I was robbed!

Oi!

I´m getting adjusted to this area. I think haha. The hardest part for me still is remembering where everything is haha. This week has been really hard on me mentally. There in the city são paulo i had a lot of success. It was really really easy to find the people that were prepared by the Lord. There was always someone willing and wanting. Here, it's very similar, but everyone seems to be satisfied with their religion. Everytime we talked about the book of mormon with people, the people just understood it as the word of God. Which is great, but they weren't understanding that if the book of mormon was true that means this church is true. They seem to accept any "word of god" that is said to them but want to just stay in their church. It was very difficult for me because for me I thought I was teaching very clearly and direct, but they weren't seeming to understand. sadly, once again we didn't bring anyone to church. It was really hard for me because the last transfer we brought people to church every week and baptized almost every week. I tried applying everything I learned from my last area, but it goes to show we are humbled fast and sometimes we can do all we can and still have nothing. But that just means I have to work harder to find those prepared. I have noticed that my happiness is more when I am in the service of the lord and even more when I am baptizing.

Yesterday something sweet happened!! Well... kind of hahaha. :P I was robbed!!! It was kind of annoying because we were robbed by 2 16-17 year old kids. But what can you do. They came up to us on bikes while we were heading home (it was 8:30) and I just kept walking because I thought they were just wanting to be stupid hahaha (I don't know how to explain it but there's always young guys that just mess with us haha) but anyways I heard one of them say "I'll shoot you if you don't stop!" So obviously I stopped hahaha. And I looked at him and I thought "Man, I'm getting robbed! I'm not giving him my cards." haha. so He was holding "his gun." But he wasn't showing him. I almost have certainty that he didn't have a gun by the way he was "holding it" under his shirt and in his pants. It was weird haha. But anyways, he told me to empty my pockets and my bag. So I pulled out where I keep my money but I kept my bag because i was not going to let him have it. I just pulled out a 20 I had (i had 2 20's actually because we had to get more money) and gave him that 20. But then he said give me the rest. And i just said, no I just have this. I only have this. And he got mad and him and his friend ran out and he started cursing me out and tudo isso. It was crazy. It was just annoying because I felt stupid afterward hahaha and my comp got our cell stolen and 80 reais (money) Anyways, about 10 other people saw them robbing us (it was on the street right before our street where we live) and called the police. Police never showed haha. Kind of expected that because nothing was really robbed of us big. Just today we had to fill out a form thing to make sure we don't have to pay for the phone. But that was the crazy event for the week! Oh funny part. Because I wasn't prepared for getting robbed I just handed him what was in my hand at the time hahaha so I gave him my pen and my soccer jearsy that I got from a member that day. But he threw the shirt down and said "No I'm corintians not santista!" (different teams) So luckly still got it! hahaha.

Louie and Shelby will be really awesome missionaries they'll love it :) I definitely want to hear the primary kids too! So I made the hamburger stuff over rice! Well almost! I used tomatoe sauce instead of cream of mushroom soup because they don't have that here. But it was good. Not same but good still :) I'm learning how to cook :] hahah. I make...strogonoff? I think that's how you spell it but here in Brasil it's actually really good :) Anways...thought I would let you konw... haha

You got an I-phone? That's sweet :P I don't even know what's new and cool anymore haha. Just kidding. So yeah I just used my debit card recently because i wanted to buy a hammock. That's why there was a charge in that. But we get fed, pretty okay. But let's just say I still have my opportunties to get better at cooking :) hahaha.

This area here is really cool. I like it a lot. the people are really good people too. And the bishop is really cool too. I haven't had too much interaction with him, but he makes the list :) haha. So we live with other missionaries. We don't live in our area but close by. We live under some membros.

So I laughed so much when I read that story about adam and gavin. It was sooo funny hahahaha. Wish I could've seen it! :P hahahah.


Insert: This is the story I shared with Grant:
Oh, yeah, another funny story--Jessica told me that when she got home from her Relief Society activity Adam was telling her about putting Gavin to bed. Adam was laying on the bed with Gavin and Adam fell asleep--according to Jessica that is usually what happens. Anyway, when he woke up there was Gavin--still awake--totally naked on the bed next to him. He had taken all his jammies and diaper off. When Adam woke up, Gavin starts laughing and bouncing around. He's a funny kid.

Me and you, dad, had like that same first expierences with first area huh? Cool. :P 

Oh! Crazy awesome thing. We went to the chapel wednesday night for english class. We met a returned elder there. And he just got back from serving in... Porto Alegre South!! How Crazy! and I asked him if he knew Elder F. Morgan and he said yeah he's a great friend of his! And then he showed me a photo of them together and then I started missing him again. hahaha. But it was so cool and I just got all super excited with that :D hahah. His name is Elder Carvalho.

Ask him too if he remembers a Irmão Cavalcante in the CTM. The mom of him said he taught a Elder Merrill.

Well, anyways I got to get going now but Always awesome to write you guys :) Tchau I love you!

Com amor,
Élder Grant Shaw Merrill