Elder Olsen letter 16 April 2009

Wow, this week has been crazy!! Missionary work is amazing! and really hard!! Ha, I think that I have walked more in the past week, than I usually did in two months back home, we walk alot! Now that I know a little bit more about my area, let me tell you more about it. Anhagüera is the name of my area, and it is really really big! To walk from one side to the other it would probably take about 3 or 4 hours, but alot of it would be in city walking. We have one ward for our whole area, and we meet in a really small shed thing. Well I guess the shed itself isn´t small, it is like the size of a warehouse or so, I smaller one, But it is no chapel like I am used too. We have about 65 people at church, that come every week, and about 300-400 people within the ward boundries that are baptized. So, as you can tell, the activity rate is really low. The average for Brasil from what I hear is about 20% active rate... so it is really really low. I can tell that it is something that I will be working on my entire mission! We have a really poor area, we have a couple of favelas, (which is really really poor city.) in our area, which means there are no roads, just dirt, and really humbling conditions. It is really humbling to see. We also have some apartment buildings, which are set up in rows.. and as you move north to south, it gets nicer by each way, when I mean nicer, I mean a little bit bigger. So it has been really really humbling. There are some really strong members in the poorer areas though, so they are ready to hear the gospel. My companion is Elder , from Vernal. He is a year and a half out of his mission. So he is very experienced. I have been told by many missionaries and people that we meet that he is the best american missionary to ever speak portugues, haha, they are exgeratting, but my point is, that he is fluent, and sounds like a local, when we teach people and they find out that he is from the US, they usually dont believe him, so that is really cool, because I will get to learn from the best. He teaches really well. He teaches with the spirit, so we teach really good. As far as the language is concered, it is coming along really slowly, ha, I have learned to understand mostly at this point, it is really hard to understand when everyone in the room is talking, and there are like 2 or 3 conversations going on at the same time. It is really difficult, but when we are just teaching, contacting, or chatting, and can understand alot at this point.. As far as talking, I still need some work on that one, so keep me in your prayers.Well on Sunday we have a Baptism, of João . He is 18 years old. His sister is a member, and he had the lessons before, but never wanted to be baptized. But last week the day before I got here, he just accepted baptism the first visit the old missionaries had been too, and everything that we taught him, he accepted really easily. He is even talking about serving a mission, so it is awesome too see! A baptismal service is awesome! The spirit is there so strong, his mother( who is not a member, she drinks alot of coffee!) was bawling the whole time! So on monday night, we challenged her to be baptized by João when he recieves the priesthood in 2 weeks! She accepted! and hasnt drank coffee since, so she wants to be baptized on mothers day as a special present so that is awesome! we are really excited about that!Well we have the golden family on our hands as well, Marcos, Elizâgela, Igor 14, Gabrilla 11, and a baby girl I can never remember her name. But they are amazing, my companion had taught them 2 times before I got here, and everything went really well, they gave us all the achool in there house, and are keeping all the commandments, they are reading in the scriptures everyday, as a family and indiviuals, the mom, she is already to Mosiah 3! So they are so faithful, they talk about when Igor will serve a mission, and how everything is and stuff, they feed us everytime, and love us coming over. We call from a little telephone outside there apartment building, because every apartment building has a gated thing where you need a key to enter. And every time we call the kids stick out there heads out the window, and come running down to open the gate, It is so great, I love teaching them. They are sucha great family. The only problem is that they are not married... Which is like the number one problem in Brasil. No one is married. So it cost money here to get married, and you have to wait usually 30 or so days before you can get the paper work. So on Saturday we committed them to marriage, and on Monday they ran down to the Centro,(center of Campinas.) We were really praying for a miracle. Because we were doing the math, and 30 days was the 21st of May, 2 days after transfers, so we were worried we wouldnt be able to baptise them. So we had an appointment with them on Monday night, and we heard from the members that went with them to be the witnesses for a marriage license, that it was going to be the 21st that there paper work was going to be done. SO we were so bummed! because my comp has 2 transfers here, so we were way sad, so we went to there house, and were happy but sad, but as it turns out... because that we might leaving the 21st, the paid extra money to get it moved to the 14th! So we are going to be able to baptize them!! we set the date for the 15th wedding, and 16th baptism! We are really excited!! God does make miracles! We are really happy about it!! I love preaching the gospel, even in portuguese! I love the Savior Jesus Christ!! He suffered for each of us. I love you all so much! I miss you all so much!!! Thank you for all the things that you do for me, I can feel your prayers! Keep the faith strong! Keep loving Christ, and his gospel! 2 Nephi 32:3-4. ASK! God will give it too us! I love you all. Hurrah for Isreal.Elder Olsen #3