Handwritten Letter

http://robert.willeweb.com/josh/13010735.pdf

Hi Hi I am up and online

Thank you mom! I only have 5 more minutes. :(

Thats super great about the snow! I havent gotten my package yet. D:

Dad, I would really like a rope for my birthday. :D A colored one, something really bright.

Mom, Pecém and Paracuru are both on the Coast, Itap. is not.

And so far I wont be able to skype on Mothers day. this was a rare, once in a long time privelege.

Thanks for all the news! Its so good to here from home. Hope all goes well!

And now my time is up, sorry! Love you all!

On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 11:38 AM, Carol Wille wrote:

Hoy Hoy its me mom! I am so sorry HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHUA!

On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 7:36 AM, Carol Wille wrote:

It is snowing here again, and it snowed a bit last night. We haven't had any big drops for a few days, but we get a little every day.

Have you gotten your Christmas package yet?

Where did you spend the night in Itapipoca? Hopefully not under a bridge.

On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 7:34 AM, Carol Wille wrote:

Would that be Kilsa França?

On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 7:32 AM, Joshua Wille wrote:

We just bought a frying pan, for my birthday pancakes! :) And Sister França made me a cake. Bolo mole, or soft cake. :) Its super good, I have to get and pass the recipe to you. My guess is its super unhealthy. ;)

On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 11:30 AM, Carol Wille wrote:

Josh, you are GREAT AND HARD WORKING AND RESPONSIBLE SUPER GOOD MISSONARY AS WELL!  Oh, I am so sorry you are moving I hope you are able to find a really nice place to live! with a frying pan : D

On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 7:25 AM, Joshua Wille wrote:

He told Elder Barbosa that he needs a great missionary in caucaia. And he is, its incredible! :)

How are you doing? Is Sarah feeling better? are you all healthy?

On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 11:20 AM, Carol Wille wrote:

Whoa that is so cool what Pres. Souza said to you! Tons of faith in you! It reminds me of the movie the other side of heaven where elder groberg was pretty much on his own and just did what he knew was right and moved on ahead forward. You remind me of elder groberg! So cool so cool. I have great faith in you too! I am so glad you were in a different company than the mr. complainee (Monk) missionaries! I am so proud of you for your goodness and willingness to work hard with out complaining! so proud of you! : D

 I cant believe how hot  and dry it is you said in Itap! How do the people survive? do they drink lots of water? A 2.5 hour bus ride-shoot! that is really awesome Pres. Souza gave you permission to stay over night! Dude,he totally trusts you and knows you are good men!

On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 7:10 AM, Joshua Wille wrote:

Thats not even all of it! We went to Itapipoca a few times, and we found 17is new investigators 2 weeks ago, and 13 this past week! Its the whitest Ive seen so far! And theres a member family there too, with a ton of excitement to begin the work. We have two baptisms marked for the 6th, the only problem is we arent authorized to baptize there yet. :( They dont even have sacrament meetings yet, and we have people willing to be baptized.

So, we live in Caucaia, and have to travel 2.5 hours by bus to Itapipoca (from now on itap.) so we called the President and asked permission to stay for more than a day. He gave a few conditions, but authorized us to stay overnight!!!!! yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D

Here in Caucaia, we had to find a new house, cause we're moving. :S But! we are getting another dupla or pair of missionaries this next transfer in Feb! We really need them. 11 cities makes Caucaia the biggest area in the mission. President Souza told me over the pulpit during the transfer meeting "elder wille, se vira' which pretty much means Good luck, youre a bit on your own.

On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 11:03 AM, Carol Wille wrote:

Bom dia, filho!Holy cow! That is wonderful! I can't believe the numbers! Wow the field is truely white and ready to harvest! Hold on just a sec. I am going to take the computer in to where Dad is and see if he is awake.

On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 7:00 AM, Joshua Wille wrote:

Bom dia! I have exciting news! the mission baptized 2046 people in just this year! 211 in december alone!

On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 10:58 AM, Carol Wille wrote:

Hoy ya Hoy ya Josh! yup I am still here! Good morning son!

On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 6:56 AM, Joshua Wille wrote:

Hi Mom! still there?

On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 9:33 AM, Carol Wille wrote:

Halloa Halloa Lovie I am up and online!!!!!

A letter! a letter! a letter!

Dear Family,

I have my new companion! His name is Élder Barbosa (lock up, ya bloomin' cockroaches!!! Ahahahaha!!!! ~Pirates of the Caribbean) And he's from Africa! How awesome is that??? Cape Verde, or Cabo Verde, and they are native speakers of Portuguese. Hes a big guy, really awesome, but a tad white for being African. :) Sarah would go nuts, I will see if I can introduce him via skype or something. His accent is pretty much awesome.

The transfer meeting went really well, pretty short. I got a bit of special recognition, cause Pres. Souza talked about how some missionaries complain about the size of their area. I think theres more than 50 areas in Fortaleza city itself, so everyone has a small piece. He mentioned that Caucaia has 11 whole cities, plus Caucaia itself. He phrased it more gently, but the idea was 'Please dont complain, your area is really pretty small.' Afterward, the Bishop of our ward gave us a ride (nos deu uma corona) which I called in the previous night. Buses and Taxis and trains werent going to cut it for the trip from Montese to Caucaia. (The meeting was in Montese Chapel. I dont know how far it is from Caucaia, but its really far)

Élder Barbosa hasnt been to Caucaia yet, so I get to show him the whole area! I hope I paid enough attention to where everything is... :O

Mom, my feet are normal, with maybe a bit of a high arch. Very rarely, I get an ache in the middle, and I cant curl my toes. Is that lack of arch support? It only happened once, nothing to worry about. Im walking normal, better than when I started. :) No, I dont need new shoes.

Garments are holding really well. I kinda wish I had a few more pairs so I dont have to wash as often, but thats just a creature comfort and I need to stop being lazy.

I did get the lyrics, thank you so much! Now I can sing them all day and all night! I also got Sarah's cookie (That really made my day Sarah. I laughed so much, thank you!) and havent gotten either of my Christmas packages.

Im still doing really well, healthy. Élder Nascimento was a bit sick when he left, but he'll be alright. Hes probably at home now, playing pokemon after kissing his namorada (girlfriend). :)

What is your Nicer neti pot?

Its very nice to know that my absence is felt. :) I never really talked a whole lot, maybe mine was just kind of that big quiet but friendly one. I didnt expect a whole lot of people to ask about me so much. But again, its nice to know and gives me warm fuzzies. :)

For Danielle, one week is like one very long day for a missionary. It was two months for you, but it felt like a long-ish week. I think its the p-days, our day of contact to the outside world. Im sorry I didnt get one off to you sooner. I really liked the letter you sent me though, I will get another one off to you soon.

By the way, skype will be on the 24th, Christmas Eve and my p-day. Oh wow, its coming up next week! I will call and tell you what time I will be on the day before. Please answer the home phone that day. :D

Ah, gotta go, bye!

3/12/2012

Dear Family,

Wow! My second transfer is drawing to a close. There is only 5 weeks in this one. My companion will be going home, I will miss him very much. Most likely, I will stay in Caucaia (cow-KAI-uh) and recieve a senior missionary.

Elder Nascimento is very knowledgeable about the Church. He has asked and read and searched about much of the structure of it, and told me the basic layout. Its amazing, and really is perfect. I learned the importance of Home Teaching as well, and the role of the President of the Elders Quorum.

To everyone who reads this, I encourage you to hit up youtube and watch Elder Hollands Testimony on the Book of Mormon. Its simply powerful, and hit me really hard. He has a gift in public speaking.

I learned an addition to a well known saying that I think is pretty cool. "When it rains, it pours. But just remember where the rain comes from."

Okay, story time. Elder Nascimento and I were getting on the train, the kind where its just one big tunnel and you can walk from car to car without opening a door or anything, and inside the train were 2 groups of street musicians and tons of people. It was absolutely packed in there, I couldnt believe it. People were dancing, having a good time, even drinking. :( Ive never seen anything like it in my life. That train was completely full.

This past Sunday, we had a baptism!!! Yay! His name is Tiago, 11 years old, and I got to baptize him. :)

Theres more to that day as well. The Stake President told us that the group of Tapipoca is going to be added to the Caucaia Ward! It was really neat, and we had a very special guest present, who also was there for Tiagos baptism. A very very very special guest. Youll all have to see in the pictures that I send in my Christmas package. hehehe. :D I will also send a print of the picture of Marcelo and Francenilda's baptism. I forgot my camera that day.

This next Sunday, Stake Conference, President Monson is giving a Declaration specifically to the areas of Manaus and Fortaleza. I dont know what its about, but itll for sure be very exciting! Manaus is another mission, by the way.

I havent gotten my mission ties letter off yet, sorry. Itll be there soon with details about investigators.

Well, thats all the news I have that I cant spoil for you yet. Im excited and very happy to be here doing the work of the Lord, its hard but thats how it is supposed to be.

I know the Lord lives, I know he loves each of us, and knows us personally. Our hopes, our dreams, our wishes. He is there for us any time we need someone to turn to.

~Élder Wille