6 May 2009

Hello All,

I have recently discovered that the Mission Office here does not forward letters through the mail, only through other missionaries. I have also discovered that the "email with non-family" rule is a little different than I thought. I can receive email from anybody, but I can only respond (through email) to family.

Now some really good news: Mother's Day is here! Any I totally forgot! This coming Sunday I get to call home! We don't have the number yet for the telephone in the chapel that we will be using, so I will have to call collect. Anywho, I'm glad to hear that you're all alive and none of you have died of this Pig Flu yet. I'm also glad to hear that the economy hasn't got you down. Also...Lyn, making bread? Times are changing...

It sounds like Vinnie is really living it up. I swear that everybody here owns a dog. Even the people with cats own dogs. And if you don't see any dogs in people's yards, there's bound to be a stray walking down the street. I've also discovered why people here clap at houses instead of knocking at the door: you can't get to the door. Everybody has a front gate to their property, so you have to clap as you stand on the sidewalk.

Our golden contact family really wasn't as we thought. On our return visit, the wife met us at the gate and informed us they didn't want to have us back again. She blamed the unwilling-to-change-from-Catholicism husband, but I'm not sure. Anyhow, we now have two new families that are doing pretty well with the lessons: Andressa & family and Ulga & family. We only found Andressa because one of her relatives called the number on a pass-along card, and we only found Ulga because we taught her son. Also, Daniele and Fernando are preparing really well for their baptisms this Saturday. I can't wait!

Also, the TAHN-GUEE here is really good. If you don't get it, ask Jay  :)  .

I'm afraid my time is soon up,so I will try to type as much as I can.I'm sorry if my letters have been short. I also have to read an email from President Araujo, write an email to him, and read other emails.

Brazil is really an amazing place. I still don't think Lyn would like it,but it really is cool. The people are poorer on average than Americans, but they are nice. I found out that Brazilians only need to pay R$10.000 to serve a mission.

This email really isn't as long as I had hoped, but I hope it will suffice until next week. I look forward to writing you next week and reading all your letters on the 21st. I miss you and think of you always.

Love,
Elder Daniel Floyd