Well, I made it to Ijuí safe and sound! I’ve only been here
a week, but I already love this city so much! It’s a lot bigger than I expected
it to be, since it’s not Santa Maria haha. But it has a super market and
everything! There are a lot of great people here and I’m excited to work here
for a little while!
So Monday was my last day in Santa Maria, so I did a goodbye
tour, visiting tons of members. I promised them all I would introduce them to
my parents, so I think your obligated to come pick me up now Mom and Dad! I’ll
miss them so much, they were so great to me. Tuesday I packed everything up and
headed to the bus station. My bus was the last one to leave, and it was just me
and one other elder. We read our tickets wrong and we were waiting at the wrong
terminal and missed our bus. whoops haha. So we had to buy tickets ourselves
and wait an extra two hours. But it worked out fine! We arrived here in Ijuí
and met our companions! My companion is Elder Souza. He is probably one of the
funniest persons (people? grr English) I’ve ever met. We live with another Brazilian
named Elder Longo and an American, Elder Christensen from Oregon. They are also
pretty funny people, so I’m pretty sure I’ve laughed more this week than my
entire mission haha! Not really, but close to it. Elder Souza is from the northeast
and Elder Longo is from Sao Paulo, and they are always trying to prove that
they’re state is better than the other. It’s hilarious. This is going to be a
fun transfer, for sure.
This week I’ve been getting to know the members,
investigators and everything which has been fun. The members are a little
crazy, but they’re such good people. They are so kind to us and I already love
them so much! We had lunch with a family this week, and one of the little girls
was trying to pronounce my name, but it just wasn’t coming out right. She was
finally able to say "Elder Witch." So I said "exactly!" and
she continued to call me Elder Witch. So then my companion began to call me
Elder Bruxa - witch in Portuguese. By the end of the lunch the entire family
was calling me Elder Bruxa (pronounced brusha) and the Elders continue until now haha. But then the
other day, another little boy called my companion "Elder African" so
we’re even now. :)
We did 3 service projects this week, One with a family of
investigators. It was great to help out, but they were back to back to back, so
we were down right exhausted. It was a total of about 14 hours of heavy work,
and on top of all that, i got pretty sick. Luckily it only lasted about 24
hours, but it was a miserable 24 hours. I have great companions who take care
of me though, so it’s all good!
Okay, this email has been all over the place, but I’m doing
well! I’m so excited to be here right now, change has been really good for me.
I love being a missionary, teaching and testifying that God still cares about
us. He truly loves us and wants us to be happy. He has established a church
that is the same in Utah, Alabama, Brazil and the entire world, to help you
become a better person. What better message is there to share with all the
world?! I don’t think there is one.
I hope you’re all doing well! I love you and miss you and
think about you daily! Keep pushing along and remember: "You can do hard
things!"
Love,
Elder Bruxa
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