Bazinga!
Random Thought: I am wearing a Fanta Grape shirt right now. It's very purply...
HOLY COW!!!!!!! So good news! I slept the entire 10 hour drive to Campo Grande! On Tuesday I arrived in the city of Campo Grande where a bunch of Elders met me! I soon found out that none of them were my new companion and that we would have to wait another half hour or hour until the bus of Elders from Cuiabá arrived. When it finally arrived I met my new companion and he is GREAT! More about that later. We then got on our bus to Aquidauana and rode for another two hours until we finally arrived! I am sad to say that I was really disappointed about the weather. It´s still hot. Only a tiny bit less than Rondonopolis.
We finally saw are new house at about noon. I will say the truth, at first I was a little nervous! It´s in an ally way next to a paint shop and not all of the outlets work, our fridge doesn't work and only keeps thing a tiny bit cooler than if they weren´t in the fridge at all. Only one Elder has a bed frame and it´s not me, and my mattress is only about 4 inches thick but since its six years old my entire body touches the ground. Ha it was a shocker!
Only after we looked at the whole house, did the Elder that was already in this area tell us that we already had authorization to move and he had talked to the mission president and he said he would make sure that we will get our fridge and new beds! I´ve spent a week in this old house already and we don´t move until Thursday! I am happy though! Oh so happy! When I feel a little like complaining about the conditions I remember that I am privileged to be out here preaching and teaching as a representative of Jesus Christ! I am LUCKY to be a missionary and to be living in this house!
Elder Shuss took us to see the two options we had for new houses and we decided on one that is an upstairs apartment! There is plenty of space for us four Elders and everything is in good condition! The rest of Tuesday we spent meeting people in the area! The new town is much smaller than my old city, only about 45K people for us 4 Elders to teach. I don't yet know how big the ward or stake is or anything like that. More details next week.
Wednesday after lunch all four of us went shopping for appliances! This is a small town that is kind of isolated so anything here is a bit more expensive. We ended up looking at a few different stores but there wasn´t much of a difference in pricing. We should be able to get our new appliances and furniture about the time we move!
Thursday was Thanksgiving!!! It´s funny because we didn´t even realize it until it was almost lunch time. I´m sure a million missionaries have already said this but it just feels weird that no one makes a big deal out of it here. So what did I do for Thanksgiving!?!? Elder Shuss and I had divisions together and we taught until about 7:00pm when we walked up to a house with some people that Elder Shuss already knew. They immediately brought out a bench and asked us to sit down, so of course we accepted! We started talking and when they found out we were Americans they started asking us about a ton of stuff in the states! Well while we were talking more people showed up and then more until there were about 15 more people! During our conversation we found out that they were part of a reformed baptist church and that everyone who showed up was a part of that same church! Then out of the blue they said they were about to have a worship service if we wanted to join. Elder Shuss and I looked at each other, looked back at them and said,"Of course why not!?" So we joined them! It was a little strange but nothing that was preached was contrary to the teachings of the LDS church! During the whole thing we played a game where we would sing while passing match boxes in a circle and the whole point was that as a church and as followers of Christ we have to work together to continue faithfully on the right path! It was great! Everyone was friendly and loved having us there! They even invited us for the next meeting! So what did I do for Thanksgiving? I had family home evening with a reformed baptist group!
Friday and Saturday were fantastic teaching days! Elder Bresciano and I are turning out to be a great team! We are both from Washington (he´s from Seattle), We both want to work hard and we have set some pretty high goals! All of our lessons have gone great and with the help of the Spirit we´ve done some major work this week! We taught 29 lessons, and marked 3 baptisms in the 6 days we have been here! I LOVE WORKING THIS HARD!!! We are seriously working our tails off!
Saturday night we went and played soccer with a bunch of young men at the church! The church building here has a soccer court made of pavement that doubles as a parking lot on Sundays. Anyways, we played soccer while some sisters in the branch cleaned the building. After soccer we sat all the young men down and taught them the lesson of The Gospel of Jesus Christ. All but one of the young men were non-members so it was perfect! Elder Bresciano and I then went to the front of the building so we could get our proselyting clothes from inside the building, but it was locked! The sisters that were cleaning locked the building and locked the gate, so none of us could get outside the church property unless we hopped the fence! Since that was the only option that's exactly what we did! It was way fun.
Sunday was cool. We didn't have any of the young men we expected at he beginning of church so we talked with someone who had a car and we went and pick them up! I didn't know where the president of the young men was so I ended up winging a lesson that took up all the class time. This week was also the primary program and they don´t have anyone here who plays the piano, so when they heard that Elder Bresciano plays they asked him to wing it during the program! He ended up doing a fantastic job!
This week was fantastic and it looks like life her is going to be great! I am nothing but excited for this transfer!
James 2:17
Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws
Monday, November 26, 2012
Week #21
Bazinga!
Random Thought: I wish I could grow a new limb like Lizards do with their tails.
Transfers!!! I will be leaving at 10:20 tonight and taking a bus for twelve hours to Aquidauana (AH-KE-DO-AH-NA) in Motto Grosso del Sol! It's about 450 miles south of the mission home in Cuiaba. All I've heard so far is that it is going to be tough missionary work and that it will be colder! WOO! Way excited!! Also I will have an american companion, Elder Bresciano!
This week was better than last! Last Monday one of the young men from our branch came over at night and cooked us dinner! He also brought a watermelon! I ate half by myself, I LOVE watermelon here! All the fruit here is way better because it is so fresh...except oranges...they're green here. I have come to realize that my favorite fruit ever is Abacaxi (AH-BAH-KAH-SHEE)! Pineapple! Fresh pineapple is the best ever!
This week we had our district meeting on Tuesday instead of Wednesday because the traveling assistants of the mission president were here until Tuesday. It was nice because I already know one of them and we got to talk. Anyway it also happened to be my first time giving the lesson or training! I want to pause here and say that preparing lessons and talks is way easier now that I'm on my mission. So I prepared what I thought would be an hour lesson about Christ like attributes and I ended up having to stop three quarters of the way through the material I had prepared because I had no more time! I just love teaching about the gospel so much! Why would I ever want to stop?
We also had another family home evening with our investigators and a member family! This time we watched the film "Together Forever". It was a great film and I actually almost started crying, but for those of you who know me well understand that thats normal. Afterward we invited our investigators to ask questions and to comment. They really liked the film and they are so curious about temples. Then we had desserts! ("you looked stressed...you need desserts!" haha name that film) Evelyn (a member) made cinnamon rolls! Oh I how I miss desserts in the US! It was really funny becasue Elder Almeida is allergic to cinnamon so he had to sit and watch. I just told him thats how I feel when everyone eats beans.
Other than that it was a pretty calm week. I'm just loving life and living the dream!
Matthew 5:48
Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws
Random Thought: I wish I could grow a new limb like Lizards do with their tails.
Transfers!!! I will be leaving at 10:20 tonight and taking a bus for twelve hours to Aquidauana (AH-KE-DO-AH-NA) in Motto Grosso del Sol! It's about 450 miles south of the mission home in Cuiaba. All I've heard so far is that it is going to be tough missionary work and that it will be colder! WOO! Way excited!! Also I will have an american companion, Elder Bresciano!
This week was better than last! Last Monday one of the young men from our branch came over at night and cooked us dinner! He also brought a watermelon! I ate half by myself, I LOVE watermelon here! All the fruit here is way better because it is so fresh...except oranges...they're green here. I have come to realize that my favorite fruit ever is Abacaxi (AH-BAH-KAH-SHEE)! Pineapple! Fresh pineapple is the best ever!
This week we had our district meeting on Tuesday instead of Wednesday because the traveling assistants of the mission president were here until Tuesday. It was nice because I already know one of them and we got to talk. Anyway it also happened to be my first time giving the lesson or training! I want to pause here and say that preparing lessons and talks is way easier now that I'm on my mission. So I prepared what I thought would be an hour lesson about Christ like attributes and I ended up having to stop three quarters of the way through the material I had prepared because I had no more time! I just love teaching about the gospel so much! Why would I ever want to stop?
We also had another family home evening with our investigators and a member family! This time we watched the film "Together Forever". It was a great film and I actually almost started crying, but for those of you who know me well understand that thats normal. Afterward we invited our investigators to ask questions and to comment. They really liked the film and they are so curious about temples. Then we had desserts! ("you looked stressed...you need desserts!" haha name that film) Evelyn (a member) made cinnamon rolls! Oh I how I miss desserts in the US! It was really funny becasue Elder Almeida is allergic to cinnamon so he had to sit and watch. I just told him thats how I feel when everyone eats beans.
Other than that it was a pretty calm week. I'm just loving life and living the dream!
Matthew 5:48
Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws
Monday, November 12, 2012
Week #20
Bazinga!
Random Thought: One way streets are annoying when you're driving but not when you're walking, because when you're walking you only have to look one way.
WOO!! Uemerson was baptized!! His baptism was supposed to be two weeks ago but it fell through because his dad wouldn't sign the papers. Well we talked with our zone leaders and Uemerson about it and we got permission to have his aunt sign the papers instead because she is his legel gaurdian! He was baptized yesterday and it was wonderful! The other elders in our district had a baptism as well! Geison (Jason) was baptized yesterday morning and both of them will be confirmed next Sunday. I'm so happy!
On Tuesday we had another activity called "Activity of Geniuses". It was a mix of trivia, charades, pictionary, and a scriptural scavenger hunt. It was so fun! People here get a lot more into the activities than back in the US. There was a lot of yelling and laughing. I realized I'm not a huge fan of the game pictionary because everyone just gets mad at each other for not drawing or guessing right!
So about a week and a half ago Elder Paredes broke our mirror in the bathroom so we only had a tiny one for a while. BUT Flaviana works at a sort of "bed bath and beyond" place and we were able to get a new one! The only problem was how we were going to put it up! We needed a drill to put holes in the wall and use wall anchors and screws. But we didn't have a drill! While at lunch with the branch president we asked if we could borrow his drill and he said yes! So on Friday I put up the new mirror!
I'd to say a huge thank you to the stake for sending me a care package! I loved the pillow case and letters, they were seriously the best!!
The absolute best part of the week was on Thursday. Usually we have a zone/district meeting on Wednesday mornings but for some reason it was Thursday this week. Anyway we left the chapel and sat at a bus stop heading home. We were there for about ten minutes when this little boy with downs syndrome and his sister came to sit at the bus stop as well. The sister sat down but the little boy came up to us and gave each of us a handshake! It was great! Then he insisted on shaking our hands again, but this time he gave us a huge hug as well! But that's not all! He then pushed us aside so he could sit right in between each companionship! He sat there with us until our bus came and then gave each of us a hug goodbye!
Sometimes we feel the love of the Lord in ways we don't expect by his most precious angels! :)
D&C 68:4-6
Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws
Random Thought: One way streets are annoying when you're driving but not when you're walking, because when you're walking you only have to look one way.
WOO!! Uemerson was baptized!! His baptism was supposed to be two weeks ago but it fell through because his dad wouldn't sign the papers. Well we talked with our zone leaders and Uemerson about it and we got permission to have his aunt sign the papers instead because she is his legel gaurdian! He was baptized yesterday and it was wonderful! The other elders in our district had a baptism as well! Geison (Jason) was baptized yesterday morning and both of them will be confirmed next Sunday. I'm so happy!
On Tuesday we had another activity called "Activity of Geniuses". It was a mix of trivia, charades, pictionary, and a scriptural scavenger hunt. It was so fun! People here get a lot more into the activities than back in the US. There was a lot of yelling and laughing. I realized I'm not a huge fan of the game pictionary because everyone just gets mad at each other for not drawing or guessing right!
So about a week and a half ago Elder Paredes broke our mirror in the bathroom so we only had a tiny one for a while. BUT Flaviana works at a sort of "bed bath and beyond" place and we were able to get a new one! The only problem was how we were going to put it up! We needed a drill to put holes in the wall and use wall anchors and screws. But we didn't have a drill! While at lunch with the branch president we asked if we could borrow his drill and he said yes! So on Friday I put up the new mirror!
I'd to say a huge thank you to the stake for sending me a care package! I loved the pillow case and letters, they were seriously the best!!
The absolute best part of the week was on Thursday. Usually we have a zone/district meeting on Wednesday mornings but for some reason it was Thursday this week. Anyway we left the chapel and sat at a bus stop heading home. We were there for about ten minutes when this little boy with downs syndrome and his sister came to sit at the bus stop as well. The sister sat down but the little boy came up to us and gave each of us a handshake! It was great! Then he insisted on shaking our hands again, but this time he gave us a huge hug as well! But that's not all! He then pushed us aside so he could sit right in between each companionship! He sat there with us until our bus came and then gave each of us a hug goodbye!
Sometimes we feel the love of the Lord in ways we don't expect by his most precious angels! :)
D&C 68:4-6
Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws
Monday, November 5, 2012
Week #19
Bazinga!
Random Thought: how are jelly fish living if they don't have blood or anything?
WOO! this week was great, again! I received two packages! One from Grandma and Grandpa Pahl and one from my mom!! Thank you so much for sending them!! I shared my gummy bears with my companion and some kids that we teach and tonight we are going to make peanut butter cookies with the mix I received! Also I gave the English books of mormon to two of the people I baptized! I decided that's going to be my present to the people I baptize!
So this week, while walking with Elder Almeida, I realized that we say the words "freak" and "freaking" a lot. So I proposed that every time someone in our house says it, we get to punch them in the arm, but just for a week. Not a knockout punch, but enough that it hurts. Needless to say we had a TON of punching each others' arms all week! It worked though! Good times...
THE RAIN CAME!!! Oh how I love the rain! It makes everything so much cooler!!! Last week, almost everyday was above 110 degrees! It was hard but I made it through alive and without being sunburned! Its been so nice this week with the rain and really a blessing!
I decided I want to have a better Portuguese accent so I asked the Brazilians in my zone how it can get better. They said to read out loud in Portuguese! So this whole week I have been doing that and they said its getting better! We have an investigator that used to never understand me but she said that my accent is getting better and I'm becoming easier to understand! So happy!
Last night we were in the home of a member having a little dinner. Afterward she asked if I would like some sardines. I was super surprised because I have never been asked that before so I said, "Sardines!?" They thought that because I said it as a question, that I didn't know what it was so they were trying to explain "sardines" to me. So funny! I finally told them that I knew what sardines were but I had just never had them. Well I ended up trying them and I really like them! I ate the whole can by myself! MMM!
Kind of an update;
I've cried once because I've missed home
I've read the old testament once while out here
I'm half way through the new testament
I'm halfway through the book of mormon for the second time
I'm a quarter of the way through the book of mormon in Portuguese
Helaman 3:35
Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws
Random Thought: how are jelly fish living if they don't have blood or anything?
WOO! this week was great, again! I received two packages! One from Grandma and Grandpa Pahl and one from my mom!! Thank you so much for sending them!! I shared my gummy bears with my companion and some kids that we teach and tonight we are going to make peanut butter cookies with the mix I received! Also I gave the English books of mormon to two of the people I baptized! I decided that's going to be my present to the people I baptize!
So this week, while walking with Elder Almeida, I realized that we say the words "freak" and "freaking" a lot. So I proposed that every time someone in our house says it, we get to punch them in the arm, but just for a week. Not a knockout punch, but enough that it hurts. Needless to say we had a TON of punching each others' arms all week! It worked though! Good times...
THE RAIN CAME!!! Oh how I love the rain! It makes everything so much cooler!!! Last week, almost everyday was above 110 degrees! It was hard but I made it through alive and without being sunburned! Its been so nice this week with the rain and really a blessing!
I decided I want to have a better Portuguese accent so I asked the Brazilians in my zone how it can get better. They said to read out loud in Portuguese! So this whole week I have been doing that and they said its getting better! We have an investigator that used to never understand me but she said that my accent is getting better and I'm becoming easier to understand! So happy!
Last night we were in the home of a member having a little dinner. Afterward she asked if I would like some sardines. I was super surprised because I have never been asked that before so I said, "Sardines!?" They thought that because I said it as a question, that I didn't know what it was so they were trying to explain "sardines" to me. So funny! I finally told them that I knew what sardines were but I had just never had them. Well I ended up trying them and I really like them! I ate the whole can by myself! MMM!
Kind of an update;
I've cried once because I've missed home
I've read the old testament once while out here
I'm half way through the new testament
I'm halfway through the book of mormon for the second time
I'm a quarter of the way through the book of mormon in Portuguese
Helaman 3:35
Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws
Monday, October 29, 2012
Week #18
Bazinga!
Random Thought: Snails are weird....
Great week! Hot week! Earlier in the week we went to a part of my area where I've never been before, to talk to a family referred to us by other missionaries. The other missionaries were Elders John and Gonzalez. We arrived there, talked for a bit, then asked what they remembered from the first visit with other Elders. The mom, Elizabeth, said she remembered something about families. Now the first lesson has a little bit about families, but the rest is about how the gospel was restored! So we asked what they learned about families and the little girl piped up and said,"really we don't know what it was about. The other Elders Portuguese was really bad!" So we laughed and retaught the first message! After, we called the other Elders and teased them a little. It was hilarious! Also as a side-note, I don't think a lot of people have seen Americans or missionaries in that area because EVERYONE was staring at me! Being blond and taller than most (although I'm only 5' 10"), I seem to stick out. Haha!
We did exchanges a few days this week and it was really great! The first time it was Elder Paredes and I and we had a great experience with teaching! We started by asking how they were doing with reading The Book of Mormon and did they enjoy it. They said yes and stopped there... We felt that we should explain more about the book and that it's about Jesus Christ coming to the Americas. After that it wasn't us speaking anymore! We opened our mouths and the spirit filled them with all kinds of wonderful words! It was a fantastic experience! After we left Elder Paredes said,"that wasn't me talking." I said,"Me either". During the lesson Elder Almeida (my comp) kept calling us. We called him back after. Usually elder Paredes and I have the keys and we are with our comps, but this day we were together and we took both sets of keys with us. The other Elders couldn't unlock the gate to leave! We felt pretty bad about that.
I also had exchanges with the zone leaders and we went to a house on the other side of the city...walking for miles! Ha it was long but that doesn't matter. While we were sitting in the house the younger boy kept looking at me funny and it turns out I am the first American any of the people at that house have ever seen! They asked me to pray in English and thought it was crazy that I speak and understand English and Portuguese! It was a cool experience!
Later in the week we were contacting and Elder Almeida saw a pretty girl and wanted to invite her to church! So we walked over to her and he was stuttering the whole time! It was hilarious! She ended up going to church so I guess it worked out.
Sunday! We had another baptism! Leonardo! He is only ten years old but he read every pamphlet we gave him, all the way through!! Also some investigators we have been working with for a while, finally came to church and we were so so happy! We'll see how it goes but we might have three baptisms next week! So excited!!
D&C 10:4
Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws
Random Thought: Snails are weird....
Great week! Hot week! Earlier in the week we went to a part of my area where I've never been before, to talk to a family referred to us by other missionaries. The other missionaries were Elders John and Gonzalez. We arrived there, talked for a bit, then asked what they remembered from the first visit with other Elders. The mom, Elizabeth, said she remembered something about families. Now the first lesson has a little bit about families, but the rest is about how the gospel was restored! So we asked what they learned about families and the little girl piped up and said,"really we don't know what it was about. The other Elders Portuguese was really bad!" So we laughed and retaught the first message! After, we called the other Elders and teased them a little. It was hilarious! Also as a side-note, I don't think a lot of people have seen Americans or missionaries in that area because EVERYONE was staring at me! Being blond and taller than most (although I'm only 5' 10"), I seem to stick out. Haha!
We did exchanges a few days this week and it was really great! The first time it was Elder Paredes and I and we had a great experience with teaching! We started by asking how they were doing with reading The Book of Mormon and did they enjoy it. They said yes and stopped there... We felt that we should explain more about the book and that it's about Jesus Christ coming to the Americas. After that it wasn't us speaking anymore! We opened our mouths and the spirit filled them with all kinds of wonderful words! It was a fantastic experience! After we left Elder Paredes said,"that wasn't me talking." I said,"Me either". During the lesson Elder Almeida (my comp) kept calling us. We called him back after. Usually elder Paredes and I have the keys and we are with our comps, but this day we were together and we took both sets of keys with us. The other Elders couldn't unlock the gate to leave! We felt pretty bad about that.
I also had exchanges with the zone leaders and we went to a house on the other side of the city...walking for miles! Ha it was long but that doesn't matter. While we were sitting in the house the younger boy kept looking at me funny and it turns out I am the first American any of the people at that house have ever seen! They asked me to pray in English and thought it was crazy that I speak and understand English and Portuguese! It was a cool experience!
Later in the week we were contacting and Elder Almeida saw a pretty girl and wanted to invite her to church! So we walked over to her and he was stuttering the whole time! It was hilarious! She ended up going to church so I guess it worked out.
Sunday! We had another baptism! Leonardo! He is only ten years old but he read every pamphlet we gave him, all the way through!! Also some investigators we have been working with for a while, finally came to church and we were so so happy! We'll see how it goes but we might have three baptisms next week! So excited!!
D&C 10:4
Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws
Monday, October 22, 2012
Week #17
Bazinga!
Random thought: Painting nails is a waste of time! All that work and it only lasts a short time...then again so is shaving...
Random thought: Painting nails is a waste of time! All that work and it only lasts a short time...then again so is shaving...
Fantastic week as always!
Earlier in the week my companion and I were at an appointment and in the middle of our message the other Elders who live in our house called. Of course we ignored them until we finished our lesson and left. We called them back and asked what they needed and they said they couldn't lock the gate because the lock was gone (I took it). So we laughed and told them it would be fine and we would check it out on our way to our next appointment! Before Elder Almeida hung up I had the best idea ever! I just looked at Elder Almeida with wide eyes and a dropped jaw and he understood... We went back to our house messed everything up (carefully) and hid tons of valuable and invaluable things from everyone, in our suitcases and in the other room. We then left the back door unlocked and opened a tiny bit. Since I had the gate lock, we locked it and gave a member next door, the key and asked her to unlock the gate and take the lock with her when we called later that night! We went through the rest of the day as normal and our last appointment was at 8:00pm. The other elders appt. fell through so we invited them to join us! It lasted until about 9pm (Elder Almeida called for the member to take the lock off at 8:50ish). We then returned home and Elder Paredes and Duarte were shocked and worried sick!!! HA! Elder Duarte said we needed to call the police and the mission president. So naturally I offered to do so! I "called" them and came back and told them the police were on the way! Elder Paredes kicked the wall when he found out they "stole" his toy picatchu! IT WAS HILARIOUS! My speakers and ipod were gone too so it was perfect! We waited until they decided to check on the suitcases. Finally Elder Paredes went to check and we hear "YOU JERKS!!!!!" from the back bedroom! Hahahahahaha! They were wonderful sports about it and all of us ended up laughing about until we went to sleep! Good times!
Saturday we had lunch with a member family (just like every day) but Friday and Saturday morning I was feeling pretty nauseous. So we went to lunch and I decided that I was only going to drink water or juice! We get there and everyone starts eating except for me and they asked why. I just told them the truth, that I was sick and they just left it alone. Anyway about half way through lunch I stood up and said, "excuse me, may I use you bathroom?" Of course they said yes. So I walked in to the bathroom, which was literally two feet from the kitchen table, closed the door and knelt down just in time to throw up! I was in there just throwing up for about 10 min. then cleaned my face and the bathroom a little and went back to sit at the table! Everyone was just looking and me because they heard me getting sick. So I said,"sorry..." and then,"do you have any more water?" Surprisingly I wasn't embarrassed at all and we just continued on as normal! Again good times! Don't worry mom I feel fantastic now and I am not sick at all any more.
After lunch Elder Almeida and I went back to rest until the baptism we had at 4:00pm. Remember Flaviana, the mom we baptized a few weeks back? Well she was our last baptism and on Saturday her son Richard was baptized! It was so wonderful and he was so excited! He is so smart and understands everything we teach him! Now that Flaviana and Richard are baptized, Leonardo one of her other sons, is excited and wants to take the discussions this week as well! So now we have his baptism marked for next Sunday! Also a young man named Uemerson wants to get baptized next Sunday! Two more next week! I'm so excited and happy!!!
D&C 25:11-12
Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws
Earlier in the week my companion and I were at an appointment and in the middle of our message the other Elders who live in our house called. Of course we ignored them until we finished our lesson and left. We called them back and asked what they needed and they said they couldn't lock the gate because the lock was gone (I took it). So we laughed and told them it would be fine and we would check it out on our way to our next appointment! Before Elder Almeida hung up I had the best idea ever! I just looked at Elder Almeida with wide eyes and a dropped jaw and he understood... We went back to our house messed everything up (carefully) and hid tons of valuable and invaluable things from everyone, in our suitcases and in the other room. We then left the back door unlocked and opened a tiny bit. Since I had the gate lock, we locked it and gave a member next door, the key and asked her to unlock the gate and take the lock with her when we called later that night! We went through the rest of the day as normal and our last appointment was at 8:00pm. The other elders appt. fell through so we invited them to join us! It lasted until about 9pm (Elder Almeida called for the member to take the lock off at 8:50ish). We then returned home and Elder Paredes and Duarte were shocked and worried sick!!! HA! Elder Duarte said we needed to call the police and the mission president. So naturally I offered to do so! I "called" them and came back and told them the police were on the way! Elder Paredes kicked the wall when he found out they "stole" his toy picatchu! IT WAS HILARIOUS! My speakers and ipod were gone too so it was perfect! We waited until they decided to check on the suitcases. Finally Elder Paredes went to check and we hear "YOU JERKS!!!!!" from the back bedroom! Hahahahahaha! They were wonderful sports about it and all of us ended up laughing about until we went to sleep! Good times!
Saturday we had lunch with a member family (just like every day) but Friday and Saturday morning I was feeling pretty nauseous. So we went to lunch and I decided that I was only going to drink water or juice! We get there and everyone starts eating except for me and they asked why. I just told them the truth, that I was sick and they just left it alone. Anyway about half way through lunch I stood up and said, "excuse me, may I use you bathroom?" Of course they said yes. So I walked in to the bathroom, which was literally two feet from the kitchen table, closed the door and knelt down just in time to throw up! I was in there just throwing up for about 10 min. then cleaned my face and the bathroom a little and went back to sit at the table! Everyone was just looking and me because they heard me getting sick. So I said,"sorry..." and then,"do you have any more water?" Surprisingly I wasn't embarrassed at all and we just continued on as normal! Again good times! Don't worry mom I feel fantastic now and I am not sick at all any more.
After lunch Elder Almeida and I went back to rest until the baptism we had at 4:00pm. Remember Flaviana, the mom we baptized a few weeks back? Well she was our last baptism and on Saturday her son Richard was baptized! It was so wonderful and he was so excited! He is so smart and understands everything we teach him! Now that Flaviana and Richard are baptized, Leonardo one of her other sons, is excited and wants to take the discussions this week as well! So now we have his baptism marked for next Sunday! Also a young man named Uemerson wants to get baptized next Sunday! Two more next week! I'm so excited and happy!!!
D&C 25:11-12
Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws
Monday, October 15, 2012
Week #16
Bazinga!
Random thought: Easy-rest beds are the best in the world!
Great week!
My new companion is GREAT! Last Monday we had transfers so at about 5:00pm we saw Elder Herrera off at the bus station. Elder Paredes and I were told we needed to wait for our new companions and that mine would arrive at 8:30pm and the companion for Elder Paredes would arrive at 12:30am! So instead of paying money for a taxi we decided to wait for our new companions there at the bus station! So we waited and after a while I thought maybe I should call our zone leader and ask when they were going to arrive, just to make sure. He said they both would arrive at 8:30am the next day! So we were waiting for FIVE HOURS for absolutely nothing!!! hahaha but its something to laugh about now!
Flaviana (we just baptized her) was telling us that her kids are loving church and that she´s going to bring them every week! At first her husband didn't want her taking them to church, but since she has been learning and taking the discussions he's seen a change in their home life. So he doesn't mind and is even smiling at us when we show up the their house!
On Wednesday night we got a call from the branch president requesting that I to go to his house as fast as I could! after hearing this I was a little worried, so we went over there right away and he says,"hey Elder Laws I need your help translating some forms for a young man who is going to serve a mission! (phew, nothing serious) So I sat down at his computer and to my surprise I could translate ALL of it!!! He doesn't use the Internet to translate because it translates wrong sometimes and the branch presidents and bishops are told to have someone translate. It was so so cool!!
On Friday we had an activity at the church! It was a huge barbecue Brazilian style! A ton of people showed up and it was so delicious! I taught the youth how to play ninja and they loved it! My companion taught another game and they ended up playing that game for most of the activity!
I had a cool testimony building experience this week. I put my backpack in the wash one morning and put all of my things into a scripture bag. Well I have a little thing of consecrated oil to give blessings to the sick that is normally clipped to my backpack. I thought,"I don't think I'll need this" but then I felt impressed to clip it to my belt. So of course I did! At the end of the day we had an appointment with a family and we taught about the Book of Mormon. Remember that little boy who head butted me last week? Well his name is Tiago and we found out that one of his kidneys isn't functional. We taught about priesthood power and so they asked for a blessing for him! I unlatched the oil from my belt and we gave little Tiago a priesthood blessing! It was so wonderful and I am so glad I listened to the spirit.
To end the week, on Saturday at lunch Elder Paredes and I were asked to give talks the next day at church!!! We accepted and they turned out to be great! After my talk I sat down and thought. Holy cow...I speak Portuguese!!!! After the meeting some people came up to me and said they understood everything! I am so thankful that the Lord has helped me learn!
Mosiah 18:10
Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws
Random thought: Easy-rest beds are the best in the world!
Great week!
My new companion is GREAT! Last Monday we had transfers so at about 5:00pm we saw Elder Herrera off at the bus station. Elder Paredes and I were told we needed to wait for our new companions and that mine would arrive at 8:30pm and the companion for Elder Paredes would arrive at 12:30am! So instead of paying money for a taxi we decided to wait for our new companions there at the bus station! So we waited and after a while I thought maybe I should call our zone leader and ask when they were going to arrive, just to make sure. He said they both would arrive at 8:30am the next day! So we were waiting for FIVE HOURS for absolutely nothing!!! hahaha but its something to laugh about now!
Flaviana (we just baptized her) was telling us that her kids are loving church and that she´s going to bring them every week! At first her husband didn't want her taking them to church, but since she has been learning and taking the discussions he's seen a change in their home life. So he doesn't mind and is even smiling at us when we show up the their house!
On Wednesday night we got a call from the branch president requesting that I to go to his house as fast as I could! after hearing this I was a little worried, so we went over there right away and he says,"hey Elder Laws I need your help translating some forms for a young man who is going to serve a mission! (phew, nothing serious) So I sat down at his computer and to my surprise I could translate ALL of it!!! He doesn't use the Internet to translate because it translates wrong sometimes and the branch presidents and bishops are told to have someone translate. It was so so cool!!
On Friday we had an activity at the church! It was a huge barbecue Brazilian style! A ton of people showed up and it was so delicious! I taught the youth how to play ninja and they loved it! My companion taught another game and they ended up playing that game for most of the activity!
I had a cool testimony building experience this week. I put my backpack in the wash one morning and put all of my things into a scripture bag. Well I have a little thing of consecrated oil to give blessings to the sick that is normally clipped to my backpack. I thought,"I don't think I'll need this" but then I felt impressed to clip it to my belt. So of course I did! At the end of the day we had an appointment with a family and we taught about the Book of Mormon. Remember that little boy who head butted me last week? Well his name is Tiago and we found out that one of his kidneys isn't functional. We taught about priesthood power and so they asked for a blessing for him! I unlatched the oil from my belt and we gave little Tiago a priesthood blessing! It was so wonderful and I am so glad I listened to the spirit.
To end the week, on Saturday at lunch Elder Paredes and I were asked to give talks the next day at church!!! We accepted and they turned out to be great! After my talk I sat down and thought. Holy cow...I speak Portuguese!!!! After the meeting some people came up to me and said they understood everything! I am so thankful that the Lord has helped me learn!
Mosiah 18:10
Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws
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