Letter #62

Dear Family,

Too much news!!! Well, after our fabulous preparation day last week, Elder Alves and I put together a crazy plan to baptize everyone in the city. It didn't turn out exactly as we planned but it went pretty well.

We traveled to other areas to help them firm their investigators. And Thursday we divided with them as an elder was sick and they needed to work a little. I know I'm forgetting lots of things but it's mostly Friday till Sunday that sticks in my head.

Friday we received word that we would be moving Saturday and we needed to get our stuff ready to go, and get the keys from the office. So we packed all morning, got the keys, cleaned the whole old house, a terrible ordeal of horror as mold was waist high and dust up to the chins. I feel like I was spared, though, because I didn't have a single problem, which was really absurd. Just entering in the house before had set off problems. The windows were so dusty the lizard left a body print!

Elder Alves even got sick later in the day from cleaning. Certainly a tender mercy for me. Then I did an interview for E. Crowther and Diaz, while my companion taught two of our investigators with Crowther. The bishop taught with them and one man has an interview marked for tonight.

Saturday we moved and moved and lifted and moved everything. Just us two and the country truck guy who had breath that KILLED. It was like noxious waves of trench gas. Try lifting a bureau and respirating at the same time with this guy! Five hours and we were done, ate, and ran to do five more interviews. We stayed at the chapel after that, and had a very special baptism with President and Sister Genaro in attendance. One of the highlights was the President's excellent bass rendering of High on the Mountain Top in harmony. I joined in. And I directed the baptism.

Sunday we braved the thunderstorm to get to church and confirmed our investigator then had the bad news call that our two baptisms for the day had fallen through. We lunched, with humorous commentary by the members on all subjects, we examined Leviticus 11 and all the things that you couldn't eat in Moses' day and I learned some new vocab words reading about the animals.

After lunch the call came in that we had a baptism to interview for in another part of the city. We ran there, not really but managed to get a ride because the buses take forever on Sunday. It was a special experience to interview this man and see his desire to be baptized. We stayed for the baptism as our ride was going to stay. The attitude of 'let's help' in this ward instead of 'how can I get out of this' in our ward palpable and we reveled in the pro-missionary feelings that were in abundance. With a last minute notice about the baptism, there were still 15+ members in attendance. Ours, with 4-5 days notice had 2. Marked difference. But that leads me to today.

I was transferred : ) And I'm now a zone leader : ) In Marília : ) With Elder Carrell : ) So that's the big news. President called me personally this morning to congratulate me and wish me on my way. Marília here I come!!!! This will mean I've served in all the areas of São Paulo in the mission, which is, I suppose, noteworthy.

I think that's it. . . You'll understand I'm a little in shock but it was a very interesting week, a very different week. And I'm out of here.

President Genaro likes to open and close areas it seems. Elder Alves was also transferred to Presidente Prudente, my old stomping zone. He's pumped and I feel like I've trained him well. He's been by far one of my favorite companions so far. I don't think we ever had companionship inventory because it just never occurred to us. He's crazy, like me too, and we've learned a lot, grown a lot in these last three months. We leave tomorrow, early.

Read the story of Korihor this week. I love when Alma turns the questioning against him! He says: "And now what evidence have ye that there is no God, or that Christ cometh not? I say unto you that ye have none, save it be your word only. But, behold, I have all things as a testimony that these things are true; and ye also have all things as a testimony unto you that they are true."

We have all things to testify to us of these things! This week we have the special and sacred opportunity to hear prophets, seers and revelators speak in the name of the Lord. Invite all your friends to hear and feel their messages : )

Love,

Tanner