Millett's Mission: Letters and Pictures from Brazil!

To Mom:

That's cool that you guys had a giant activity! It was good to see everyone again. This area could really use some activities... i'm not sure why, but our ward, and i think the stake in general, doesn't do very many activities... but it's a great way to make friends, help the recent converts, and show investigators that... well mormons don't just stay in white shirts and ties all day and like to have a little fun too. ha. This week was pretty cool. I held a parrot in my hand. He belongs to a family that we've been teaching this past week. i'll send a few pictures in another email. We should have 3 baptisms this week, two men and 1 boy that has 12 years. About the Portuguese. It really... comes and goes. I have a great idea about the grammar, but there's phrases and words that i'm still learning that flow better in speech. I've been trying to work with my pauses that i'll do every now and then during a sentence which can be distractive. But according to my president, i'm speaking better than everyone else who arrived with me, so i can only imagine how annoying that has to be for them, after 6 months, still not being able to talk to someone clearly. I've been trying to teach the other brazilians in my household english. I'm the only American in my house, which sometimes can be a pain. I don't understand their slang still, which usually is formed by shortening or mixing words ('sta ligado? which is a strong slang to say "ya understandin' me?") i've been avoiding the slang so i don't pickup any bad habits in my portuguese but it'd probably be better just to learn. Last Sunday we didn't get any baptisms, but that's because a few things needed to be cleared up before, like... making sure all the commandments will be followed. i won't receive any packages until the transfer happens, which will be about this Sunday. Usually we're unsure exactly what the transfer will fall, but each companionship has a cell phone, so they let us know the day of or the day before. We had a family night last night. It was pretty cool, we watched a movie about Christ the mediator, and how all of us have a sort of spiritual bondage, and there couldn't be mercy because justice had to be satisfied. But Christ being the 3rd party, satisfied the demands of justice so that mercy could introduced. It was a really cool and clear parable. I wasn't sure how the family night would go, just because there was a man that was getting remarried, and the woman he divorced was there too, but i guess everything was cool. No fights or anything. I'm sure they had some awkard run ins but had to be expected. Hope you enjoyed another week, and that all is going well in work and home. Love ya a lot! i think i will write another letter to the ward. I've got a lot of time left on this computer. Talk to you next week!

-Andrew

To Dad:

this week passed pretty well. A family that we've been working with will be baptized this week, the father and the son. The girlfriend of the father knows the church is true and we're going to talk with her tomorrow and mark a baptism. The sad thing is i might only get to see them be baptized, because this upcoming Sunday is the next transfer, and i could go to another city. Either way, staying or going, it'd be good. I want to see new places, but i'd stay to see the family be confirmed, ordained. It kind of stinks that we worked hard with them the past few weeks, and now i might not see the end of it, but maybe in another area, it'll be easier to baptize. I heard this city is one of the hardest in the cuiaba mission to baptize. We also had a family night last night which was pretty cool. We watched a short film, sang a few hymns, and ate hot dogs. I got some good pictures that i'll send here in a bit too. Have a good one dad! talk to you next week. Love you! -Andrew