From: Elder Joshua Freeman
Subject: Another week
Date: 12 January 2004 8:40:55 AM EST

ĮHola!

How are you all doing? Things are going quite well here. It was so ridiculously hot this week, I'm pretty sure we got up into triple digits once or twice. And the humidity makes you sweat like a pig would if he had sweat glands. It was crazy hot.

On Monday, we went and played basketball and soccer in „emby, and Elder Urling hurt his ankle pretty bad. So on Monday night, we didn't go out because it hurt too bad.

On Tuesday, we had our Zone Meetings like normal. After eating and coming home and studying, we went out and visited various investigators and got in some pretty good charlas.

On Wednesday morning, we had another charla with JosŽ Duarte. It went pretty well. We had a lunch appointment with one of the members and her mom. The both of them never talk about anything but how they're always sick, and they can't work, and how it's just them two all by themselves. I think they said each of those things about 10 times in a half hour. They really are sick, but not like they think they are. Anyway, it was an experience. After studying at home, we got in a few charlas before Noche de Rama. The other Elders had a baptism, an 11 year old kid. It was pretty good.

On Thursday morning, we had to go into centro for interviews with Presidente Gavarret. And then we went and had lunch and came home. Elder Merritt (our district leader) came to do JosŽ's baptism interview, so we did divisions, and I went with Elder Payne to YpanŽ, which is about 5 or 10 minutes away, going away from „emby. Elder Payne was my District Leader in the MTC, and it was pretty neat to be companions with him for half a day. After studying, we went out and visited an inactive girl and she had some friends over, so we taught them a charla 1. After that, we went and visited a couple more of their investigators, and then some members. We finished off the night having dinner with a member lady and her two kids. It was pretty fun.

On Friday morning, we undid our divisions, and we went out and taught Eugenia's kids Luiz and Juan Antonio charla 3, because they want to get baptized and so we're teaching them. They're 12 and 9. Yeah. We had our normal Friday lunch cita, and the hermana told us that she made us a special lunch today, and sure enough, the noodles were a different shape. I guess the sauce was a little different, but it was still pretty much the same thing we have every time. In the tarde, we visited some inactives, then went over to the JosŽ Duarte's and taught a 1” charla to their youngest daughter and her friend. We also talked about JosŽ's baptism, and his mom wanted us to baptize him, but JosŽ wanted his dad to do it, which is how we'd rather have it too. So his mom got kind of mad, because she thinks that her husband isn't worthy to do it because he has too many sins, and that we're still young so we don't have as many. That lady is weird. After that, we had a charla with Jorge and Ramona (remember? the brazilian guy and his wife) and we taught them Charla 4, which is the Plan of Salvation and the Eternal family, and work for the dead. They had a whole bunch of questions, and we were there for quite a while. But it's good that they're thinking so much.

On Saturday morning, we had to clean the baptismal font, and we went to the 2” counselor of the branch's house to get keys, but he wasn't home. So we went to Valdelice's and shared a little message with them. In the afternoon, we went and taught Claudelino the second part of charla 4. He'll be getting baptized in a couple of weeks. After that, we went to do a follow up on a first charla, but the lady was leaving right as we got there. But we talked to the member lady that lives next door and is good friends with her. Then we went to the church to get ready for JosŽ's baptism. His family didn't all come, which is sad, because he really wanted them to be there. His dad said that his mom didn't come because we weren't doing the baptism. That lady is a little messed up in the head. And his older brother and sister didn't come either, I guess they were too busy or something. Sad, though. But, the baptism went really well. Except for one lady who was visiting (she saw the other Elders on the street Friday and said she's a member, so they invited her to the baptism) started clapping after the baptism (like, the actual ordinance, not after the whole program), and we told her not to, and she asked why. Plus, after we finished, with the closing prayer and everything, she stood up and said Do you want to hear my testimony? and then instead of sharing it, she started talked to JosŽ and interrogating him about if he understands what he's doing and if he's going to be a good example and stuff like that. And then, she was asking people if she could have a hymnbook to take home. Of course we told her no. She said she would come on Sunday, but luckily she didn't. That lady's got a few screws loose. Anyway, except for her, the whole thing was really good. We made brownies and juice, and we watched a little of Legacy afterwards, and then came home.

Yesterday was a pretty normal Sunday. During Sunday School, the branch president came up to me and said You can give your talk today, right?, and I was like, Uh, sure. So I quickly adapted one that I happened to have already prepared for an emergency. It went pretty well. Also, the two newly baptized got confirmed, and that's always neat. After church, we had lunch with the branch president and his wife. Then we went by Eugenia's and shared a little with her, then went and talked to some guys sitting around drinking pop. They were actually pretty cool guys. After that, we did a couple more short visits with people before coming home and studying and planning out the week, and then having dinner with the other Elders.

So that was it. A Long week, but a pretty good one. We're going to be baptizing Luiz and Juan Antonio this Saturday, if everything goes according to plan, so that will be good. And that's the way it is.

Well, catch ya'll later. Thanks for everything.

I Love You!!

Love,
Josh