Week 8 - Obidos! The best place in the WORLD!!!

 

 Obidos

 Clay on his hammock on the boat to Obidos!

 Clay and Elder Capello enjoying the boat ride to Obidos.

Clay said he couldn't resist getting a picture with these dancers at the airport!

Hello!

Thanks everyone for the emails! I love being able to hear from you all. It makes me so happy! That's funny that Mom found quotes from blogs of other Belem missionaries that said Obidos is the best place in the mission! But it is so true. Óbidos is the BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD!! I love it here. The people are just amazing. Even though I can hardly understand a darn thing any of them are saying, they are very receptive and every day is a new adventure! It is a lot different here than in Belém. In Belém it rains every day. The day I was there it rained twice. But I have been here in Obidos for 2 solid weeks and haven't seen a drop of rain! I wish it would rain sometimes. Its fire hot here and we walk a bunch. But it really just feels like Alabama. The heat hasn't given me any problems. We drink lots of water so that helps! 

The Language is coming... I can understand people a lot better than I did at first. They have weird accents here so its difficult, but I am learning. Sometimes people say they don't understand me just because I am American. We have a goal that I get 6 contacts on the walk home every night. Its about a 15 minute walk and anyone will stop and listen so it is way easy to get contacts. I usually say the same things each time and most people understand me just fine and all is well. But occasionally that one person will look at me like I’m stupid and say they don't understand... I KNOW THEY CAN!!! It’s just an excuse not to listen to me. So that's a little frustrating.

We eat lunch with members everyday but this week we got cancelled on 2 days in a row! So we just had to go make something ourselves. Then our propane tank ran out of gas so we couldn't use our stove for dinner one night, but we have a supermarket right next door and they have lots of cereal so I was good! The fruit here is crazy! There are multiple fruits that are only grown in Pará (The state we are in). I don't even know how to say most of them but they are crazy good! They have all kinds of different fruit ice things that we don't have in America and I don't know what I will do when I leave here! I tried the famous Açai the other day. It is only in Pará and everyone in Sao Paulo was talking about how amazing it is! I wasn't a huge fan but I hear it takes some getting used to. You have to put tons of sugar to make it taste good. While I was pouring sugar on it I had a flashback to when me, Emily, and Andy were little and we would put tons of sugar in our Cheerios! It made me laugh. 

Elder Capello is great. He is the best missionary. He can make a contact with anyone and then convert and baptize them! I am watching how he does things so I can eventually be as good as him! 

Our investigators are good! We had an investigator class on Sunday and we had 9 people in there! And that's not counting the kids. I almost got emotional just looking at all of them! The kids here are awesome. We were supposed to baptize two boys on Saturday - 8 and 9 years old brothers. The date had been set for over a week but on Friday night their dad said they couldn't because he was having to go out of town and he wanted to see it. So we will have to wait! The boys were pretty sad, but their dad needs to be there and we can do it soon so its all good!

Mom asked what I wanted her to send for Christmas and I do have a couple of requests. A member here learned some English on his mission but forgot a lot of it. He wants an English Bible and Book of Mormon. Hope that isn't too much trouble. If possible could you also send me a new picture card? The one I got in Sao Paulo isn't very good and it keeps messing up. And if you have room in the package I wouldn't mind having an American football! Haha! You can throw some food in there as well. I eat good here but I sure could go for some American food!

Over the past 2 weeks I have really gained a testimony of the restoration. That is the first lesson we teach so I hear it 3 or 4 times a day. I talk about prophets, the great apostasy, I recite the first vision and invite them to pray and be baptized. As I have studied prophets a lot my appreciation for President Monson has grown dramatically. Prophets are so important and we can learn so much from them. I love the restoration. It is so powerful. I will quote Dad because I have found this is true for myself. I cannot read, teach, hear about or watch videos about the restoration without feeling the spirit. It is true. God loves us and knows us all individually. What was the first word Heavenly Father said to Joseph Smith in the sacred grove? Joseph. His name. He knows us. Whenever I feel like things are hard or I get frustrated with the language etc. I imagine the Lord saying, "Clay, everything is alright. Don´t worry. I will help you." Because He will. He loves all of us. I know this Church is true. I know it. The Book of Mormon is the most powerful conversion tool on the earth. I have no doubt. I love these people in Óbidos and I wouldn't mind serving here for the rest of my mission! I want them to have the same happiness that this gospel brings me. I love you all and I thank you for all the support. 

Élder Green

 Clay and Elder Capello on their second day as companions.

 Clay with his first mission baptism.

 Clay eating cupuaçu.

 Clay and Elder Capello cooking!

 Random pictures of a horse wandering around Obidos...