Week 1 Transfer 3

This area is much different from my last area. First of all, the ward is helpful. Second the area is all hills it is the hilliest area in the hilliest zone of the mission. It is not normally very hot but this last week was like summer and we were trekking up and down hills. I got burnt for the first time since my first week in the field. The burn wasn't bad just some color on my neck and arms. I got my hair cut today because it was getting a little long, a sister in the ward did it for free. She is a beautician.

We have worked more in this week then I thought possible. We work non-stop from 630-930 and we fall into bed and then wake up thinking it has only been about ten minutes. this is what I thought missionary work should be like before the mission and i realize now why some/most missionaries don't work this hard. We both were so tired this morning but we have so much to do today and not half the time to do it. We already have enough things to do for 3 p-days and we only have one to do it in. Also we are keeping all of the rules, all of them. Our goals are set high for the transfer and we actually discuss them and we are working with our goals in mind. This week our goals are insanely high, we are working our hardest to achieve them. We have some really great investigators also. We have 14 with a date marked for baptism, If we can get half of them baptized it will make for an amazing transfer, but we are still only in the second week, we have 4 marked for this week but it already seems that one will not go through but that is alright she needs the time, she is only 15 and has been smoking for 4 years and has had boyfriends since she was about 10. She looks a lot older then she is. A friend of hers is a recent convert. Our other three are looking more solid, Two young men who have both definitely said that they want to be baptized and one woman who wants to be baptized but might want to put it off for a week because she just stopped smoking on saturday and still has a craving for cigarettes and doesn't want to be baptized and then give in and have the problem again, we respect that and recognize that it is her decision but also want her to get baptized soon because she has all the lessons and we cant spend all our time with undecided investigators that we cant help other then tell them to get baptized. There is one girl that we are teaching that wanted to set a baptismal date for two years from now. She is young and very pretty and popular and all that, and doesn't feel that she can be baptized until she feels bad about her sins and she doesn't feel bad about them at all. I agree with her reasons not to be baptized but not with her timeline. I could tell you a little about all of our investigators but I don't have the time, for now know that we have a lot and there are many more ready to be taught, we find 2 or 3 new investigators each day and unfortunately because of the amount that we find can only teach those that are most excepting, many of the investigators that we have to leave could be baptized if given the attention but we only have so much time. We have found enough work for 3 pairs of missionaries in this area, but it is just us so we have to run from place to place.

Now I want to describe my companion (Elder Allred) to you. I don't have my camera with me so I will send a picture next week. He is 6'5" and very skinny he is an american and from Rexburg ID. He Really likes to sing and is a geek. We are actually a lot alike in the geek category. He went to BYU-Idaho for one year and has a 3.9 GPA (he got an A- in spanish). If you think that I am full of facts you should meet him. He always sights his facts too. Which is great because he knows his scriptures very well and always sights to our investigators where they can find it. He also is very organized, He has 4 pens and a pensil on him at all times. Also we always "mark" with our investigators for a fallow up so it is very nice because we have our schedule planned for the next day planned half way through the day. Markar is the work in portugese for schedule/mark a time, but we use it in the portugese manner.

My English grammar is becoming very portugized, I almost always use the portugese "of the" for possession not the more English 's. We have a list of quotes we are making of stupid or funny things that we have said, one of my favorites was when Elder Allred said "Its going to be great, your not going to be there." He was talking about our baptismal interviews that we have scheduled for tomarrow but it sounded like he was saying it would be great because I wouldnt be there. Ill most likely be on devision with our zone leaders. Most of the others are two complicated to explain but are really funny.

Sunday night there was a big rain storm and it was quite loud, Elder Allred couldnt sleep and about went crazy, I slept fine except when elder Allred woke me up. He was sure that it was passed 630 and that we just hadnt heard the alarm because of the rain so he woke me up to by saying, "Elder!, Elder!, what time is it?" It five till 4. That day was the day that we started the quote baord, he was alittle delerious from not having any sleep the night before and was saying all sorts of weird half portuges half English sentences. One of my favorite quotes was, "Are you sure that doesn't make sence in English." He had just said a sentence with portugese grammar in English that would have been gibberish to any one that didnt know what he ment in the first place.

I have so much more to say but of course not enough time to say it, so I will stop there. My portugese is getting much better. I think that most of the time what i say makes sence and I understand just about everything, minus some words that I have never heard that I cant figure out in context. I have found that now that I can think in portugese that the congugations that don't exist in English make a lot more sence. I still get myself into trouble with non existance of the past particible in portugese but I am figuring it out.

Love you all,
Elder Risenmay

PS My area gets mail once a transfer so if there is something important to give me don't mail it. Actually you can mail it now because I git mail a week from tomarrow but don't mail it after tomarrow, But as for regular letters go ahead and write them as normal.