A Foot in Brazil

April 18, 2011

It was a really fun week this past week. To start things off, I have officially crossed the border and visited Brazil! We had a district meeting in a town called Chuy. The border cuts right through the middle of the town on the main street. (Border protection is not so tight here.) After the meeting, we had a little of time to kill before the bus left, so we went and explored a tiny bit. We all went and bought some Guaraná (a really tasty soda) and some tang with some really interesting flavors. If we ever go again, I’ll have to take a picture by a sign that says Brazil. It was pretty cool, and interesting to hear full blown Portuguese. The closest I ever got was in Melo my first area listening to the television that the people watched. Like someone once said, Portuguese is like speaking in Spanish while sucking on a piece of candy. They weren’t very far off! Other than that, we had some really cool experiences with some of our investigators. We have lost a few, but we continue to have faith and push forward. This woman named René came to church. She is about 70 or so, and we are teaching her husband Angel. They both accepted a baptismal date after a couple of attempts. It was a MIRACLE! But Sunday came. Friday it had rained and it wasn’t the summer warm rain. It was the cold rain! Saturday, like today, was a perfect day. We were excited that many were going to come to church. Then we woke up Sunday morning to a cold and windy rain storm...Needless to say I was kind of bummed. But, as promised, we went out before church to pick up René to go to church with her. My comp’s bike tire popped. We went back and borrowed another bike from Elder Hegerhorst. We called René. She was ready and waiting so we went flying. We got all wet and muddy (she lives in kind of a campy part of La Paloma.) We got there, and she said, ¨I don’t know if I’ll be able to walk with you guys.¨ We got a little nervous. Then Angel said, ¨I’ll call a taxi! ¨ It was awesome! We went to church. Even though there were only about 15 people due to the rain, it was a great meeting. She really enjoyed it and is excited to get baptized! Angel, even though he didn’t come, will probably not be too far behind. So that was our little wet adventure. One of the many of the mission! :)Well, we just felt so tired, but so happy. I love this work. It is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but it has helped me realize what is most important. I love these people. Thanks for all your love and support. I love you all SO much!