"...this week was nothing short of sensational..."

Yeah, I was thinking a little bit this morning about how I have the best of both worlds, Jewish blood linking me to Judah and Mormonism in my heart, which is really the only thing that matters.
I think I will start an international organization one day called "Jewish in the flesh, Mormon in spirit" and only allow blood jews that are temple recommend holders in. I think it could be a big hit. How much Jewish blood do I have, is it just Great Grandmother Geri's mom? That's all I need, but it would be cool to have more information.
Well, President Tavares was doing a little training with the missionaries, bishops, and ward mission leaders on Sunday afternoon and he called me in for a mini interview to tell me that Barb passed away a bit ago. I already knew that she had probably died, but even so it was sad to hear.
I hope the family is doing ok, especially Grandpa and Grandma. I think it is probably toughest on them. I believe the funeral is today. I hope it is a nice service and people can feel happiness.
Well, this week was nothing short of sensational for us here in Semiramis (my comp cant figure the name of this area out, he thinks it is Semirabes). We marked baptism for Lourdes' three of-age daughters: Tainara, Ianara, and Kiara. They are good to go, Lourdes has been a really good example for them, and now the ward is starting to really help them out.
The Relief Society is going to start teaching Lourdes to read, that will be an immense help for her. The president of the relief society in this ward is really good, really dedicated to her calling and really willing to help people with their individual problems. So that has been a huge help for us.
There is this 12 year-old girl named Giovana here who for the last four years has been avoiding baptism. But after her mom went to the temple and prayed for her to be baptized, she decided that the time is now! So we will baptize her next Sunday, the 7th. When I say we will baptize her I mean we will teach the four lessons really fast, fill out her baptismal form, and watch her baptismal service. She has been going to church weekly for the last 12 years, already knows everything. So that is a huge blessing for that family.
Also we found this lady named Daniele. Her dad has been a member for a year, and apparently now is on a mission in France, where he was born. So Daniele went to church with us on Sunday, and she was planning on leaving after the first two hours to go to work. But she called her work and told them she would arrive late because she wanted to stay for sacrament meeting.
This was a very good thing, because we had the Primary Program! So everyone was just really happy, which Daniele said she was most looking for in a church, somewhere where she leaves feeling light and happy. So it went well on Sunday.
The members have kicked things into gear. Still only first gear, a step above neutral, but a gear nonetheless (is that a word, or should it be separated?). Another girl brought a friend to church on Sunday, and the members are integrating our investigators well.
Well, this week has been good. Mission life is getting better and better each week! I used to look forward to P-Day, but now it's basically just a lame day with nothing to do! Teaching is getting super good, my testimony is getting stronger every day, and we are seeing a ton of positive changes in the members and investigators here!
Love you all,
Joseph

"But look how they treat us
Make us believers
We fight their battles
Then they deceive us
Tried to control us
They couldn't hold us
Cause we just move forward
Like Buffalo Soldiers"

"...we are going to a park to try to find monkeys and play soccer..."

Well, the members have stepped in and made a difference! This one girl named Milena brought three friends to church on Sunday. They all liked it, and all want to meet with us, so we are going to jump on that ASAP!
Then there is Lourdes, who was baptized two weeks ago. She has gone on the offensive in getting her children to go to church, and yesterday there were 7 Lamanites at church. Most surely her three of-age daughters will be baptized on the 30th.
Also there is this old dude whose wife and daughter are members. He has been an investigator for several years, and has read the Book of Mormon about 4 times. He was in São Paulo for the last three months because his son has been dying for a long time. He finally passed away last Saturday. So he was at church and we went to his house to share a message of comfort with the family. I talked about the experience with Barb, how Dad maintains happiness and hope because he knows about the plan of Salvation. It was a really good message, and they responded really well. Maybe the time has finally come for him to progress and get to the temple.
Even with the unexpected success, there were a few disappointments. Our dude Washington once again didn't show up. He really has no excuse: it was sunny, and we visited him on Friday to remind him.
Also there is Josi, who we have been teaching for a long time. She said the only thing that would prevent her from going to church would be rain. It was very sunny and still she didn't go. So we really can't keep teaching these people for very much longer, despite the immense interest they show when we visit.
This was a pretty normal week. I bought a futsal ball with the money you guys gave me, and the whole district had a great time playing on Wednesday. Today we are going to a park to try to find monkeys and play soccer as well.
It has been nice having a ball in the house, my skills are a little bit better than when I left, and I am stronger, but also fatter, so that will have to change a little bit before I play for RSL hahaha.
We had a meeting on Sunday with the leadership of our zone and the assistants, so I got to kick it with Jim a little bit and talk about the good old days.
How is school for everyone? Everyone stoked for Halloween? Basically Halloween doesn't exist here, nor Thanksgiving (obviously), but they have a lot of other meaningless holidays, like Childrens day, Teachers day, and other stuff. I believe that Brazil is the country that has most holidays.
How is the situation with Barb? And how is Tim? And Mom's wrist? Those are basically the only problems I remember, aside from Spencer's car. Let me know how things are. My P-Day is now on Monday, so I will always be here on Mondays to try to answer your questions.

Love you all. The Church is 100% true, represent it well.

Joseph

"But look how they treat us
Make us believers
We fight their battles
Then they deceive us
Tried to control us
They couldn't hold us
Cause we just move forward
Like Buffalo Soldiers"

"Know that Jesus Christ...is the universal cure to all pains physical and spiritual."

Well, this has been a pretty good week. We had the confirmation of Lourdes on Sunday, which was a great moment. She felt the Gift enter her soul, and we all felt the spirit. We had a member of the bishopric do the confirmation so she will have a better connection with the permanent members of the ward. One of her daughters also came to church, and it looks like she also wants to get baptized.
We have a lot of investigators who should have gone to church on Sunday, but didn't.
One of the most awesome investigators we have is Washington. We started teaching him about a month ago and he has been super positive and interested since day one. We went and visited him on Friday, and he said "I wanted to tell you guys something about the plan (Plan of Salvation). Three weeks or a month ago I was not even at all concerned about anything. I was just like 'ah lets go eat pizza, lets have a barbecue, those were my concerns. But since I found out about the plan I look at everything different. This is serious, this life we have. Now I am concerned about if I will make it to the sun or the moon or the star. And I am making changes."
He was moved by the spirit and definitely has started his conversion, but his daughter had to go to the hospital on Sunday morning and he was not able to make it to church. But this week we have more faith that it is gonna happen.
We also have this family, Aline and Michael (which is a male name here), who are married for real, and Lena, who is Michael's mom. They are really cool/interesting people.
Lena used to mess with Voodoo and black magic and devil worship and stuff, and says that she sees messengers from the other side all the time that bring her messages. So I dunno if we will have to do an exorcism or something like that, that would be pretty interesting. Anyway, the family is not religious, and basically Aline and Michael have always disliked religious people like us.
But when we go to their house, they tell us about how much they feel the spirit and how much we have changed the atmosphere of their home. Michael is a cool dude, he has some cool hair. I believe that they too will be baptized after going to church and overcoming beer and cigarettes.
I have been able to develop a lot of love for the people here, investigators AND members.
I continue praying for Barb, Tim, and the entire Burt family, which is passing through a very difficult time. Know that Jesus Christ understands the problems, passed through them himself, and is the universal cure to all pains physical and spiritual.
P-day will be on Monday from here on out, so I will be sending my next email in just five days. I don't know why it changed, but it did.
Thanks for all the help, may God bless you all.
Love
Joseph

"But look how they treat us
Make us believers
We fight their battles
Then they deceive us
Tried to control us
They couldn't hold us
Cause we just move forward
Like Buffalo Soldiers"

"...Lourdes got baptized on Sunday!"

Well, General Conference was sensational. We got to watch as many sessions as we wanted this time, so we watched the Saturday morning and Sunday sessions. I really liked all of them, and yes, mom, President Uchtdorf's joke was hilarious. We American elders put a tv in a classroom and were able to watch in English, which is ten times better than in portuguese.
Well, the notice of the week would be that Lourdes got baptized on Sunday! It was a great moment. She swapped Coffee for Cevada and was baptized by Elder Barbosa. It was a nice little baptismal service, and she will be confirmed next week.
Basically I'm getting more and more frustrated with my companion. I have taught him to do things I never imagined I would have to teach to anyone, things that are completely self explanatory, like taking money out of an ATM, reading and sending emails, not using my razor and eating my food...stuff that has seemed obvious to me since I was born.
Especially with President Monson's talk, I gained a greater gratitude for all the things you, Mom and Dad, taught me that I never realized were so hard for some people. He shows little to no desire to learn, refuses to study, doesn't pay attention in our training meetings, refuses to get up at 6:30, and only walks at a decent pace when we are on the way home at the end of the day.
I would be surprised if he makes it through the two years, he does not want to be a missionary.
Aside from that, things have been really good. I have been learning a ton, and have stopped seeing the hard parts of missionary work (aside from having a companion lol).
Today, we are going to play soccer with a few elders from our zone, (SOCCER IS LIBERATED)
so I'm pretty dang excited for that.
Well, that is about all I have this week, I used most of my time writing a letter to the mission president. So yeah...until next week!
Love you all
Joseph


"But look how they treat us
Make us believers
We fight their battles
Then they deceive us
Tried to control us
They couldn't hold us
Cause we just move forward
Like Buffalo Soldiers"