Boom!!
So this past week was a fantastic! It moved very very fast.
We started off the week with divisions (splits) with our zone leaders again and I went with Elder Dorneles. He is a Brazilian who is very close to the end of his mission. We were in his area and it was very interesting because he did not know it very well. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time lost. haha! We had to call the members who were going to feed us so they could come find us and save us!! It was really cool to spend the whole day speaking Portuguese with everyone and I felt that I did very well. I understood basically everyone. I also met a very cool member who found out that I love music so he said he is going to burn me a CD... too bad I have no CD player. AND..... While I was gone my companion met with two of our investigators and invited them to be baptized!!!! They agreed!! One will be baptized this week and the other next week!!!
We also met an in-active member who drives a taxi. HE stopped us and asked why we never ask him for free rides? He then decided that I look like Jim Carey. Now every time he sees us we hear: HEY JIM CAREY!!!
Scary story - Saturday was a very interesting day for us. We had lunch with the family of the ward mission leader, but he nor his wife were there because they were at a ward activity, so their four kids fed us. It was actually really fun and I really like that family. But the cool part happened afterwards. On our way back we had to pass through a industrial truck parking lot with a few large metal bars off the to side. We were walking pretty fast and just talking and joking around; not really paying attention to what was going on around us. Suddenly these three guys appear out of no-where. They were drunk as could be and the first guy grabbed my tie, pulled me in and said " Eu gostaria de sua gravata ( I would like your tie). He was really holding on tight and pulling on it. The second guy then grabbed my companions backpack and stuck a "finger gun" into his back ( I was not aware of this at the time.) The third guy started yelling " Don't fight, don't fight! These guys are cool. These guys are cool." He walked over, set my tie free, and told me it was all cool. My companion then pulled away and we went our way. WOAH!! My comp said his heart was pounding because the guy gave him the finger gun, but really, I did not even realize that we almost got mugged until after. During the experience I actually felt pretty chill, and I was gonna give him the tie. However, after..... wooooo I was blown away. We were protected there!!
Funny story - That same day was the day before our transfer announcements would be released and my companion decided he would make some calls with a members phone to some of his buddies to find out about it early. He put in the number and the other side answered. But my companion had no clue who was talking. It wasn't one of his buddies and they kept confusing each other until finally Elder Soelberg figured it out; he had called the president of our mission!!! Then the President asked " Well, what did you want to know.?" " Uh?... I want to know about transfers President." Pres said, " Haha, you are just going to have to find out tomorrow like everyone else." My comp said," Oh okay. bye!" I was blown away that he actually asked our President!!! But he was so shocked he just did not know what to do. We later found out in a email from the President to my comp that he would have told him, but Elder Soelberg hung up to fast!!!!
Cool story - I saw something I never expected to see out here: A Lightning Sunset. Last evening, on top of a big hill far away from our house I looked out to see the boiling sky of the amazon. It was wonderful; really stunning. Then out of no-where I saw lightning streak through the fiery furnace!!! There was a storm in the clouds that covered the sun!!!!!! I was stunned. I just sat and watched for several minutes. It is soooo beautiful here. I love my mission.
Another story - During church this week there was a lady visiting in one of the classes who really was not understanding what was going on. She asked a few questions but the teacher was just not clear enough for her. Why? Because see only spoke Spanish!!! So, the teacher switched over to Spanish and started going off with a great lesson. He taught the second half of the class in Spanish. It was crazy!!!!! And....... I understood it!! It was mind blowing! I understood what was going in on in a THIRD language!!! I want to learn a million languages now. It is sooo cool how someone can think and be so natural in communicating in a form I am not. It is hard for me to really comprehend. But I hope to finish reading the Book of Mormon in Portuguese in my first year and read it in Spanish next!!! Tons of people here speak Spanish.
Anyways, transfer news: I AM STAYING IN MAUAZINHO FOR ANOTHER 6 WEEKS!!! (that will make it 18 weeks total in this area) I am really excited because my comp isn't leaving either!!! It is his last transfer and then he goes home!!!! We get along great!! We have 2 baptisms and a ton of great investigators. Life is actually really great here and I did not want to leave. SMILEYS
I heard a beautiful line from a song in Portuguese this week.
" Eu naõ sei por que Deus me deu você."
" I do not know why God gave you to me."
Poetry is hard enough in English... now I can see it in Portuguese and I am thrown for a loop!
Life is wonderful!!
Eu amo Vocês!
Elder Asa Laws
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