Snail Mail from Elder "Mack-greh-low" dated 10/19

In this letter Trent is answering our letters telling him about Conference, the books we're reading, Obama making the Olympic bid for our country, etc. and asking how Brazilians pronounce his name and if the country is abuzz with excitement from winning the 2016 Olympic bid.

Oí Familia!
Tudo bem? So we just got back from getting haircuts, as you may well already know. I just had the cabelereira (female barber -- her name is Daise and she's a member) buzz it all with a 3. Nice and simple, man.

So that's funny about Obama and the Olympics. Didn't know he gave the pitch. And yeah, in my opinion, it's only a big deal if you make it a big deal. So parabéns to all the Obama-haters for making mountains out of molehills, ha.

It's so funny, everyone who talks about conference talks about Elder Holland's talk. Talk about legendary. Last conference (April), his discourse was fantastic as well -- on Christ's atoning sacrifice for all of us. Elder Holland always has been, and will remain, one of my favorite apostles.

So Leese, I'm glad you're enjoying the Redwall books. Man, I loved those books : ) I also quite enjoyed "Mrs Frisby." I remember seeing the cartoon movie when I was really little at the Cushings house in Vernal. Too funny the things we remember, huh?

So Brazilians and my name -- generally it's something like "Mack-greh-low" or "Mack-Gregory" or "M-C-Gregor" the first time. Pretty funny. The letters "Mc" here are like Dj in the U.S., so I'm quite the cool guy, doncha know : )

So the World Cub and the Olympics are going to be here in Rio. The "Olympíadas" are very exciting for Brasileiros, but the World Cup is far more. Futebol is everything here. Everyone has their "time" ["chee-meh"; team). Mine is Palmeiras from Sao Paulo -- I chose them for their colors. Go check'm out. But here in Rio, almost everyone cheers for Flemengo, which, yes, means 'flamingo' in Portuguese.

Anyway, love you guys. Espero que tudo seja bem! (I hope everything's going well!)
Love,
Elder McGregor

Brasil's World Cup bid logo:


And their Olympic bid logo:
And here are the logos of the two teams he referred to:

Sloth in Bairro Mansa

Here's the sloth in movement, Very cool.

Haircuts, "full blown" members, the dangers of smoking, and at least another transfer together

Oí família!
Tudo bem?
So photos this week-- Got a haircut --before, during and after. Just buzzed it straight off. Much much easier. Daise Cabelereira (Female barber) is a member of the church and gives free haircuts to the missionaries. Good stuff.

(The before picture is me wearing the Cota & Cole shirt--I'm advertising

for Bishop Cota here in Brazil, haha)

Next is the advisement against smoking that you can find on all of the cigarette cartons here. Very funny. I cracked up the first time I saw it.


Things have been great here--Luiza's family was confirmed in church yesterday, so now they're full blown members. Very exciting. She and her family were references from Alexandre, their son. We're working with his wife now, Natali, who will most likely, I think, be baptized as well. Very exciting. So yeah, things are going well here.

Transfers were last week, and both I and Elder Morris stayed. So we'll both be here until next transfer, which will happen in the beginning of December. Yay!

Hope all is well at home.

Dad's questions:
- As we prepare for the holiday season, what kind of things would you like for Christmas? I know, it's kind of early but we need to think ahead on these kinds of things, especially when it could take weeks for you to receive a package.
Packages, huh? Let's see... beef jerkey's always nice, haha. One of those pocket book of mormons (the little tiny red ones) in english--it's much easier to find stuff that way. Candy. I miss my mint stuff. Like Leese used to always get me for Christmas--mint whatever. And 3 Musketeers. Huzzah =]

- Is there anyone that we can pray and fast for to aid you and Elder Morris in your work?
I guess I would ask for help with Joaquim--he needs to get a testimony of the gospel in order to change. Right now he's attending, learning, all that, but not really getting a testimony. So that would help =]

- Is there anything that the members need in your area that we could help with (maybe part of your Christmas package)?
Not that I can think of... I'll let you know in the future, tá (ok)?

- Had any Swiss people jump you lately?
No, thank goodness. But I can't let my guard down, y'know? They could be anywhere..... even right behind meçalkjdçlskjf çlkajsd lkajafaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

hahaha : D
Love that boy!