December 5, 2011 - Hey

Hey family,

Thanks for the email and the pictures. Everyone is looking good!

I got one package so far. Hope the other one comes too! Thanks a lot!
I got the one with some presents and lots of candy. Are the socks
wrapped?

That´s cool to hear about Zach Wynne! Thats where he was called to the
first time wasnt it? Thats inspiration!

So this week has been LONG haha. We got to our area Tuesday night.
Wednesday we went to district meeting and then lunch and then went and
looked for people to teach. Thursday we went back to Ribeirão so that
my comp could go to the Polícia Federal and get registered and came
back that night. Friday we looked for people to teach and visited some
members and the same on Saturday. Church was good yesterday. This
morning we got the zone together (6 elders and 4 sisters) and played
soccer. Then we ate lunch at an irmãs place. Her name is Vovô Lola
(Grammy Lola). She gives the missionaries lunch for free on pday and
the missionaries eat lunch quite a bit at her house during the week.
She makes take out lunches for people to eat. Shes way funny.

Other details... My comp is called Elder Pedro. He would have been
Elder Mesquita but there already is an Elder Mesquita. His name is
Pedro Miguel Baptista Castro Mesquita. There is already an Elder
Batista, an Elder Castro and an Elder Mesquita. haha so it was Pedro
or Miguel. Things are going really good. The Lord blessed me a lot
with him. He is obedient and came on a mission to work. He was
baptized 6 years ago with his mom. He doesnt have any brothers or
sisters and has always lived with his mom. He is funny too. The
Portugues accent sounds so wierd haha. Same words, but way different.
Like New York and TExas ahaha.

Our area is so big. There are 5 areas in São Carlos and I think our
area covers about 1/3 of the entire city. The ward is strong, 130 this
last Sunday. But it is funny because there are twice as many high
priests than elders.

The sisters in my district are good. They are both brazilian. They are
working hard. They asked for a lot of stuff from me when I first got
here and went to Ribeirão. They were needing a cell phone (theirs had
gotten stolen) and so I helped them with that.

This week was hard. We taught a total of 3 lessons and didnt find
anybody to teach yet. The elders that were here didnt do well with the
area book. The area is big and lunches are a ways a way. It was hard
for me to know where to start. Lots of  feelings of fear and worry and
inadequacy and homesickness haha that I felt in the first couple weeks
of the mission returned. Im doing a lot better now though. Its hard
starting a new area and training. Lots of responsability. But it will
work out. The other missionaries here in the zone are great. We have a
couple of referrals from the members to contact which is way good.
This week is going to be a lot better!

The house is so dirty. The toilet is so bad that neither I nor my comp
have gone poop at home yet. We have been using the church. We are
going to clean it today haha. finally!

I love you all so much! I wish I could give you a big hug haha. But I
know that the message we carry is true and that the Lord is by our
side. We are not alone as we serve him, although it can sometimes seem
like that. Knowledge of the Plan of Salvation changes everything. It
makes the hard times and difficulties easier. We can understand better
why we have them.

Have a great week!

Elder Hawkley