A baptism, Zone Conference and Thanksgiving

Oí família! Tudo bem??
Everything's great here--last week was great =] Thanksgiving, Zone Conference, and a baptism!
So this last week we had lunch on thursday with Fransisco (papai de Nolan) and Kalyla (mamãe), (Fransisco and Kalyla are parents of the samba-dancing toddler Nolan) who lived in Australia for over 6 years. So they knew what Thanksgiving was (Thanksgiving is celebrated in Australia? Maybe they had Americans in their ward there or something), and they offered to do a Thanksgiving Lunch for us =] We had chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy (something I miss substantially--they usually eat them dry here), rolls and stuffing =] Elder Morris' fiancé sent him stuffing in his last package (I told you guys he's engaged, right?), and so we had the opportunity to introduce stuffing to Fransisco's family, as they'd never had it before. Very exciting =]

Friday was our Zone Conference. I won't go over what was said, but I will say that Presidente Bezerra is a man inspired of God. Also, this last week we had 91 baptisms in the mission, which, I'm pretty certain, set the new record for baptisms in a week--normally we have about 50-60. So everyone's super pumped to keep baptizing at this rate =] Wish us luck!

And finally, last week Elder Morris and I had a baptism--Emylenne! She's engaged to one of our formerly less active members, Alan. His father, Pedro, performed the baptism, and it was a very special occasion, as all baptisms are.

So this week I have a special request--E. Morris and I are going to have Joaquim interviewed to be baptized. If all goes well, we'll baptize him this Sunday. So if you guy could pray for him to see the importance of this next step in his life, and to help him give up whatever keeps him from entering into this saving ordinance, I would greatly appreciate it.
Love you guys a whole bunch! Glad everything is well with you guys still! Have a wonderful week!
Elder McGregor


The happy birthday song here in Brasil:

Parabéns pra você (congratulations to you)
Essa data querida (this beloved date)
Muitas felicidades (much happiness)
Muitos anos de vida (many years of life)

x2 =]


And - The new scripture cap I've got for my triple combination
(scripture cover)

Joaquim, a Critter, and baking soda

Oí Família!
Tudo bem?

Things are going well here in Brazil =] Haven't gotten the package yet--I'll either get it this transfer, or if it hasn't arrived by then, next time the zone leaders drop by.

I won't need the Ensign--the mission provides them monthly for us. Pretty sweet =] Glad you're not bovvered =] (I ordered a Conference issue for him. Bry and I would have LOVED to have those while serving our missions. The only way to get them was if someone sent it).

I call you guys on Christmas. I'm looking forward to it, too. And I think I call you guys from the mission office, where all the missionaries gather at Christmas time. A missionary mecca, if you will =]

Angela, Eva and Joaquim are doing well. I think Joaquim will be baptized soon-ish, and the others possibly as well.


So photos this week--first is an out of focus centipede, but it was pretty big. It moved too fast to get a comparison, but it was at least as thick as my thumb, and probably twice as long.

"Bixo" (critter)

Next is a photo of our district this transfer, with our Zone Leaders present. (E. Morris, E. Makiama [my trainer, now ZL], E. Fernelius [ZL], E. Vaniski, me, and E. Dooley in the chair. It's E. Dooley's last transfer--he's out of here!

The next two are our baptism this week--François. He's a fantastic kid, and we'll continue to work with his mom and she'll probably be baptized soon. Very exciting =]



But yeah, all is well here! Hope everything's great with you guys!
Love,
Elder McGregor



Then, in a separate e-mail Trent answers my question as to whether or not he wants us to send baking soda so he can make pancakes. He asked us to send pancake mix, but with the outrageous shipping I sent him a recipe and some baking soda ; )

Basicamente, it's really hard to find baking ingredients here. That's why all Brazilian meals consist of beans and rice, noodles and a type of meat, and possibly egs -- that's all they really sell here. There's no such thing as baking in Brazil, unless you buy a pizza. So I'll continue to look for flour and baking soda, but the easier way would just to send me the pancake mix (krusteez powder stuff. Which is why I asked for in the first place?)

But yes, it would be great to send me baking soda. I'm thinking they don't have it here. And it's pretty tough to find brown sugar here too. Wish me luck! =]

Bugs, Smoking is Detrimental, and Jonas gets baptised

Âlo Família!
Como é que vocês estão?
So fotos this week--
1. Weird bug. Dunno what it is.2. the next playing card in the "Brazilian Smoking-is-detrimental Playing Card Game Series"--

Sofriment (Suffering). =] I love the pale, deathly face of Dad, the look on Son's face of, "Oh, why?!?!?" and Mom's look of, "Don't you see what's happened to our family? How dare you." Very entertaining.
3. a rather large beetle.
4. our baptism this week -- Jonas.

In the picture (family relations to Jonas in brackets): E. Morris, Me, Jonas (10), Daniel (cousin), Bishop, Karina (Cousin), Janete (Aunt), Selena (Mom). A very happy day for Jonas--he's an excellent kid. He already memorized the first 7 articles of faith =]
5. The last of the trading card game (did I mention they're all first editions? Very rare.)

--Fumaça Tôxica, or Toxic Fumes. If you look carefully, you can see what we eat every day here in Brasil. I'm not sure if she's reacting to the smoke, or if she's thinking, "Arroz e Feijão de novo (again)???"
Yay pictures =]

Hope all is well with you guys--love you all, have a great day!

Elder McGregor