Week 19

Dear Family:

This last week has been awesome. Yesterday we had a baptism of this little boy, Ryan, and he is so awesome. Me and Elder Teixeira finished out the transfer with 4 baptisms which is good. President Tanner called this morning and congratulated us and promoted Elder Teixeira to financial secretary. That means I will be getting a new companion and means that I will be at transfers tomorrow. And that means I will get to see ELDER TAGGGGGGGG. Fetch - I'm so excited! Ha. Like y'all have no idea. Elder Tagg is like the most hilarious kid on this planet. Ha ha.

But anyways, when I first got here to Sao Paulo and it was raining and lightening and everything, I took out my camera and I started to record. But now I realize that was stupid of me because it rains every single day, like non-stop. It gets super annoying. So I'm trying to send the rain to Blanding, ha ha. But one bad thing is my shoes are broken (yes, again), and they just let so much water in. And I didn't get a rain coat or an umbrella before I came so I just get soaked, ha ha. But, it puts a little action into my life. Ha ha.

So there are so many people that I have just grown so close with here on the mission that are already going home tomorrow. Listening to them talk about going home and stuff was making me so dang homesick, and I was just thinking about home all of the time. But I've been reading the New Testament a lot and I was in Lucas capitlo 9 (Luke chapter 9) the other day and verse 62 just pounded on me (And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God). Like seriously. Once I read that I was just like that was exactly for me, and I've started working so I can't look back.

Then Elder Garrett told me this quote, and it's a super amazing one. He said, "You have your whole life to look forward to going on a mission, you have the rest of your life to look back on your mission. But, you only have two years to serve your mission." Isn't that just the truth? Like holy cow. When he told me that, it just hit me and just thinking that there has already been over 4 months that have passed. It feels like just yesterday that y'all were dropping me off at the MTC. Like that's crazy! I just need to dedicate all I have these next 19 months to the Lord and then when I look back, I'll be able to say that I have no regrets - and it will be AWESOME!

But fetch, it's so hard to get people to church because our church is like a 20 minute bus ride from our area and a bus costs 3 reais. When people don't have much money, it's hard to get people there. But yesterday, we woke up early to walk about 45 minutes to one of our investigators houses to try and get her to church. And she wasn't even there. So we were kinda bummed and just got onto the bus and went to church. But when we got there, we ended up having 8 investigators show up all by themselves. And on top of that, we had a baptism after church and they all got to see it and they were all excited. So this next transfer is going to be awesome. We're going to have some good baptisms :)!

But anyways, this week has been good. There are a bunch of pictures of Sao Paulo because we went there on p-day and went to Vinte-Cinco de Marco (big shopping district near the heart of Sao Paulo with vendors crowded on the streets) and it was fetching awesome. That building that I took a picture of that has the flag on the top is the tallest building in South America, so that was pretty awesome!! But anyways, I hope y'all have a good week! Love y'all!!

Tchou,
Elder Blake

Ryan's Baptism

 The turkey's mom made for Thanksgiving.

My awesome shoes - thanks for the shoe goo mom!

Sao Paulo

 

Elder Garrett

Elder Iorg

My District

 

Soaking wet!

Blue and Gold - through and through!

Little brother's birthday (Kolar turns 11)!

Te Amo Buddy, Para Bens (I love you, buddy, for real!)

He definitely made up for not sending pictures last week! And I think all of the Elders must do some "tie swapping," because I don't think I have seen him in any of the ties we sent him with! Ha ha.

4 Months!

Hey Everyone:

This week has been a crazy week. A ton has happened and it has just gone by so dang fast. The BEST part of the week was definitely the package that I received though. It was amazing and a HUGE spirit builder for me!

So I don't really have much time to email this week because I am heading to Sao Paulo in like 30 minutes. But there has been a lot of things I have been thinking about lately. I have been reading the New Testament and in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John when it's talking about when Christ is baptized and the dove that appears. Me and Elder Stail and Elder Garrett and Elder Teixeira have been fighting about this for a while. I brought up this question. Is the dove in physical or spiritual form? Me and Elder Garrett think it is spiritual and the other two think that it is physical. So give me your opinions. But, I'm pretty sure that I am right because I have really been looking into it, but I haven't really gotten a for sure answer yet.

So another thing that I have been pondering on lately is, when Jesus was on the cross. And He says, "Forgive them for they know not what they do." The footnote is on they, and it says the people that crucified Him. But, I've really been pondering this and it's the end of the Atonement and it's one of the last things that He says to finish it. So doesn't it just make more sense that when He says that to our Heavenly Father, He's talking about all of the sinners in the world. Because really, that's what He was suffering for - for EVERYONE. Just something to think about. (Holy cow - is this the same kid that I dropped off at the MTC? He really has some good points and makes me look deeper into things.)

But anyways, I've been teaching a ton and I am at the point that I can teach almost any part of any lesson in Portuguese. It's not as good as I want it to be, but I can - and I really understand pretty much everything. So we had a conference for the new people this week and President Tanner was listening in on our role play. Afterwords when he went up to the pulpit he is like, "Elder Blake, I really like what you were saying. Will you come up here and do a role play in front of everyone?" And I was like, "Shoot." But of course I was like, "Sure."

So I did it and after the conference he came up to me and he's like, you are speaking super good Portuguese for someone that has only been here for a month. He said that I was speaking Portuguese like a boss pretty much and he was telling me a bunch of stuff and just kept complimenting me and stuff. Then he told me that Elder Teixeira told him that I know the area just as good as he does and President Tanner is like, I just might be having you train after you're done with this 12 week program. Ha ha. I don't feel that my Portuguese is good enough to train a new kid that doesn't know Portuguese and everything, but I guess if he has faith, then I do too. Ha ha. I'm kind of nervous now, but ya know. I could do it - I know I could!

But ya, like I said there have been a lot of crazy (good) things that have happened this week. A lot of going into Sao Paulo and then back to our area. A lot of lessons and such. So our numbers this week are 21 new investigators, 51 new contacts, 19 other lessons, 21 invitations to be baptized, and 21 dates (Wow - he has been busy!). 5 dates are solid and we should have a couple more baptisms this Sunday. Ya, we have just had a dang good week and had investigators at church and everything.

So, ya, I'm doing good and I sure hope all of you are!!! Sorry I didn't write much this week, but I'm heading to Sao Paulo. I love you guys and have a good week. I pray for you always and I will fast and pray for some moisture in Blanding as I can tell we really need it from what I have heard. Love y'all.

Tchou (Bye)

Love,
Elder Blake


I received no pictures this week (bummer!), so I thought I would share a video I found on Dylan's SD card he sent home before he left Georgia. Just as a background - Dylan never, ever took piano lessons, so I think this is pretty AWESOME!

Week 17

How's it going everyone??

Ha ha. First of all it is so freaking hot here, it is crazy. I think I might just die. And they still haven't fixed nothing in our house so it is still freaking cold water. But that is kinda nice now with it as hot as it is. It's like 35 degrees (I am assuming this is Celsius, which means 95 degrees Fahrenheit) and like 90 percent humidity. Ha ha. Like you know it's humid when you get in bed at night and the sheets and blankets are just wet!

But anyways, I want to start my email off with a challenge. I started reading the Book of Mormon I Portuguese last week so I have a little head start, but I challenge all of you to read the Book of Mormon and we will see who can get done first (I am so going to beat him!) Ha ha. I'm not good at Portuguese yet so I only get like 2 chapters or 3 done a day. But that doesn't matter to me because I still think that I can beat all of you :)! So it's a challenge and it's on. Ha ha. I hope all of you out there accepts it and let me know how you are doing in your emails and I will let you know how I am doing. Right now I am on 1 Nephi 14, so I have a head start, but let's do this. :)!

So I'm pretty sure that I am starving. In Brasil they only eat lunch, like lunch is their biggest meal rather than dinner. They like never eat breakfast or dinner, just lunch. So I just walk around all day and have nothing in my system other than the lunch that I ate. Ha ha. Since I have been here I went from 190 pounds to . . . are you ready for this . . . 172 pounds. So I have lost 18 pounds since I have been here. It's so dang hard. We get 100 reais every 15 days and just to buy a toothbrush, it is 18 and a loaf of bread is 8 reais. And let's not even get into the cheese or meat, because that's in the 20s for like a tiny amount. It stinks. I can't even buy that because for a bus it's 3 and we have to go to the church on Sunday, so there and back is 6. And then we go to the church on p-day so that's another 6 and then we go to Sao Bernardo on Tuesday for District and that's another 6. And then we have like interviews and zone conference and everything. It's super hard. I like never have any money. Me and Elder Teixeira are going to talk to President though so we should hopefully get some things worked out. (So when you look at it, almost half of his money is going toward bus fair. Hopefully he gets the package I sent soon!)

So everything with my visa is just fine. Me and Elder Garrett, the other greengo that I went with, just went beast mode and got 17 contacts in one day all by ourselves. Ha. It was hilarious because we got addressed and everything and Elder Steil and Elder Teixeira when we got home were like, wow! And they were surprised that we made it to the police headquarters by ourselves too - with just the instructions that they gave us. I thank Grandpa Balch for my good sense in direction. From all of the times out hiking in West Water and stuff and I think that's where my sense of direction started. I got us there and back with no problem and that's like taking a bus then getting on the subway then getting on the train back a little ways and then walking to headquarters. And then going all the way back! So I thought that it was pretty good to be able to do that, even though I have only been here for a month. Ha ha.

So pretty much I understand everything that people are saying, not 100%, but I would say about 80% and I love it. Speaking is still super hard. I can usually get my point across, but I can't get into detail and stuff. But it's good though because I can understand most of the stuff that goes on in lessons that are like gospel talk and I can talk back with that, but once it gets into like just conversational talk - WOW, that's hard. Ha ha. But I will get there sooner or later. I have faith in the Lord and I pray about it and fast about it all of the time. So I'm sure that I will learn it fast. I mean it hasn't even been 1 transfer yet! So I thank my Heavenly Father for the knowledge that I have right now.

I know I suck at spelling and stuff, but now that it is Portuguese all of the time, and no English what so ever - including writing - it's hard to spell and it's hard to even talk in English the one time a week that I can - at District meeting. Ha ha. I'm forgetting all of my English vocabulary! But I'm taking that as a good sign. Ha ha.

So pretty much this week has just been an exhausting week. Like Brasil's roads are ridiculous. Like you are just climbing up an down mountains pretty much all the time. It's crazy, but everything is going well and I can't wait til I get that package from my momma, ha ha, because I'm dying for some good ol North American stuff.

I wish I could just type all day and tell you everything, because you wouldn't believe the miracles that happen everyday. But, I just don't have time. Ha ha. So I hope all is well in the good ol USA!! I love all of you and hope that you have an amazing week!!

Peace until next week!!

Tchou. Love,
Elder Blake

 

If you zoom in on the far left, there is the city - Sao Bernardo. That is where I am.

 

Week 16

Dear Family and Friends:

How's it going? Sounds like a lot of crazy stuff is happening back at home, and a lot is happening here in Brasil too. So the first thing that I wrote on my list to email home about this week is about my dream. I had a dream that I was blessing my first baby boy in Sacrament meeting and when I woke up, I remembered what the name was. It was Calvin Manuell Blake. So I decided that is definitely going to be what my first baby boy's name is. It has to be. And I decided that he will go by his middle name, too. Ha ha, random, right? It was really random, but I just had to share that with you.

Now, I got grandma's letter and a letter from Savanah last week on Tuesday, but we don't have a post office in our area so I can't send letters until I go to the Zone Leaders area. Just so y'all know.

So pretty much, everyone in Brasil tells me how beautiful I am and asks if everyone in the United States looks like me and if everyone is white and stuff. Ha ha. And then they always ask to see a picture of my family and I always have one with me that I taped to the back of my white bible. So I always whip it out and show them and they're just like loving it. Ha ha. Like, they have never seen an American in their lives - which they probably haven't.

But anyways, me and Elder Teixeira are doing better. I'm just trying to really humble myself and just try to get along with him. And it's really been working. I just pray for that strength every single day. It's crazy how the Lord works in our lives when we really try and humble ourselves before Him and really ask for His help and His blessings.

So I got a call this week and something is wrong with mine and Elder Garrett's visas. We have to go into the Federal Police department in Sao Paulo tomorrow. Me and Elder Garrett have to ride buses and trains and stuff by ourselves for like three hours to get to the Mission Home. Ha ha. We are pretty nervous, but we think that we know the way. Ha ha. Just two greengoes that don't know Portuguese riding all that way by ourselves. Hopefully everything is just fine with our visas. (Hopefully!)

So I was sick for the first time in Brasil. I still can't think of what made me sick, but I'm pretty sure that it was the water that this lady gave to us. Because like two hours later, I was just puking my guts out and just not doing good like at all. It sucked so bad. And then me and Elder Teixeira got attacked by a dog and it bit him. It was running for me and I just turned around and kicked the crap out of it. It even hurt my foot a little bit. But after I kicked the crap out of it, it just ran off.

So anyways, Elder Teixeira got bit, so we had to go to the hospital and the public hospitals around here are free so it's pretty nasty how many homely people that there are there and that aren't being attended too. We wasted a whole entire day because we had to go from hospital to hospital to hospital. And they just kept telling us to go to a different one.

In one of them, there was this guy that got smashed in the face by something and he was just freaking out and his face was just gashed and like you could see the insides and everything. Like he needed stitches and everything like super bad, and he didn't even have his left eye anymore. He was like super sad because he knew he wouldn't be able to see again and it was just a bad situation. And the saddest part was that the hospital was so packed he wasn't even getting any attention - like none at all! So he went out and started smoking like he didn't even care that he was all messed up like that. Then me and Elder Teixeira just left because there were just people dying and no one cared. Elder T said that stuff like that happens all of the time. Sad.

But anyways, I was writing in my journal the other day and realized that I have been here for a month now. Holy crap - time is just flying. It's crazy. I looked at my first journal entry in Brasil and it's crazy how much has changed from then till now. Ha ha. Like the language is like a million times better and everything. And I can't believe that I have been on my mission for like almost four months now. It's so crazy.

But, anyways mom, I have one request that I really need in the package. I need some more bleach for my bleaching trays. I'm out. That would be awesome if you would do that. And please send me one of my hats, too. I really miss hats. So you should include one of those in the package too :)! Thanks so much, and y'all have a good week:)!

Love,
Elder Blake

P.S. I just realized how I never include in my letters how the preaching and everything is going. Ha ha. But anyways, it's amazing. I am teaching parts of every lesson in Portuguese and inviting people to be baptized and everything. It's all so great. And the people that we teach are golden and just so ready for the gospel in their lives. And I should have two or three more baptisms in this transfer :)

My first batismo (from 2 weeks ago).

 

Cool spider (glad it's him and not me) to come home to that is just chilling on the screen in my room. Ha ha. Crazy, right?! Lots of spiders here in Brasil. I'm getting used to not being such a girl about them. Ha ha.

Picture outside a window at a members house. It's pretty trashy here. Like sewage just running down the gutter and people that don't have much just throw their trash on the side of the road and everything. It's wild. Ha ha.