We had an interesting week this week, to say the least. It started off when we went to visit a man we met on the street last week named Idair (ee-dah-ee-h), and when we showed up, he was...less than sober, but not so drunk that he couldn´t listen or talk to us properly. As we talked with him, he expressed his desire to stop drinking and smoking for his sake, and to improve the realtionship of his family. He´s probably in his 50´s or 60´s, and reminds me a little bit of Eli from back in Galveston. My heart really went out to him, as he sincerely looked at us and asked, ´´Can you help me?´´ Since we knew it would be difficult to make a game plan in his current state, we made an appointment for the following day when we would return and help him get back on his feet. He promised us he wouldn´t drink, and we set a time for the evening.
Then next day was an incredibly busy day. We went on an ´´endereço´´ spree and talked to tons of people on the street. We received 18 endereços (addresses) in one day. A new comp record. However, when we showed up at Idair´s home at 5 horas, as planned, he wasn´t there. We haven´t been able to get to see him since. Hopefully someday we´ll catch him at home or on the street and talk to him about what he wants to do.
This past week we also went and had a lesson with a member family and taught them how to have a family home evening. The game we played at the end was one in which music was played, and a ball was passed around in a circle. When the music stopped, the person holding the ball had to pick a folded up peice of paper out of a bowl, and then they had to answer the question if there was a question, or do the action if there was an action. Of course, one of the times I had the ball when the music stopped, and of course, my challenge was to immitate a monkey. Oh, dear... I thought, ´´Well, if I´m gonna have to act like a monkey, then I´m going to do the best monkey immitation they have ever seen.´´ So I stood up and did the greatest, silliest, most accurate monkey immitation I could, much to the pleasure of all the little kids in the room, accompanied by chuckles from the parents. There were lots of giggles with a round of applause when I had finished.
Another interesting experience from this past week was when we passed by a group of the poor drunks that live in the northern part of São Mateus next to the river, and they insisted on us stopping and sharing a message with them. They wanted to hear the ´´beautiful words´´, so they said. They weren´t letting us go, so we began to teach about the Word of Wisdom (they wouldn´t remember it tomorrow anyway). As we were talking and trying to break free, another lady walking down the road saw us, and parted the crowd of partiers to talk to us. She addressed us as ´´Friend Brother Elder´´, and told us that many years ago she had been ´´baptised in the waters of baptism back in Portugal into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints´´. She told us about Joseph Smith and other points of the gospel. She asked us if we had a pamphlet she could read, and if we could stop by her home some time. So, we wrote down her address, gave her a ´´Gospel of Jesus Christ´´ pamphlet, and she was on her way. What we were puzzled about was the fact that she was definitely Brazilian, not Portuguese. What she was doing in São Mateus, and why had she never come to church? When we visited her, we found out that she was indeed a Brazilian, she lived in Portugal for a few years, and was diagnosed with a mental illness (not a serious one, though. She´s very much aware and accountable and high functional), was indeed baptised by an Elder from California named Elder Gunther, and his companion was a Brazilian, as well. She´s never been to church because she works Sunday mornings in Guriri, but she´s trying to find a way to come back. She told us that she had a very difficult childhood with abuse in the family. She loves the gospel, and I´m excited to help her come back into full activity.
One other experience we had was when our lunch appointment fell through, so they gave us money to go buy food for lunch. When we went to the store, two teenage girls stopped us ( I was worried). They said they were interested to know who we are and what we do, and what we believe. We set an appointment to meet at one of the girl´s houses, but when we showed up at the appointment, the girl who originally showed interest left to go home, and we were left to teach the other girl alone. We invited her mom to join in on the lesson when we arrived, but she politely declined. However, as we were having a conversation to set up for our lesson , the mom ended up joining us anyway. We went on to teach the best ´´Restoration´´ lesson we´ve ever taught as a companionship, and the mom reacted really well to the message. She commited to read, pray, and get baptised when she knew the truth for herself. I look forward to teaching them again.
Now for conference. Conference was intereresting because since we´re in the middle of nowhere, we had to use the Branch President´s television and wifi at the church building to watch the sessions online. It was all in Portuguese. Needless to say, I had a bit of a hard time understanding exactly what all the speakers were talking about, especially if the translator they were using for the speaker had an accent I wasn´t used to. What I did understand was wonderful, though. I really enjoyed President Monson´s talk in I think it was the Sunday Morning session. That was really powerful. I´ll be reading and listening to the talks again throughout the next few months, so eventually I´ll understand, and by next conference I´ll understand enough to be able to really enjoy it.
Wow, that was a long letter, folks! Know I love each and every one of you, and I´ll talk to you all soon! Até mais!
Com amor,
- Elder Crapo
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