I'm serving in São Laurenço da Mata. It's huge! And it is amost ready to split into two wards. All we have to do is fully activate the "I go to church 1 Sunday of 3" people!
I've been reading the Old Testament with a lot of help from the bible dictionary and the intensity of the symbolism in the sacrifices in Leviticus is amazing! Last time I read this book, I wasn't paying attention and I didn't quite understand that different parts of the animals were used in different parts of the sacrifice. The blood, as a symbol of life's power, was spilt, sprinkled, or placed (pay attention to when each action is done). The fat a symbol of richness was offered to the lord along with the kidneys and the caul above the liver (what is a caul? please e-mail me if you know!). The shoulder or breast (the best meat) was sometimes burned, sometimes eaten by the high priest (D&C 1:38 anyone? It is "by the mouth of [his] servants"!) I still get confused by some parts of Genesis, so if anyone has insights, help me: Angels having babies with women? Giants? Noah got drunk? The whole 'trick' with the birthright of Jacob? And did Joseph really not harbor anything (his brothers traveled like 4 times from Canaan to Egypt and back!).
In the Book of Mormon, I've been studying the attributes of Captain Moroni (for my Armor of God book!). Really cool! Take each thing that is said about him and use the Topical Guide and Index to find more!
Elder Page
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
8 February 2011 - email
Hey Family! Oh, and friends who are reading this. And people who I don't really know that well but know my family members and for some reason feel thus obligated to read the scrambled ramblings of a scattered 19-year-old teaching Brazilians the truth. Hmmm...I think that's everyone.
So there's some weird Brazilian traditions and superstitions that I don't think I've written about, and since it's been really slow this week, I'll catch up some lost time.
WATER:
So here it's a superstition that cold water makes you sick. Drink it. Bathe in it. Touch it. Look at it. Any of these things can cause you to get the flu or "pass bad" (Brazilian for really bad diarrhea. Sorry, I decided to be frank). I'm not sure how many times I've drunk warm water here, but I've realized that its worse than hot water. No wonder God spews lukewarm people from out of his mouth!
On the other hand I had a comp (Trindade) who told me that drinking warm water or hot water was bad for your intestines. Hmmm, so all of the studies saying that it helps are wrong. And can you explain why you drink chimarrão (a very bitter, very hot tea)...
BODY AND FOOD:
"I was really active and did a lot of sports when I was younger and that cleans out your pores, so I think that's why I don't have body hair!" ... ... WAIT! Hair comes from clogged pores! Does that mean that zits are genetic?
The 'gum stays in your stomach for 20 years and gives you cancer' thing is also pretty big here. Makes no sense, but sure. You'd die of clogged colon long before dying of cancer, but sure, it's true.
So almost everyone here loves farofa. They like to put it in their beans and rice, on their meat, salad, etc. What exactly is farofa? FLOUR. DEEP. FRIED. FLOUR! Sometimes it's mixed with vegetables and little bits of meat so I can see it being used. But sometimes they just put flour. Just flour!
Well, that's all for now!
Elder Page
Monday, February 14, 2011
14 February 2011 - email
Várzea closed! It was frustrating because we we're receiving referrals and we had two families to teach and baptize!
Now I'm in São Laurenço da Mata (where I went on division my first transfer) with Elder Santos. He's also from Rio Grande do Sul, but he's a lot more friendly and interactive than Trindade. He said that we already have baptisms marked for this weekend! I'm really excited because this is the area that about ten weeks ago baptized 15 people in one week!
Now I'm in São Laurenço da Mata (where I went on division my first transfer) with Elder Santos. He's also from Rio Grande do Sul, but he's a lot more friendly and interactive than Trindade. He said that we already have baptisms marked for this weekend! I'm really excited because this is the area that about ten weeks ago baptized 15 people in one week!
Wow. I think someday I'll laugh at this story, but right now it's horrible for me:
Our last day in Várzea we had nothing to do after church. My comp served in the area that's situated on the tops of several hills and valleys close to our area (UR-7) and he wanted to say good bye to some people and explain more about the investigators that we have to the elders there (they'll be helping out in Várzea every once in a while).
When we finished that it was about 8:30ish so we went to a member's house that is in front of the bus terminal and talked to them while we waited. Before we realized it, it was 9:50 and my comp had to talk with the LZ's. A member came running up to us and told us that the buses were stopped because there was a pre-carnival party in the streets; they were only going to a different stop and turning around. We walked to the stop and right after we got there it started pouring like none other. We waited forever, but the buses were only going up, not down and our phone stops working after 10:30. Finally we picked up a bus and went to a member's house to get dry and wait for the buses to start again at four am. I couldn't sleep, trying to figure out if there was something I could have done differently and stood at the window staring at the rain for hours. At 4 I woke up my comp and, after a lot of convincing, we left and got the bus. When we got home (4:25ish) we were drenched (the bus doesn't stop very close to our house and the streets were flooding) and none of our things were packed and the house was a mess. I took a shower (cold, because the hot water scalds in this house), packed my things and packed up a load of garbage. The only things left unpacked were my bed sheets. Then when we went to leave a member came up to us and said, "I paid for this taxi for you!" which was really cool, but ended up that the buses were running fast now and normal traffic was slow. So we showed up late for the transfer...again...
When we finished that it was about 8:30ish so we went to a member's house that is in front of the bus terminal and talked to them while we waited. Before we realized it, it was 9:50 and my comp had to talk with the LZ's. A member came running up to us and told us that the buses were stopped because there was a pre-carnival party in the streets; they were only going to a different stop and turning around. We walked to the stop and right after we got there it started pouring like none other. We waited forever, but the buses were only going up, not down and our phone stops working after 10:30. Finally we picked up a bus and went to a member's house to get dry and wait for the buses to start again at four am. I couldn't sleep, trying to figure out if there was something I could have done differently and stood at the window staring at the rain for hours. At 4 I woke up my comp and, after a lot of convincing, we left and got the bus. When we got home (4:25ish) we were drenched (the bus doesn't stop very close to our house and the streets were flooding) and none of our things were packed and the house was a mess. I took a shower (cold, because the hot water scalds in this house), packed my things and packed up a load of garbage. The only things left unpacked were my bed sheets. Then when we went to leave a member came up to us and said, "I paid for this taxi for you!" which was really cool, but ended up that the buses were running fast now and normal traffic was slow. So we showed up late for the transfer...again...
Now I'm here and I'm really tired, so tchau!
Elder Page