Week 15!

 

Dear Family:

 

Well this week has been a crazy week. It's been good because I baptized and I have been talking with people. But at the same time, my companion and I are not getting along all that great. I called Elder Iorg, the zone leader that was on his last transfer and he wanted to do exchanges with me, so I went to his area. And Elder Dogget came to my area with Elder Teixeira. It was so good and such a relief. I was talking to him and he said that most of the Elders have not gotten along with Elder Teixeira. On a mission you have to let yourself go and give your all to the Lord. There is no room for selfishness or pride.

 

Just an example of what he does. Like we were in a lesson the other day, and he never includes me and he tries to force people into things and stuff instead of let them make their own decisions. But I am finally starting to understand the language and this girl asks me a question. I understood every word she said, so I tried to answer her back. He puts his hand on my back and says, "Shhh." I was so upset. But, I am trying to get along with him.

 

So in my studies this week, I came across a quote by President Hinckley and he says, "You obligation is as serious in your sphere of responsibility as is my obligation in my sphere." That's an amazing quote. Like straight up, I love it. Like he is saying that us as people of the church and as missionaries have as much responsibility to bring people to Christ as he does. It's a hard task.

 

I tell you what, missionary work is the hardest thing that I have ever done in my life, but we can all do it. And it's definitely the most rewarding, I'll tell you that much. This mission by no means is easy whatsoever, but it's okay because it's so, so, so rewarding!

 

Ha ha. So funny story. Brasil knows how to party. We went to this State Activity on Saturday and I went with Elder Iorg. It's called "gathering of the nations" and is what they do is every ward in the stake picks a nation and they tell about it. Then the girls sing and dance the dance of the nation and then the boys do and then they do it together. It is so legit. Like straight up, I wish we had activities like that at home. Ha ha. Like every member of the church is gathered there too and all of our investigators and everything! And they just love it. Ha ha. It was so awesome. During the activity, the sisters walk in, and I shake their hands. I look at this girl's hand that I am shaking and she looks so familiar. And then she starts screaming and freaking out! And then I realize that it is Sister Green from my MTC district. Ha ha. It was awesome.

 

So my baptisms this week were amazing. Other than I messed up and had to do it 2 times. It's okay though because I have been in Brasil for three weeks now and I already have three baptisms :)! And the member that took pictures last week still hasn't sent me them, but I have attached pictures of the baptisms from this week.

 

But pretty much, that is my week. I hope that all of y'all just have an amazing week. This church is true. And I love my mission. I will see y'all in 21 months! Until then, God be with you til we meet again :)!

 

Love,

Elder Blake

 

Oh ya, my projects. These are the two that after the baptism last week said they would be baptized and they aske me to do it :)!

We went into the heart of the city (Sao Paulo) and it was amazing and it was so big, too. It was super crazy! I loved it!!

 

Two Weeks Already Gone

Oie Meu familia e meu amigos:

This week has been a crazy week. We have just been going a million miles an hour, and I tell you what, if humidity hasn't already killed someone, then I am going to be the first. Ha ha. It is so humid here, it is crazy. And with humidity comes sweating and with sweating comes chaffing and chaffing stinks really bad! Ha ha.

So pretty much we have district meeting every Tuesday and we have to take a bus 2 hours to the church that our district meets at and then 2 hours back and these buses are just loaded with people everywhere. It just stinks and I just get sick so bad like standing up for 2 hours on a bus that is going like a million miles an hour. It's pretty crazy, ha ha. But, that's okay. I will get used to it. But, the LANGUAGE, I still don't know it and it still sucks trying to communicate with people, but oh well. I'm just taking it one step at a time. I'll get it down sooner or later.

Now this last Tuesday was amazing! I got to go on divisions with the zone leaders. So I got to stay over night with Elder Doggett in his area - and it was awesome!! He speaks English so it was good to finally get to communicate with someone like 100% ha ha. But it was a hard day, too. New missionaries go on divisions to learn things and so he was having me like street contact all day and then he would help me and like fix things that I needed to fix. Just things like that, but it was a super fun time and we actually taught this girl and she just got baptized on Sunday, right after my first baptism :)! I didn't send a picture because me and Elder Teixeira both forgot our cameras and the kid that took the pictures still hasn't sent them to us. But, anyways, it was awesome!!

Now before I came to Brazil, I got told that I wouldn't see the stars for two years, and that's about the biggest fib I have ever heard in my life. It rains here so much that the sky is just so clear and the stars are the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life. It's just like you can reach up in the sky and grab them - it's amazing!! Every night just makes my day because I can look up and see the millions and millions of stars that there are!! I love it.

So this week I found out like the nastiest thing ever. So the toilets here in Brazil just suck. So there is this trash can in front of the toilet and I told Elder Teixeira that I was going to move it because it is so annoying and he told me that I couldn't. The trash is there because in Brazil you don't throw the toilet paper in the toilet, you throw it in the trash. I was wondering why our dang bathroom always stinks! Ha ha.

Now for the best part - this week WAS MY FIRST BAPTISM OF MY MISSION!! We talked to Heilo earlier this week about being baptized and he is like I want to wait until next week about being baptized. Then I bore my testimony to him about the importance of baptism, and I don't know if he understood me or what, but he showed up to church on Sunday and said that he wanted to be baptized!! So that was awesome!

Then after the baptism, we ate at Manuell's house for a celebration for Heilo, and for dessert they whipped this thing out of the fridge that looks like ice cream cake, and I'm like ohhh yeaaa! And they slap a huge piece on my plate. I take a bite of it and almost puke. Ha ha. It's like a delicacy around here - it's a bunch of different cheese clumps with chocolate on top. Yea, and I had to finish the whole thing. It was like the most brutal 10 minutes of my life trying to finish that. Ha ha.

But, anyways, we also had 2 investigators come to church with us which was awesome because they got to see the baptism too. And afterwards, this 12 year old kid, Juliane, that I was sitting by during the baptism says something that I couldn't understand. So I asked him if he liked the baptism and then he says, "Elder Blake. I will be baptized by you." And it was awesome because I understood every single word! It was amazing!!

But, anyways, this week has been an awesome week and I hope that all of y'all have an amazing week!! I love all of you!! Have an amazing and blessed week!!

Love,
Elder Blake

The weather here is crazy! Ha ha. It's pretty wild.

I love it though - ever second of every thing!!



I made French toast and eggs for breakfast! I wanted a little America back in my life :) and it was amazing!! And yea, that is also homemade syrup. You would be proud, momma :)! (Yes, I am!)

I'm on top of the world!!

First Week in Brasil!

Oie meu Familia:

Well, this was a crazy week. Holy cow - is all that I really have to say. So, I don't know what really to even say. This week has sucked trying to communicate with people. Elder Teixeira is a native Brazillian from Rio De Janeiro and is learning English. So I have to help him as much as he helps me, and we don't understand half of what the other person says, but it's alright. I guess maybe I will learn faster that way.

Sorry that I can't send very many pictures, but the Internet here is freakin slow. But, man oh man, talk about a whole new world when I stepped off of that plane. Man, everything is different - from people to food to living circumstances down to the quality of life. Everything down here is such cheap quality. Ha. I freakin miss America. Ha ha. The worst part is raw sewage just runs down the side of the road, so it just stinks everywhere. They don't use pipes around here, so they just dig dirt trenches on the side of the road and that's where it runs. Ha. It's nasty and it stinks everywhere we go. Elder Teixeira told me that if you get in the lake that is close to us, then you will come out with like 3 heads because it is so toxic! Ha ha.

And then there are just bugs everywhere. Like, when you go in our house and you shut the door, there are just gaps on all sides, so bugs just crawl in and fly in all of the time. I usually wake up with like 10 bug bites. I got told that I will get used to it. Oh ya, and the doors don't lock either. So that's kinda sketchy. Ha ha.

But anyways, we live in the downstairs of the house I sent you a picture of. And I tell you what, things are so different. Like the worst part in the house is to take a shower, you walk in the bathroom and there is just a faucet with one nob on the wall and the spout is on the roof and you turn on the water and it comes out. Like there isn't a shower curtain or anything or like something to stand in, ha. There is just a drain in the middle of the floor in the bathroom and the water goes down there. And the temperature of the water is crazy. It is never warm like in America. It's just like cold one second, and then like not as cold, but still cold the next. Ha ha. So I dread waking up in the morning because I have to take a shower. So I usually just try to work up a sweat when I wake up in the morning so that it's not as cold when I get in. Ha ha.

And the food, yea the food - it's not very good, so I just hurry and scarf it down. And then the people here see that your plate is empty, and they don't even ask, they just load it up again. And it's just rice, beans, and dry chicken. Ha ha. That's all I have ate since I have been here. It's wild. And like seeing the circumstances people live in. When I go there to eat, it's kinda sketchy to even eat the food because they are so poor that you just don't know where the food and water are coming from.

But anyways, the people around here are so friendly. And I tell you what - they see an American and it's like they have just seen something that they have never seen in their life. I've already had girls left and right coming up to me and telling me that I have beautiful eyes and that I need to marry them. Ya, it's pretty crazy. But I guess that will just help us be able to teach more.

Anyways, Elder Teixeira showed me how to teach a lesson and then expected me to do it. So I had no idea that he was going to have me teach, but we got to a lesson with 3 girls and he just threw me under the bus and said that I was going to teach. So I tried to do what I remembered and they were just laughing the whole time and calling me an Americano and a bunch of stuff. Ha ha. I tell you what, it stinks so bad to try to learn this language. It is so hard.

But we went to Bispos (Bishops) house and he talked to me and understood me and just really respected me for coming here and learning his native tongue. And he helped me alot. He told me to teach him, and so I did. And he told me that it was good for me only being here for the 3 days that I was here. I freaking love the Bispo. He is awesome.

I just love the people in general here (other than no one speaks English). They are just so willing to listen and just talk. It's really awesome. This is definitely the hardest thing that I have ever done in my whole entire life, and I just want to quit sometimes, but then I remember what I am out here for - and that's what keeps me going. We have like 8 people that are supposed to be baptized within the next two weeks. Analuiza already said that she want me to baptize her, so that's a big change from Georgia. We are actually getting baptisms now, so that's good.

And yesterday was fast and testimony meeting, and Natalia really wanted me to bear my testimony. And there is no way that I could tell her no. Then she got up and bore hers, and I was sitting behind her and she kept looking at me. And so I got up and bore my testimony. Ha ha. It was rough, but I did it, so that's what counts :)! And then that gave me a free pass to talk to her afterwards because I knew that she would tell me good job. Ha.

But anyways, it was good to get on my email today and to see all of the emails that I had - 22! I've been gone only 3 months now, and I still have 21 to go! But, I found out today that I will only be missing one 4th of July :)! My 17 transfers are over on July 1st, 2015! So that was good when I figured that out. Ha. I don't really know what else to say other than I miss all of you guys and you are all amazing. I love you so much!!! Thanks for all the support and everything. It is really awesome!!! I really love all of y'all. You're the best!

Love,
Elder Blake

P.S. I am serving in Alvarenga - Sao Bernardo Do Campo - SP. And I think that this is the address to the mission office. That is the only place that you can send anything. And remember, if you send things to put pictures of Jesus and the Mother Mary on all sides of the package, and never put more than $50 insurance or whatever on it because if you do, it will never make it. That's what they said at the mission home. I love you :)!

Elder Dylan John Blake
Brazil São Paulo South Mission
R.Dr. Luiz da Rocha Miranda, 159 8° Andar
Parque Jabaquara
04344-010 São Paulo - SP
BRAZIL

 

Me and my companion, Elder Teixeira

Brasil is crazy.

Backyard.

My house.

 

Elder Blake has Arrived!

Dear Family of Elder Blake:

Two days ago we were so excited to finally meet Elder Blake. We have been anxiously anticipating his arrival for some time now. We loved him immediately and know that he will be a wonderful missionary.

I am sending a photo of him with us and with his wonderful companion, Elder Teixeira. I will also send hard copies of these in the mail, but that can sometimes take several weeks to arrive.

Thank you for sharing your son in this great work of sharing the gospel.

Love,
President and Sister Tanner

Week 12 - Headed to Brasil!

Email about flying to Brasil - I just want to let you know before I send out my weekly email that I am leaving for Brasil tonight. :/ My plane leaves at 9:50 and it's like a 16 hour flight, and I'm the only missionary going. The assistants are coming to pick me up in Jackson about 4:00 and it's like a 2 hour drive to Georgia. All I know is I'm freaking out. The only reason I'm freaking out is because I don't know Portuguese. Ha ha. Here comes a hard 6 months ahead of me until I learn the language. Let's just hope that I get some good companions that can teach me!! Ha, I'm super nervous. But, I'll be calling home tonight so all that want to talk should just be at the house :). Love Y'all!!


Oye Meu Familia e Amigos (Hey, My Family and Friends):

Well this week has been pretty good. There is a tropical storm heading this way though, so there have been thunder and lightening showers all week long. So, it's actually been pretty fun riding bikes everywhere, other than flipping up dirty water all over our white shirts and getting them all dirty. Ha ha.

So, we have been doing a lot of area book updating and working on the power lists and such, so it's been a pretty busy week considering the rain and such!! We went over to help one of our investigators clean out their garage, and it was freaky - there were like 3 snakes and a bunch of spiders that were there when we were moving stuff around and I hate both of those things, so it was pretty interesting.

After we got done helping them move all of their stuff around and cleaning up, we sat down and had a really good lesson with them. They just opened up to us this time and just had so many questions about the church and the gospel. After the lesson, I invited then to be baptized and Mrs. Ann said she is too old, ha ha, but Audrena said that if she came to KNOW that it was true, she would be baptized. So that was pretty good. But considering I am leaving for Brasil tonight that is going to be up to the next Elder that comes in. I hope that they stick with it!!

But, anyways, Conference was amazing. This weekend we had 5 investigators attend which was amazing because they had told us that they probably wouldn't make it. Then all three of them show up - and one of them brought his two kids, too, so that was pretty amazing. They all said that their favorite was President Uchtdorf. Ha ha. Everyone loves him, whether they are members of the church or not. But, I really didn't realize how much they talk about missionaries in conference until I became a missionary. Ha ha. It's amazing how much the work is going forth. We just need to keep pressing forward!!!

Anyways, I don't have much to say but that I am excited to FINALLY make it to Brasil!! My flight leaves tonight at 9:50, so that is going to be good. I'll be able to call from the airport if I have time, so just be expecting a call!

I love y'all and I love being a missionary and a Representative of the Lord Jesus Christ!! Y'all have an amazing Week!! I love y'all.

Elder Blake

Thanks for the slinky and glow sticks, Momma :).

As you can tell, I had a good time with them :)

 

More fun with the glow sticks :)

 

Paper cranes :)

Mrs. Ann and her granddaughter and great-granddaughter.

Jewl, the lil baby is the freaking CUTEST lil baby EVERRR!! Ha ha.

The Plan of Salvation in English . . . and . . . Portuguese :).

 

Ha ha, the Sherwoods gave me a present for Brasil :).  Hopefully it makes it there with me and they don't take it out of my suitcase at the airport. Ha ha.

 

This is Brother Sherwood - the pepper spray man :)

 

Arthur and Walter. Two old black dudes that live with each other and just hate each other. Ha ha. They remind me of "Grumpy Old Men." Ha ha ha :)

The Phillips family!! They are the best ever!! :)

Brother Lee is the smoothest dude ever. I remember the first Sunday I was here in Jackson. I just went up and gave him a hug and he thought that it was the funniest thing ever. And ever since then, he just loves me.

Brother Vanhoy - he is a beast. He has the craziest conversion story ever and he was a marathon runner and stuff.

Me and Elder Barraclough gave each other these ties. This is the sweet cotton one I was telling you about a few weeks ago.

Me and Sister Tateanna :). Ha ha. She is hilarious. She is from a place that is close to the Marshall Islands. I told her I had a cousin from there and she was like hating on Marshalese people, so I had to get a picture with her so I can show Abbie who she needs to set straight. Just kidding. Ha ha ;)