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 ;)