Happy Thanksgiving from Guadalajara 25-11-2013

Hello beloved family!

Okay, Im going to start with a story in Portuguese. Its something that happened yesterday. I copied and pasted from my letter to president souza.

Nós encontramos uma família que está super preparado para receber o evangelho. Estávamos andando, e senti a impressão de fazer um contato com uma mulher sentada na porta com a cabeça do filho dela (eu achava) e depois de um instante de hesitar, eu fiz o contato. Antes de qualquer coisa, ela nós convidou entrar e sentar. O filho em verdade era o esposo de união civil, com planos de casar o ano que vem. Conversamos, introduzimos o Livro de Mormon, e ela aceitou. Ela frequentava 15 anos na Igreja Universal, 2 anos como Testemunha de Jeová, e 3 de Católica. No fim, ela disse que ela tinha orado na Sexta-feira para que alguém da religião certo passasse e falasse trazendo paz. Foi domingo que passamos, marcamos a próxima visita amanhã.

And so! I almost have one year and 4 months, thats just crazy!!! 8 months left? where has all the time gone?

Today I got the chance to visit my first area! We needed to go to the bank, and we got permission from president souza to go there (the easiest one to find, and pretty close) and while waiting for the train to come back, I passed by França's house to say hi. He was super happy to see us, and he shared a very nice comment. He says that Ive matured a lot, that Im perceiving much more, becoming more responsible, and that my family will note a very big change in me. I thought that was super nice of him. :)

Dad, thank you so much for sending the music! It got here just fine, im going to buy a flash drive to put pictures and music and stuff. Its a cruzer blade, I think they only have them here. Its got a cool look, maybe you can see on the internet. R$25 for 8gig, how can i resist that price?? (and its not pirated either. :D)

About my packages being taped up, I think some of them have been. When I opened them, there did seem to be an excess of tape on all the openings. Maybe buy some Nossa Senhora stickers and put them on? Unless the post office people are evangelical, then theyll open it either way. :S

Im so glad to hear that the important project went faster than usual after the Honor wall.

Mom, we still dont have any fans, and last night it was so bloody hot! I couldnt get to sleep for forever. I debated splashing myself with water to help cool down, but decided against it. During the day it was pretty oven-ly too.

The hammock is a rather interesting sleeping experience. You cant sleep in it straight, it has to be an angle. For example, if the hammock is this direction | from above, you cant sleep parallel to it. You have to sleep like this |\| or |/|. or like this. Does that make sense? Its kind of hard to describe. Basically, you have to sleep at an angle on it, or youll hurt your back really bad.

Mom or Dad, could you do a big favor for me? Could you look at Snow's web page and find out when we have to register for Fall 2014? I just want a big huge heads up so I dont forget until too late.

I thought about a strange thing. Elder Alex Richey gets home in about 2 months! I cant believe how fast it has passed! Next up itll be my turn!

I have an idea for next Thanksgiving. I want to get a recipe from someone here and make something special for everyone. I know that everyone will like it. :D but I cant tell you guys, not yet.

Well, this is a pretty good letter, sorry about not writing more. I had something interesting happen at stake conference. I dont know how much I can say about it. But Im doing well, everything is just happy and hot down here! :) Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I love and miss you all! Until next time!

~Elder Wille

Here's the translation of the portuguese part, courtesy of google:

We found a family that is super prepared to receive the gospel. We were walking, and I felt the impression of making a contact with a woman sitting with her ​​head in the door of her son (I think) and after a moment's hesitation, I made contact. Before anything, she invited us in and sit down. The son indeed was the husband of civil union, with plans to marry next year. We talk, we introduce the Book of Mormon, and she accepted. She attended 15 years in the Universal Church, 2 years as a Jehovah's Witness, and 3 Catholic. In the end, she said she had prayed on Friday for someone to pass the right religion and bringing peace talk. Sunday was spent, we mark the next visit tomorrow.

Guadalajara 18-11-2013

Hi there Family and Friends!

Nothing too big to say this week. We finally got our furniture, so that was really nice. Still no fans, so we all still sleep in hammocks. Its a lot cooler than in a bed.

We dont have a propane tank (oh yeah, all their stoves are gas with a propane tank. Kinda like a barbeque, but different :P) so I cant make my delicious scones yet. The mission office will pay for one, but we have to do all the gathering and researching and stuff first. Its something like R$160 for a full tank.

Before the furniture (móveis) got here, all we had in our house for about 2 days was hammocks and bread. :) Seriously, it was great.

How was Enders Game? I actually did read that one in school. I loved the battle sequences, did they do a good job on those?

Dad, hows work going now that things are more relaxed? Whats the next big project? Any plans for home improvements? (maybe ask Tim Taylor for help: :D) Im going to put a birthday present for you in the Christmas package, Im sorry I didnt get it off sooner!

Mom, I didnt get a pooping snowman last year, I think maybe it was in the first Christmas package, the one that got lost.

And may I say that the spreadable fruit jam stuff was absolutely wonderful! Raspberry was the best one. Thank you so much for sending it! :)

What does the Bear Grylls poster say at the bottom? The bottom got cut off. :(

Alisha and Todd: What are you guys up to? Been snowboarding lately with the new snow? Theres a negative chance of snow here, Im really missing it. Actually, Im missing pretty much everything up there, but its only a bit more than 8 months away. And that is a very scary thought.

Whats new with school? Work? A question for Alisha, have any little childrens thrown up on you yet? :D Oh, I heard of something you would like. On the beaches, they sell pieces of roasted cheese on little churrasco sticks. I heard theyre pretty good.

Todd, I know you dont work with pizza anymore, but did they make chocolate pizzas at Papa Johns? With cheese? :D They do here! Or banana with cheese and cinnamon, Im not a huge fan of those ones.

Uncle Bobby and Aunt Celinda, how are you guys doing? Im doing very well here, halfway sun baked, but its good! Im loving the mission life, its so different, but it gives a good feeling.

Yo no hablo español mas, pero si yo pienso ... muito? consigo escrevir un poco. Yo olvidei quase tudo! É muito mais fácil para mim escrever em português. Ainda bem que Pedrinho serviu em Brasil, ele pode ajudar no tradução.

Eu sinto muito que vocês tiveram problemas de saúde! :( Mas fico muito feliz que vocês estão melhor. :) Mi hijo de la misión es de Argentina, ele mistura todo que él habla. Eu também. :)

And now for some english. I hope you have a fantastic holiday season. Im going to miss seeing you all at Thanksgiving and Christmas, it was always a joy to see  you both. :) Happy Thanksgiving to you two!

I gotta go, they cut the time off without warning. Bye bye until next time!

~Elder Wille

Guadalajara B, (Caucaia) 11-11-2013

Yep, thats the name of my new area! I was transferred again. :/ But Ive returned to Caucaia! Its a different area, but in the same city that I started.

I spent one transfer in Montese, thats it. Unfortunately, we didnt get to baptize anyone, but thats okay cause I still learned a lot, including maybe this next thing.

I think I received a revelation about my future wife. Its a bit of a story, so here it goes:

During my first area, there was a lady who would give us lunch. She and her husband were both return missionaries. She was really nice to us, but other attitudes and actions made me think that if this is what returned Sisters are like, then I think Id rather pass. It just so happens that a sister returned in the middle of this transfer, and she was very nice to other people. I decided that what Id seen was just a personality difference, and that Sisters are okay in the end.

With that said, I moved out of Montese after just one transfer, so I must have completed my purpose. Im pretty sure that there was more than one purpose there, but Im thinking that one of them was to change my mind. That leading to the bottom line revelation: I think my wife is going to be a returned sister.

It might not seem like a lot, but thats probably exactly who I need to reach my full potential in this life. I could be wrong, but that seems like whats going to happen.

My new companion is Elder Bramwell! Its kinda awesome, cause we were house buddies in Good Garden (GOO-dji GAHR-deng) and now we are companions! Hes from Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland called Solon. Its the Kirtland Stake in terms of Church boundries. Im his step-dad (second companion)

Speaking of mission family, Elder Savaryn is training! :D :D Im going to have a grandson! And to top it all off, hes going to Boatan, my second area!

Another story, that Im seeing my Patriarchal Blessing come to pass right in front of my eyes. One of my inherited gifts is starting to come into play.

We were teaching a lady who was troubled about her son not calling while he was away. I had the distinct impression to say that if she does what shes supposed to, that her son will call that day.

A few days ago, I heard what happened. He called 40 minutes after we left, and later came home for a few days.

Quite a few things like this are happening around me, with other people. While conversing with Elder Galves, who returned home today, I learned a bit more about just how powerful children of God are. It really is scary how much power has been given to us.

About a Christmas package and presents, could you put $15-20 on my card to spend on movies? :D and the rest just hold onto for me? Im actually being serious. I can get about 1 movie per dollar.

Ah, and would it be possible to rip an Amy Grant Christmas CD (Dad, your quote is scarily accurate, how did you know I was going to ask?) and email the music to me? I asked the Assistants, and they say its okay. Im trying to make my last holidays as good as they can get. :)

So, one of my memory cards died. The slide lock on the side broke off in the Lock position, and it wont save pictures on it anymore. Luckily I can get them off, just not put them on. I left a card up there with Dad that I had just wiped, could you send that one to me in the Christmas package? thanks!

Dad, congrats on the huge success of your project! That is a huge accomplishment! I did indeed show it to Targino, and he thought it was pretty cool! I thought it was awesome too, even in just the minute or two that I got to see.

President Souza shook my hand today and told me that you guys had sent him a letter. He kinda forgot to share it with Sister Souza though. :S She will probably ask him to share it with her, but just to make sure, here is her email address too. elainesouza@onda.com.br

Well família, tempo está curto. Eu amo vocês, espero voltar tendo deixado tudo de mim aqui. Nós somos da casa de Israel. Levar o evangelho e o sacerdócio às nações é o nosso dever. Obrigado pelo apoio, eu oro por vocês todos os dias. Que Deus sempre vele e cuide de vocês em todos os momentos.

Com muito amor,

~Elder Wille

P.S. Did I make up for last week? :D

Montese 4-11-2013

Hey Family!

Before I forget, here is President Souza's email address for you Dad: franciscosouza@onda.com.br

Okay, news news news! This week was a bit better than normal. I had more of a Halloweent than the last year. We carved an abobora (it is in fact a pumpkin!)

I have a picture attached. Its actually more orange inside than out. We carved MBF in the back, but front to back so that it projected correctly on the wall. MBF is Missão Brasil Fortaleza. :) We took and left it at a dance later that week.

My itty bitty package came! :) And today we made the pumpkin scones. :) They werent super pumpkin-y, but they were very tasty. :) We had to use aluminum foil, cause this house doesnt have a baking pan. :O

On the picture, look at the chairs. We are actually sitting in them. ;D Cool huh?

Oh wow, I really dont have a lot of time, sorry!!! :( Im so happy that you guys had fun on Halloween without me. :)

Mom, Im using shoes again. :) This whole transfer too. :D The bishop had the ice cream and brownies. He wants to study up there in the states, just has to pass the TOEFL test. (remind you of someone?) He speaks pretty good.

So, the missionary talent show isnt until Christmas... :D We havent even started practicing yet.

Ah dang it, Ive run out of time. Have a fantastic week everyone! Enjoy the pictures, I have more but I dont have enough time right now. :( Bye for now!

~Elder Wille