Ola!!!
Great week here in mostly super sunny Brasil! I got my new comp, Elder Hatch on Tuesday, and he is great! He is from Sandy, Utah, and is only two transfers ahead of me. He already speaks pretty much fluently. Here are the top moments of the week:
Great week here in mostly super sunny Brasil! I got my new comp, Elder Hatch on Tuesday, and he is great! He is from Sandy, Utah, and is only two transfers ahead of me. He already speaks pretty much fluently. Here are the top moments of the week:
8. I usually have to improvise while I cook here, but I learned for some things, I should probably stick to the recipe. I tried to make chocolate chip cookies, but instead of cooking them in cookies, I put the entire batch in a sheet. It worked, but it's not cookies. It's more like a breakfast bar. I just made some frosting, and now it's good.
7. We had a storm appear out of nowhere yesterday- wind, rain, hail. We took shelter on the side of a building and watched the road flood with huge puddles. It lasted 30 minutes and was pretty fun to sit there and watch the storm. However, when we got home, we realized we had left the windows open and all of my study materials and my bedsheets were soaked. Luckily, my bedsheets dried before night, and my scriptures didn´t get ruined, but I did have to spend a while cleaning.
6. We got chased by dogs for the first time. There are dogs all over here, but they usually don´t bother us. Elder Hatch knocked on a door, and a pack of dogs came flooding out. One of them bit Elder Hatch - it didn´t puncture his skin, but he´s got a pretty good bruise. We had to get on another road pretty quick to get away from the dogs.
5. We got let into two houses we knocked on, and we taught two first lessons to those families.
4. For the second time in as many weeks, someone told us that they had a vision of Christ appearing in their bedroom. We meet this man named Carlos on the road. He is super nice and seemed super normal at first. We talked to him for about 45 minutes on the road and then invited him to English class that night. He ended up being the only one in English, so we taught him the Restoration. After hearing about Joseph Smith´s First Vision, he started talking about how Christ appeared to him in his room one night but told him not to look or he would be turned to a pillar of salt or something like that. I was just thinking, "Aw, man!", but then he delivered the best quote I have heard yet. Carlos said: "So that´s what happened. I´m really glad I talked with you guys. I guess you could call me the Brasilian Joseph Smith".
3. I´m working super hard on my Portuguese with Elder Hatch. I really want to use all of the correct grammar. Some missionaries never learn how to talk completely correct because Brasilians don´t always use proper grammar, but I want to. Elder Hatch does too, and he knows a lot about grammar, so that's great. Elder Hatch also said that he thinks that I am about the same level he was when he had my time, so that is very encouraging.
2. We found a man that has already read all of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and knows all of the history of the First Vision- down to the angel Moroni. He has never met with missionaries, but he said that he thinks the Book of Mormon is the most similar book to the Bible. I am super excited to teach him.
1. I am super excited to be Elder Hatch´s comp. I can already tell that I am going to learn so much from him. We worked so much harder this week that any other week on my mission. It was so great. It was exactly how I thought my mission was going to be. It just feels right. We knocked doors for hours each day, which is the worst way to do missionary work, but is basically the only way here in Cruzeiro 'cause we don´t have a lot of members. I am so excited to have a comp that has the same mindset as me about missionary work.
Scripture of the week: Alma 61:
9 And now, in your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart. I, Pahoran, do not seek for power, save only to retain my judgment-seat that I may preserve the rights and the liberty of my people. My soul standeth fast in that liberty in the which God hath made us free.
I love representing the Savior in Brasil, I love my companion, I love the Gospel and Atonement of Christ, I love my family, and I love my Redeemer. I am ready and excited to work harder, learn more, and love better this week!
Love,
Elder Warren Matthew Dudley
Pictures:
#1-4 The Streets of Cruzeiro
#5 Knocking doors
#6-7 Itagaçaba, close to Renata’s house
#8 - Itagaçaba
#9 -My Cookies!!
