What a Great time in Brazil

What a great time in Brazil. This week is going great and always caps off with a fabulous trip to the temple. 

This week I did the temple veil in Portuguese!! That was kind of awesome. The guys all talked in Portuguese even though the session was in English because of all the english missionaries, anyway so i figured I would go for it and try it in Portuguese. I enjoyed it and love the temple. 

Campinas Temple - Sao Paulo Brazil

The city, I haven't quite fallen for. I can't remember if I told you guys, but it is filthy. There is a ridiculous amount of trash everywhere. Also, there is so so so so so so many people here, the places we have been are all safe, maybe minus the proselytizing area ;) but the homes that I have seen. and the trash, and the filth just hasn't made me love it quite yet, the people, oh yeah, they are the best. And i cant wait to actually be in the field which is the 30th. So excited. 

A little more about the city. When we went proselytizing I forgot to tell you about the homeless people. They have a massive residential building that wasn't supposed to be for homeless people, but homeless people now reside there, and it is very sad to know that.

One of the few clear days in São Paulo

Teaching this week has had its ups and downs. On Saturday, we had a "investigator" commit to baptism and then we were talking about the atonement and we shared D&C 45, and he went off. He told us he didn't want to be baptized because now he needed to read 3 books?? He was off the wall! we tried to calm him down to no avail, better it happened in the CTM than in the campo I guess. I learned a lesson there. :) 

Also we had the recorded teaching on wednesday, where we convinced a man to be baptized even though he had a sucky life, he was super excited, and it is surreal the feeling you get even when the pesquisadors are fake, I cant wait until I actually get to see someone get baptized.

This week we got a new DL E Wood, he is a great guy and keeps us in line. Also, my companion got made ZL with me, like the field which was good, and we got a new branch president. Then Sunday we had a devotional where a MP from Bountiful, MP of Sao Paulo North, came to talk and he did great. Great to hear a guy who spoke Portuguese and wasn't a brasilero (and he must be doing alright, because he is one of the youngest MPs I have seen.)

This week was a great one in class. Our instructor in an effort to fit in in Utah, asks us all sorts of english words, and some of those include swearwords, we had the opportunity to have a couple on the board, haha :) Our other instructor loathes english so he made a thing on the board that said "Amigos de Satanas" and if someone spoke english they got their name by Satan’s haha :) he is actually a really good guy, and now that we understand some Portuguese class isn't total torture.

Yesterday we went to register at the police station, and they needed every finger print twice. I am not sure why, but they took a lot of figure prints, three pictures I couldn't smile in, and a lot of people laughing at the white boys in brazil. They "love" us, and always give us a hard time, but a lot of them will actually come talk to us. Which is nice.

This week some scriptures really stood out to me, Alma 17-29 with emphasis on 17, 26 and 29. I think 26 is my new favorite chapter. Also Alma 31:5 tells us of the importance of scriptures in our lives. Alma 36:19 through the end: about having the Lords help. and D&C 42:6 angles declaring the word of God. I absolutely love these.

Sempre com amor
Elder Iverson