8.15.11

Hey family

I guess I will just answer questions from your last emails and that will cover just about everything. So here are the answers...

I have only stayed in the house one day on the mission when I myself have been sick. I had a fever and diarrea (I have never known how to spell that word). I only had to stay home for one day though, and I was able to leave for a ward activity the same night so that was good. I have been blessed with really good health. I randomly get a runny nose every once in a while, but thats about it.

Our investigators are doing great! We worked way good this week and found some good people. Ebert was baptized yesterday after church and that was really good. He was way close to not being baptized but me and my companion went there and just gave him a way spiritual pep talk haha. After that he was way excited to be baptized. He is 14 and really wants to make the right choice. He reminded me a lot of Joseph Smith´s story.

Another guy who is awesome is called Denis. So the first time we met him he was an alcoholic. He knew it was wrong but just couldn´t figure out how to stop. We taught him like 2 times and he wasn´t showing much progress. Then we went back another time and he told us his wife (they aren´t legally married yet) and his son left to live with her family because her family didn´t see any future in Denis and they don´t like him very much. And he also got fired from his job because of his drinking problem. When we showed up he was very sad and very lonely. We talked a lot about the Atonement and baptism and how he can repent, and be baptized to start his life over. To be born again. He loved that idea! haha. So we explained to him that we are going to help him and invite him to do things that will help him come closer to Christ. So we are teaching him and he is just a completly different guy in just a week and a half. He completly stopped drinking, stopped smoking, and whenever he feels the desire, he says a prayer or reads the Book of Mormon or a little pamphlet we gave him. He went out everyday and found little odd jobs selling fruit and doing little construction projects and he is looking for a better job to support his wife and kid. He is doing great. I really like this guy. He has the goal to be baptized on Sept. 3rd.


People hide from us because here the people are just way to nice to say no. It is a culture thing. We never get rejected and if we ask to talk to people they always invite us to sit down or enter their house. Not always, but 80% of the time. No one says a flat out ´no´ though. You just have to learn their excuses to know what ´no´ is. In this mission we can set a baptismial date in the first 5 minutes of a lesson. You can say something like, Hey, we have a message about Christ. Christ was perfect and was baptized. Do you want to follow his is example by being baptized too? And they always say yes. Then we can say can we help you prepare for baptism on [enter date here] and they will say yes. This usually doesn´t work because they don´t have a testimony of anything really, but it is possible. That is why people will run away or hide because they don´t want to say no.

Yes we walked Chagas to church. Yesterday he showed up by himself. He will be baptized on the 20th. (this coming Saturday)

Sometimes we knock on doors. Or clap at the gate.... haha. Just if we don´t have much to do and we are walking sometimes we just randomly stop at a house if it looks like there is a whole family there. Or if we feel like we should stop.


My shoes are doin good. One pair has holes on the bottom but that will only be a problem when it rains again. They are great shoes. Both pairs are Doc Martins and I love them. I would recommend them. Most Americans use Eccos. My shoe advice would be to get shoes with a thick sole and comfortable in the inside. A thick sole on the bottom is good when it rains because sometimes you can´t dodge the puddles and so water won´t get in your shoes. And if I needed to, I would not be able to buy good shoes here in Tianguá. I would have to wait until I got transferred to Teresina or São Luis. Those are bigger citys with shopping centers.

Zone conference is every 3 months. District meetings are every Tuesday morning. I rarely go to Teresina. The only times I have gone there are when Elder Mazzagardi came here around Christmas time, and when Elder Goodoy was here in Febuary I think. We only go there for big meetings. For Zone Conference President and the assistents travel to all the zones. And for interviews President comes to us. In smaller missions it would maybe be easier to go to President, but we have to travel by bus everywhere and it is expensive for everyone in the mission to travel to Teresina for everything.

President Dias and his wife have completed 2 years of their mission. They have one more year. He started in June 2009 when this mission was created. I will probably leave Teresina the same time he does. I could have a new mission president for a week or two.

That is all the answers to your questions I think...

I am glad Miranda got home safely. That is good. Everything sounds good back home. Is Brian´s new wife a member?

I hope your week is great! I love you all!!

Love Isaac