Letter #2

Sent: Wednesday, August 8, 2012 3:23 PM
Subject: Oi! A word from Elder Schenewark

Dear Family,

I know its only been a week but it feels like 3 or 4 months! Hopefully by now you got the letter that I sent the first day if not it'll be there soon. Also this company across the street called mission ties had a promotion for a free cookie if we sent a trial letter. I wanted a cookie so you'll probably get an email about that too. It's not a bad service but I don't reallly know specifically what they do or if its advantageous.

Well! The work goes on! If I may say humbly, I've learned a good portion of the language very quickly and constantly receive compliments from all the Braziolian missionaries that I chat with when they learn I've been here less than a week. My companion Elder Cummings from Bellvue Washington is great, very diligent and enhusiastic. He makes my occasionally ponderous self kick it into high gear all day long. Worn out by 7 p.m. We've taught 5 lessons in Portuguese and are going to commit our investigator to baptismo tonight. Granted they're not real pesquisadores but you still feel the spirit, just as in a real lesson. The food is fantastic. most of the time, aside from the beans and rice and cow, I've very little idea what I'm eating. . . But I eat a lot! Today one of our teachers (we have two Irmao Costa and Hamahlya, the best in my opinion in the CTM) took us to a Brazilian churrascoro (BBQ). It was good, but when I told him about Fogo de Chao, he conceded that that was the very best. The weather's beautiful. Summer must be scary! All the Brazilians wear sweaters and say its fria and its 70 degrees outside. Beautiful. We have quite the view on our 6th floor dorm (not sure how to send pictures yet, but I'll figure it out).

Driver's are crazy! A motorcycle driver dies every ten minutes in Sao Paulo and I'm surprised that its not higher. They don't drive in the lanes but right on the lines, 6o mph all the time. Even the car drivers are insane. I'm careful when I walk around the city. We went to the temple in Sao Paulo this morning and I heard that next week we get to go to the Campinas temple farther away as Sao Paulo will be under construction! Cool! It was a wonderful, peaceful experience and the session was in English. I think they're sending a picture of our district since its the first trip. By the way, one of the guys in our district is my friend from BYU. He came in on the plane after ours the morning we arrived and I saw he was on the list to arrive so I made a sign saying, "Welcome Elder Blair!" Pretty funny when he came out of the tunnel and saw that. Glad to have him here. He's great. Also saw my other friend from BYU. One guy in our district knows Julia and is Sarah Ayer's cousin, Elder Eliason. He's in our room. We have two Brazilian roommates who I am teaching to pray in Ingles, and we have room prayer every night at 10:15. We pray in Portuguese. Not funny story. Our floor's bathrooms have been out of toilet paper for two days!!!! So we've been bathroom hunting around the CTM. LAME. Postage stamps are MAIS MAIS MAIS expensive so the letter output will be a little lower than previously expected. Everything here is more expensive than in the US.

Thank Uncle Rich for his letter which I got yesterday. Just the thing for my day, really brightened it up: ) P-day is Wednesday. I miss all of you sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much. Acutally more than that. Send pictures so I can hang them in my room!!! And lots of letters of course. Also no packages until I get to the field, or they'll take away my first born. 

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE XOxoXoOxOxx,

The Only Elder Schenewark in the World : ) Tanner

p.s. These Brazilian keyboards are tricky!

p.p.s. Pretty much nobody else is going to Londrina except my companion. Maybe we'll be the only Americanos there!!!