Feast and Famine: November 26, 2012

Dear Family and Everyone:

1. CHRISTMAS CALL—we need to know what to plan on, Skype or phone call, so we can figure out the timing.  I know you have transfers on Christmas Day, does that mean you will be at the mission office that day??  The Christmas call will be Skype from a member’s house. I don’t know the time yet. (Transfers are a week early, so the 18th of December!)
2. On Sunday, do you have a Gospel Essentials class during Sunday School?  Do you teach any classes during the block?  Have you had to give a talk in sacrament meeting yet??  Yes, we have Gospel Essentials during the second hour of the block, and, no, we don’t regularly teach any classes, and, no, I have not talked yet in church!

 On to the rest of the week!!

I sent a package (envelope) home for Jason and one more envelope for C., F., and A. (I probably won’t be able to do this again because it was crazy expensive to send these 2 super light padded envelopes, well, crazy expensive for a missionary!) Jason can open the package on Christmas Eve (nothing is wrapped inside) and C., F., and A. need to wait until Christmas to open theirs! J

Some lighter news first. Music here is interesting and often really funny because Brazilians like American music but don’t understand the words. Two examples:

1. Jason, look this song up on Spotify, it is really funny.  It is called “Gummy Bear” and all the words are: “I’m a gummy bear” over and over again.
2. This big tough guy in a big truck (really rare here in Brasil to see a big truck), and he had on big giant sunglasses looking all tough and was listening to “Man, I Feel Like a Woman” by Shania Twain... me and Elder W. were busting up laughing!!!!

So, interesting facts about missionaries/missions in Brasil (I don’t know how many new missionaries will be added to our mission but it sounds like a good amount, close to how many are going to be added to the Seattle Mission):

• 2 years ago the Brasil Londrina Mission was the lowest baptizing mission in South America, but now it is 15th in Brasil!
• The average missionary in Brazil walks enough to walk from São Paulo to Salt Lake and back during the 2 years!!! Crazy, huh?

I saw my first chicken get killed in real life. We were teaching this girl (baptized her this week!!!) and the mom was right there (we were teaching outside) and she cut the throat of the chicken and was plucking it during our lesson...it was interesting...

One thing about Brasil is that you get to see a lot of new types of bugs and you don’t have to look hard to find them. All you have to do is wait a few minutes and then look down at your shirt and you will see a cool bug!!! I am getting a lot more used to bugs landing all over me and getting bitten all the time so it doesn’t even itch really anymore, which is good.

Dad, a member had this beautiful dog. It was a border collie and was about 2 years old! It was gorgeous, and he looked a lot like Dusty (only bigger). I was going to take a photo this week, but in the 3 weeks in between our lunch appointments the dog died… L he ate something really bad. Sorry I couldn’t send a picture of him! L

And, thus we arrive at the day of food, both for the belly and finding lots of new investigators!!!! So to start it all off, the member who had the dog took us to this all-you-can eat buffet and Brasilian-style grill!! It was soooooooo good. I ate more than I ever have in my life! (I’m slowly starting to get Brasilian recipes, too!!) And then we went to Vila Reis and while we were still super full from lunch, a member gave us 2 glasses of chocolate milk and a thick slice of homemade bread with butter and 2 bananas and 2 apples each!! Holy cow, I was so full... Then we were spiritually fed with investigators, first by this lady that stopped us in the street and said: “Please stop by my house! My son has some new friends that are bad and he really needs God in his life right now. Please stop by later this week!” (we will stop by tomorrow!!! J).  And then that night we found this really big family (about 7 or 8 people) and after about 15 minutes of just talking about who we are and where we are from, they gave us dinner... (I wasn’t even close to being hungry this whole day!!! Holy cow!) And then on Sunday we found 7 more new investigators in another big family!! Blessings galore (which is good because we have no money for food, it is feast AND famine here in Apucarana)!

And now, what you have been waiting patiently for!! The baptism story!!  We baptized a 16-year-old girl this week. We found her knocking doors last Saturday and the next day she went to church with her dad and she brought 2 friends too. We taught her this week and baptized her yesterday!! An 8-day turnaround! Not bad! Hopefully we can baptize her friends this week and some from our new giant families in the week after!!! A pretty uncomplicated story, thank goodness!!

That’s it for news from Brasil today!!

·              Yay, Choke is finally gone from the Mariners!! 

·              Ravens are representing really good!! (Elder D. from Eastern Washington is a Ravens fan too, what are the odds?!!)

·              Interesting about Hostess, “That’s not the stuff!”

·              Wow, crazy about all the people talking about seceding (even if they are not serious!!!)

·              Congrats DAD!! I´m proud of you!! Keep me posted on how it goes setting up the testing department!!! (How’s the weight coming off???)

I probably forgot something but oh well, I don’t have much time left!!  I love you guys! This church is so true! Jesus Christ is amazing!! He was the only person to live a sinless life and without him we cannot return to live with our Father in Heaven. He is a boss! (with the utmost respect of course!:) I am so blessed to know for certain that he knows and loves me individually!! Jesus is the Christ!!!

Lots of love!!

Elder Eldon Ray Cummings J

Eu Sou Um Tigre!!!  (I’m a Tiger)

P.S.  I don’t have a baptism photo, but I had a lot of other photos I wanted to send, but the security on this computer is weird and won’t let me get to the files to send them home! Sorry... L I´ll try again next week cause I’m out of time (I might have gotten a virus from the other more shady cybercafe.) L