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 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.
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!
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
No comments:
Post a Comment