Lettter from March 04, 2013

March 4, 2013  (letter)

Hey Family!!

I lost the other notepad I had for writing letters so I’m going to use this one from now on.  I know that I haven’t written in like three months.  Sorry!  To me, it doesn’t even seem that long.  Time keeps hurrying by.  It’s good to be in the Lord’s service, because I keep myself occupied doing good.

I think I’ll be able to write more, now that I’m here in Bom Paster.  In Ponta Grossa, our Lan house and supermarket were far from our house, so we ended up losing a lot of time on P-day.  Also if we had some sort of activity with the Zone, we lost almost the whole P-day.

Our area here, however, is a lot more convenient.  The supermarket is just two blocks away, and the Lan House is on the way.  Today, between writing e-mail and buying groceries, we spent a little over an hour.  Those tasks in Ponta Grossa drained almost three hours.  Blehhh…

But I really did love it there in Ponta Grossa.  I feel like I really learned a lot, especially being a Zone Leader.  I loved and worried about the missionaries there.  Even the problematic ones!!  Pretty much the whole Zone was together on transfer day, at the bus station.  It was one of the strangest feelings.  I almost started crying as the bus started going, and I waved Good-bye to all of the missionaries I had been serving.  The mission has kind of turned me into a baby.  You saw me during Skype at Christmas.  I get emotional about anything. 

The mission is such an adventure.  I’ve never had so many things to do, so many worries disappointments, accomplishments, victories. 

 But, Elder Barkdull helped us get to our area, giving us directions through the cellular, and also the Bishop from Bom Pastor helped out.  It was a bit rough going by bus with all my suitcases and Elder Vighetto’s suitcases, but it all worked out.

Our house was a complete mess, moldy bread, ultra dusty floors, spiders and cobwebs, and a broken door. It was like a house from hoarders!  We threw out all of the possibly toxic waste in our house, and throughout the week we cleaned bit by bit.

Even harder was starting to work.  The last elders that worked here left a list of families that they were teaching so that helped out.  Also, the Bishop came by one morning at 5:50 am our door was broken, so he just entered into the house and woke us up!  Haha, it was one of the weirdest experience I had on the mission, getting woken up b the bishop.  He drove us around the area, showing us where the members and investigators live.

It was a lot of help, but still the first few days we got lost quite a few times.  But now we’re getting to know the area, so it’s not too bad.

Elder Vighetto and I are jumping with excitement to be working here.  There are a lot of good families we’re finding and teaching.  The ward is amazing.  Also, I’m the District Leader of two other areas, and we’re going to get them working too.  WE’RE all excited to baptized a lot here.

It’s so weird to think that I’m going to hit the 1 year 6 months mark in less than three weeks.  The mission has passed by faster than anything in my life.  At the beginning of my mission, each month seemed to be such a big step, but now, they are flying by like nothing else.  I’m excited to come home but when I start to get sad.  I start thinking “what do you mean that I have just 6 months left?” It’s strange.

I want to know everyone is doing.  How’s dad with his new job?  How’s Erda?  How’s the ward?  What’s something funny that’s happened?  Who’s leaving on missions?  I’m way excited to have a 2^nd cousin on the mission, by the way.  I’m telling everybody to watch out for her.

Ok, time for the weird thing in Brazil