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.