Yo from Baurú!

mmmmm good, chicken feet!

Elder Villela, Victor, Cristine and me

This week was pretty good. Sunday we already had some baptisms. Victor (18), and Cristine (11). I baptized Cristine, and I can almost guarantee that I will baptize every girl that wants to gets baptized. I mean, what can I say? I’m an American and they love us! Just kidding. The mom and grandma will maybe get baptized this weekend if they can comply with the word of wisdom, they've improved a lot, and are working hard at it.

In general the work here is a bit slower. We walk a ton more, because our house is on the edge of the center of the city, and all of the houses are way out on the outskirts of the city. So...we usually teach about 4 or 5 lessons a day, whereas in Ibipora, it was like 6 or 7.

We live near a street called Duque de Caxias (pronounced dookie-jee-kai-shee-uhs). So, yes, for those of you who thought I would mature on my mission, you were wrong. Haha, dookie!

I’m finally in a ward. Bauru Ward, the first ward created in Bauru. 110 active members, all good. Way more than the 60 members in Ibipora, whom I still love much. Changing areas is hard. I don’t know anybody’s name and I don’t know the area.

Elder Villela is the bomb and we're teaching some people with great potential. Unfortunately you will learn that missionaries in Brazil are called “firefighter missionaries,” women and children first. Here's the thing, there are FEW men here who aren’t alcoholics. You'd have to come here and see how many bars there are, and how many are full during the nights, when they should be home with their families. Hence, we rarely baptize men. They're either drunk or rich, and if they’re rich, we're not getting past their little microphone thing at the gated fence.

We taught a crazy lady named Geni, while knocking on doors. She talked more than we did during the lesson. She even gave the closing prayer. And for about 5 phrases, she talked in tongues. Haha, it was one of the oddest things I’ve ever heard in my life. It was comparable to Indian chanting. Oh man! And then she said a normal prayer.

I finally got defeated this week by a 7th Day Adventist. He didn’t believe that Peter, James and John could have been resurrected because Jesus was the only one to have risen until the second coming, hence he did not give Joseph Smith the Melchizedek Priesthood. I didn’t have a scripture at the time. But, I do now - Matthew 27: 52-53 which reads: “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose. And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” I really want to return, but I don’t think we should.

Portuguese lesson for the week:

Manga - mango
Manga - sleeve

Sou - I am
Só - Only
Sol - Sun --- L's are not really pronounced here.
Sul - South

Ouro - Gold
Oro - I pray

Tchau!
Elder Titus