June 6th Letter

Oi!  It is so strange how fast time has truly gone.  I still feel like Jason and Joey are giving me a pep talk as we drive down the street to the MTC.  Then I realize that it has been 3 months since then!

This week was excellent.  We started off the week with FHE with a Family from the ward.  I have found that people from this ward love to hear from the ´´Newest´´ missionary the most by having him give the spiritual thought or talk about his family or anything.  So I try my hardest and talk as much as I can.  People have a hard time understanding that I only know so much. Besides have my vocab right now is words of the Church.  On Terça we had a ´´´Fast from English´´ All day we spoke portugues.  It was pretty difficult because like I said I only know a few words so I got used to pulling my dictionary in and out of my pocket.  However, on Wednesday when I woke up my thoughts were in Portugues.  It was so weird I was trying to think of what I needed just to pour a bowl of cearal and all I could think was portugues words.

On Wednesday we had a Zone conference which was super awesome.  I saw alot of people from Provo and the CTM that I hadn´t seen since they left or I left.  We found out that our new Mission President, President Souza will be coming on June 28th and will be beginning his three year service.  There are alot of things that missionaries are expecting to change and President Batt will be missed alot.  I felt like the Zone Conference was a good way to be fed both Spiritually and Physically.  It was just something I needed.  I have become pretty good friends with an Elder Wahl from Hillsboro, OR.  Who has been out a year longer than me.  Little did I know that he and I would be working together on Thursday ´´Northwesterners tearing up the Nordeste´´ (Sound Familiar Emily).  Elder Birdsall had a leadership meeting on Thursday so I went to another area to Work with Eldre Wahl and his companion Elder Baptista.  It was fun being able to work in another area and see what I could learn from other missionaries.  There are 180 missionaries here and the Americans are starting to get out numbered so we try and stick together.  When E. Birdsall and I met back up at the bus station he told me that we will most likely be working together for the next transfer. 

Friday I learned the baptismal challenge and E. Birdsall had me challenge basically everyone we had an appointment with.  The first was pretty difficult but by the end of the day it flowed like a song out of my mouth :) I was also told that I eat as much as horse by a brazilero.  I couldn´t help it though I was hungry and he was serving salgado. (brazilian hotpocket) .  It was pretty funny because this guy that called me a horse said it in english and it sounded so wierd.  The ´´R´´ sound in portugues is pronounced like an ´´H´´ so trying saying horse.

We teach our English class every saturday morning and its pretty fun.  I have been teaching it the last few weeks and I feel like I learn just as much as the Brazilian do.   I taught families one week and the weather this last.  They laugh that we have four seasons.  They have two.  The dry season and wet season. 

I have been discovered as the Elder that loves bolo aka Cake.  When members ask what we want for lunch we will say a dish and then I will add in Bolo. To my pleasure it is actually working haha.  We had a wedding this week for an investigator so we have been playing Wedding Planner.  Its actaully kind of fun.  After the wedding on Friday, they will be getting baptized which we are very excited for!  Yesterday was difficult, not because of the heat, not because of investigators, but because this lady from the ward kept feeding us like we were starving kids.  She just kept saying ´´take more take more´´ and if we didnt she would say ´´You don´t like my food´´ so we had to take it.  I told E. Birdsall we looked like two bowling balls rolling on home.  It pretty sure if I would have had one more bite it would have been the New York Pizza episode all over again for those of you who witnessed that. 

Well another flies by and before you know it another email from E. Anderson will be in your inbox.  Love you all and I thank you all for the prayers.  All the missionaries need them.  Love you! Tem um Boa Semana! Tchau!

Elder Anderson

Pictures:

1 E. Sivertson and I in Provo

2 Look whoes eating Football size avacados now Alicia!