Week Sixty Three - Arriving in Santarem!

Tom, Bia, Vinicius, the older brother, Predo, the younger brother, and the neighbor´s girl.

Tom, Edith and her neighbors: Jennifer, on my right, her mom, Auxiliadora, and July (Julie).

Arriving at the airport at Santarem.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM DIA! FAMILIA WILLIANS!
       Before talking about anything that went on at home, I will talk about my week so far. So I was transferred to my new area. I got a plane at 11:40 to my new area. I was wrong about the boat, unfortunately, it was just a plane ride, and it was at night so you couldn´t see anything out the window, and I sat in the isle seat... what luck... so no pics from the plane. But generally people that go to the Santarém zone stay there for a good amount of time and are just transferred within the zone, so there is a chance that I still get a 10 hour boat ride to somewhere. Embora ver. My new companion is Elder Minghini, he´s from São Paulo. He´s got about 5 months in the field. He´s an okay guy. The house we live in is again out of the area, about 40 minutes away, which is a little rough. We live in the house of another dupla, Elder Paiva and Elder de Oliveira. Elder Paiva is also from São Paulo, and he´s pretty cool, I like him. He knows how to speak English so sometimes we talk a little. His brother served in Provo and his family owns Mr. Cheyneys, the cookie store outside of the MTC in São Paulo. Elder Minghini is my second companion that served in the Brazilian army, so he´s very disciplined but he also likes to joke around. Our area is quite big, so we do a lot of walking, and right now we´re just looking for new people to teach and talking to lots of peeps na streets.
        Pics: The first is the airport of Santarém. I arrived there at about 1 in the morning and waited until about 2 for the ride to the house, and still had to get up at 6:30... ugh such little sleep. The next is me, Bia, the girl in red, Vinicius, the older brother, Predo, the younger brother, and the neighbor´s girl, who I don´t know. Bia was getting ready to be baptized this past Saturday. I hope she was. The last is me, Edith, on the left, and her neighbors: Jennifer, on my right, her mom, Auxiliadora, and July (Julie) is holding the dog on the leash. They are members in Paracurí.
Q&A
Joan wants to know if you say your prayers in Portuguese? Yes, I pray in Portuguese.

What kind of boat did you have to take and did you sleep on the boat - if so, where? Don´t know, didn´t get a boat, sorry for the mix up

Did you take a small plane or a big plane to Santarem? It was a normal plane, just smaller.

Did you figure out how to charge your ipod and are you still using it? yes and yes.

Who is your new companion and where is he from? Elder São Paulo is from Minghini.....

Did you get any packages or letters when you did your transfer?  If so, who from? Nothing yet, but maybe I´ll get something tomorrow, if the zone leaders went to Belém this past week, but I think they almost never go there, so who knows.

WOW WHAT EXCITING NEWS! DAVID´S GOING TO DALLAS! Y EL VA HABLAR ESPAÑOL! (eu acho que disse certo). Egua!  Congratulations David! I´m so excited and happy for you! I know it´s not out of the country, but it´s still a mission, and it´s the Lord´s, not yours. I know you´re going to be a great missionary David. This past week I sent a box home (egua it was expensive, so don´t expect another). It doesn´t have any gifts for anyone, exactly (David can have the São Paulo bracelet). But there is a letter in it for David, and I think this letter should help... I hope. I know it´s a little upsetting to see your friends go to places so far away, as if it were a great adventure, while it seems like you´re going to your neighbor´s, but a mission is a mission. It is not to see and know the world, but to preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone. I´m so happy to hear this news. I´m so happy for you, David. I know you will help many people. Have courage to do all that is asked of you, and have patience. I guess I´ll see you in.... 2015 then... wow what a long ways away. But don´t worry, it passes rapidão! (super duper fast).
But I guess that´s all for this week. I love you all and hope you have a great week. Stay safe. Wish me luck, this week! Tchau Tchau!
Love Elder R. Williams