Communication a Bit Delayed by Carnaval...

Hey Mom!

I didn´t email until today because both of the Lan houses [places to buy time online] in Xanxerê were closed for Carnaval. The holiday started on the 14th and ended yesterday, so today was my first chance to email this week. Apparently the whole mission had the same problem with Lan houses.   

I do enjoy being a missionary when good things happen in the work. We´re expecting some baptisms here in the upcoming weeks, so that makes me happy. 

 

Sunset in Xanxerê

 

 And I´ve been able to help a couple of less active families start coming back to activity, so that´s been nice to be a part of. Two Sundays ago I was able to teach a member couple with a six year old child. The husband is inactive and he and his wife have not been sealed. I was able to share my experience of being sealed to you and Dad at the same age as their son and what a blessing that experience has been in my life. He has a testimony and has wanted to be sealed and he decided he´d start coming back to church! So that was cool.

 

Dramatic skies

 

To answer some of your questions:

No, I have not seen real dancing in Brazil. The people around here don´t really dance; they just kind of jump up and down.

I´m afraid the smell of Chapecó and Xanxerê is not very pleasant--garbage and sewer, mostly. (They´re kind of dirty cities.) 

For the package: I do need more toothbrush heads; I´m on my last one. Snack food, maybe....I know I thought of other things, but I just can´t remember what they were right now. Looking forward to receiving the package!

Still haven´t gotten the Valentine you sent; maybe this Thursday. 

 

This is Stahn and me on Valentine´s Day, eating passion fruit and drinking passion fruit juice--ha ha!

 

 

 

Last Tuesday we had zone conference and I got the last Christmas package from you with the tie and squishy man and stuff! Thanks!  

 

 

Then we watched Meet the Mormons in Portuguese; that was cool.

Love you Mom!  Thanks for all the prayers and support!

Talk to you next week (should be Monday--back to normal).

Elder Duffin

Six investigators, clowns & companions, and more musing on the swiftness of time

Hey Mom and Dad!

Sounds like you all had a good week! Sorry to hear about the Seahawks; sounds like it was an exciting game though. 

Me--right now

 On the bright side, we had six investigators at church with us on Sunday,   Three of them we were not expecting to see there, so that was a pleasant surprise! Those three are the most likely to be baptized soon, I think. It´s a younger couple and their oldest daughter. :)

We´re still working with a lot of less active families. This area kind of reminds me of my very first area--on account of the amount of less-actives we work with. 

Two district conference

Yesterday was the end of the mission for all the sisters who were in the MTC with me--so I´ve now served an entire sister´s mission. My fourth transfer in Brazil ended yesterday. I´ve been here for five months now  Four of those months I´ve been here in Xanxerê. I only have a little less than six months on the mission left (I´ll be coming home at the end of July), only four more transfers. Crazy, crazy, crazy. I feel old all of the sudden.

This will probably be my last transfer in Xanxerê. I´m kind of hoping so, seeing as I only have three more transfers after this. I´ve never stayed in one area for this long.

District conference

It´s still pretty hot out here, but I think we´re past the height of the summer now (thank goodness). Still getting amazingly impressive thunderstorms in the evenings.

I have had really good health while I´ve been here! The result of a lot of prayer and hand sanitizer--ha ha! I´ve only been sick once--when I was first in Chapecó. 

Catriel's weekend in San Diego sounded fun.  I´d like to go to a zoo or aquarium when I get back. I haven´t had the opportunity on the mission. [She related an anecdote about someone who was frightened of ducks] That´s funny; afraid of ducks. I had a companion in Houston who was afraid of clowns. His reaction when a clown walked into Chic-fil-A was pretty funny.

 

I really would be pleased if Catriel decided to go to BYU Idaho with me next year!   

Love you Mom! Talking to you guys is the highlight of my week! Thanks for all you do for me! I pray for you every day! :) 

Talk to you next week!

Elder Duffin