Week Thirty Eight - Transfer to Vila dos Cabanos!

Tom looking like Casper!

Claudia, Maria and Tommy!

Tom by the bus.

Tom looking very excited about eating noodles!

I love how each of Tom's e-mails have a little more Portuguese in them every week!  I think he sounds really upbeat and positive - probably excited for a change of scenery.  Can't wait to hear how it all went next week.  

 

Hi-ya guys!!!

  

       HOLY FRIGGIN MOLY!.... is what I would say if what I thought would come to pass came to pass.... almost did.... that left me really nervous! This past week was good, I never found me card, but I have one more that I started filling up with pics today. I´m about an hour and a half bus ride away from my area again. We had to come here to Ver-o-peso so Elder Rocha could see the eye doctor again. I think the doctor said today that his left eye is a goner and he has to use glasses so that his left eye doesn´t harm his right... kind of weird... and unfortunate. This past week, a woman we were teaching decided to be baptized next week. The first time we taught her and 2 other woman in the house, I thought it was just about the biggest waste of time. But the next week she went to church, said she felt super good, she went again yesterday, said she felt even better, and now she will be baptized, which is awesome.  And the thing that I thought would come to pass but didn´t come to pass, but almost did.... The transfer is over, probably the fastest 6 weeks of my life. Saturday night we return home in hopes of news of the transfer, but we get nothing. Sunday morning, we get ready for church, receive a call from our DL, Elder K-man, I will be transferred to a zone called Vila dos Cabanos, which is a nice boat ride away from here for I don´t know how much time, and my new companion will be Elder Mandonça. I ask my companion who he is to find out he´s the zone leader of the zone Barcareina, where my last companion, Elder Inácio, went. "My companion is a zone leader?" I ask, Elder Rocha says "I guess so..." Estranho........... a few minutes later I receive a call from the assistants to the president saying I need to call the president at 10:40.... "What the heck is going on..." I say to myself. So in this moment, I´m thinking I was already called to be zone leader which is estranho demais....DEMAIS! So I´m nervous, wondering whats going on, thinking I´m already going to be zone leader, which I don´t want... I call the president 10:40, he says my companion will be zone leader, but I will be a normal companion.... wheewww, that´s relieving. But he said I will have to help him because he will be super busy, being, I think, the only zone leader of the zone. So yeah, that´s the big news. Bacana, né?

            Anyways, yeah that is a huge bummer that I lost my card... never did find it :/ It´s great that people are asking about me. Unfortunately, I don´t remember a whole lot about home, so I have no idea who Jenny Anderson is. But that doesn´t matter, I´M IN BRAZIL!!! Enjoy your last year of school before the mish david! Enjoy San Fran Mommy and Emmy! Enjoy your weekend alone Papai!.... oh wait.... I think that all already happened.... Did you enjoy it!!? good.
Q&A

Do you not take your camera with you when you go to e-mail on P-days?  Can you get pictures of stuff on your P-days like the streets, stores, your apartment.  We would love to see where you live! I´´ll do that today, seeing that it´s my last here in Castanheira

Any packages or letters last week? no

Do you need new shoes, yet?  Can you use your Visa card to buys some if you do need them? I can buy shoes here if I need them. Don´t worry about me mom, I´m a grown up now! That speaks portuguese! and english!

Pics!

The first is of Elder Matos, an ex-missionary of curto-prazo (one transfer missionary more or less) in our ward, Elder Harris, he returns to the states tomorrow, lucky guy!, Elder Brito, ex-missionary of curto-prazo starting tomorrow. He lives in my new area. Elder Rocha, my companion of this last transfer. And Gasparzinho (casper the friendly ghost)! The next is of me eating some sketchy looking noodles made by Carla and Samara, the recent converts. The next is of me and 2 members of the ward. Claudia, and her sister Maria. They´re pretty cool. I will probably get more pics with members today. And the last is me at the side of the bus we got today. Jardim Europa or Garden Europe/Europe Garden. Cool, huh?

So yeah that was my week. OH I also bore testimony in the fast and testimony meeting for the first time ever, yesterday. Making progress, now, are we? Para bens Elder Williams! Okay, love you all, have a great week. Tchau Tchau!

Elder Gasparzinho!