Week #68 - "He's not a real cowboy. He doesn't even have a hat!" - Toy Story

Boom! Roasted!

What a week! Really we had quite a week and I am pretty darn grateful for this week. I can not even begin to tell you how much I have learned and how much I have grown this week.

So this week was just incredibility hot and my companion was dying!!! This is his first summer in Manaus and he was just melting. So funny. I must have looked so stupid last year. We drink so much water though. Seriously. EVERY SINGLE HOUSE we stop at they give us water and as a rule, I always accept.

TRANSFERS!!!!!!!!! So, as it turns out Elder Pires will be leaving and I will stay in Ajuricaba for another 6 weeks. He is going off to Acre, which is another state, and I will be getting a new companion. ELDER MOREIRA. If you recognize the name it is because he has been in my district twice already and I have done many divisions with him! He is a super cool guy who happens to LOVE the same soccer team I do!! Elder Sant, my American buddy will be staying and he will get a new Brazilian companion. I am super excited because he really was struggling this last transfer.

Oh!! So Elder Pires' toe nail fell off!! Yes because he was playing with shoes not meant for soccer his feet were getting torn up and his big toe nail started turning green!! Well, it fell off today!! And I got pictures. Absolutely disgusting! HAHAHA.

Really I do not any crazy stories this week. Everything was quite calm. No rain storms. Nothing! Just the fact the the Olympics started and everyone is watching the soccer games. Brazil is kicking trash and the US women's team is undefeated!

Oh! I remember something interesting that happened this week. We had a guy chase us out of his house! We were talking to his wife and he busted in half crazed, yelling at us. He called us gay demons sent from hell and he commanded to leave his house or he would kill us! It was pretty cool. I did not even know what was happening until we left because as he was yelling and I was still teaching, and my companion grabbed me, told me we had to leave and we booked it. THEN, afterward he explained. Man, I should pay more attention sometimes.

I am really excited! Our mission baptized 340 people in the last 6 weeks! That is just amazing. God has literally opened the windows of heaven and we are just having a ball! The whole mission has been blessed by having this temple in our city and we can really feel that people are more willing to listen. Many are curious about the temple and ask about eternal families! I love it!

Anyways, not much else happened this week, but know this: Eu vos amo.

PS. I like ties if you want to send me one.
Elder Asa Laws

Week #67 - "Sorry, I was a little vague on the details. - Finding Nemo"

Boom Roasted!

Man, it is really starting to get hot here! Especially when you are playing soccer in the morning. Man, if you are not careful that sun will just bake you!! LOTS A WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So yeah, we went to play soccer today and it was just a ton of fun. I am getting.... better, but it is really hard for me to play in a court. In Brasil there is soccer and futsal. Soccer or Futball is played on grass. Futsal is a shortened version of Futball na Salão or street soccer. It is way harder for me because I just do not have the techniques tojuke around guys. On the field it is a lot more passing and tactics. Futsal can be won when you have 2 really good juke guys playing with you. Well, I still made some sweet goals and I am getting better. Though I have sad news. My toes shoes which I love and adore have met there match playing every week and they are tearing on my left foot. I have a hole now that is growing and I do not know how much longer they will take our crazy games. Seriously, we can really get into it sometimes. Well, we will see how long they last. Its true when they say, don't take anything expensive on your mission. It will just get ruined.

This week A LOT happened and i am really excited. First, let me talk about how our MICROWAVE!!!!!!!! Yes, you read that correctly, I am now the proud ower of a brand new microwave (well, for as long as I stay in Ajuricaba I am the proud owner of said microwave.). We had our zone conference and interviews with the president, and the president decided to buy 3 microwave gifts for the missionaries. One went to a Sister Dupla and the other went to some Elders. Then he asked who lived with 4 missionaries in their house and we were the only 4 group there, so he gave the 3rd one to us!!!! Yes, I have already heated up cake in it and it was delicious. No more cold cake! No more cold pizza! No more cold! IT'S HOT BABY!

So, as it was already pointed out this week we had a zone conference again (man, it seems like I have a lot of these conferences.) and this conference was very special for me. I really felt like the Lord had prepared that meeting for me and for the other missionaries in my district. Afterwords, the president decided to do all the interviews for the zone and it took forever. It was crazy for me because I was without credit on my phone, trying to verify the plans for our popcorn night that would happen that night at 7pm. I knew that the projector for our movie had not been located and I was frantically trying to get a hold of a projector. I even asked the president if I could borrow his!! He told me no because if Elder Laws got to use the president's things then every elder would ask him. Well, in the end it all worked out. Giselle, who is the wife of Paulo, who is or Ward mission leader, she brought her own 40 inch plasma to the church for us to use and the activity ended up being a huge success. We had 3 visiting families there who saw that our church really is not a stuck up rich people church. That is one of the hardest things to get out of Brazilians minds. Our chapels are very nice compared to the rest of the buildings in town. They are expensive, official, legal churches. The temple is giant and everybody in the city sees these things and thinks, " Oh it is only for rich people. That is why they have a gate out front." So, I felt really good that these families came. Lots of fun!

My interview with the president was very interesting and very special for me. Sorry, I really cannot share it with you, but know that President Klein is a man inspired of God. He is different than the average bear. I feel the Savior's love in his eyes. It was interesting for me as well because I had just read my cousin Laws' letter from his mission and he talked about his interview with his president. My interview was very different from his.

OH! So there is a lady that lives in our area who has some mental health problems and because so, she patrols our barrio NAKED, just looking around at everything. At first she freaked me out. But now I just feel so sorry for her. She is treated like a passing street dog. When she walks by peoples houses they come out and yell at her and chase her away as if she was just a stray. Where is her family? Who is supposed to help and save her? It just makes me realize all the more that the family is ordained of God. I also do know that we are all children of God and that no one should be treated like how people treat her.

Me and my companion got caught in a flash rainstorm for the first time this transfer. It was ridiculous. Literally, no less than 5 seconds after my companion asked me if it would rain, IT DUMPED. Cats and Dogs have nothing on that monster storm that poured over us. It was not really rain. It was more like a waterfall from heaven sent to cleanse the earth. I imagine that maybe it rained like that for 40 days and nights for Noah. Man, he must have been brave. Though, the weirdest part was that it passed in about 5 minutes. REALLY FAST. The weather here is so weird.

Me and Elder Sant, the American who lives with me, decided to make AMERICAN LUNCH. Yeap, we made mac and cheese, homemade root-beer, beef jerky, and Brownies!! Best lunch ever!!!!!! If anyone is wondering what I would enjoy in a package, know this: I want mac and cheese and Jerky!

As a side-note, I am low on ties. Some have been destroyed. Some were given to special people. Others were translated to heaven. But the real situation is I am low on beautiful ties. Please send beautiful, mildly skinny ( they cannot be full width cuz I am really skinny right now and it looks weird.), polyester ties (no silk, the humidity destroys them). I like purple ones. Dark.

Well, as far as the work goes, things are improving. We are building a really good area and I am trying hard to help these people. I really am. But, I can do more. the president wrote the mission today and spoke about that. We can be better and do more. We can be more devoted. We have to be willing to pay the price for miracles. I am willing.

Eu vos amo,
Elder Asa Laws

Week #66 - "You know, for a clown fish, he really isn't that funny. Pitty." - Finding Nemo

Boom!

So there is a family in my ward who likes the movie the "Jungle Book" and they named there dog Baloo. How cool?!!

It is absolutely incredible how fast a week can go and yet how much can really happen in just one week. Really, sometimes I just do not get it. But alas, I am just in this crazy time warp of a mission and I have to just keep going, though I do not really know where I am going or how fast. I am sure I am going to some place cool right, at a very ridiculous pace! Kind of like that scene from Willy Wonka when they are in the boat and Wonka is singing the crazy song "There's no earthy way of knowing..." Except, I am not on a boat, it is really hot, and I am not freaked out. So really now that I think about it, it is nothing like Willy Wonka. "Scratch that! Reverse it!" Ha!!

This week, actually this transfer, I have been learning about doing consistent, hard work, and being on top of everything 100 percent of the time. Every detail and every moment. I am learning to be a better leader I think, and it is a very hard thing to do. I have learned a lot about taking advice, and criticism, and using it actually, truly, to become better. For example, my mission president is always on top of everyone, about everything, and I have learned that he does that for many reasons, but to be mean, mad, a jerk, or to just be difficult, those are NOT the reasons. He is a wonderful man that expects us to do our very best at all times. No excuses. (reminds me of Norfleet) So I try to just learn the "why" behind everything and improve.

We have really been trying to not just be normal missionaries but missionaries that make an impact and help the ward here become better than it was before. I want to leave this area, and my mission, knowing that I really did try to make a huge difference. So we are having family home evenings almost every night and we have a calender now to have the young men come out teaching with us to prepare for their missions. We will have a popcorn night this Friday for the members an there friends and we will watch a good movie there (church approved). We go to our meetings and we are trying to build a ward that is ready to accept converts into the gospel.

Ronaldo, one of the coolest guys ever, is a member from my ward here and he went to play soccer with us this morning (I scored a goal). He then took us to a really expensive, nice resturaunt and then dropped us off at the post office! THEN, on his way back, he happened to find us walking home and gave us a ride home. Such a cool guy!


I got really homesick when I thought about the following food this week: BISCUITS AND GRAVY!! Man, I really miss that stuff.

Also, this week my broken, terrible fan finally died on me and I refused to go out and by a new one. So what did I do? I took out my handy leatherman, opened that sucker up, hot wired it up with electrical tape, and now I have the best fan in the house!! Boom, that is how you get it done. Thrift is the way to go!


Sorry, my letter is not really big this week, but I have to go and write a letter for my family. They will be having a family reunion and I want to write them something special.
Eu vos amo,
Elder Asa Laws