A Foot or Two: You know I love a London boy

(Elder Mackrory)

Fala ai pessoal!

It feels like an eternity since I last wrote an email, and yet this week was so fast! We will start with the usual. 304. And there's a story to go along with it, but we will get there when we get there. Also, SÓ UMA SEMANA ATÉ NATAL!!!!!!!

So, last week, I mentioned transfers. And how Elder Avelino got his visa. Literally, like an hour after I sent that email, my mission president, Presidente Dutson, calls to let us know that the travel plans have changed. And the new travel plans had him leaving Tuesday morning. The entire district was spinning. We had an emergency outing to a rodizio restaurant to celebrate and have a final confraternização do distrito. We did our secret Santa then (it's called secret friend here), and Elder Rojas got me some cologne, which definitely went way over budget, but that's ok. I got Sister Samogin, and I got her a new phone case. She said she needed one and that I got her favorite color. So that was a huge win.

I didn't have money for the rodizio because I spent it on protein powder. So I just sat and hung out with the district, which was totally fine because I had food at home. But then Elder Avelino got me a churrrrrroo. I almost cried for happiness. There needs to be a sixth love language with food. And you can't put it under gift giving because that is not one I'm particularly inclined towards.

That night, most of the district wanted to stay at the restaurant after nine. Since our president allows American missionaries to call home from 9-10 (because of the time difference), Elder Schmuhl and I decided to go back to the house. Upon arriving home, we realized that neither of us had a sim card. So we had to go back and get one. On the way, we met the district again. They decided to come home not long after us. They were relieved to see us because they were being followed by two people who looked very determined to rob us. When we arrived, the other two turned back. It was really cool how it worked out.

Tuesday morning, Elder Avelino left. I was put in a trio with Elder Borges and Elder Schmuhl. So technically, I had 3 trainers because Elder Avelino's travel counts as an emergency transfer.

Wednesday morning, we found out about transfers. I'm staying! But of course, I do get another companion. His name is Elder Falanchi. He was born and raised in the States, but both of his parents are from São Paulo, so he started his mission fluent in Portuguese and English. Most people are surprised to hear he's American because he looks Brazilian. He's got tons of energy and is really good at listening and making meaningful connections with people. He's also a hugger, which you don't find too many of those on the mission. He's pretty awesome.

I thought it would be funny to see if I could pull a British accent on this guy just for fun. So, to set up, I contacted Elder DeWitt, who lived in the same house as him before the transfer. Elder DeWitt was one of my roommates in the CTM; he's the goat. And he's now gonna be in my zone, which is a tender mercy because Elder Schmuhl and Elder Smith were transferred. Gonna miss them. Anyway, we got DeWitt on board, and the stage was set.

On Saturday, Elder Falanchi and I spent most of the day doing phone contacting. With how much Elder Avelino was sick, we weren't able to have many lessons or even get out of the house much. Elder Falanchi and I set up lessons and other appointments that should keep us pretty busy. We were able to get in contact with some investigators who haven't shown interest since my first transfer.

That night, we went to the ward Christmas party (part 2). I had a random thought to bring my melodica. It ended up being super cool because the missionaries gave an improvised musical number of Silent Night, so I was able to play the melodica while the others sang in 3 languages. It was way cool. I'm grateful for that simple yet inspired prompting to bring it.

Elder Falanchi thinks it's funny that I count Fuscas, and so he's helping me with it. On each the two days we've worked together, we got 6. A daily average is somewhere between 3 and 4. I expect that there will be bug jumps this transfer (Get it? BUG jumps???). Oh man I'm so funny. It's given me a stronger drive to count fuscas. And it makes it wheelly fun when working with a companion. I wonder if I'll ever get tired out. What even fuels these puns?

The accent is working well, and my comp and a few in the district are totally fooled. It's really fun. Although as I listen to myself, I find my “accent” is closer to New Zealand or South Africa than a London accent. It would be pretty cool to just keep this up for the next 19ish months and just come home with an accent. We'll see. Vamos ver.

The housing situation changed for the better. The Elders of Macaé 2 moved to the Lagomar house and so there's only 4 people in our house. It's really nice to have a clean house with walking space. I'm back on cooking and having space in the fridge. It also means I get my own fan and closet.

My Portuguese is doing quite well. I have no problem chatting with everyone, but it is sometimes difficult to participate in a dinner conversation because it takes me a second or two to process what was said and come up with what to say. And by that time someone else has added something more and the process begins again. I can teach all the lessons and make phone contacts. I think I've hit what's called “missionary fluent” where I can do all the things that missionaries typically do with ease, but vocabulary outside of those realms is very limited.

SummaRio:

304 beetles.

Elder Avelino got updated travel plans to go to Mozambique on Tuesday morning instead of Friday. We went out to eat that night to celebrate.

Since Elder Avelino was “emergency transferred”, I had 3 trainers by a technicality: Nascimento, Avelino, and Borges.

I'm staying in my area for the next transfer with my new comp Elder Falanchi. He's American but grew up speaking Portuguese, so that's cool.

I decided to start doing a British accent with Elder Falanchi. Thanks to Elder DeWitt for helping me set up the backstory!

We are focusing on reactivating old investigators and setting up lessons since a lot of investigators dropped interest last transfer.

Elder Falanchi helps me count fuscas, so I expect big jumps this transfer.

My “accent” as it turns out is closer to South African or New Zealander.

There are only four Elders in hours house right now, which is really comfortable.

I'm fluent in all things missionary, and I'm working on expanding my vocabulary and grammar to be truly fluent. I hope to feel fluent by the end of this transfer.

Tender Mercy: this week has been full of tender mercies, but for me this one stands out. On Wednesday afternoon, the Zone Leaders and one other Elder had to leave early for a leadership conference. The whole situation had everyone a little on edge, and the Zone Leaders accidentally left the house without leaving a sim card with one of us. That would mean for the next two days, we would not have any sort of WIFI or cellular connection. It would mean that we couldn't get tickets for Elder Schmuhl’s travel, or arrange rides for when the new zone members arrive. Since we realized pretty soon, we were able to chase after them and get it back. The tender mercy is that while we ran the mile to the bus station (in the hot sun and missionary clothes), every intersection was still as we crossed it. It was right about rush hour, and so that never happens. There was also a pleasant breeze keeping us cool as we ran. The whole run was headed by the Lord's angels. We probably crossed at least 5 intersections and never had to stop once for a car.

Spiritual thought: Being so close to Christmas, I'd like to share my thoughts. For me, Christmas is a remembrance of the great gift to the world the Savior Jesus Christ is. It means a renewal of that same spirit of giving in us. How is that spirit of giving in you this week and every day?

Photos:

- my new comp and I

- Elder Avelino abandoning me with a smile

- flavored ketchup

- Philly cheese steaks

- Mazda Mx-3 (I didn't know that existed)