I´m still in the ctm so not too much excitement! We did get Brasileiro roommates last Thursday! They are so great, and kind of crazy. It is a lot of fun though. We really only see them in the morning and at night because they are in a Brazilian district. However when we see them at night we all get really crazy. It is a lot of fun talking to them in Portugués! And i have probably learned the most portugués just from being around the brasileiros. It is fun. All the Brasileiros here like to talk about the States too. They try to speak in English and they know some cultural things like Bob Esponja (sponge bob). It is pretty funny.
We play volleyball during gym almost everyday. But last week they were cleaning the gym and so most of the days volley ball was a no go. My companion and I worked out instead. So of course a get myself into a situation where one of the Elders gets me to see how many arm curls i can do with the weight bar. I did 105 of them and paid for it the rest of the week. My arms were really sore, but it was pretty funny.
So the other day the São Paulo´s soccer team had a game and of course the locals went crazy. They were setting off fireworks all night at random intervals. Except that the fireworks here are more like explosives. Haha
Okay another great story from last week, one of the Elders bought Agúa com gás instead of normal water. So he had 1.5 liters of carbonated water. Another Elder dared him, during a break in class, to chug the whole thing in under 5 minutes. So he Chugged it in 52 segundos, (i timed the event). He then stood up, ran to the bathroom and puked hard core into those little brazilian toilets. Seriously i feel like that movie Elf, the toilets are small. Anyway it was really funny and true to his word, the first Elder gave him 5 Reais.
So Irmão Costa was sick once last week and we had a substitute, (Actually i think he was gone because the bus system got really slow last week for the 4 day catholic parade holiday). Anyway the substitute was from northeast near Teresina and Salvador. It was so cool! He told us all about our missions and more detail of what it will be like; It´s hot, like 30-35 degrees Celsius year round. Lots of hill terrain in Bahia. The people are nice and feed the missionaries big big lunches. The only thing to worry about is Carnaval gets crazy crazy in Salvador like no other place in Brazil. Lots of partying in the streets. The missionaries don´t leave the apartment for a week. That and the missionaries always have to watch out for snakes. Snakes are the women who try to seduce the missionaries. They know the missionaries and try to whisper in your ear gross stuff.
We had a devotional on Sunday with some people from Portugal. That was cool because i can tell Portugal Portuguese from Brazilian Portuguese. The accents are different. The other thing i wanted to let you know about was the weather. So it is winter here and it is funny because all the Brazilians dress in sweaters and coats frequently. It is sunny, bright and probably around 70 degrees F. So it is like good old summer back home here. It will be quite a shock when i get to Salvador i think.
Well, the temple was great today. I love the peace i feel there. Honestly i´ve never felt the spirit so much than here. I started reading Jesus the Christ and i feel so close to Him when i do. I am coming closer to Christ every day here. It is hard to learn the language and it’s hard to spend the hours of study we do. But at the same time i feel like i never have enough time! My hour of personal study goes by so fast and i wish i had more time! When i am really worn and close to the spirit i really begin to feel the Saviors love and God´s love for me. It is an incredible feeling. When i feel it i know the Gospel is true. I know this church is true and i would do anything for my Father in Heaven. It is a wonderful feeling. I love God with all my heart and i´m hanging in there.
Thanks for the letters! They are like Christmas times 10. I am doing my best here and i haven´t gotten sick yet. Oh yeah, i wanted to tell you i´ve seen 2 cockroaches, a million Brazilian caterpillars and a beetle that looked like a hammer head! pretty cool!
