February 14, 2011

Tudo bem?! It was another good in the hood week and a lot of work has been getting done. I'm not scared of the ghetto, but i'm sure mom would be panicking if she saw where i walk at night. You're probably right in the idea of me leaving when it starts to get warm here, and me going straight to a curitiba winter. Oh well. No news on the VISA. Elder Hartley and Buerkle sent in their online apps this week. We're all still here though but we'll see. Keep praying for it. Man, that is so crazy about Jerry Sloan! What the heck!? He just gets up and goes?? I thought he would be more professional about things. I bet Dwill just wants out now and when he leaves the team will be nothing! That suprised me big time. So Hawaii huh? so what islands are you guys going to? Is it a cruise or are you flying? with who?? But yeah.... Things are going good here. I went on exchanges in South Philly this week and we had a dinner appointment. I was talking with them and I found out they are originally from ogden, and they both graduated from fremont!!! It was crazy. The ladies mom lives in West Weber and goes to the 3rd ward or something! Super small ward. I forgot their last names though haha. This week was also Zone Conference and it was really good. It lasted all day and I learned a lot. So yesterday was the baptisms!! My first baptisms! Our investigators were baptised by their uncle and I got to baptise the sister's investigator! It was such a neat experience getting into the water and baptising. Hopefully there will be many to come. I'll try to send pics. Man, I tell you what, if you wanna see entertaining things, you go trackting in the ghetto! We get laughing so hard. Ghetto's are deffinatly an interesting place. Its still so fun working with the africans. I truely love the african people. %90 of them are Liberian and I just love the way they are! THey are so nice to us and always offer us food. They treat us so good. When we wash our hands at their sink they want to wash them for us, and just treat us so well. I just have developed a deep love for them, and it will be sad to leave them. They're so humble. I dont love the food though haha! This week I hate an african pepper and I just about died! Man that thing was so hot! Something cool that happend is that the other day we went to Rosettas house and showed her the joseph smith restoration movie, and she felt the spirit so strong! After she told us that she knows that it is true, and we are super excited for her baptism with her daughter. They are so sweet. I'm glad for the time i've spent here in the Philadelphia Mission. I've grown and learned so much in the time i've been here. It's so cool experiencing the east coast and preaching in English! Well, thats all thats going on here. I love you and thanks for raising me up in the gospel. Keep working hard and put nick to work!

 

Love, Matt

February 7, 2011

Tudo Bem!!

How's life?? It seems like all is well, so that's good. To answer your question about the cold front that came through, I did indeed freeze my butt off!!!! But, its super NICE today, and it feels like spring! Still no word on my VISA. I'm begginning to think i might spend 1/4 of my mission here!!! Oh well, wherever I am is wherever i'm supposed to be... Jazz I hear are sucking it up, but as long as the get to the playoffs that's all that counts. Well, it has been a pretty normal weeks as in teaching a bunch and seeing crazy things. Something i've noticed is that there are cockroaches all over the place!!! I'll be teaching a lesson and i'll have roaches crawling on me and up my pant leg. Man I hate those things!!! There are also tons of mice that run on the ground as we walk into houses, and actually HUGE RATS that live at this one members home. I'm pretty sure he's ammune to rat poison and it actually makes it bigger. But yeah, time is actually going by fast. The weeks are coming and going, and its cool. This week we had a special fast so that this investigator family could get baptised. They are really prepared and wanting to get baptised, but the thing that was holding them back is that the mom had her boyfriend living with her at the house. We fasted so that there could be a living situation worked out, so that he could move out and all could be baptised. We went over to there house after we fasted, and he had a total change of heart. He said he would move out right away! They are all now ready to be baptised this sunday! We have 6 investigtors being baptised this sunday! Finally! I'm ready for my first mission baptisms. There is an investigator right now named Rossetta. I contacted her on the street my 2nd week in philly, and she said she wanted us to come over. We kind of procrastinated on getting over there, because there are just so many people we're working with. I kept telling my companions that we needed to see rossetta!!! Well, the past week we've been finally  working hard with her, and she is  now super excited to get BAPTISED!!! It's awesome. Her daughter will be baptised with her. Yesterday at church I went to the YSA ward on splits, and there were 2 Brazilians!!! I talked with them and they said I spoke really good and I had an awesome accent that doesnt sound american at all! I give thanks to trent and JG for that. They were super impressed. I've been finding time to study portuguese early morning, on car rides, and right before bed. I wanna do everything i can to be ready for Brazil. Whenever that time comes, I hope i'll be ready. Well, not much else going on here, just working hard and having fun! I love you and hope you have an awesome week!

 Love, Matt