Week Fifty Nine - More Frustration and Slow in Paracuri...

Hello Again!

          So, I thought about my goal that I set this past week, and I realized that it´s not so much punishment to me as it would be to you, at home (because I´m kind of sick of reading and writing e-mails anyways, especially when I have nothing good or exciting to share, like this week.... again). Anyways, I learned today that some of the mission leaders want to have companion exchanges with us this next week (our district leader, our zone leaders, and even, maybe, the assistants of the president) because things are still not going well at all. So, yeah, another week without baptism. In response to your question: yes there is pressure to get baptisms. The goal is one baptism per week for every companionship of the mission. And we are now going 9 weeks without a baptism, which is frustrating, because the mish pres. always tells us that we have the potential to have baptisms every week, that this mission (Brazil Belém) is a mission of miracles, our other leaders all say the same thing, and we´re not making any progress here in Paracurí.

Q&A
When is the next transfer and do you have any idea if you will go to a new area? The next transfer is the 19th of February, and I´m thinking that I´ll be leaving soon.
Do you know if Elder Fox is still in the mission field or did he ever go home? Yeah he´s still here.
Is it getting any easier to be the senior companion?  Do you feel like you are learning a lot? eh, it´s the same....... 
Are you pretty much fluent in the language now or do you still sometimes have a hard time understanding people? I understand most of what people say, I don´t have problems trying to explain things or express ideas.
Do you want me to send anything or do you need anything?  What about your soccer Jersey you bought in Barcelona, since you're a big soccer fan now! I accept my soccer jersey! manda o agora!!!(send it now!)
Did you get the story I sent you about the missionary dog, yet? yeah I did, it was funny.... what more can I say? (thank you, I liked it a lot!)

Question, does em´s boyfriend speak Spanish at all, or has he completely forgotten it? And is he Mormon? 

But, that´s all for this week, hope for a better one ahead. I love you all. Have a great week, see you later, alligators!

Love Elder R. Williams

Week Fifty Eight - Frustration!

Hello! You are listening to Brazil Radio News! Here´s your host.... EEllllddeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Williams! *woooo**clap*clap*woooo*

     Haha, stupid.... anyways.... I´m glad to be able to talk tyáll again! I will be honest, things here as far as missionary work are being difficult. A lot of appointments fell, very few people taught, lot´s of people fleeing from us, lots and lots of walking.... o que mais?.... Oh! Fubecas that don´t go to church! Eessh cara(dude)! We had 2 investigators at church yesterday, they both live outside of our area, and one is an atheist that was already taught by the sisters but he never got baptized so I don´t know what is the deal there! Eessh, this week was a little frustrating. But my companion is still really cool. He´s got a bunch of funny stories that he´s already told me, before and while in the mission. I think the stories while in the mission are funnier because it´s about some of the churches here, and he´s got a really funny story of a snake that liked him a lot in his first area, that always calls him Elder Gonzalech.... hahahaha, anyways. Anyways, the missionary work is not wanting to go well, but I´m still fine. I think my companion helps a lot. He´s super humble, and teaches really well. Anyways.... there is one woman that we are teaching here, she wen´t to the church 2 weeks ago, and when we went to visit her during the week, she said one part about the church bothered her, because the person teaching the gospel principals class talked a little about eternal families, that through ordinances of the gospel we can live with our families forever in the presence of God, and she kind of thought that it was bull crap.... But I know it´s not and I know it´s possible, that the family is just as important to God as it is to us, and for that, the family can be eternal. Anyways.... that was my week.

           I´m glad to hear that everyone´s week was good, again. That´s funny that Em´s boyfriend is also Argentinean. My companion wants to know what part of Argentina he´s from. And he also wants to say this: Decile que vamos a tomar unos mates y que está todo piolo con él. I´m not sure what that means yet... I hope it´s not bad! Forgive me if it is! It´s cool to hear about so many of David´s friends are going on missions. Can´t wait to hear where David´s going!!! And I´m also super happy that the Jazz beat Miami! Take that Lebron!

Q&A
Do you have a way to plug in an i-pod charger to a wall outlet?  I could send you one if you can use it without some kind of power converter.  From what I read on-line, it sounds like Brazil has some power outlets like ours, but some that are different.  Just depends on where you are at.  Let me know what you think you have. I´ve been thinking about buying a charger this whole week and realized today that my camera has a plug in/wall outlet thingy with a USB port, so I now know that I can charge my ipod at home. Eeesh I don´t think hard enough.
Did you ever hear from Justin, Taylor or Lucas? Nope, nada.... I guess we´ll have to wait until dezembro.
Do you remember a girl named Carla?  She is friends with me on facebook and she always tells me hi and asks how you are doing.  She looks like a cute girl....................... Is she from Brazil? The only Carla I remember at the moment is  a girl that we baptized in my second area.... it´s not ringing a bell right now... sorry.
Did you get through all of your Christmas treats, yet?  If you haven't, you better hurry because some Valentines treats are on their way! Yes I did. I gave those mints that look like mini Hershey´s kisses to a family here and they said they were bom demais!(too good)

Pics!

Unfortunately, this computer is acting pretty sucky right now, and time is up. I have to go, sorry! I love you all, have a great week but don´t act like doidões! Oh, so one more thing... because of the little success we are having right now, I don´t feel worthy enough to write home anymore, so you will only be hearing from me again if we have a baptism, and this week is not looking good... it´s just a little goal of mine.... So have a few good weeks then, tá bom?! tá. Tchau Tchau!

Love Elder R. Williams

Week Fifty Seven - Learning Spanish!

Skyping with us on Christmas Day!

Tom and Elder Roja, eating more acai.

Tom and two missionary sisters at a baptism. 

HEEEEEEEEEYYYY! WHATS UP!?

         Glad to hear the jazz won 3 of 4 games this past week, and that it´s still snowing. What would be awesome is if it snowed the whole year so that there is a 100% chance that there is snow on the ground when I return home. I´d like that. I´d like that a lot. Anyways, I guess it´s cool to hear that Scotty ended his mission, já. I hope he enjoyed it and got the most out of it. So I received my new companion this week. Elder Gonzalez. He´s from Salta in Argentina. He brought a book with a bunch of pics of Argentina, and wow... it´s a beautiful country. I think I´ll go there after my mission, with exception of Buenos Aires because my companion says that they are stuck up... Anyways, I started studying a little bit of argentinan spanish this week, which is fun. The difference of accent between all these Spanish speaking countries of south America is funny, but what´s even funnier is that Brazil has about as many different Portuguese accents as all the Spanish accents in America do Sul. Anyways, I´m liking my new companion a lot. For having such little time in the mission (almost 6 months now), he´s very experienced. Apparently Brazil and Argentina are soccer rivals, so a lot of people discuss soccer with him, so I´m learning a little bit about soccer at lunch just about everyday. I think I´ll start watching a bit of soccer when I return home. But yeah, we still have a baptism drought here, but we´re getting closer... I think.

Q&A

Does you new companion speak any English?  Is it hard for the two of you to communicate?  I am guessing he speaks Spanish. My companion doesn´t speak a lot of English, just very basic stuff, but he already speaks Portuguese very well. He used to watch a lot of movies in English with Spanish subtitles so he knows a tiny bit. He said he likes the saw series so I asked him to explain to me the story.... eeesh it sounds awful... nada a ver....

 
Have you been listening to the i-pod I sent and does the speaker work OK? Yes I have, but it dies about mid way through the week, and I don´t have anything to charge it with until I come here to use the computer.
Do you still have to take cold showers in the apartment you are now in?  Have you ever had a shower with hot or heated water since you've been down there? In my 3rd area, we had an electric shower head, so sometimes I took hot showers (but it´s expensive) but here it´s just cold showers, but I´m not complaining.

Have you been speaking in church, lately? I haven´t spoken in church yet, here in Paracurí. It doesn´t seem like missionaries get asked to speak much.
Are there other American missionaries in your area? In the zone, yes, but in the closest area, it´s 2 Brazilian sisters (they should be in one of the pics I send home).
Did you get the new memory card I sent for your camera?  Was it the right kind? Yeah I got it, I think it´s the right kind. Muito obrigado mãe! (thanks very much, mom!) 

Pics!

The first is the baptism of some sisters in the neighboring area. I baptized him (Breno) because it was us that received the referral to teach him but unfortunately, he lives on the other side of the street that divides the areas. But it was an honor to baptize him. The next is me and my companion, Elder J. Rosa (before the transfer this past week) as we were about to eat açai. Don´t worry I´m not upset or anything, I just like giving frowny faces in my pics! The last one is.... Oh! it´s you! when we were skyping. Mom and David must be camera shy, and I think Dad and em got sick of looking at me....

Anyways, that´s about all this week. Wish me luck while I learn Spanish during this next transfer. Have a great week. HEY! someone should go make a giant snowball out in the front yard! OR a snowman! OR an igloo! Anyways. I love you all, and miss ya tons! Have a great week and stay safe! Tchau Tchau!

Love Elder R. Williams

Week Fifty Six - Cool Christmas Present & New Companion!

Hello Family!

           This week was okay. Unfortunately, a whole transfer passed and we didn´t have any baptisms.... I´m not too happy with that. But I sure did learn a lot in this transfer. I learned to be more patient with the newbies... I learned to make contacts better...I learned to take action and responsibility better... seeing that before this transfer it was pretty much my companions that did everything. So with the transfer, my companion, Elder J. Rosa, wil be leaving from the area, and my new companion here will be Elder Gonzalez... he´s from Argentina, and he´s got less time in the mission than my companion now.... about 3 months... wow that´s very little time. A member here gave us a Christmas present this past week, just a little late, which is reeeeeaaaallllyyyy cool! I received a little pottery bowl with my name (Elder R. Williams) on it and the flag of Pará. Missionaries have it good, do they not? Hearing that Beau is already returning home from his mission is... unbelievably incredible. This is the year that everyone´s mission ends. Beau, Scotty George in February, Justin in May or June, Taylor in July or August, maybe, Josh in August I think.... and Lucas in October... I think.... and then me... in December... The mission is soooo strange! It´s constantly changing, people are constantly coming and going!... What more can I say?

           So yeah, I don´t have a lot more to say this week, sorry. 
Did your companion get transferred?  If you got a new companion, what's his name and where is he from? Elder Gonzalez, from Argentina

Do you ever see or hear from Klayton, anymore? Nope, he´s in my mission past now.

Have you been to any restaurants or out to eat, lately? Nope, just eating at members.

Do you ever see American fast food restaurants where you are at - like McDonald's? In my area, no but I don´t need it.

Is there anything you need me to send to you?  Wart remover, deodorant, sunscreen? Nope, I`m good for now.

Grandma Marta is wondering if the chocolate she sent you was melted?  Hershey's chocolate drops, I think. Nope, didn´t melt. Thanks G-ma!!!!

My hour of computer time already ended so I´ve gotta go now. But I love you all and will talk better next week.... sorry.

Tchau Tchau!

Love Elder R. Williams

Week Fifty Five - Happy New Year!

Picture of Tom and his companion posted on FB by Cleide Lima.

Hello and Happy New Year!

    Seeing ya´ll na Skype was pretty darn cool, but sorry I didn´t have much to say! I´ll be thinking of questions to ask for the next time starting now! Sorry to hear about your car Em! But I´m glad to hear that you are okay! Egua Mom! Don´t be down because you have snow! Enjoy it for me! Would you rather live in a place where you begin to sweat the second you wake up?! And when you are done taking a shower and get ready for the day you are already sweaty again! EEEsh é horrivel! But only one more year of it! And Egua! I want to go snowboarding! Com certeza, I will be learning that again when I return home! Sorry that my e-mails are getting shorter every week. I´m just kind of losing patience with my self at the moment. With a new year comes new goals, and one will be longer e-mails... okay?

         My week was okay... not a lot special happened beyond talking to you on Skype. There´s a guy here that we talked to, and we´re going to try to teach, that knows a lot about basketball. He´s already talked with a lot of missionaries, but has never been taught, and he´s actually played basketball with some. But he is the husband of a less active member that is wanting to return to the church, so we´re going to work hard with him. Hearing him say John Stockton and Carl Malone was funny. The rest of the people we are teaching are just kinda meh right now. This week is the last of the transfer, I hope we find better people to teach. Anyways, my companion is most likely going to be transferred, and it should be nice to have a new companion... not that my companion is bad or I don´t like him or anything like that... but I kind of want a new one.

Q&A
Did you get the iPod I sent and were you able to listen to music on the little speaker? YES IT IS QUITE COOL! BUT! it needs more Josh Groban, and unfortunately, the computer is not able to identify the ipod. I think it´s because it lacks itunes... so I can´t really get more music on it right now, which is a bummer.


Did your companion get presents from home, too? I heard some sad stories from other missionary moms that said their son's companions didn't receive any Christmas presents. I meant to tell you that you could share with your companion if he didn't get anything. I think you probably got quite a bit considering how many people sent packages. I hope your companion got some things, too. He didn´t get a lot but I´ll be sure to share with him.


What did you do on Christmas day - what was the day like for you? I just talked to you guys and visited some members of the ward... Our leaders said that we had to be out on the street during the day, we couldn´t stay at home, so we just visited people.

Do you know the family well that let you Skype from their house? Yeah, more or less. They´re nice, always giving us lunch. They are a very strong family in the church, and help out the mishs quite a bit.


I am not getting pics loaded on the e-mail right now, because this computer is dumb, but I will try to send some home next week.

That´s it for this week. I love you all. Happy New Years! Wish me luck on my last year of the mission. Tchau Tchau!

Elder R. Williams