Monday, May 25, 2015

Almost 8 Months! XD

Carta semanal>

Elder Macalupu will be getting transfered here tonight because of the long bus ride to Salvador. It really is a shame because of the short time we have spent together, even shorter because this transfer was 5 weeks instead of 6. This means that once again, Ill be receiving a new companion and will have to take responsibility for the knowledge that Ive gained with Elder Macalupu and continue on. It was fun to be with him. Different because of not having someone to speak English too, but nice because he was super swell. It got kind of interesting this past week though. He told me that he really liked being my companion and that he always has such short time with every companions he[s had, but he appeared to get a little more quiet near the end. I don[t know if it was due to the stress caused by having to deal with a picky member of the church that made the musical or if he was holding something against me and didnt want to tell me. I dont have reason to believe I did anything to upset him, but nonetheless, his behavior seemed to change near the end. Either way, I loved the guy and wish the best for him. My Zone Leaders have been messing with me saying that now I will be the new District Leader because our District only consists of my companion, 2 companionships of sisters, and me. We also had a meeting with President Lisonbee in our apartment where we live (had to do some cleaning that day) and has said that he would like for missionaries like me to take on senior roles, but lamented that the mission wont be receiving very many new missionaries and a LOT will be leaving near the end of the year (including Elder Rivera, who leaves when Im about to make 1 year, and hes also going to be a Zone Leader this next transfer!) So who knows? I honestly hope to stay Junior for some more time, but if it happens, it happens.

Speaking of whichhhh... the musical! We actually had 3 presentations, and they all turned out better than we all expected with a reasonably big turnout. I actually had to work at speaking Portuguese with an American accent. Some of the missionaries came up to me after a few recitals playing the role of >>Elder Clark<<, an American missionary struggling with the language, and told me that I need to talk worse! hahaha. IT was good though. I can send a link to you guys of the script. Of course its in English, but you can run it through Google Translate to get a rough version of what we all said. 

By the way, I forgot to tell you guys last week. Roughly 2 weeks ago or so, I finished the Book of Mormon in Portuguese! (yaay!) hahaha. I was super proud of myself for accomplishing such a task. Ive started to read it over again from the beginning and Im finding myself able to understand a lot more than what I understood when I started in the MTC. Surely the Lord has been blessing me with the gift of tongues. Ive gotten to the point where I come across people who I understand almost nothing and people where I understand everything. Ive discovered that its more or less a mix of focus and accent that makes or breaks it for me. Sometimes when Im tired or inattentive, I find myself not understanding so Ive been working harder to get better at that.

Last Pday, we went to the center of the city again to TRY and go to a museum they have. We got off the bus and had to do some walking in the sun and ask people around to help us find out where its located. We finally got there to a little notice out front that said that the musuem will be open on every single day BUT monday. Once again, another Pday thrown down the drain. Ive decided that once I get my new companion, we are going to talk around with some members to go out and do something fun because these pdays have been pretty lame lately.

Anyway, tonight and all tomorrow, Ill be doing a division with Elder Pasqualini again because his companion Elder Snyder, will be getting transfered as well, until I receive my new companion (who I wont know anything literally until we pick him up at the bus station). 

Anyway, not much has really happened this week. I know I say that every week, but I dont really remember much of what happened. Bishop gave us some money here for our lunch because he was busy, so he took us to this Churrascaria thats located under what looks like an airplane hangar that was suuuuuper good. First, you pay for a plate and go to a little serving area where you can load up on beans, rice, pasta, salad, chicken, and various other things. As youre eating, some guys pass around and if you want freshly barbequed meat, you can flag them down, and they cut some off of a giant spit for you to eat. Soooo good. While we were chowing down, Elder Macalupu and I shared a 2 liter bottle of guarana. One of the workers passed by and talked with us for like 2 seconds, asking if I was american. he then asked us a few things before leaving and said, after hearing my portuguese, that I could pass off as a brazilian. that made me pretty happy, hahaha.

That boy that Ive told you about, Joao, is still going hard like a champ. He was confirmed yesterday as a member, and we have had some good experiences teaching him. His aunt Francisca that was also in the photo that I sent truly is an elect. Shes already read the book of mormon cover to cover after only a couple months and says that nothing will stop her from doing her visiting teaching and going to church. Joao takes it upon himself to take the bus each morning to get to church. He takes the bus that the church rents out, so he isnt alone but hes the only one of his mom and sister to do so. Its really commendable and I plan on taking my new companion out to continue teaching and edifying them. I find myself developing a missionary love for these people that work so hard to stay strong in the gospel. It makes it worthwhile after having to deal with a bunch of nonsense with people who are too cowardly to say they arent interesting in our message and just continue to accept us, hardly looking at us in the eyes when we teach. It makes it hard because sometime these people really want your help and you have to decide where its worth continuing to teach them or to look for other elects like Joao and Francisca. I think this next transfer, Im going to have to learn how to rely on the Spirit to help us figure out time management and how to best help people. Especially If im going to have to take on a senior role (yikes). 

I suppose thats all I have for this week. Ill have loads to say next week about how things turn out. Stay tuned for that. Love all of you guys and miss you a ton! Until next week!

-Elder Skinner




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