it was in, and a quick paragraph summarizing your experience with them. When you leave that area or switch companions, make a title page for your next area and your next companion. This makes a really cool Livro Dos Batismos that looks very nice. Mine looks sweet, I’ll have to send pictures at some point, and Elder Carvalho has one that is awesome. Please make this book! You’ll want an in-depth record of everyone you baptized on your mission and I will want to see it! I love you man!

I love you guys so much! Merry Christmas everyone! Talk to you soon!

- Elder Brendon Carpenter

12-14-2009 Letter Home

Brendon with President and Sister Batt when he arrived in Fortaleza on October 23, 2009

Chicken is so TASTY when it was alive just a few hours earlier. Except for the spine, that part of it - yuck. But it is better than the head. The only fun part about eating a chicken head is the fact that its a chicken head. Haha, I've actually eaten several meals so far where they have just killed and cooked the chicken that morning. It really is much more delicious.

Anyway, this week was called Sete Dias das Problemas com Casas. Cada ("dude"), first of all, that terrible house in Novo Oriente that I was telling you about was causing Elder Matias allergy problems, so we have been catching the crazy train (crazy in that it rocks back and forth like you are on a ship caught in a storm... and there's no lights which makes it scary at night) to another area every morning and night to another companionship´s house. We just decided a few days ago that we are going to stay there throughout this transfer, because the other house in Novo Oriente we want to move into is being renovated. At least tomorrow I can finally fully unpack my things after a week, and maybe finally put on a new pair of clothes (just joking). Figuring that whole problem out... touring the new house we want to buy and talking to a whole bunch of people about buying it and getting the money from the financial secretaries here, just one big hassle that took a lot of time throughout the week. Eh. Whatever. The house we are going to be staying in with the other companionship is really cool, we live on the third story of this big building and we can see the whole city and the wind is awesome at night.

By the way, you know how I said the other missionaries abandoned all of their things in our terrible house that we arent sleeping at? Turns out that one of them has the same size of clothes as I do, and so I was able to scavenge some really good pants and shirts. I was really excited by that... but typing it here kind of makes it sound a little pathetic. But hey, really, my clothes are deteriorating very quickly in this tropical climate! ; )

Speaking of tropical climate, the closer proximity to the Sun has caused me to develop a new freckle on my right cheek. It is strange to see there, but it was meant to be. According to my calculations, if this freckle has appeared solely based on my increased exposure to the radiation here on the Equator, then by the time I return home I will have seven new freckles in total on my face! It will make telling the difference between Connor and I much more easy.  : . )

Maracanau... is not incredibly hot every day! The first few days here, feeling the wind coming in from the ocean, I can't describe to you guys how it felt, it was so refreshing. I guess I had forgotten over the last six weeks how much I had been burning alive in Juazeiro. I was getting hit by temperatures upwards of 90 degrees Celsius every day without breezes and I had just gotten accustomed to sweating every minute and soaking my clothes down to the tie. But here... you guys would still think its hot but it is much more comfortable. Some days the temperature is down to the high 70s.

Other than the weather, Maracanau is a little bit more urban, though I have still seen wandering cattle here and there. No one riding horses. The problem is there is far less people on the streets here, its much more empty. The reason is because so many people commute to Fortaleza, for work or for school. They take the train into the city in the morning and come back at night to go to sleep. It makes talking to people much more difficult... we knock doors (not really, people here clap their hands instead) without a response much more frequently. A little frustrating.

We have three people with a date for baptism already! All investigators that had been working with the other missionaries when they left, so we don't feel like we earned the privilege of baptizing them, but it is still good news.

I was so happy to see all of those pictures, guys! I laughed, I smiled, I caused a disturbance in the internet cafe. Man, I cant believe it snowed that much at our house! And, the pictures of all the relatives were excellent, I loved seeing all of those faces. It looks like everyone had a very fun Thanksgiving vacation.

By the way, I will be getting my Christmas package today, it arrived a few days earlier and the secretaries were just holding onto it until Zone Conference, but the companionship Elder Matias and I are living with (Elder Hlaverty from Cash Valley, Utah and Elder Shibata from Sao Paulo, Brazil) are heading to the Mission Office and are going to pick it up for me! I too am looking forward to my Christmas phone call, and I agree getting Connor and I on the phone at the same time would be very fun. Maybe, though, only twenty minutes of us both on the phone would be better, so that you can stretch out your time with both of us. Good luck planning all of that! I haven't been given any information so far on what is going to happen. Remember though that the time to call is the most important information I need.

"One more photo of the members I left behind in Jauziero!"

 A mission is hard wherever you go, but the difference is that in Ceara, the people are much more receptive and we see the fruits of our labors in very short time periods. I already have ten baptisms and will probably have thirteen by next week. You know how much that helps me keep working and smiling? Its wonderful to see people start changing their lives after only a few visits.  I'm spoiled up here in the north.

Hey, Connor, there is an Elder Trage here that was born in Passo Fundo! He knows the city very well and was excited to hear that you are there. He's German-Brazilian, and he looks exactly like an American missionary, only he can't speak English and instead is fluent in Portuguese. Do they have a lot of people there that look exactly like Americans?

Dad, sorry to have skipped your last letter, I just didnt have enough time. Funny how often that excuse is used. We taught Jorge, Jackson and Jardel many lessons from Week 3 to Week 5... I want to say around seven to eight. We wanted them to have a firm understanding of the commandments and so we taught them one each morning for a number of days. My Portuguese is to the point where I can teach the first lesson very well, the third lesson okay, I can testify well and give answers to very easy questions, but many time it is my Brazilian companion who answers questions and is there when the lesson deviates from the plan (which happens a lot and should happen). After speaking with many American missionaries, I feel that I will never become fluent like a native, but it surprising how well I can speak Portuguese even now. I can follow a conversation pretty well... its weird, I can just recognize the meaning of words and sentences that three months ago would have sounded completely illegible.

Yes, President Batt let my district play Rockband for one P-Day. That doesnt happen every day for sure. We can watch Disney movies here in the Fortaleza Mission, and many Elders take advantage of the permission, watching three movies every P-Day. You might think that might destroy the rest of the week, but it doesnt. A few hours of clean entertainment in an air-conditioned room can do wonders after a week of sweat and tears. The problem is, when we watched School for Scoundrels, is that the whole district thought it was a Disney movie. It wasnt until after that I discovered that the Elder who had rented the movie had... uh... "forgotten" to check to see if it was made by Disney and for that matter what the rating was. The thing is, I had thought it was taking the Spirit away while watching it, but everyone else kept on watching and laughing, so I did as well. Elder Carvalho and I talked about it afterwards and he assured me that we had did nothing wrong. The thing is, like I have explained before, you end up accidentally watching unauthorized movies a lot, like at members houses or even in restaurants that have television (even fast-food places have televisions here, Brazilians just love watching TV while eating). It would be inappropriate to ask someone to turn off the television or to excuse yourself from the room, especially in this culture, and yet we still keep the Spirit with us afterward, because we didn't go looking in the first place to break the rules. Hmm... its not something I like doing here, but it happens.

Back to Connor. We aren't contacting very many people every day. Even with Elder Carvalho we were only doing an average of maybe five people a day, and in Maracanau so far it has been less. Missionaries here think that thirty is an incredibly high number to contact every day. I want to change that, too, and I will. I want to give you some advice on the first lesson that I have learned, as it is the one you teach the most, but I am going to have to wait until next week. I am missing you a bunch man. I think I have been dependent on the Lord and on the other Elders here in a huge way to help me cope with that. I am glad you arent feeling as homesick lately, that sounds really crappy. Just take one day at a time and try to have fun with your companion and with the members. Americans are so used to being constantly entertained, but you can turn that into a strength by entertaining others or creating an entertaining atmosphere by smiling a lot, talking a lot with people, playing games with children, and making jokes (especially about how horrible your Portuguese is, that always creates laughs). You can do it man! Remember, you have got to focus on other people, how to help them, lift them up, in order to lift yourself up. You solve your own problems by solving the problems of others. I am sure there are some small exceptions sometimes to that rule, but generally, especially in being a missionary, it works.

My memory this week is the two of us playing Indiana Jones: The Lost City of Atlantis when we were kids. Salaam afendi! *chuckle*  That was a fun game.

I love you Lynsey, Kaitlin, Mom! Thank you for your letters!

Christmas is almost here!
- Elder Carpenter

From Kay Lea (Mom)
Even though this photo is blurry, I loved Brendon, the future Movie Director's caption:

"Four missionaries. One large city in Brazil. A sacred duty with eternal consequences... "Elders of Juazeiro" Now showing in theatres near you."

Love you guys!!!!

12-7-2009 Letter Home

Opa! Uma area nova! Ola Maracanau!

Yeah, I have been transferred! My new companion is Elder Matias and I am now in Maracanau, after another long bus-ride. No longer in the Land of Cariri! I left Zona Juazeiro behind, the best Zona in the mission, but I am excited to start work in a new city too. Should be fun!

Could be a shortish message. Just a heads up.

Turns out for my second transfer I will be staying and preaching the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ in Maracanau outside of Fortaleza! Yes, yes, I left the Land of Cariri, the Chosen Land of this Mission that everyone wants to go to. It was sad to see everyone, especially the people I baptized, for the last time! So hard. Everyone saw us off at the bus station last night, many, many people in the ward and I just thought, standing there with all my bags waving to all these smiling faces that I was going back home! Like I had finished the mission! It was so crazy.


The members of the Ramo (Branch) who came to the bus station to say goodbye to all of us that were leaving Juazeiro. I love these guys! These members are so awesome!

I haven't seen much of Maracanau yet but it looks a little bit more urban than Juazeiro. Elder Matias is really cool, big Brasileiro that I hope to  become good friends with. We just found our house a few hours ago and man! I can't believe I thought Juazeiro was bad! It looks like the previous just abandoned the house and left trash everywhere! Hah! I am not angry, just amused that they left the house in that bad of disrepair. We might be moving to another one though, even Elder Matias says its
ridiculous how many things are broken.

Pff, last week was fantastic. Elder Carvalho and I really bonded over the last week and I will miss him a lot. We finished the transfer strong by baptizing a family! Otacilo De Neto and his new wife (just married this last Friday!!!) Kathiwera, and her sister who lives with them, Capucherra, and I am probably mispelling their names terribly. We were so excited to baptise an entire family and it was a great climax to the transfer.

Here is a photo of their baptism. Such a great family! I love them! I will miss them so much! Last Friday after their marriage we went to the casapela (house chapel) and watched Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration in Portuguese and it was really fun, they liked it a lot. They already have such great testimonies and we met them our second or third week here!


Man, I loved Juazeiro so much and I am so happy with my experience there. I feel like I can take on the world now that I have beat my first transfer. Awesome.

So, I really want to read some letters, answer them and send pictures, so this is going to be about it. This last week was very simple, no huge stories, just a lot of working with Otacilo and his family and preparing them for their baptism, and then the whole ordeal with changing zones and all that.



Hey thank you Mom for the info and pictures! Don't feel bad for me, those pictures really don't make me "trunky" (homesick) , just happy for all of you and glad to be part of it in some way. Thank you so much for the kind words! I hope you feel like you are part of my adventure!

The Santos family is good, we left them on good terms. They all received the Espirito Santo this last Sunday. I wish we could have worked more with the one brother that was not baptized and the parents, but it seems like other missionaries will have to do the work. I love all those kids, all like my little brothers, always joshing around with me and making jokes when they see me.

The marriage paperwork went through for Otacilio! You dont know how much of a miracle that was. We fasted for it and were praying a lot and the paperwork was finished up in FOUR DAYS! In Brazil it usually takes a month! They were married in a courthouse in a cool ceremony that we got to be a part of, involving a judge giving an interesting prayer in Portuguese.

My feet are fine. My shoes socks and clothes are feeling good too. No medical conditions, feeling just fine. The weather  has been really hot here but I am used to sweating every minute of the day by now, hah. Money is hard to manage because we take a lot of buses and we pay for the transportation of our investigators sometimes too, but nothing too bad. Oh, I withdrew a hundred reals this last week, I hope that was okay, I needed to pay for my half Otacilo´s marriage with Elder Carvalho and I also needed to buy food for the week! Thank you so much, it helped me out a lot!

The hardest thing is no longer constantly working, like in the CTM. I like doing that. The hardest thing is, of course, being apart from you all and being able to communicate with you only an hour a week! It stresses me out so much!

The best thing is baptizing worthy converts that you love, that love you, that really have testimonies and look forward to their baptisms with such enthusiasm! Its the greatest feeling to lift them up out of the waters of baptisms and say "Para bens, bem vindo!" (Congratulations, welcome!) with a smile on your face.

I am reading in Second Nephi right now, starting over after having finished a short while again. I am also reading Jesus the Christ and Preach My Gospel again.

Oi, Kaitlin, minha irma! I love you so much! Yeah, it is going to be 2010 soon! Crazy, huh? Styles do change very, very slowly. I miss you girl! You are learning spanish! Thats great! Good luck! I miss you! Hug hug kiss kiss :)

--

Hey Dad, I love you so much! Thanks for your letter! It is such that I cannot respond to you this week but you will be first in the next! Lynsey, I love you my sister! I hope you all have a fantastic week and I will talk more about my area and answer all your questions next Monday!

I love you guys!

I love all of you! By the way, I got the pack of letters from all of the Primary Children in the Ward! Next week I am going to write them all back individually, but just give them a heads up that I got their letters and that I enjoyed them so much! Thank you guys, for giving me a little taste of home!

Ate mais!
- Elder Brendon Carpenter