Cidade do Sol: week 2

The view from our apartment

 sunset

the cake that nabila made for everyone 

A picture at Deybron and Nabila´s house- they are the two on the right, next to them is his brother who has been a member for a few years (he came to be part of the lesson), On the left is Elder Wilson and I and a member in our ward

The dinner we had at another investigator´s house

 Shrimp stew

 Typical Brazilian salad

Let me tell you about my week. We have a great family that we are teaching! Their names are Deybron and Nábila and they have a 2 year old son. They first heard about the church from their brother who joined the church 4 years ago in another city. One day, another set of missionaries made a contact with them in another place and gave us the referral. They live little ways away, so we usually get a ride from a member and have them stay for the lesson. They seemed really interested from the beginning and they have been very receptive. They have been reading the book of mormon together and have already read the first 10 chapters! We marked their baptism for February 21st and they are inviting all of their family to come. I have a picture of the first time we visited their house. They even had dinner ready for us afterwards.

Elder Wilson and I also got invited to a shrimp dinner at an investigator´s house. We´re more of just friends with this family at this point, but they seem a little interested in the church so we´ll see. The father of this family works giving tours to people around Natal. He also offered us a free tour to see the american military bases in Natal and the giant cashew tree.

We have been working alot with 3 recent converts of 15 and 16 years old. Their parents have been happy with the changes that some of them have been making in their lives since their baptisms. One of them already stopped using his earrings, and yesterday, I made a trade with the other one that used earrings. He gave me his earrings in exchange for one of my white shirts, haha. Things are going pretty well with my companion and the ward probably has the biggest attendance of any ward I have been in.

Dad, thanks for your questions. Yes there was a day of service, but I didn´t hear about how it went. I heard several announcements about it in one area but then I got transferred. Yes, I´ve met a member who speaks french. The most surprising part of the word of wisdom for people is coffee because almost everyone here drinks it every morning. I´ve found it´s really difficult for people to quit smoking. Some of them talk about it like it´s easy and they will be able to do it when they decide, but sometimes it´s more addictive than they realize. Yes, most people here have a good understanding of the bible. A lot of them know it better than I do.

Mom, I´ll think about your questions and respond next week.

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers and I´m praying for you too!

Love you!

Evan