I got Clotheslined

Pics:

Just call me Scar (from the Lion King) - story below

The chapel in Casa Verde with Sao Paulo looming behind

Acai...the miracle food that tastes oh so good.

Shout outs to: Elder Demeester....got your letter, sweet to see you are in training! Krispy Kreme Master...thanks for the email! Though yall had forgotten about me...just a friendly reminder, I get home on the 16th of September and I expect everyone to be at my welcome home talk on September 19th at the Church. Makelle....hey cuz! Got your letter! I will send one back asap. And don't worry, I will give you the inside scoop.

Side note...I don't know why I use yall so much these days. I think it's a variety of things

1)I had a Texan companion

2) My mission President is a retired farmer

3) there is no way for me to say voces (plural version of you in Portugese)

onnnnnnnnnnn to the week.

So there hasn't been a whole lot going on in the lasst week. Since we are going to host an area seventy for this zone conference, we haven't had to prepare any trainings to give. So, we have just been doing lots and lots of divisions. There have been some really successful ones too. For example, yesterday in casa verde (CTM) we were able to teach 15 lessons and mark 6 dates...and all before 7:30 pm! It was pretty sweet. A great division. Elder Nannanga and I went out and we knocked some doors on this weird random street. Our prior plan had actually fallen so we just went wandering until we found a street that just felt right. We taught some way cool people. The funniest lesson was with this old guy that was born into the Catholic church, but now has some really interesting views. When we first started talking he was like "well we all know that Christ was really quite a messmaker" we werre just dumbfounded. I said" actually, I have never heard that before. Prince of Peace is usually a more common term for him" but then he went on talking about how Christ was part of an anti-roman band and etc...ect...I thought it was funny because we know from the Bible that Christ even paid taxes to Caesar. Anyway, the lesson with him was sweet! When we got to the part about the restoration he was like "oh good, the earth really needed a prophet like the olden days" and then he went on to accept being baptized! Crazy. I wasn't expecting it at all. It started with us asking for a cup of water. Go Elders Go!

The other cool lesson was with a 15 year old that we met as he entered his house. We taught a super fast lesson about the gospel of Christ (Faith Repentance, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Endure to the end) in about 45 seconds. We then invited him to be baptized and he was like, of course! So, we marked a date to come back and talk more with him and his family too. I didn't have any more Book of Mormons so I gave him one of our little books about the Law of Chastity. I figured his parents might dig that.

Today was temple day. It was awesome! There was a young couple going through so that they could be endowed and then receive eternal marraige! It is way cool that they can be together forever.

True love is like that.

Anyway, the temple was super spiritual today and I was able to receive some awesome answers to my prayers to know how to better help the mission. Plus I received some other spiritual confirmations.

God lives.

Jesus Christ is our Savior.

The Book of Mormon is true, and, accordingly, the Church is true too.

I already know that, but it is awesome having it reinforced every once and awhile by the Holy Ghost. I actually felt the described "burning in the bosom" today. Sweet.

However the story of the week.

I am going to take a note out of Dane Cook's book and say the basic end and go back through and tell the story.

I got clotheslined.

So, last week, on Wednesday night, a few elders came to the office to sleep over for the night to receive their new district leader training the following day. They came in from way out in Sorocaba (about a 2 hour bus ride). Wow, I just reallized how small my mission is. Anyways, they ended up getting in kind of late at about 10:25pm. So I just told them where they needed to go to sleep and then I went to bed (in the top bunk). There I was. Peaceful and snug as a clam in my top bunk bend in the 11pm darkness when I hear the piercing sound of an air horn. Yes, an AIR HORN. The type rednecks use at sporting events. I could not believe it. Immediatly I knew who it was...the younger companion of one of the new district leaders. Elder Alburquerque (yes, Bishop, his real name) yelled out the window "Elder ___ sotp it! Don't you realize what time it is? We have neighbors!" But, this Elder did not think of the noice or about the fancy neighborhood that we are in, and just kept honking away on that horn. Needless to say, I got angry. Both my comp and I jumped out of bed (yes, literally kamikaze-jumped off the top bunk in the pitch dark) and rushed out to stop him. As we ran through the kitchen we got to the outside door, which we had to unlock and then found, to our dismay, that it was stuck. Meanwhile Elder ____ just kept making noice and my comp and I were just panicing and getting even madder. We finally got the door open and sprinted down the outsize hallway. My slightly shorter companion rounded the corner and kept going to the back room.

I got clotheslined.

Literally, I was clotheslined by an actually clothesline. My understanding of the word has a whole new meaning! The clothesline got me at about eye level. First off, don't worry Mom, I'm all right. I just have a little scar now. I look like Scar from the Lion King. It is cool. It will be great dinner conversation on dates after the mission. Anyways, I was hit hard but I was so angry that I just kept going. We threw open the window, scolded the elder, and confiscated that nasty little airhorn. Poor kid, he doesn't seem to have all the nuts and bolts up top. Fun story huh? Really don't worry about my eye, it is completely alright.

Love Bry,