Elder L. Skinner

Carta Semanal:

So, just like last year when I was in 7 de Abril, it appears that everything is going to be closed down this week because of Carnaval, the holiday of Satan. It´s funny though because in Jacobina, it appears that everything is much more calm and from what I´ve heard, there isn´t going to be much parties here because everybody likes to leave for neighboring cities like Feira de Santana and Salvador. I´m not going to lie, I was hoping that I wouldn´t get transfered to Salvador and I´m pretty happy here because Jacobina is a pretty little city which is a lot greener, less hot and smaller. The only thing that´s kind of hard is that there´s a lot of uphill areas, even more than Salvador which is notorious for it´s inclined favelas and what not. 

So apparently, I misunderstood the phone call of the transfers from the Zone leaders. My companion is actually Elder Gomes (because Brazilians often have the same last names and have to end up putting the first letter of their first name in front of their last name to differentiate). For example, I had shown up and on the mission there was another Elder Skinner, I would´ve been Elder L. Skinner. Elder Gomes is a pretty cool guy and he´s from the same group as Elder Marim is.  Elder Gomes is from Rio Grande do Sul in a city called Cachoerinha (little waterfall), which is really close to the capital of Porto Alegre where Joe Norby served. I´m really liking the variety though because normally a lot of missionaries come from São Paulo but so far, I´ve have Brazilian companions from several states and they all have different cultures, which I think is pretty cool. Almost each state has a nickname if you´re from that state. For example,

Elder Costa e Silva is from São Paulo and they´re known as ´´Paulistas´´.

Elder Laurindo is from Rio de Janeiro which is famous for beaches and they´re known as ´´Cariocas´´.

Elder Marim is from Minas Gerais which is famous for cheese and they´re known as ´´Mineiros´´.

Elder Gomes is from Rio Grande do Sul which is famous for barbecue and they´re known as ´´Gaúchos´´.

Anyway, Jacobina is pretty neat. I was a lot more sad than I thought I would be for leaving Barreiras. At the bus station, I got to say good bye to a few people from the branch. I never got teary-eyed for leaving an area but I always felt a profound sadness in saying goodbye to so many good people you´ve met, especially considering that it would be difficult for me to return to see them again. It´s a weird feeling, it´s like turning a page in your life and starting all over again once you get to a new city. I felt kind of out of place when Elder Gomes was taking me around to meet some investigators and the members but what made me feel better was remembering that when I first got in Barreiras, it was literally the same thing with Elder Laurindo, so I felt better knowing that I´ll soon get used to the branch. Everybody´s been treating me well so I´m already feeling at home. 

Anyway, I´m not too sure if I´ll have time today to send photos to you guys, but be sure that if I can´t today that I´ll have plenty next week. Love you all!

-Elder Skinner