August 17, 2010

hey family, 
carta azul means blue letter. i pulled a prank on my companion and our whole district was in on it. he had a dream that his girlfriend sent him a letter in a blue envelope which means a dear john. i learned this recently. anyway we bought a blue envelope and looked on the back of a picture of his girlfriend to get the handwriting. then elder eggett, district leader, is really good at handwriting so he wrote the stuff on the outside of the envelope. we even put used stamps on the outside and then stuck it in the mailbox. we did it yesterday and it was hilarious. he thought it was real and everything. inside we put a note saying gotcha.

this last week our district also did comb over day, where we all did super combovers. it was fun. i really like my district and i love being here in the ctm.

questions 
1. the open house was good. we sang every night for four days. we sang a really cool song called praise the man. you should look it up. we also sang i know that my redeemer lives, the spirit of god, love is spoken here, and if the savior stood beside me. it was a cool experience. there wasnt a ton of people there but there were people there. its a really nice chapel. i guess theres supposed to be a story in the liahona about it.

2. trc is a teaching practice where they record you and the room is set up like a living room. it went really well. the spirit was super strong with my companion and i.

3 yup ive had to speak twice and we do speak in english.

i didnt know that ray whitmire had died. thats sad. im glad the funeral went well.

i think ive gained about ten in the ctm. i eat a lot haha.
   
today we went to the campinas temple because the sao paulo temple is closed for cleaning. campinas is farther away but definitely worth it. the temple sits on a hill and overlooks a valley. the celestial room is the most beautiful so far. campinas a city north of sao paulo. the campinas temple is the closest temple to my mission but is not in my mission.

happy anniversary tomorrow! i remembered the other day.

another question for pehrson and tyson are ideas for food in the field. haha im thinking ahead.


this last week we started learning the commandments. we learned the law of chastity in portuguese and this is what we had to do. my teacher, irmao brandao, is nuts. he had us teach the law of chastity first time to brazilian sisters. haha i couldnt believe it. it actually went really well though. in the situation we had to postpone a baptism date though because the "investigator" broke the word of wisdom. that was fun. i need to be more bold. i feel really timid sometimes ahah.

this friday we go proselyting again, but this time to a big square in sao paulo. im excited but nervous. in our district this week to prepare for proselyting we are seeing which companionships can do the most contacts in the ctm each day. its pretty fun way of preparing.


i cant believe that i have been here for 7 weeks already. only 2 more to go. that seems so short. im going to miss my district a ton. we laugh a lot. the ctm really is like a little mission. its going to be the same new thing all over again. hard at first, but great once you figure it out.


hows everything at home? when does school start for rachel? how is tysons mouth doing? i love you guys a ton. im so greatful for your support.


one of my brazilian roomates, we got new ones, is a convert and his mom didnt want him to go on a mission. he is an inspiring example to me and im greatful to have great examples and love and support. i know that god hears and answers our prayers, even though it doesnt seem like it sometime. live the gospel to the fullest. we can only receive all of the blessings of the gospel when we do everything we can. i love you so much. keep the letters coming. theyre the best!
elder hawkley