Hello! (de novo)

Man, these P-days have to stop coming around! I cant get anything done in the week! :) Just kidding, theyre a very big and welcome blessing. We cleaned pretty much the entire house today, and the quintal. (a yard, kinda) The critters really liked the weeds and plants growing there, so we took everything out. We did not, however, listen to the counsel of our beloved prophet and set fire to everything, to my great disappointment. :/

Dad, your projects are coming along nicely, it sounds! Glad the fridge works, cause it would be just terrible to not have ice cream after doing some canyons. ;) And Im glad that your battle wounds are healing up. I hope your hand starts to follow the same direction as the others.

That guy that got stuck in the canyon, I bet he had a bit of a scare. I thought he would have died before growing thin enough, but it all ended happy. :)

Thank you for the thrilling conclusion of the interview fiasco. :) Im happy that there was a third option that came along for you.

Wow, so much divorce! D: Thats really sad, Ive noticed here too that it pays to live the gospel. We were talking over lunch about how and why the poor stay poor. Its really very sad that theres so many problems these days.

Sounds like skype is going to be a bit more difficult this time around. Im thinking it will be a bit better for us after lunch. 12:30 or 1, but our schedule is more flexible than your guys'.

So, I forgot my camera. Again. Im so sorry! Im healthy again (less to worry about mom :D ) and doing really well. We taught Manoels son, Mikael, the Restoration. He has a date for the 5th, this next Sunday! After that, we only need the other son, Magnum, and then the family will be complete! Magnum is a little more on the rebelious side. Could you keep him in your prayers? Thanks!

Silene didnt make it to church this Sunday, so only Lucieuda was confirmed. We hope for the coming week. Also, we are trying to teach her husband Zemaria and son, Jefferson. Lots of prayers would be very appreciated!

Well, a little about my week. We taught a girl (if you can call 18 or 19 years old a 'girl') the Restoration, and at first she just wanted to hear the message, no commitments or anything. By the end of the discussion, we asked her to pray about it, and ask if it was true. Guess what? She accepted the commitment. :)

Well, I think thats about all the big news. Smaller news, Im going to try to rewire a light outside on the quintal that doesnt work. I think its just a broken wire in an accessable place, so I plan on just replacing it. If that doesnt work, we will probably just leave it. It never worked anyway.

Ah the rain. We are still getting rain, a good shower maybe every 3 days, including today, a maximum of 45 minutes and sun right after. Its nothing like Utah rain though, I miss those big storms that drop lots of water for a week at a time.

Manoel wants to take us out to eat Argentine Picanha for a second time. (picanha is a very tender, very savory cut of beef with a big ribbon of fat on the side) We've already had pizza with him twice. He found a great blessing in the gospel, and is in turn blessing the messengers who found him. :)

The food with Grandma and Frank sounds absolutely delicious! The closest thing we have to squash and zucchini is Pumpkin in the beans every once in a while. I actually really like it, it puts a good flavor in them.

Mom, Carioca beans here are R$6 for 1 kilo. ($3 for 2.2 lbs) Lets load up the suitcases!

Well, thats all I can think of thats worthy to write. It was a pretty average week overall. Just doing the work as best I can, even when its hard to get out of bed and walk. We recieve many blessings for being obedient, and when we obey, our Father always has a prepared path for us.

~Elder Wille

So, I came up with 2 things, and if everybody did them, it would eliminate 85 to 90 percent of the worlds problems. isnt that great?? Just two! Stay tuned next week for the answer, and you can take guesses in the meantime, if youd like. :)

Hello Again! With Pictures.

(Gru from Dispicable Me) Hello everyone!

The day of the transfer has arrived, Elder Couto went to his very first area, Rios. He couldnt believe it, it was a dream come true for him. I will probably get one more chance to chat with him at the Zone Conference. :) That conference we will also find out what areas are going to the new mission. I think the people who go have to wait until the actual transfer begins. :/

Im still in the same area, yay! My companion is Elder Villalba, from....Paraguay!!! Hes awesome, we were in the same zone for the entire time I was in Caucaia. This transfer is going to be fantastic. He speaks spanish, so you can finally talk with him without translating too much! :D

So, something really awesome happened to me Thursday night. I picked up a VERY nasty virus. I took Ibuprofen to help a bit before bed, but still, I had chills, (teeth chattering like mad, huddled up in my sheets, even though our room gets bloody hot) diarrhea, racing heart, headache, the works, but nothing respiratory. Nose was fine, lungs and throat were fine. But the real topper was the fever of (drumroll please) 102.8! And to make the story even better, the other Elders were spending the night at the office in Centro of Fortaleza with the only cell phone. 2 o clock in the morning, without a phone to call Sister Souza (or a hospital for that matter) and a fever that high... I thought to myself that If it went over 103 Id wake Elder Couto up and get help. Luckily, we had some frozen water bottles in the freezer, so I wrapped that in a towell and put it behind my neck to help bring my temperature down. It worked, and I survived the night. Oh wait, it gets better! The next morning we had a wedding to do! Be at the brides house at 7 to catch the train to the Cartório. My mind felt completely disconnected from everything, lots of things didnt register in my brain. Like putting my shoes on. I knew it was me putting them on, but I couldnt remember the motions that I made to get them there. Walking was a chore, I was absolutely exhausted.

I slept some after, and had lunch at a members house. Boiled banana and rice for me, banquet for the others. After that, I was feeling better.

When the other elders finally got back, I called Sister Souza, described what happened, and they sent a taxi for me to go to the hospital. I was feeling more or less okay, just the normal getting-over-the-flu feeling, but I went anyway and took a Soro! It looks like pee, but its not. Its B complex IV. I felt much much better after that, and slept in the next day to give the virus a final kick out the door.

Im super excited for skype! What time is best for you guys? Were allowed to start at 10h here, 7 o clock there, and we have to end at 4h30 or 5. 1:30 or 2, if Im going the right direction. :D Our schedule is pretty flexible on P-day, theres not a lot to do.

I got money back from the Government??? Yay! Could you pay tithing on that too for me please? I need all the blessings I can get. Thanks!

Dang it, I have to go. Sarah, because of the virus and wedding, I wasnt able to get your letter off. Im so sorry!

We baptized Manoel's wife and Silene! Pictures next week! :)

~Elder Wille

P.S. Dad, I dont have any special techniques for chimneys. :( I try to avoid them if I can. put as much pressure on your feet as you can perpendicular to the wall, to help your feet stick. Thats the best I got.

Great Big News!!! 15-4-2013

Hi Everyone! Many exciting things have happened! And I have a few pictures (9) to send, I have to shrink them down first.

Dad, let me first say that your trip was chock full of adventure! Im so very glad that you are okay, despite the various injuries. I hope you get back to normal really fast! It sounded like it was an enjoyable trip overall. With the blood and the hole, I think that it would be more or less the same if you actually had gotten shot... :S

So, first bit of news... I bought Nescau cereal to eat! :D Oh wait, thats lame news. This is the big one: Skype is authorized for Mothers day!!! Or rather, the day after. (P-Day) It will be just like Christmas! :) I get 40 minutes to talk to you via skype, but it will count as the email. I will let you know what time we will be on in 2 or 3 weeks, the transfer this coming week will change things for us. Are Alisha and Todd going to be in Utah that day? Oh, and could you tell me my username for skype? I forgot it, and cant check it.

Another big news, email has been extended to an hour and a HALF! Wow!!! And I dont know if I told this yet, but we can email friends now, too! :)

Mom, you got to shoot guns too? Thats cool! the .22 is a little small for me. Like Dad, I was wanting to get a 9mm. Im planning on getting one when I get back. Também, a comprehensive list would be very helpful! Im a bit surprised at how expensive they are. O.o They have bibles and triples here all over, leather and not, but thanks anyway! I got a Book of Mormon thats really cool. I dont have a picture of it now, but I will send one when I can, probably next week.

Sarah, I started to write your letter. Im about halfway done. :( sorry for the delay! I want to make it quality for you.

The india store has shirts and dresses/skirts for R$40 (US $20) Im planning on sending a smallish package with some music, short movies, etc sometime soon. :) Theyre one size fits all, whats your color preference, and do you want a dress or a blouse?

Alisha and Todd, I got your package! :) Thank you so much! I sent half the stuff to Elder R Barbosa in Caucaia, cause I was in my new area when it got here. That card was really cute, I knew exactly who it was. :D How are you guys doing? School should be almost out, right? What are your plans for the summer and stuff? (besides Powell. D: D: D:)

Manuel got baptized!!! Im sending a separate email with a picture of him, his wife, and his daughter. (who is a member) Elder Couto bapitzed him. It was so cool! He said he wants to find the true church and agarrar o evangelho com dentes e unhas, which translates to more or less Cling to the gospel with tooth and nail. Agarrar is cooler though, cling just doesnt do it justice.

Manuel is planning on bringing his family to the church. Could you guys include this in your prayers? That theyll be open and touched by our message? Its the mom and two sons. the boys arent in the picture because they were unable to come.

Silene is getting married this weekend! I didnt know it, but it was a dream of hers to get married. Her 'husband' didnt want to, so she just accepted the loss. Then the missionaries started teaching her, and convinced him to get married! Now she can have what she always dreamed of. :) Sadly, he doesnt want to recieve our visits. :(

So, the transfer with the division is in June, I believe. :/ kind of a long way away. But it will be on a p day, so youll know the same day which one Im at. Have the package ready! :) chances are that Elder Couto will leave our area and finish somewhere else. He has only 6 more weeks from today.

Some random things that happened. I opened a Green Coconut, and started to drink the water, but it seemed a bit carbonated the first second and a half. Thats weird. It didnt smell funny, but I asked Elder Alves da Silva if it had alcohol in it. (he fell away from the church for a bit, went to some parties and stuff) Turns out it did have a bit. Its sitting with a strainer over the top on the counter to lose the booze. :S

We are going to watch Megamind today, in Portuguese. Last week, we watched Madagascar 3 and Shrek Para Sempre... Forever After? Anyway, both really good movies, I enjoyed them, and I think you guys will like them too.

Dang Mom, a few days ago I was craving your bavarian cream. D: Cream in a cold bowl, beat until it makes whipped cream, barely setting up (Raspberry) jello, and nuts, right? I think I can make a something close to it. :)

Dad, I thought about you a lot during conference. Hope youre not missing me too much. Got a picture of your hole in the hip? Sounds like it might leave a pretty decent battle scar. :)

Well, my time is about up. I miss you all! Say hi to the family for me! I will talk to you next week, and in person next month!

~Elder Wille

Well well! P-Day again! 8-4-13

Hello everyone! These P-Days are coming around too fast! :)

Update on the mission, we set a date for Manuel! He accepted! He even came to Conference!

A small miracle happened this week. I had another interview with President Souza, and he commented that we arent having baptisms as much because of our lack of New Investigators. After this, I prayed for inspiration, and was reading in the small chapter of Alma 25, seemingly insignificant, but I found a verse that hit me pretty hard. It talked about the Lamanites who had heard the teachings and not accepted at that time, but later they accepted and converted. We searched the Area Book in the old investigators, and started making visits. (after 2 weeks, a person can be counted as a New Investigator again) We found two houses, one woman had just talked with a friend (a member) about conference. It was just perfect, and we invited her to go.

The second house we found another lady who was in a lot of confusion. The church she goes to had just undergone a division, and she didnt know what to do. We passed by, and left the message of the Restoration, which was exactly what she needed to hear. We marked another visit, and invited her to Conference.

I was very sad, neither of these daughters of God came to conference. Our visits fell through. :( But we will keep trying.

I got to listen to conference in English this time! They had a room upstairs with a TV in english, and the Stake President is... American! Due to meeting investigators, I missed Elder Holland's talk. :( Im going to download it and listen to it. I also got to watch the Priesthood session, at 6 in the morning! It made me miss you Dad, and the tradition we have after that session.

For Easter, we (us 4 and a friend from the ward, Sergio) went to a place that has Arab flat bread sandwiches, and ice cream. it was really good! Our Ovos de Páscoa are chocolate eggs, hollow, with something inside. I have pictures of mine. :) They're about the size of a junior football. :) The total that I took out was R$120, or about US$60 Thanks so much for letting us go eat and have a bit of fun!

Dad, your shooting adventure sounds awesome!!! Im super jealous! Guns are completely illegal here, but the law is basically nonexistant. quite a number of thieves have a gun that they use as incentive. When I get back, Id like to get a 9mm myself. :) Great minds think alike!

Sarah, Im going to write you back very soon, k? :) On real paper, so itll take a little bit, but youll have the original handwritten one! :) Btw, I found a place that sells clothing from INDIA!!! I thought of you.

This computer isnt reading my card, so no pictures this week. :(

Um, what next? Ah, Manuel's dream. It was a war, and there was this huge strong guy that he tried to attack, but it didnt work. The strong guy turned and hit him and sent him flying. Thats about all I caught from it. :(

Elder Couto and I are great! He's super funny, easy going, and we get along great! He's teaching me to draw a bit better, and the anime style. (*groan* yes, yes, I know) Hes majoring in Graphic Design, and wants to work in the United States. The field is a bit bigger there than here.

Mom, the oatmeal cookies are in the Recipes Every Man Should Know book. :) You can start learning Portuguese more through my Portuguese for Dummies Book that Dad bought me, it really helped!

Well, I think thats about it. I made the other scones (raspberry and vanilla) and everyone loved them. Im turning into a master chef around here. :)

Ah mom, something you might like. Its called Moosey!... or mousse. 400g of creme de leite (normal cream) 400g sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup natural yogurt, 1 juice powder packet that makes 1 liter of juice (like the one I sent for Christmas) I made lime, and put juice of 2 limes in it for some extra zing. :) Beat in blender for 3 minutes, pour into a bowl and put in the freezer for a few hours. Yay!!! Hope you like it!

Well, thats it for me, my time is up. Love you all! May the Lord continually bless you and watch over you! Thanks for all that you guys do for me!

~Elder Wille

P.S. Grandma, Im so sorry its taken so long! I do get your letters, thank you so very much! I hope all goes well with your new car and selling the Buick! Love you!

P-day already?

Well well well! Its p-day again! And this keyboard really doesnt like to cooperate. How are you all doing?

Not much happened this week, I was feeling quite dead most of the time, and due to Easter, a lot of people werent home. So we just kinda wandered around while our appointments fell through.

Quarta-feira (Wednesday) on our way to the District meeting, Elder couto made the comment that it felt like a pressure cooker. (Panela de pressão) It had just rained, and it was super stuffy and humid. I think it was an adaquate description. :)

A guy in the ward asked me to look at the prices of a Portuguese quad of scriptures, and the clear stickers with pictures of major stories. The stickers go right in the middle of the page. would you be willing to look for me? thanks!

Mom, quick note that Im doing fine, Im healthy, and everything is great, except that Im turning into a recipe maniac. do you still have that one for cornbread? ;D and does it have to cook in stonewear?

Dad, I got a big kick out of your interview story. Im sorry it was so weird. I hope it all goes well, even moreso because interviewers are supposed to be "blind" to gender, religion, race, etc.

News from Ômega and Boatan. We got an investigator to church! His name is Manuel, and he had a (turbulant) dream after praying about the Book of Mormon. (either that, or it was the beans everyday... hehehe...) Hes going to tell us about it the next time we visit him. I think it had a good outcome, because he came to church!

We had a ward council, in which we discussed some problems in Ala Ômega, or Ward Ômega. Elder Couto and I presented almost the same idea as to what is causing the problem (Home teachers and visiting teachers visits. Theyre at 6% and 7% respectively. (!!!!!) ) Elder couto and I proposed an almost exact same cause, without discussing first! I offered a lack of understanding the doctrine and purpose of visits, and he said lack of testimony on the importance of visits.

Well, thats my two bits, nothing really happened this week. We went to dinner at a place here, and we are buying Ovos de Páscoa. :) I will write the total when I know. Thanks so much, love you all!

~Elder Wille

P.S. did you get the pictures i sent?