November 24, 2009

Hoy Todo Mundo!
Wow what a week! I cant remember what I told you from last time but I do have some more funny things that I said on accident. I can actually speak portuguese fairly well, but I never understand what anybody is saying. Everybody else has the opposite problem. Every other missionary I ask says that when they started the mission they could understand but they couldnt speak. Anyway, I have been practicing this story in portuguese and telling other families and brazilian missionaries it to help me practice my speaking. I will share it with you first in portuguese, see if you can understand.

Elder P. Silva e eu estavamos almoçando com um otro membro, Irma Tanya, e ela disse "Come mais Elder." Eu respondi, "Não, Não, satisfed obrigado." Ela començou falando muito rapido e eu não entendi. Ela disse, "Minha comida é muito ruim né?" Eu disse, "sim, sim." Opa!

Elder P. Silva and I were eating lunch with another member, Sister Tanya, and she said "Eat more Elder." I responded, "No, no, I am satisfied, thank you." She began speaking very fast and I didn't understand. She said, "My food is really bad isn't it?" I said, "yes, yes." Oops!

Whoa I learned my lesson. I will always say I don't understand instead of seen when I am confused. The other day, we were eating with Neli and Gabi's family. They are the one's that are going to be baptized really soon. Gabi is around natalie's age and Elder P. Silva wasn't paying attention when we tried to talk to him, so we were making fun of him. Finally when he noticed, I was trying to explain what happened in portuguese. I meant to say "I asked (Pedi) for juice," but instead I said, "I farted (pedei) for juice." That was awkward... haha oh well, another good story.

So Elder P. Silva told me to send you all a hug and that he says happy thanksgiving day.

Elder P. SIlva and I get along really well, but I do have some pet peeves. Now really, we do get along but I was fairl frusturated with him this week. When we walk he walks ridiculously fast. Even when we're not in a hurry for anything. I can usually keep up, but he is ignorant of his surroundings. He likes to reach up and pull leaves off of tree branches. When he does this, and I am behind him trying to catch up, the branch flips back and hits me in the face. He sometimes walks into the middle of the street and pulls out the map to see where we are going and then just stands there. He has almost gotten us hit by cars a couple of times and he has almost knocked two different people off of their bikes. He is crazy haha. As I try to catch up to him, when I fall behind, he isn't sensitive to where I am when I am trying to catch up. I'll be coming up on his left side and there is a parked car. Instead of moving a little bit to his right he walks me straight into the car! I have to fall behind him again or go around the car and end up behind him anyways. He walks me into people, trees, cars, walls, stop signs, everything! Anyway these are my pet peeves about my companion. He is awesome though and I love him. Oh! One more thing that I am wondering if it is wierd to be frusturated with him about. Remember Ionice? The nice lady that couldn't find a way to church and the bishop was going to help us find her a ride. She came to church! I was so excited to see her there! She has told us that she wants to be baptized and that she prayed about the book of mormon and knows that it is true. She came to church and was a little late. She entered during the final talk of sacrament meeting which was cool because the bishop was speaking. Elder P. Silva and I turned to her smiling and said hello and then listened to the rest of sacrament meeting. After sacrament meeting is where I want to know if it was okay to be frusturated. Elder P. Silva told Ionice where her next class was and then walked over to the missionaries in the other ward to say hello and chat. They are our good friends, but I imagined what it would be like to be in some church i have never been to, with nobody i know except for two missionaries who i have only know from their two visits to my house, sitting alone on a bench. I would feel uncomfortable. Luckly some members said hi and were friendly but nobody really talked to her. I was mad at Elder P. Silva because he knows that I cant quite hold a full conversation on my own yet. I said a quick prayer in my heart, "Heavenly father, please help me be able to communicate with this lady and make her feel more welcome." I walked away from the only people around that could translate for me, and sat next to Inonice, "Irma Ionice, I am so excited to see you here! How was sacrament meeting?" She replied by saying good and then began to talk a lot. I didn't understand everything but I do know that she said she had to take two buses to get there. I said wow and told her again that I am happy to see her in church. She asked me how the portuguese was going and I said that it is better but I still cant understand a lot of things. She told me that she would have to reschedule her next appointment with us because she forgot about a previous engagement that she had. I the very new junior companion who cant speak or understand portuguese very well said okay. I rescheduled with her and told her that I was going to go inform elder P. Silva and that class was starting and we would be there in a few. She went to class and I told elder P. Silva about the new appointment. I was frusturated with him again when we walked into the classroom and he sat in the very back away from everyone. Neli was in church too. Both of our investigators sat alone. We should have sat with somebody! Everybody in the gospel essentials class is either new to the church or an investigator and we sat next to nobody. I was annoyed.

I forgot to respond about calling you guys on christmas and how everything works. I can get a calling card here, everyone tells me that they are pretty cheap. I will call you guys sometime in advance, not sure when, and give you a phone number and a time that you need to call me on christmas. I will be at some members house most likely and you will call their phone and I will be able to talk to you. When I call you ahead of time it will be a short phone call, like "Hey mom, call me at this number on this day, i love you things are going great good bye." Its supposed to be pretty fast.

I sent the CD home in a package with some extra goodies and some letters. I was going to try and send some guarana, but it is expensive because of the weight. I might try some other time. it costed 34 reais to send it home. It was going to cost 30 but it was only 4 reais more for prioirity mail so I just did that.

Mom, you know how back home when I had wet clothes from rain, or snow, or sweat, or swimming and you would tell me to out them in the wash or hang them somewhere to dry because they will get moldy? I thought that was some sort of myth because I had never seen clothes get moldy before just because they are wet, until now. It rained from last wednesday to saturday. Both of my new pairs of shoes got wet. Luckly I am always trying to keep one pair of shoe dry and I had my old ones to wear. I wore those for two days while I left my other shoes propped up against the wall to dry because it was still pretty wet outside. After those two days I was happy to wear my new shoes again. I grabbed them and was surprised to see that they were green and white. All kinds of wierd stuff was growing all over them. I got a washcloth damp and cleaned off all of the mold. I then polished both of them again and they looked brandnew! Elder P. Silva lended me some spray that will protect my shoes from water and I used that on them. Now they are as good as new.

Man, what else happened this week... Oh yeah, umm... A member in the ward wants me to see if you guys can send some peanutbutter out for him. haha

OH! Today I went to the temple and the session was in portuguese! It was difficult but really cool. I love all three temples here that I have gotten to go to, but I still like the inside of the São Paulo temple the best, but I think that the outside of the Porto Alegre temple is awesome.
I didn't remember the name of grandmas cousin and I didn't know that she wasn't here yet so I asked the mission president if he was related to a linden or a darlene hurst and he said no. He said that it must be the new president, presdient knighton that is coming in tomorrow. Aw man, I missed them by one day. I should be able to see them, but the way that the temple works out here is pretty strange. I am allowed to go every three months. Why every three months? I don't know. Only certain areas that are close to the temple can go. My area, Canaos can, along with some other areas. Transfers are in two weeks and from what everyone tells me, I will most likely stay here with Elder P. sIlva but there is a small chance that he can get transferred. I should be able to go to the temple again. I am not sure how mission offices work everywhere else in the world but ours is pretty cool. I got to go see it today after the temple and after burger king (Which is really expensive here!) The mission office here is a legit building. It is like a small church building, what is the denver south mission office like?

For the most part all of the wierd stains came out except for one and elder P. SIlva says that he knows a what kind of bleach or something like that will get it out.

While I was at the mission office I found out that I will be going home August 30, 2011. That is a long time away. So it looks like I get to serve longer than 2 years. 2 years and four days! Woo!

On the CDs that I sent home I included some short videoclips that I took with my camera. Let me know if they work! Let me know if the Cd worked out ok so that I know if I can delete them off of my camera. It actually isnt a cd, its a dvd because of the movie clips. I hope that isnt a problem. Have you read "Our Search for Happiness?" I just started it and so far I like it.

In response to some of Brother Jenkins english help, I would like to say that it helps a lot! I also noticed that Stuff and things though very similiar I found that you need to remember that 'stuff' is only used for plural and that 'thing' can be plural or not.

What about somebody and someone? When can you use those?

Portuguese and English are both very difficult I was trying to explain the pronounciation and difference between

Latter (Latter day saints)
Ladder
Later
Letter

He had trouble with those.

I have trouble because for english we have one word that means many things in portuguese they have mulitple words.

Fazer means to do and to make
Obra, Tarefa, and Trabalho all mean work

I cant think of anything more to write so Até approxima semana!

Elder Bullough