To start off this wonderful email, I would like to openly invite all to join the race!!! I have already received my first Christmas card. Thank you Aunt Jodi and Uncle Jerry Cochran!!! I love the card!!! To everyone else, the race is on!! Who has the guts to mail Christmas to the Amazon??!!! We have a severe lack of pine trees, mistletoe, eggnog, and snow. Time to fix this problem with Christmas card cheer!!!!!!
Elder Asa Laws
Brazil Manaus Mission
Rua Loris Cordovil
1066 Alvorada 1
Manaus, AM
69042-010
Brazil
On to the week!!!!! We had a zone conference this week and it was absolutely fantastic!!! I just love it when I am able to learn more and more about how to help other people. Seriously. My mission president is called of God to help ME dot his work. I am so grateful for the guidance he gives ME so that I can help others. The conference was very spiritual and I really remembered my purpose. I was also able to conduct the music for the conference and I performed that duet of "Nearer My God to Thee". It was beautiful and Sister Klein came up to me afterwards and asked me to help her do the Christmas show this year for the missionaries!!! So now I am in charge of organizing the show with a choir and special musical numbers. Elder Sheppard, a missionary here who was also in my BYU ward and church will be playing the piano for me too. I am very excited. I will start putting it all together next week after transfers happen. Yep, transfers are here again and there is a good chance I will be leaving Mauazinho. We will see.
After the conference we had a division with the Zone leaders again. I went with Elder Dorneles again to his area and we had a great time, as usual. I bought a PIZZA there!!!! I real pizza!!! AND WE FEASTED LIKE KINGS!!!!!!! ( yes I waited all week to type that. I hope you feel my energy and love of that pizza!) I have pictures and will try to send them. It was a glorious pizza and I do not expect to find another pizza quite like that until after my mission!!!
On the division, I finally decided to address a problem that came up on Friday last week. I had an in-grown toenail and it HURT. So Thursday morning I called Sister Klein (Mission Pres wife). She said she knew a member of the Church that worked especially with this problem and she would call her and then call me back. After the call, Elder Dorneles and I grabbed some water bottles and went next door to a member house to grab water from her filter she had (we STILL do not have water at our place). When she arrived she was on the phone and told us " Yeah, go ahead and get some water, I am on the phone with Sister Klein and some missionary needs help with his toes." I told her I was that missionary and that I needed the help!! As luck would have it that member, Irmã Ray also was going to give us lunch that day. It was perfect!! I really felt blessed that day. Especially because it rained all day and we could not go out and walk (my toe really hurt even after she worked on it)! All was well.
We were able to baptize 3 people this week! Alice, Ivanildo, and Cassia. Alice and Ivanildo were baptized by my companion on Saturday, the 19th, and I was way excited, but also kid of bummed. I have had over 7 months on the mission and I had yet to personally baptize someone. I had yet to step foot in the baptismal font. Well, the next day, Sunday Cassia came to church and decided she wanted to be baptized that very day. She was interviewed this week but backed out of baptism on Friday. Well on Sunday she returned and asked ME to perform the ordinance!!! I was soooooo happy. I will never forget trying to memorize her full name- Rita de Cassia Galdino da Silva Gonçalves!!!! It was a wonderful Sunday.
We also cleaned our house all nice and spiffy!!! I love a clean house and a clean desk. Also....... I received your first package mother!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for the conference ensign and also for the scriptures. But what I am truly in love with is.................... the CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!!!! I absolutely love all of it. I am so grateful for Christmas. It easily is the best time of the year; my very favorite! I hear that the mission Christmas is very special. I'm look forward to it.
As a final closing story for this week; a girl stopped me in the street yesterday and asked " Can you marry?" I responded that I will after my mission but for two years we cannot date or marry. She asked if I would marry her and I replied I could not because I would leave Brazil after my mission. She responded " Please! I will wait for you and you can take me with you to the States!!!! You are beautiful and I love you!" I told her I could not wait for her and that I could not take her with me. It was very funny and my companion was laughing the whole time!!!!
I hope you all have a fantastic week!!
Eu amo voçês!!!
Elder Asa Laws
On the division, I finally decided to address a problem that came up on Friday last week. I had an in-grown toenail and it HURT. So Thursday morning I called Sister Klein (Mission Pres wife). She said she knew a member of the Church that worked especially with this problem and she would call her and then call me back. After the call, Elder Dorneles and I grabbed some water bottles and went next door to a member house to grab water from her filter she had (we STILL do not have water at our place). When she arrived she was on the phone and told us " Yeah, go ahead and get some water, I am on the phone with Sister Klein and some missionary needs help with his toes." I told her I was that missionary and that I needed the help!! As luck would have it that member, Irmã Ray also was going to give us lunch that day. It was perfect!! I really felt blessed that day. Especially because it rained all day and we could not go out and walk (my toe really hurt even after she worked on it)! All was well.
We were able to baptize 3 people this week! Alice, Ivanildo, and Cassia. Alice and Ivanildo were baptized by my companion on Saturday, the 19th, and I was way excited, but also kid of bummed. I have had over 7 months on the mission and I had yet to personally baptize someone. I had yet to step foot in the baptismal font. Well, the next day, Sunday Cassia came to church and decided she wanted to be baptized that very day. She was interviewed this week but backed out of baptism on Friday. Well on Sunday she returned and asked ME to perform the ordinance!!! I was soooooo happy. I will never forget trying to memorize her full name- Rita de Cassia Galdino da Silva Gonçalves!!!! It was a wonderful Sunday.
We also cleaned our house all nice and spiffy!!! I love a clean house and a clean desk. Also....... I received your first package mother!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for the conference ensign and also for the scriptures. But what I am truly in love with is.................... the CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!!!! I absolutely love all of it. I am so grateful for Christmas. It easily is the best time of the year; my very favorite! I hear that the mission Christmas is very special. I'm look forward to it.
As a final closing story for this week; a girl stopped me in the street yesterday and asked " Can you marry?" I responded that I will after my mission but for two years we cannot date or marry. She asked if I would marry her and I replied I could not because I would leave Brazil after my mission. She responded " Please! I will wait for you and you can take me with you to the States!!!! You are beautiful and I love you!" I told her I could not wait for her and that I could not take her with me. It was very funny and my companion was laughing the whole time!!!!
I hope you all have a fantastic week!!
Eu amo voçês!!!
Elder Asa Laws
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