This week has been pretty good for the things that i am supposed to be doing. Getting lots done around the apartment and getting some good study in. Had some success proselyting which was good.
So here was some events in my week.
-Had divisions this week. don't remember the Elder´s name i was with but it was nice. He only spoke Portuguese but i was able to converse with him. That was fun. He understands me better than my companion who is American. It was long day with him though. Lots of walking about half an hours worth to get to our appointment and for a while it was raining. After the rain though it was a beautiful day.
- Same day as divisions got to eat some chicken heart. Was not bad at all but probably something i am never going to buy to eat.
- Well those are the really eventful things i can say to you at this moment. However doing really well at waking up taking care of the apartment. So i have been staying pretty healthy and the apartment has been clean almost to my standards of cleanliness.
Lots of crazy things happening to us these days and lots of learning. Sorry about the short letter. At this moment i don´t have much to say. Probably in a month or something though it would be great if you could send lots of those fiber tablets. They eat lettuce here but they soak it in vinegar and oil and it is not healthy or good tasting. Thanks for all the support you give me.
Thanks for all you do for me and i am excited to speak to you on Christmas. I will find out more about that and contact you. We have Transfers next week and i do not know what will happen.
Love Lots Elder Kramer
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The weekly letter. - Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Time is going by pretty quickly here. The days are short and the pdays are even shorter.
This last week I finally saw the first real rain here in Brazil. It was fairly strong but it only lasted 30 minutes. I think the north gets much more aggressive rain than down here. The skies are almost always super clear with no clouds.
I know i am getting better with Portuguese because I know I can talk to people if they talk very simply. I know more how to talk about gospel related stuff though just because we use it all day every day. It is defiantly interesting to see how the learning curve has changed from the MTC to here. I love it at lunch with less actives how they try talking to me and i do not understand them. They then assume i know no Portuguese and then start talking about how i can´t speak Portuguese and they find it funny. However they understand the lessons and the messages i give so it usually shocks them that they could understand me. I find it amusing. I wonder how it feels to foreigners in The United States.
One thing i have gotten better at is talking to people on the streets. I was advised in the CTM to focus our efforts on Men and families or Men with families. This is what i do. It is very difficult because men are less receptive but it hopefully will work out.
(Story Time) The first time i was really able to contact someone on the street well - I saw a man waiting for the bus and we went to talk to him. I ask him about is belief in god and afterwords i brought up our belief in the Restoration. He thought we didn´t use the bible so i taught him that we use the bible and the book of Mormon and that the book of Mormon was another testament of Christ. Well i was very excited to be able to have a real conversation and then the bus came and picked him up. However in my haste i did not get his name or number. This taught me very quickly that at bus stations to get those things almost first. But is was a good learning experience for me.
We had a ward activity this week and it was very interesting. Unlike any ward activity i have ever seen. First of all it was for investigators but the activity itself was hastily planned and gave us no time to try to invite people. In the end we had 2 investigators. After watching a short clip about Jesus Christ purpose we went into the cultural hall and the members sang songs and ate ice cream. It was strange because most of the songs were English Beatles songs. Not my idea of a spiritual activity to help the investigators but everyone there seemed to enjoy it a lot. (The Ice cream here is pretty good but it is fluffy. You have to eat a lot to be satisfied)
I have been enjoying reading from the book of Mormon quite a bit here. I can get the general drift of what the book of Mormon is saying in Portuguese but it is still pretty difficult. I love reading the English but i have to also read the Portuguese book of Mormon otherwise i will not get any language training.
Trying to work hard and learn and follow the rules better. The thing we do here most of the time it seems is cleaning and cooking. So much to do. However i love personal study. During the day i always think of things that old prophets have done or things about what god has done for us and how we can better live. Thinking is something we have a lot to do here. Thinking when cleaning, thinking when walking because it takes a lot of energy to speak(very hilly around here and hot). Pondering things about Christ defiantly makes our work seem more and more important. Even though i still probably have to idea how important the work we are doing here is.
Keep up the good work at home.
I know mom already does things like this but keep on helping the missionaries with references and also go out with them. We can always use more references and we can always use help teaching.
Sorry for the lack of information and stuff. Running late today. Lots of things to do. P days are crazy.
This last week I finally saw the first real rain here in Brazil. It was fairly strong but it only lasted 30 minutes. I think the north gets much more aggressive rain than down here. The skies are almost always super clear with no clouds.
I know i am getting better with Portuguese because I know I can talk to people if they talk very simply. I know more how to talk about gospel related stuff though just because we use it all day every day. It is defiantly interesting to see how the learning curve has changed from the MTC to here. I love it at lunch with less actives how they try talking to me and i do not understand them. They then assume i know no Portuguese and then start talking about how i can´t speak Portuguese and they find it funny. However they understand the lessons and the messages i give so it usually shocks them that they could understand me. I find it amusing. I wonder how it feels to foreigners in The United States.
One thing i have gotten better at is talking to people on the streets. I was advised in the CTM to focus our efforts on Men and families or Men with families. This is what i do. It is very difficult because men are less receptive but it hopefully will work out.
(Story Time) The first time i was really able to contact someone on the street well - I saw a man waiting for the bus and we went to talk to him. I ask him about is belief in god and afterwords i brought up our belief in the Restoration. He thought we didn´t use the bible so i taught him that we use the bible and the book of Mormon and that the book of Mormon was another testament of Christ. Well i was very excited to be able to have a real conversation and then the bus came and picked him up. However in my haste i did not get his name or number. This taught me very quickly that at bus stations to get those things almost first. But is was a good learning experience for me.
We had a ward activity this week and it was very interesting. Unlike any ward activity i have ever seen. First of all it was for investigators but the activity itself was hastily planned and gave us no time to try to invite people. In the end we had 2 investigators. After watching a short clip about Jesus Christ purpose we went into the cultural hall and the members sang songs and ate ice cream. It was strange because most of the songs were English Beatles songs. Not my idea of a spiritual activity to help the investigators but everyone there seemed to enjoy it a lot. (The Ice cream here is pretty good but it is fluffy. You have to eat a lot to be satisfied)
I have been enjoying reading from the book of Mormon quite a bit here. I can get the general drift of what the book of Mormon is saying in Portuguese but it is still pretty difficult. I love reading the English but i have to also read the Portuguese book of Mormon otherwise i will not get any language training.
Trying to work hard and learn and follow the rules better. The thing we do here most of the time it seems is cleaning and cooking. So much to do. However i love personal study. During the day i always think of things that old prophets have done or things about what god has done for us and how we can better live. Thinking is something we have a lot to do here. Thinking when cleaning, thinking when walking because it takes a lot of energy to speak(very hilly around here and hot). Pondering things about Christ defiantly makes our work seem more and more important. Even though i still probably have to idea how important the work we are doing here is.
Keep up the good work at home.
I know mom already does things like this but keep on helping the missionaries with references and also go out with them. We can always use more references and we can always use help teaching.
Sorry for the lack of information and stuff. Running late today. Lots of things to do. P days are crazy.
Friday, December 2, 2011
About my week - Tuesday, November 29, 2011
First of all I have to thank you for keeping me up to date on what is going on in CT. It has been great hearing about your experiences.
Second I would like to have Jefferson´s Email Address so I can email him. Also Grandma´s Grandpa´s and Grandma´s Email. I might have them already but it is easier if they are right here on my account.
If you send me another package could you send Peanut Butter. They are in short supply here. They really don´t have any here in Brazil.
After I receive the package with the sunscreen I will see if it does the trick and I probably will ask for more. I reapply every 1-2 hours. Being out in the sun all day without a hat can be deadly to fair skinned Elder Kramer.
I don´t know if I have told you but also they really don´t have any good stain remover here. So getting some good stuff from the US will be pretty nice.
Lots of normal items that we got in the US are very expensive here in Brazil. All the chemicals and medicines we got are very expensive here. Vitamins are expensive. They have other things which are about as cheap or cheaper here. Food is decent price that is about it. So I might be asking you for more things if I start running out things. When I say expensive it is about 15 Reis for a bottle of mouthwash. It is about 30 Reis for a bottle of Vitamins. Around here you have to be pretty rich to live well. We only get 180 Reis every 2 Weeks. And with sunscreen running at 30 Reis for a tiny bottle that money runs out quick when I need to buy some things.
Another thing I don´t know if I told you is about visiting peoples houses here. Everyone has high gates with spikes or electric wire at the top of the fence and the fences are about 20-40 ft in front of their doors. We have to clap in front of the gates instead of ringing door bells.
The water here is pretty safe. Most of Brazil is not good but for some reason the water in Bosque and Passo Fundo is good water. We received Water bottles with filters in them at the MTC which i use anyway for safety.
The people here are very friendly but when religion is brought up most of them either preach to you or just say they are Catholic and don´t let us share a message about Christ with them.
The Main Meal here is lunch so at lunch time everyone disappears from the streets at 12 and it is always rice and beans. And you don´t really see anyone until after 2. I hear they take a hour nap.
Lots of the roads here are cobblestone. they look cool but not very fun to walk on.
It is very hilly here. It is always going up or down a hill. Kinda like some places in CT.
Most of the houses are built with this certain type of brick and are always tiled inside. I think i sent a picture of a building that was under construction a few weeks ago.
It is pretty interesting. Most of the older houses or the rich houses are the ones that look like something might see in The United States.
Dogs, Lots and lots of dogs. I think everyone owns at least 1 dog here. Many people own 3,4 or more. There are always strays on the streets. I am not sure you could walk a street here without seeing at least 1 or 2 stray dogs.
Alright about my week.
Tuesday November 22 - Found a new food i like. It is like fried bread and rice. It tastes pretty good. This day was hard. All of our most sure investigators except one this night dropped. It was weird how that happened. Our Kitchen light broke and i was partly responsible. However after talking to Elder Cefalo i learned that the light was giving them problems before and i just finished it off.
Wednesday November 23 - I am not really sure what happened this day. I didn´t write it in my Journal for some reason. I think it was just a long day.
Thursday November 24 - I was given permission to get glasses. We went everywhere to get sunglasses and sunscreen. I think they just want to make Americans pay a lot here.
Today was crazy because appointments failed right and left.
Friday November 25 - Doing some laundry when laundry machine started making weird noises. The machines they have here cheap and can only hold so much stuff. (Today we had a repair man come over but the machine was not making weird noises anymore so he told us to call if it happened again. That threw us off because it was making weird noises all the time before and we were behind on laundry because of it.) Cool Story. This day we went to an investigator that has not been making any progress for a long time and we thought we might have to drop her. We tried to teach her for several days in a row but she was never available. We thought she was avoiding us. When we went to her house today through we found here in an excellent mood. Apparently a blessing we gave to her several days before worked. She said that she went to the hospital the day before and felt terrible, but as she left the hospital she felt better than she ever did in her life. She said she believed that our church is true. Now we just have to get her to church and get her to find how being a follower of Christ can bless her even more.
Saturday November 26 - Several lessons and the day went by super fast.
Sunday November 27 - Getting used to the people and all the other things around here. It is nice to be able to focused now on the work rather than being unused to everything.
Monday November 28 - Had some good lessons today. I was able to lead a lesson tonight and and invited one of our eternal part inactive member family to read the book of Mormon everyday and they accepted. I hope they follow through but it was nice to get some experience. It is hard for me and my companion to really be 1 while teaching the lesson due to the fact i don´t understand all the fine details of what they say. However we do switch back and forth teaching points just because that is one thing i can do in Portuguese.
These were some crazy days and my companion who has been on the mission for more that a year said that these were some unusually hard days. We figure the lord is trying us to help us become better missionaries. I just know that this week has given me the chances to think on how we can do better and some other important topics. It Has really been a ride since the beginning of the mission. This week i am going to be going on splits. So this will give me the opportunity to learn from the district leaders.
Another thing that happened this week was a conference with the Mission President. We had interviews with him and i was able to get to know him better which was a nice opportunity. Due to time restraints on our first day the new missionaries were not able to really have any chance to get to know the President.
I cannot believe how much i have learned and changed just from 3 weeks in the field. I am excited to keep on growing as a person and as a teacher.
One thing that keeps coming back to me is how sacred parenthood is and how it effects so many people. Having parents that care so much is truly a blessing and the fact that they taught the ways of the lord to me. I read in the Book of Mormon and see in real life how disobeying the commandments of God really cause contention. In the Book of Mormon it lead to many wars over things that really had no value. The value of good parents is really priceless.
Love Elder Kramer
Second I would like to have Jefferson´s Email Address so I can email him. Also Grandma´s Grandpa´s and Grandma´s Email. I might have them already but it is easier if they are right here on my account.
If you send me another package could you send Peanut Butter. They are in short supply here. They really don´t have any here in Brazil.
After I receive the package with the sunscreen I will see if it does the trick and I probably will ask for more. I reapply every 1-2 hours. Being out in the sun all day without a hat can be deadly to fair skinned Elder Kramer.
I don´t know if I have told you but also they really don´t have any good stain remover here. So getting some good stuff from the US will be pretty nice.
Lots of normal items that we got in the US are very expensive here in Brazil. All the chemicals and medicines we got are very expensive here. Vitamins are expensive. They have other things which are about as cheap or cheaper here. Food is decent price that is about it. So I might be asking you for more things if I start running out things. When I say expensive it is about 15 Reis for a bottle of mouthwash. It is about 30 Reis for a bottle of Vitamins. Around here you have to be pretty rich to live well. We only get 180 Reis every 2 Weeks. And with sunscreen running at 30 Reis for a tiny bottle that money runs out quick when I need to buy some things.
Another thing I don´t know if I told you is about visiting peoples houses here. Everyone has high gates with spikes or electric wire at the top of the fence and the fences are about 20-40 ft in front of their doors. We have to clap in front of the gates instead of ringing door bells.
The water here is pretty safe. Most of Brazil is not good but for some reason the water in Bosque and Passo Fundo is good water. We received Water bottles with filters in them at the MTC which i use anyway for safety.
The people here are very friendly but when religion is brought up most of them either preach to you or just say they are Catholic and don´t let us share a message about Christ with them.
The Main Meal here is lunch so at lunch time everyone disappears from the streets at 12 and it is always rice and beans. And you don´t really see anyone until after 2. I hear they take a hour nap.
Lots of the roads here are cobblestone. they look cool but not very fun to walk on.
It is very hilly here. It is always going up or down a hill. Kinda like some places in CT.
Most of the houses are built with this certain type of brick and are always tiled inside. I think i sent a picture of a building that was under construction a few weeks ago.
It is pretty interesting. Most of the older houses or the rich houses are the ones that look like something might see in The United States.
Dogs, Lots and lots of dogs. I think everyone owns at least 1 dog here. Many people own 3,4 or more. There are always strays on the streets. I am not sure you could walk a street here without seeing at least 1 or 2 stray dogs.
Alright about my week.
Tuesday November 22 - Found a new food i like. It is like fried bread and rice. It tastes pretty good. This day was hard. All of our most sure investigators except one this night dropped. It was weird how that happened. Our Kitchen light broke and i was partly responsible. However after talking to Elder Cefalo i learned that the light was giving them problems before and i just finished it off.
Wednesday November 23 - I am not really sure what happened this day. I didn´t write it in my Journal for some reason. I think it was just a long day.
Thursday November 24 - I was given permission to get glasses. We went everywhere to get sunglasses and sunscreen. I think they just want to make Americans pay a lot here.
Today was crazy because appointments failed right and left.
Friday November 25 - Doing some laundry when laundry machine started making weird noises. The machines they have here cheap and can only hold so much stuff. (Today we had a repair man come over but the machine was not making weird noises anymore so he told us to call if it happened again. That threw us off because it was making weird noises all the time before and we were behind on laundry because of it.) Cool Story. This day we went to an investigator that has not been making any progress for a long time and we thought we might have to drop her. We tried to teach her for several days in a row but she was never available. We thought she was avoiding us. When we went to her house today through we found here in an excellent mood. Apparently a blessing we gave to her several days before worked. She said that she went to the hospital the day before and felt terrible, but as she left the hospital she felt better than she ever did in her life. She said she believed that our church is true. Now we just have to get her to church and get her to find how being a follower of Christ can bless her even more.
Saturday November 26 - Several lessons and the day went by super fast.
Sunday November 27 - Getting used to the people and all the other things around here. It is nice to be able to focused now on the work rather than being unused to everything.
Monday November 28 - Had some good lessons today. I was able to lead a lesson tonight and and invited one of our eternal part inactive member family to read the book of Mormon everyday and they accepted. I hope they follow through but it was nice to get some experience. It is hard for me and my companion to really be 1 while teaching the lesson due to the fact i don´t understand all the fine details of what they say. However we do switch back and forth teaching points just because that is one thing i can do in Portuguese.
These were some crazy days and my companion who has been on the mission for more that a year said that these were some unusually hard days. We figure the lord is trying us to help us become better missionaries. I just know that this week has given me the chances to think on how we can do better and some other important topics. It Has really been a ride since the beginning of the mission. This week i am going to be going on splits. So this will give me the opportunity to learn from the district leaders.
Another thing that happened this week was a conference with the Mission President. We had interviews with him and i was able to get to know him better which was a nice opportunity. Due to time restraints on our first day the new missionaries were not able to really have any chance to get to know the President.
I cannot believe how much i have learned and changed just from 3 weeks in the field. I am excited to keep on growing as a person and as a teacher.
One thing that keeps coming back to me is how sacred parenthood is and how it effects so many people. Having parents that care so much is truly a blessing and the fact that they taught the ways of the lord to me. I read in the Book of Mormon and see in real life how disobeying the commandments of God really cause contention. In the Book of Mormon it lead to many wars over things that really had no value. The value of good parents is really priceless.
Love Elder Kramer
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