(Elder Mackrory)
Boa Tarde! Coé!
Don't bother trying to translate coé, it's slang. Probably
equivalent to "sup". How are you guys? Recently, I've added quite a
few new people in my email list, so I'll quickly reintroduce myself.
So I'm Elder Mackrory (the fifth). I am called to serve in
the Rio de Janeiro North mission in Brasil. I started this last August, and
I'll finish July 2025. It’s not exactly two years, but that’s just how the
logistics worked out. It's really only two weeks short of the full two years. I
just finished my first transfer in the field, and its freaking awesome. I write
an email every week, and the subject line is always a line from a Taylor Swift
song that has something to do with the events of the week. It's just a fun
thing I do to keep up my Swiftie status while I can't listen to her music. I
also include a short summary at the end of my email because I understand that
not everyone has time to read my long emails, especially other missionaries.
One other typical thing of my emails is the Fusca count. Fusca is the
Brasileiro word for VW beetle. There's tons of them here. So far I’ve seen 144
classic (1970's) fuscas. I've also seen 2 modern fuscas, but I'm not sure if I
should include those. After the SummaRio, there is a spiritual thought and
tender mercy of the week. Photos finish off the email. Enjoy!
As I said, I just finished my first transfer. I'll be
staying in the area, but Elder Nascimento was transferred. I learned a lot from
Elder Nascimento. The three days of transfers were kinda crazy. My district and
the adjacent district met at our chapel for the zoom meeting. Afterwards,
everyone was signing things. I signed flags, jerseys, journals, and more. Nascimento
and I went about the rest of our day as normal. Thursday was filled with
visiting members and investigators and saying goodbye to Elder Nascimento. On
Friday I said goodbye and spent the day on a split with Elder Humerez. That
night we picked up Elder Avelino from the bus station. It was late, so we just
went to bed when we arrived home.
The next day we went to the supermarket to get food for Avelino
and some cleaning supplies that we were apparently lacking. We spent probably
like two hours clearing out trash and wiping the floor. To me it seemed pretty
clean before, but I guess Avelino likes to live in a house that exceeds
Brasilian standards of cleanliness. Now, I think about the place where Elder
Avelino first met me and I wonder how I even lived in such a dump.
The Language is progressing nicely. Elder Avelino says I am
fluent, but that’s definitely not true. I can speak pretty well and about most
subjects. My vocabulary is still very limited, and so I'm having to improvise
things since I don't know the exact word. For example, I forgot the word for
elbow. So I ended up saying "arm knee". I did not know the word for
wood, so I said "tree brick". Soap turned into "clean
juice". Comb turned into "hair broom". Stuff like that.
Something that I'm proud of is my accent. I've been told by many Brasileiros
including my comp who said that I only sound like a gringo because of my choppy
speaking and limited vocabulary, but that the way I pronounce words is perfect.
My comp and I practice our Portuguese and English when we
walk. When we chat, he speaks in English while I correct him, and I respond in Portuguese,
while he corrects me. It’s pretty cool.
Thats pretty much it this week, really just transfers and
language practice.
SummaRio:
1. To the many new people added to my email list: welcome
all. I hope you enjoy the weekly updates.
2. I just finished my first transfer. I was with Elder
Nascimento and now I'm with Elder Avelino
3. Elder Avelino likes a clean house (so do I) so we dee
cleaned the house and got rid of so much stuff.
4. The language is progressing nicely. Elder Avelino says I
am fluent and my accent is very good. But I am definitely not fluent. I have to
describe things in different and creative ways in order to make up for a lack
of vocabulary.
5. My comp and I have conversations in two languages at once
to practice. It's pretty cool.
Spiritual Thought:
Matthew 13
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest
thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto
you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not
given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall
have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even
that he hath.
With this being said, here’s a parable of actual events:
Before Elder Avelino and I cleaned the apartment, a broken
chair and broken suitcase sat in front of an unused armoire that contained scriptures
and other gospel books of missionaries past. When he and I cleaned the
apartment, the chair and suitcase were thrown out, and the scriptures and
gospel literature were organized and moved to a more accessible location.
Everything either has a perfected place in the Kingdom of
Heaven, or no place. Contemplate which things in your life either have a
perfected place or no place in your journey back to the Lord's presence.
Tender Mercy: During my split with Elder Humerez, we crossed
a bridge with really scenic views. I planned to take a photo when we crossed.
But as we stepped onto the bridge, Elder Humerez asked me why I wanted to
become a missionary. I gave him my answer and my testimony and forgot to take
the photo. Afterwards, I had a realization. Although Rio de Janeiro is very scenic
and a good vacation destination, I'm not here for that. I'm here to serve the
Lord and bring all those willing unto Him. In the moment that I forgot to take
the photo, I was focused on what was most important. While photos will help me
remember this time, it is not why I'm here. It was just a cool testimony
builder with some cool symbolism.
Tchau gente! Deus abençoe!
Photos:
-Banana flavored peanut butter
-my chalk drawing
-teaching the most stiff-necked people I've met
-cute pink car
-Harley
-Me and a Bird ft. Elder Robison (miss you)
-quail eggs at the supermarket
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