September 16, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

     This week, I learned the true meaning of the word chuva (shoo-vuh). It means rain. Lots of it. It started near the beginning of this past week, and it´s been on and off this whole time. I learned really fast to always have my umbrella on me because sometimes it hits, and you really aren´t expecting it. Usually when it does start pouring, though, I really enjoy it. I´ll twirl my umbrella, watching the droplets spin off, and I wonder if I´ll ever grow up. Then I come to conclusion that it is unlikely. There was one time when it started raining while we were sitting at the bus stop, and I was reminded of the scene in the Miyazaki film ´´My Neighbor, Totoro´´ when the girls are waiting for their dad to come home at the bus stop, and then Totoro shows up, and there´s a funny bit that happens with the umbrella and the water droplets. 

     This week was really a strange one. We saw a lot of interesting things, the first being a man riding his bike down the street...with only one leg. My respect for that man is...I just have no words. I was so surprised and confused at how he was able to go as fast as he was with only one leg to use. We also ran into a really drunk guy (I´ve met some pretty drunk people on my mission, and this guy takes the cake), he reminded me of a Brazilian Robert Downey Jr. when he plays really crazy people. He tried to convince us that he was an American, and to run away with him to be apostles. He was really. really drunk. Those are just a few things.

     On Saturday, we had the wedding celebration of Sheila and Wilson. Not to brag or anything, but we had Brazilian Barbeque while listening to Brazilian music...in a grove of trees right next to the beach. Not only that, but I think it was the one day that it didn´t rain. The weather was beautiful. There was a lady named Carmen at the ice cream stand there who is interested in learning about the church, so we wrote down her address and phone number, and we´ll see if it goes anywhere. It was a good day.

     One more story: Yeaterday at Almoço, after we had finished eating, the husband asked us if we knew of an old tap dancer with short black hair that he couldn´t remember the name of. After asking a few questions more, nobody knew who it was. He told us he´d remember eventually, and that he´d tell us when he remembered. A little while later, it was Elder Morgan´s turn to give the message. He grabbed his scriptures and opened up to Doctrine and Covenants. About ten seconds into him giving his message, the husband yells, ´´BARBARA STREISAND!!!´´ (He´s not a member, and he was a little drunk). We all bust up laughing because nobody was expecting it, and it made us all jump.

     Just a few moments from this week. The language is improving for sure. I can say just a little bit more each week. Everyone tells me it takes about 6 months to get truly comfortable with Portuguese, so we´re in it for the long haul. It´s worth it, though. I love you all so much, and I´ll talk to you all soon.

com amor,

-Elder Crapo

A picture of the beach from where we were at the wedding celebration, a license plate with Landon´s initials, and a picture of the bathroom door in our apartment. I thought it was funny that it was marked ´´masculino´´, since no ´´feminino´´s do or ever will be in that apartment while we live there. 

 

Setembro 9, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

     Every day I love it more in Brasil! Do I speak the language perfectly? no. Do I try? My absolute hardest. Speaking of the language, I have a bit of a funny story about my Português progression:

     The other day, we went to teach a young man and his sister, but it turned out that he wasn´t there, and his sister had a friend over (I know. You want names, but at the moment, I can hardly pronounce them, let alone remember them. It´ll come someday). We taught a lesson on the commandments, with an emphasis on the O dia do Senhor and church attendance. At the end of the lesson, we asked if they had any more questions for us, and they sat there for a second. Then the friend said that she had just one question, and then turned to face me. I was expecting the question ´´Are you an American?´´ to come out of her mouth, but instead she asked, ´´Are you Italian?´´ I was pretty surprised by that, and my companion explained that I was from America, and why I´m here and what not. She said that she thought I was Italian because of my accent. People have told me before that my accent was pretty good, because it didn´t sound like the ugly American accent, but I had no idea that I sounded like an Italian. I got a kick out of that. 

     Other than that, it´s just pluggin along here in São Mateus. We had kinof another slow week with not many lessons taught, but we´re starting to find some pretty solid people that will probably be baptized soon. Saturday was a hard day to be a missionary because 1. It was Saturday. 2. It was a national holiday, and 3. It was game day. Brasil was facing Australia, and everybody knows how much Brazilians love futebol. Needless to say, practically no work got done, and not out of lack of effort. 

     Hopefully I´ll have more exciting news next week. Sorry the letter this week is short and kindof boring. I love you all, and I´ll see you soon!

-Elder Crapo

 

 

This Is Guriri. We are seriously out in the middle of nowhere, where starving horses run free on the streets. Also, the "Train do pecado". That goes around playing music and carrying disney-like mascots and dancing people. I have no idea why it exists.

September 2, 2013. Brasil Week 3

Dear Family and Friends,

     Things are finally starting to get a little less stressful as I´m learning more and more about Brasil and the language. I was actually able to have a real conversation with the relief society president of the branch yesterday about what I used to do before I came out on my mission, so that was a huge success! This past week has been a lot of walking. I don´t mind it that much, but Brazil has a lot of hills, so I´m usually pretty tuckered out by the time I get home at night. Besides all the walking we had a bit of a slow week this week, so I don´t really have any big news. Therefore, I´d like to tell you some fun things about Brasil that I´ve discovered over the past few weeks:

- We don´t knock on doors here. We stand outside the house and clap our hands. If anybody is home, they´ll come to the door. This is mainly because everybody here has locked gates around their houses, so you can´t get to the door. 

- When people say you eat a lot of rice and beans in Brasil, what they mean is that you eat it every day. Seriously. To say that Brasileiros don´t consider the meal to be complete without rice and beans would be the understatement of the century. I haven´t been in Brasil a single day where I didn´t eat rice and beans. That´s another thing. We´re fed almoço (lunch) every day. They love to feed you.

- In sacrament meeting, everyone sings as loud as they can. Sometimes it sounds like they´re having a competition to see who can sing with the most vigor. It´s really awesome.

-There is no such thing as a law against disturbing the peace. Part of the advertisement that is done in Brasil is done audibly. Companies will buy little trucks and pack it with the most powerful speakers ever (the kind used for rock concerts), and then hire people to drive the truck around the city, blasting their advertisement. Because of this, sometimes we´ll be trying to have a meeting or a study or something like that, and then nobody can hear anything but some guy shouting in Portuguese umtil the truck passes by. They do like to play music in between the advertisements, though. Which always makes it an instant dance party whenever we´re not in public. That´s a lot of fun.

-To get people´s attention in the states, we go : ´´psst´´. Not Brasileiros. They go, ´´pseeoo´´ (or ´´psiu´´, for those who know portuguese pronunciation). It sounds like they´re pretending to be on Star Wars, and they´re shooting laser guns. It´s hilarious.

-Never. Ever. Try to tell a Brasilian knock knock jokes. They will never understand. They just don´t get it. I´ve tried.

-The kids like to run up to Elders who look like Americans, and they always ask the same questions every time:

                1. ´´Fala Inglés!´´ (Speak English!)

                2. ´´Qual é meu nome em inglés?´´ (what´s my name in english)

                3.  ´´Have you seen Obama?´´

                4. ´´Fala isso!´´ (´´say this!´´ or, ´´what is that, in English?´´)

    The ´´What´s my name in English´´ question is usually pretty funny, because you´ll ask them what their name is, and they´ll say something like ´´Lucas´´, and you´ll say: Lucas. Then they´ll say,´´No, in English´´, and you have to explain that it´s the same in English as it is in Portuguese. They don´t get it most of the time.

     Anyway, those are just a few of the fun things that are going on in São Mateus. I´ll keep you updated with other things going on with investigators and such. It´s hard to talk about the people we teach because half the time I can´t even understand what their name is, let alone say it or remember what it is. I know, it´s bad. We´re getting there, though. I love you all so much, and I´ll see you soon!

-Elder Crapo

 

 

One of these is of a bunch of buildings in a square built by the slaves hundreds of years ago. I liked the fun colors.

Another is of the river side, right next to the square.

August 26, 2013. Week 2 Brasil

Dear Family and Friends,

     This week has been a bit easier than last, now that I´m starting to get settled. I still have a hard time understanding people´s questions to me, and I still can´t teach very well, but we´re working on it. I have so much that I could tell you, and I don´t really know where to start. hmmm...

      Last monday, after we finished e-mailing and doing everything that needed to be done for the day, we decided to go look around at all the little shops that we pass by every day, but never look to see what is inside. Let me just say that it´s a good thing I´m a missionary, otherwise I probably would have spent some money. All of their dress shoes are so nice! 

       Also last week, I had my first experince with crazy dogs! We all knew this day was coming. It´s funny, because earlier the day that this happened, I thought to myself, ´´I don´t know what everyone is talking about back in the states, all the dogs here are just fine.´´ There are quite a few stray dogs in the more poor parts of São Mateus, but they never seemed to bother us. Yeah, that was the wrong thing to think. In one particular section of the poor section, there is this one dog, who I have decided to name, but I don´t know what yet (suggestions?), and she is really mean. The first time we went over on the street where she reigns, she let us pass by, no problem just like any other dog. Then, once we had walked down her street a few feet, she started to bark like crazy, and charge after us: lips curling, teeth showing, hair standing on end, the whole bit. It was in this moment that I realized the true purpose of the MTC for missionaries going to Brazil: dog attack prevention. I had been taught that the dogs in Brasil are very trained, and if you even pretend to bend over and pick up a rock, they´ll leave you alone. Well, I didn´t want to get attacked by a dog with diseases, so I stopped in my tracks, quickly turned, and started aggressively advancing towards the dog, bending down to pick up an imaginary rock (there were no rocks on the street where I was standing). The second I started to bend over, the dog screeched to a halt, and ran as fast as it could the opposite direction, whimpering as if I´d hurt it. As I stood there, marvelling at the fact that it actually worked, I had never felt so liberated. 

     Let´s see, oh yeah! We had another baptism on Saturday. His name is Wilson Destefani. I don´t know if I told you, but we don´t really have a church building here in São Mateus. We´re just using another building kindof like a giant apartment, only...not. It´s hard to explain. It´s similar to other church buildings in Brazil, but it wasn´t originally built to be a church building. Anyway, because of this, we don´t have a font. Just an above ground swimming pool on the back ´´patio´´. Since we had a baptism that week, we had to clean it and re-fill it with water. We cleaned it one day, and then went to fill it the next, but for some reason, we didn´t have any water in the building. We did everything we could with the help of ward members to fix the situatiuon, but we really had no water. Well, we weren´t  going to give up that easy. We went across the street to a type of car wash (done by hand by people), and asked if we could use their water to fill the pool so we could baptize someone. The owner gave us permission, and so Elder Moroni and I took a bucket each, carried them full of water, one by one, across the street, up the stairs, across the building to the pool to fill it up. Needless to say, we needed a lot of bucket-fulls, and even more needless to say, my arms were very sore the next day. I was soaked and exhausted by the time we had finished. That night, I performed Wilson´s baptism, and we had to do it twice, because the water was so low that I really had to lower him pretty far, and his feet slipped and popped up.

     Other than that, I´m just continuing to work on the language. I can´t really do anything but smile and nod until I´ve got it down, so it´s a little frustrating some days, but we´ll get there. It´s really beautiful in some parts here, and I´ll send you some pictures I took in the past week (don´t worry, I made sure nobody was around). ;) I love you all more that you understand, and I´ll see you all soon!

com amor,

-Elder Crapo

Pictures of parts of my area, and a bird that was talking. He was yelling "HEY!" at us as we walked by, and my companion told me the name of it, which I don't remember, and said it speaks Portuguese!

August 19, 2013 Week 1 in Brazil!!!!

Dear family and friends,

     Let me start by saying that:

                -yes, Brasil is as beautiful as everyone says it is, at least where I am right now.

                -yes, the traveling to finally get to Brasil, and then finally to my area, Sao Mateus, was absolutely killer. 

                -no, my companion does not speak English. He knows a few words and phrases, but every day is like a giant game of charades.

                -yes, I am adjusting. Slowly. I think it´s safe to say that this has been the hardest week of my mission, and probably the hardest week of my life, BUT

                -yes, I trust the Lord, and know that He has a plan for me here, and will give me aid. (Proverbs 3: 5-6)

                -yes the people here are incredible and welcoming, and loving and so much fun, even if we have to work hard to understand each other.

                -yes, they baptize a lot here. We had two this weekend! and one that fell through.

                -no, I don´t understand most of the things people say, and that´s the hardest part, as well as the fact that I can´t teach the way I could in Texas, or express myself to people. It´s hard when you work for three months to get to the point where you feel like you can teach okay, and then slide backwards this far in teaching capability. However, if the Lord wants me in Brasil, then I will serve in Brasil. No matter how hard I know it will be at first. 

            

     That being said, let me say that I know I´m going to love it here. My area, Sao Mateus 1, has two parts: The actual city/town of Sao Mateus, which has lots of little shops, a park, a cemetery (right in front of our apartment), and some other small and very modest houses. The other part is just outside of Sao Mateus, and I don´t really remember the name of it, but it´s beautiful Brazilian countryside, with so many trees, and sand roads, and little houses and hills. 

      Like I said, we had two baptisms this weekend. One was a man named Cleder, and his daughter, Maryangela. Oh! I forgot. My first full day in Sao Mateus, we went to two weddings. Not ceremonies, but at an office, where the vows are read, and the papers are signed, without all the big ceremonious stuff. Just really simple. Cleder was one of the two couples getting married that day. The next day, he was baptized, and the day after that, he received the Priesthood, and baptized his daughter. They are an awesome family, and we all love having them in the ward.

      Other than that, we´ve been trying to get settled in, and it´s taking some time to get used to the huge difference between missions (Elder Stilson served in Colorado, and is going through the same thing). The main hurdle is Portuguese. Once we can get that down, we´ll be good to go. I don´t really have much more to say this week because most of the week was spent traveling and getting our companions and getting visa things squared away. I really am so happy to be in Brasil. I miss my mission and companions from when I was in Galveston, but I know by the time I leave this area, I will have had experiences that I will miss, too. It´s like they say: It doesn´t matter where you serve, what matters is that you´re serving. I love you all so much, and I´ll see you all soon!

com amor, 

-Elder Crapo

After corresponding back and forth a bit, I gleaned a bit more info.

His companions name is Elder Moroni.  Moroni is his first name but that's what he uses.  He is from São Paulo, Brazil.

He also said this:

Elder Stilson's companion is from the south of Brazil, and speaks very good English.  His name is Elder Torres.  They live in the same apartment as us, and when he's with us, he's a lot of help, so at least I'm not completely lost all the time.

 View from the mission home window in Vitoria

 View from the hotel I stayed in my first night in Brazil

View from the apartment in Sao Mateus. 

 (notice the beautiful countryside in the background, with the cemetery in the foreground)  ;)

August 12, 2013 OFF TO BRAZIL!!!!!!!!!!!! (finally)

Here I am! I'm in the mission office, and I'm heading off to Brazil today! I'll do everything I can to call you sometime whenever I can! I love you, and I'll talk to you soon!


Nick's Mom here.....
Nick received a call from the Mission President on Friday morning informing him that his visa was approved and he would be leaving on Monday!  Nick's other companion, Elder Christensen also received a call that morning saying his visa was also ready and he would be leaving for Australia the same day!  Poor Elder Jones!!!  Anyway, Nick was sad to leave all his friends in Texas and the 14 baptism dates behind, but he is also excited to be finally going to Brazil.  He was excited to meet up with some of his friends from the MTC that went to Colorado.  They  met up in Atlanta and all traveled to Brazil together.  He said it was like a reunion at the airport.  They all need work on the language and have lost a lot, but it will come back quickly, hopefully.   He seems to be doing very well and it was great to talk to him and hear his voice!

I received this letter informing me he made it safely.

We are very grateful to have Elder Crapo with us in the Brazil Vitória Mission.  He arrived yesterday from the U.S.  Although a little tired due to an early plane flight, he was anxious to begin his service in the mission field.  After a session of training, we met in our home for lunch and an afternoon interview.  Attached is a picture taken in the mission home.  Once again, it was a pleasure getting to know your son and we look forward to serving with him as we invite others to come unto Christ and enjoy the blessings of the gospel.  If in the future you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

President and Sister Araujo

p.s. Monday is our Preparation Day.  As such, you should expect an email this coming Monday!!

August 6, 2013

Dear Home,

     Wow, last week has gone by so fast! I guess I owe you an explanation about why my e-mail came late this week.

No, I'm not dead.

No, I'm not in Brazil.

No, I'm not transferred. yet.

     Missionaries in this mission have permission to attend the temple once per quarter. But, the rule is that 1. You have to get a member to go with you, and provide transportation, and 2. You have to move your P-day to the day you go to the temple for that week. That's why you didn't get an e-mail from me yesterday. The Houston temple is so beautiful! I really enjoyed going to do an endowment session there. (did you hear about the new film?) Missionaries may also attend the temple with one of their recent converts IF they take a family name to perform baptisms for the dead. That being said, we may be able to go to the temple a second time this week with Eli on Friday, which is the planned ward temple trip. I'm pretty stoked!

     Anyway, like I said, this past week went by crazy fast, and I'm trying to figure out what happened. I won't know if I'm being transferred for sure until Monday (eep!), but Elder Jones or I may get a call on Thursday, informing us if either of us will be training next transfer (if I'm staying in Texas.) If President Ashton receives a prompting that I need to train next transfer, then I'll stay here. (I could train next transfer! GAH!) Yeah, week 6 is super stressful. every time. I hate not knowing what's going on, or what is going to happen. Yes, I realize that this is coming from a visa waiter who could be shipped out of the country tomorrow.

     I forgot to tell you that Elder Christensen is a visa waiter for Adelaide, Australia? Well, he is, haha. It's really nerve racking because he's a ticking time bomb. All the Australian visa waiters last transfer got their visas by the end of the transfer, so he really could leave any day now. Every time the phone rings, we all jump. We don't want him to go!

     We're still working with Diamond for her date on the 17th. While we've been teaching her, her sister has joined in the lessons, and has decided to get baptised on the same day! We're just gonna go have a huge family baptism that day, and baptize everybody! Her name is Bertha, but she goes by Nee-nee. (or ni-ni, or something like that.) She's 13, but she's really smart and really mature, so we thought she was way older than that. Nope. She's 13.

     The big miracle for this past week is our 10 baptismal dates! We've been finding a lot of people lately, and I wish I had enough time to just sit here and tell you every detail about every single one of these people, but I guess I'll tell you guys about them individually as their baptismal dates get closer (sometimes they fall through). We're continuing to work hard, and have fun, though. The end of the transfer is really hard, because Elder Jones, Elder Christensen, and I have become really the best of friends. We're pretty sure this trio is going to be hard to top. Sometimes we wish we could watch ourselves as we go throughout the day, because we have the greatest dynamic, and we have a lot of great moments, in and out of lessons, in seriousness as we work and in fun at the apartment. We'll be sad when we eventually have to separate. I've grown to love these guys so much, and we have big plans for a reunion after we all get home (since we all lived in northern Utah. That kinda worked out nicely.) I'll let you know everything about transfers, visas, training, etc. next week when we find everything out! I'm kinda nervous!

Com amor,

-Elder Crapo