16 December 2009

About a week after Lucas’ baptism, I had a heck of a dream. I was serving a mission in Europe with Elder Reis as my companion, and Christ came down and landed on the ocean, As missionaries, we started going house to house with Him and telling everyone that He had returned. Of course, nobody believed us. At one point, Christ went into Lucas’ two-story home and I followed Him. When I opened the door, he was holding Lucas by his collar with one hand over a whole in the floor of the second story! And, to make a good nightmare worse, He dropped him and Lucas died on the floor. That’s when I discovered that it wasn’t Christ. . . . It was the Antichrist! And as I tried to warn everybody that he was the Antichrist. Still nobody wanted to listen, and I woke up exhausted and scared.
That’s it. It probably didn’t seem as funny reading it here as it did recounting it for the Elders with whom I was living, but don’t worry: I’m sure we’re not teaching with the Antichrist.

This week has been a good one. Alexandro was not baptized on Sunday because we kept feeling that it was too soon, so he will be interviewed tonight and baptized on Sunday after church because he won’t be in the area on Saturday. Also, Maria dos Reis will be baptized next Saturday (the 26th).

As far as the Christmas phone call goes, I can call at any time. I imagine that the afternoon here would work best. I’ve just talked to Elder Reis, and we feel it would work best if I called from 3-4 o’ clock here (meaning about 11:00 where you are, I think). My first half will be dedicated to Mom, as I don’t know how long exactly we will be chatting, and when I’m through, I give you guys and few rings and you can call the number I typed above. Speaking of Mom, she doesn’t write me very much, so we haven’t said anything about the Christmas phone call. It would be a huge favor to me if you could let her know. I don’t know how she’ll react, but it would be a huge help to me.

Outside of that, I don’t have much more to report. We’ll be singing three times as a mission choir: once at a hangar, once at the mission conference, and once at the mall (which is “shopping center” or simply “shopping” in Portuguese). Ask Brother Cheney is he can sing “Bate o Sino” (Bah-chee oh see-noh) for you.

I hope that everyone is preparing for a great Christmas. Our next two preparation days will be on Fridays: Christmas and New Year’s.

Here's to hoping I'll still be in Novo Mundo on Christmas,
Elder Daniel Floyd

9 December 2009

Okay, looks like you caught me: I’m more of a title-maker than a story-teller. I’ll do my best to bring to light these recent “I’ll-tell-you-next-week” stories.

A funny language mix-up: Okay, this one happened during the week of my mission in the field. At the end of lunch, I wanted to say that  I was full, but I didn’t know what to say because it’s kind of rude to say “I don’t want anymore,” and after I used some hand signals to pass on what I wanted to say, one of the members decided to joke around with me and asked, “Are you grávido [translation to follow]?” I looked to Elder Cacio who made some signals like he had a big stomach, so I thought it meant “full”. So, there I went and said “Yes, I’m grávido,” and everyone bursted out laughing. As it turns out, “grávido" means “pregnant”. I had to leave Guarapuava before I stopped hearing jokes about that line.

Roasangela is still trying to quit smoking, but it’s a struggle (as you can imagine). I’m afraid I don’t have much more to report on that story.

The thing outside of books that I’m happy I brought with me is my sewing kit. I’ve got a lot of use out of that.

Things here in Novo Mundo are still going great. Elder Reis and I are still preparing Alexandro for baptism. His interview is this Friday, and we hope to do the baptism on Sunday after church. Níuza and her daughters are still doing great.

To answer Lyn’s questions . . .

There are about 20 sisters in this mission, I think. I think that if I comment on whether or not any are cute I could be sent home :P . You . . . never . . . know . . . who’s . . . watching. . . .

The refrigerator is VERY modest. I’ll try to take a picture of it this week (You like how I didn’t promise anything there?)

Bugs and mosquitoes are not yet annoying. According to the missionaries who were here last summer, it doesn’t get bad. I’m not using any bug repellent.

We go to the grocery store for 1 big trip each week, but we may go 1 or 2 more times to make small purchases (like fruit, or lunch if a member falls through).

I used up the shampoo I brought with me about 2 weeks ago. Yes, I did buy more here.

One topic we studies recently during companionship study? Repentance: I learned some interesting things.

That’s all for this week, but I promise I’ll write more next week (and you can bet that’ll happen). You may have noticed a lack of a chapel phone number. I forgot to ask for it on Sunday. I won’t forget this Sunday.

Until next week,
Elder Daniel Floyd

2 December 2009

. . . And, as always, your many emails. Things are going well here in Novo Mundo. Elder Reis and I are continuing to work hard trying to find the Lord’s elect. I still se Elder Gonçalves two times a week on Wednesday and Saturday during mission choir practice (and to answer your doubt: no, I am not conducting; I am singing). Giovane and Andrea are continuing to receive our many messages, and they now have a marriage date set for January 30th (it’s a lot harder to get married civilly in Brazil).

We are also working really hard to prepare Níuza and her family for baptism. Here, my friends, is a great example of somebody who prizes the opinion of the Lord. Almost every time we share a commandment (the Word of Wisdom, for example) she ends up lightly fighting with us saying that she can never keep that commandment, but in the end she always accepts the invitation to pray and receive confirmation from the Lord, and when we return she is trying her best to keep the commandment that we taught. Right now, we’re working on getting her married to her live-in “husband”. Her example makes me want to be better. It makes me want to forget about my own personal desires and discover exactly what it is that the Lord wants.

To answer Lyn’s questions:

I have had a few hilarious language mix-ups. If you remind me, I’ll start off my email next week with one.

Is the second question a reference to the term “down and out”?

I have not burned any food beyond recognition, but sometimes to cookies turn out a little over-done.

I used the maple frequently when I first got out, but not so much as of late. It will certainly last my whole mission.

I don’t whistle that much any more, and all of my companions until now have whistled at least a little bit.

That’s about it for now. I hope that Lyn feels better soon. It was good to hear that everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Remember: 23 days until Christmas! I’ll send you the telephone for a chapel here next week, but it’s possible that I’ll be somewhere else for Christmas.

Until next week,
Elder Daniel Floyd

25 November 2009

Didn’t someone mention something about a MissionTies letter with photos?

Anyhow, I have not yet made a turkey. We had our Thanksgiving dinner for lunch today, and all that included was chicken and mashed potatoes. It turns out that turkey is extremely expensive for missionaries: about 25 or 30 reais. With a budget of 120 reais every two weeks, turkey isn’t looking likely until Christmas.

On the other hand, I hope that all of your many Thanksgiving dinners go great. Next year, I’ll be sure to ask for a can of Ocean Spray cranberry sauce. Apparently, “cranberry” in Portuguese is “oxicoco” (oxi-coconut), but Elder Reis has never heard of it. It was also good to hear that everything went well with the no-talent talent show. I don’t know where Lyn picked up the idea for that, but if you can get the ward together to watch Dad play a tune with a fingernail on his teeth, you must be a miracle worker.

We´ve got a little miracle brewing right now with a woman named Rosangela. She’s the mother of Chauan who was baptized a few weeks ago, and she’s giving up smoking. I’ll give you more details on that next week.

The Christmas choir is going great. We have our first performance on December 10th. Outside of that, there isn’t much else to report here. If you are reading this email, please know that I love getting mail (yes, I am begging). I don’t have much time to write, but I like to know how everyone is doing. I’m also still curious about Jennifer and the boys.

Here’s to hoping you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Until next week,
Elder Daniel Floyd