Elder Clay Green's Brazil Belem Mission Blog: Week 13 - Fishers of Men and Fishers of Fish in Obidos!!

Opa!

Thanks everyone for all the emails! I love reading emails more than I like typing them but I'll try to make this interesting. Looks like all of yall had fun for Halloween. I asked some people if they did Halloween in Brazil and they all said yes. But we were out on Halloween and nothing was different... I love all the pictures! Those pictures of baby John bout killed me! Elder Capello liked the picture of the Farrer boys because he loves BYU! Haha! And the Power Rangers didn't surprise me one bit! And Avery did look pretty terrified in that picture of Abbie!

To answer Mom's questions - yes we have a washing machine in our house, but no dryer. We just hang our clothes on the line. My shoes are doing better than I expected but I will need some new ones soon. I think I will have to buy them in Santarem - when my debit card comes. I spent all my cash before I left the MTC but the money the church gives me is sufficient for my daily needs.

So here we go with one of the best weeks yet. So our lunches this week were awesome. They all had TONS of good food!!! And it rained a lot this week - I mean like big thunderstorms. It was pretty intense with heavy winds that blew sand up into our eyes but it was nice to get rid of the sun for a little while.

I had a very humbling experience this week: There are some very difficult places to walk here - huge hills of just sand and big ole rocks. So we were walking in these hills and we stopped at a house on the side of one big hill and talked to this lady. She has 7 little kids. The oldest is 12 and the rest are very young. Their father doesn't live with them anymore and she can't work because she has all those kids. So they are very poor. Her dad helps them a little bit but it is still difficult. They only have one chair so when we returned to teach them she sat in the chair, Elder Capello sat on a big rock and I sat on the dirt. I didn't mind, but it really made me more thankful for the things I have. Then the lady and all her 7 kids showed up to Church on Sunday so that was awesome! I know this Gospel can make her family so much happier and I really hope she continues to progress.

So here is another highlight of this week. We got permission from the Mission President to go fishing with the men in the ward. So we got up way early on Saturday and met them at the church. There was a bunch of us so we all got on the back of a big truck. The path we took was for cars and motorcycles only - but they said it was fine. It was crazy! We were literally in the jungle on a little path and the dude who was driving went so fast that trees were whacking us from the side! We kept having to stop to clear the path so we could fit through! Like I said - crazy! But it was definitely an adventure I will never forget! Then we fished and then we cooked what we caught on a little fire and ate them straight up. They didn't cut the fish or anything. You just have to be careful not to eat the ribs!! It was pretty legit. And it wasn't fishing with a rod and reel either. We had old bottles and cans with a string wrapped around it and a hook on the end. And also some nets that they would throw in and catch a lot at one time. Definitely an adventure!

And to make the day even more awesome - when we got back we had 2 baptisms. It was a really good meeting and a lot of people showed up! It was a great week!

I absolutely love it here. The language is a lot better and I am learning so much. I know that this Gospel is true. This Church is Christ's Church re-established through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I have no doubts about that. It makes me so sad when people here don't listen to our message or - after they listen they decide not to be baptized just because they don't want to change. We are here to change. The Atonement of Jesus Christ IS change! We should strive to change for the better every day.

Well, that's it for today. I love yall and thanks again for the emails!

Elder Green

Adventures in the Jungle!!!