RIO NA RUA (RIVER IN THE ROAD)

Welcome to the amazing season of summer here is good ol' Brazil. This week was a little rough but everything is good. We started out Tuesday waking up to a RIVER IN THE ROAD (RIO NA RUA). The floods are a coming!!!!! Haha it was nuts, the water was up to my knees at one point!!! The water was so high we couldn't walk to our lunch. We had to wait until a bus passed in front of our house to even TRY to exit. It was a very wet day!!! You will see this in the photos. And yes, this is only the beginning of the flood season.

Wednesday the roads were still a complete MESS! There is a canal that is in the city that collects the sewage of everyone in 10 neighborhoods. When it pours and rains so much the canal tends to FLOOD... Yep, there is ALL SORTS of nasty in the road!!! It was ridiculous and really gross. We had to work in this for 2 days!!! But Wednesday we had out Zone conference and it was awesome. It was the Best conference that I have been to so far!

Outside Xavier's Apartment

Thursday was a HAPPY NORMAL DAY in Brazil! No, they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving... That was kind of a blessing though because I didn’t feel home sick! But I made a cake and we ate it during our District meeting so that was good. :) I really do have so many things to be grateful for and they ALL involve family and friends, aka YA'LL!!!! You are all so amazing, thank you! Yesterday we went to a member’s house and I tried a Brazilian fruit! It is called Jambo and it smells like a rose!!! Haha but I tried it and it was WAY GOOD! I looked a little closer and noticed that some of the seeds on the fruit were MOVING!!! There were some weird bugs ALL OVER the fruit.  Hopefully I don’t get sick.

 

Sister Penha said, "I love Jambo!!"

I said, " I do too just not with the bugs!!"

Sister Penha said, "Elder... HUKUNA MATATA!!"

  
It has really been rough this week. We had 3 solid investigators who just dropped out. Their mom has heard bad things about the church and doesn’t want them to take the lessons anymore. We talk to everyone we see and they are all reluctant to hear about the gospel. When my companion is rejected he shuts down and he gets very frustrated if I try to help or give suggestions on what to do. I try to teach and I get the point across to where our investigators understand and my comp doesn’t trust the way that I teach and has to re-teach everything the way he wants to... The only comfort that I found this week was through my comforter and through the scriptures. I am trying my hardest to keep a good attitude and trying to do my best and be obedient and work hard and bear testimony and everything but it was just a rough week.

I am doing good though and I am loving my mission, this week was just a little rough.:) Thank you so much for your prayers and everything’s that you all have done for me!! I love you and will try to write and email when I can. I will get to it but there is just so little time but I WILL write.

Love,

Elder Stilson

1 Peter 1:7

Alma 32:40-43