1 April 2010

Letters received since last I wrote:

1 from Brother Cheney (which I will not get to read until next week because I left it in the mission office during choir practice and all the staff left and went to the temple and locked the office door).

My ATM card doesn't expire until March of 2011. My license, on the other hand, expires this year on my birthday.

I think you've been talking about Photo CD #2 for some time now. I will be getting one out soon. It's difficult here because we have no film-developing store.

Shoes and socks will be greatly appreciated. I think these shoes I'm using can hold out for another month or two. If not, I'll buy aa pair from the mission. They're okay, but they're not the greatest.

We had another baaptism on Sunday! This time, Gustavo's friend Alex was the one. He chose Elder Youngberg to baptize him, and it was his (Elder Youngberg's) first baaptism in his life. As was the case with me, he got all nervous when he entered the water and starited mixing up words. The baptism was perfect overall, however. His parents will soon follow suit after they have been married civilly.

The mission choir is going great. I will be directing "Assombro me Causa" ("I Stand All Amazed"), "Onde Encontrar a Paz" ("Where Can I Turn for Peace"), and "Cristo Já Ressussitou" ("Christ the Lord is Risen Today"). The former is rather repetitive, but we're trying to see what we can do. We have 5 more practices before our first perfomance, which I think will be just enough to make the choir comforable with the music.

That's all there is to write this week. Things are going great here. Who else is excited for General Conference?! If wew get another powerful Elder Holland talk, I'm sure people will be talking about it for a long time.

Until next week,

Elder Floyd

P.S. I withdrew the money for the filling I'll be having redone today.

24 March 2010

Letters received since last I wrote:
1 from Bishop Cheney
1 from myself
1 PACKAGE!!!!!

Okay, I got it! It was better than I imagined! Thank you so much! Now I've got the whole Old Testament Institute manual set.

It was good to see the pictures of Amanda's and Josh's wedding. One question that just popped into my mind: Why didn't I get to see a wedding invitation? I guess it's a little two late now, but it would still be interesting to see.

As of the letter I received from myself: When missionaries arrive in this mission, Sister Araújo has them write a letter to themselves that they will receive when they pass the one-year mark. That's the letter that I received. I've decided to copy it for you here:

Dear Elder Floyd,

This letter is a trip through time: I am writing it one year from the time that you will read it. At this time (of the creation of this letter), you had just gotten out of the CTM after eight long, but short, weeks.
You are a good person, Elder Floyd. You are not perfect, but you are caring and obedient. You have a heart that is growing to care about others as you care about yourself.
You must remember that life is not a piece of cake. There are good times, yes, especially for missionaries, but there are hard times also. They help you grow and they give you the opportunity to become more Christlike. You are a testifying missionary. You have a strong testimony that you must share with others.
Baptism is not the end. Your investigators must endure to the end. If you listen to the advice of your mission president, you will be able to help them do that.
Stay strong, stay true, work hard, love the people, and be perfectly obedient. The Lord will bring people to you.

Love,

Elder Daniel Floyd

And that's it. I hope it gives you a glimpse into my mindset when I left the MTC in São Paulo. It has already helped me refocus on some important elements of missionary service.

We´re preparing Gustavo's friend Alex for baptism this Sunday. He's still a little afraid, but he is 100% prepared.

As for socks, if you send gold toes like the ones I already have, that would be perfect. As for shoes, just remember that they need to be black and not made of soft material. I don't know if work boots are in the mix again, but those would be great.

Thanks again for the package. It was a great surprise; just ask the zone leader who delivered it to me.

Until next week,
Elder Floyd

17 March 2010

Okay, today I promise a letter much longer than what I wrote last
week. There has been no online sheet music-hunting on the to-do list
as of late. It turns out that there are now 3 choir directors: Elders
Garner, Brown, and me. We’ll all be directing about 4 hymns. So far, I
think it sounds about as good as a standard ward choir.

Now to answer the questions that Lyn sent me last week:

No, the mysterious “package” has not arrived yet. It’s possible that
it’s at the mission office right now, but I won’t go back there until
Saturday.

The size of a missionary district varies. There are only 4
missionaries in ours, but the standard I have seen here is six. I’ve
rarely seen 8.

The story about Ammon cutting off arms can be found in Alma 17 (no, I
didn’t remember, I searched lds.org a second ago).

I have completely worn out 2 pairs of socks, but most of them now have
at least 1 hole near the toes.

If I were you (Lyn), I would take Chemistry because Physics is all
math, and I think I remember that you weren’t very fond of math.

Like I wrote last week, Gustavo was baptized on Sunday. He is a great
kid. His mother is also preparing to be baptized on the 27th. We had
transfers today, and Elder Youngberg and I are still companions. This
transfer will last only 5 weeks (apparently this happens once every
year).

This mission has been very interesting as far as brothers-in-law are
concerned. I lost one and am about to gain another. I hope all goes
well with the wedding.

Until next week,
Elder Floyd

10 March 2010

Letters received since last I wrote:
1 email from Brother Lloyd

I have literally been left with 0 minutes today. I've been made
co-choir director of the Easter mission choir, so much of my time went
into preparing things for that. Thanks for the emails. Things are
going great here. No, I have not received this mysterious "package".
Gustavo will be baptized this Sunday.

Hope that all is well with all of you and that Amanda's wedding goes well.

Until next time,
Élder Floyd

3 March 2010

One side of my mission can be described with only one word: changes.
On Friday I got a call from the President Araújo's assistants that
Elder Ribeiro would be transferred to be their companion for the rest
of his time here (until he starts his mission on the 18th) and that I
would be receiving a companion fresh from the MTC in São Paulo.
Saturday morning I met Elder Youngberg from Salem, Oregon, and now
we've been companion for half a week. Transfers aren't until March
18th. I've given up any hope now depending on the official transfers;
it would seem the Lord has no need of them.

Our address here is Rua Dalva de Oliveira #70. No, I have not received
any package that was sent in early February. I didn't even know you
guys sent one. Thanks!

I found out during my interview with President Araújo on Monday that
Elder Cacio (Remember him, my first companion?) will soon be getting
married. It took him long enough!

I told you last week that we found an elect family. I don't have much
more to report at this moment because they couldn't make it to church
on Sunday, but they're still progressing nicely. They had a
four-year-old child that died about a year ago and are curious about
the Plan of Salvation.

Send my good-bye to Sister Watts. I guess we won't be her "mestres
familiares" anymore.  Also remember to update my email address in your
contacts. I just noticed you sent it to my old inbox.

Until next week,
Elder Floyd

24 February 2010

Letters received since last I wrote:
    1 from the Pepes (It took two months to get here. I've been told
to recommend that everyone write "Airmail" on the front of the letters
they send to me.)
    1 email from Michelle Clift

No, I am not "trunky", but it is interesting to consider that one half
of my mission is already over. It makes me want to work harder to make
good use of the time that I have left. We've found out that our new
mission president that will arrive in July is named Derek Cardon.
That's all the beans that have been spilled for now.

Thank Brother Larson for me. I guess that the month of work I did in
January 2009 was enough to merit a $50 return.

I don't have much more time today because I had to create an
attendance roll in Excel for the mission choir we'll have for Easter,
but I'll try to do my best.

I only have two more weeks together with Elder Ribeiro before he
leaves for the MTC in São Paulo. I'm trying to teach him all I can
while at the same time remembering that many things will work
differently in his mission because of the area and because of the
mission president. We found an elect family this week who is almost
already ready for baptism. I'll learn more about them this week to
pass on to you next week (No, this isn't one of those
"I'll-tell-you-next-week" things because I don't know anything else).

How are things going with Amanda's wedding, by the way?

Until next week,
Elder Floyd