Dear Family,
The highlight of this week was Sunday, so I will tell about it first. Hna Pullan and I woke up at 6:30 as usual and hurried to get ready and out the door by 7:45 so we could pick up Javier and Marilín, our Paraguayan shoemaker investigators (they are from Paraguay and make Argentine shoes, in case you were confused about my adjective placement). We left at 7:52, but after a short walk across the tracks and through deserted streets, we still managed to arrive early (that doesn´t happen very often.) We knocked on the door of J and M´s one room orange brick and cement apartment/shoe workshop. After a long wait, a very sleepy, pajama clad Javier answered the door. He told us Marilín had to stay home because Jorgito, their 1 1/2 year old son (the only baby I´ve every seen with a visible mustache, but incredibly cute), had a fever. . . but he said he would come. So we waited outside while Javier quickly showered and got dressed (I wish I could get ready that fast!) Miraculously we didn´t miss the bus and we arrived at the chapel just in time to see a sister with long curly hair step out of a remis (taxi) with four little girls. Then she turned around and I realized she was Ramona, our investigator! She came to church BY HERSELF, IN A SKIRT, HER FIRST TIME! I have had a few especially elect investigators arrive by themselves the first time (Mario and Celeste and Olga), but none of them showed up in Sunday clothes. And her daughters Cintia (10) and Milagros (5) and her granddaughter (6ish, can´t remember her name), were in skirts too! They looked like members already! I was so proud! There is an emotional high you can only get from seeing your investigators go to church for the first time. I felt so happy as I entered the church building with Javier, Ramona, and the girls. Convienently the bishop was standing there in the entrance. I had an enormous smile on my face as I introduced him to Ramona and Javier. The meetings went perfectly. Cintia, Milagros, and their niece immediately went to their primary class without clinging to Ramona. And even though the Relief Society lesson was on the final judgement, Ramona seemed to like it and feel befriended by the other sisters. She also said she liked the Gospel Doctrine class--topic:Family History and Temple Work-- and didn´t seem too overwhelmed by the rather inadequate explanations (I thought) of doctrine completely foreign to her. Javier went to a different class with the young single adults (I hope he explained he isn´t single), but seemed to like it. He said he wants to come next week!
Other news: On Friday night, the assistants called us and dropped another bombshell: they want us to go back to the villa! Apparently Bishop Paz has been really concerned about the progressing investigators we left in the villa because the assistants haven´t had much time lately to work in their area (President Carter keeps them really busy. They couldn´t even come to church this Sunday because they had to go to a stake conference somewhere else). So the assistants decided it would be best for the investigators if the area division was erased and we came back to the villa to go back to teaching our old investigators! They´ll keep teaching the investigators they have found, but we get to keep teaching Andrés´ family and our other investigators we gave them. At first I was frustrated that the assistants were changing the plan again and freaked out because I didn´t know how we were going to be able to divide our time between areas. And there was the fact that I had put a lot of mental energy into not being resentful of handing all my investigators over to other missionaries and being sent to a part of the area with no investigators. I had really gotten used to it because the mission is just like that; we hear all the time that we have to accept the transfer changes and just work where we are called. I´m used to liking what I´m given, not being given what I wanted. So I was freaked out until I realized they were actually giving me what I wanted and that it was okay to get what I wanted. I realized that I would be THRILLED to go back to the villa and be able to visit my converts and keep teaching my old investigators.
Well, I´m out of time, but thanks to everyone for your emails. Ben, I'm glad you aren´t so sick any more. One thing we try here to get investigators to come to church is offer to make them pancakes or brownies and go to their house to eat breakfast with them before going to church together. Maybe you can make your investigators some sweet avocado smoothies to lure them to sacrament meeting. Anyway, I don´t know if that would work in Brazil, but sometimes it works here. Or you can get members to accompany you to the lessons and make the member invite the investigator to church-- that was what we did with Javier this week. Getting investigators to church is hard, but keep trying! You can do it!
Phone call thoughts: I think I can maybe call during the times you mentioned. A family invited us over for lunch on Sunday, so I´m not sure exactly what time I would call. I´ll confirm plans next week. A conference call would be pretty cool. Could I do that with a calling card from a bishop´s office phone?
I love you and I am so proud of all of you for all the cool things you are doing. Mom, HAPPY BIRTHDAY on Sunday! Dad, I liked your sacrament talk. Dan, your interview made me smile! Eliza and Emma, as usual you are amazing me with your general smartness and talented-ness and funny quoting abilities. I love you all!
Love,
Ellis
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