Merry Christmas from Fortaleza 2014

Some for Mom Dec 22

I would kill a horse to go to Bravo tonight for Anne's birthday dinner, but at least I am making a trip into the city today so Subway is on the menu for lunch. Take a picture at Anne's dinner and send it to me. 

Yes I will do google hangout again on Christmas D. I will use my google email wjpercival@gmail.com. I am thinking 1:00 in the afternoon my time would be best but let me know what works for you guys. I have received here 3 packeges from you and 1 card from G&G and 1 card from Allison. I never got numbers 1-7 from the christmas numbers but maybe they are there today. 

W

22 December

That is funny your weather report of this town says it is very humid each day because it does not feel that humid here. Probably because of all the wind. My area is one of the hotter areas in the mission but the heat does not affect me that much compared to other missionaries. I found out though that sunscreen is way expensive here so I might have you send me some. I will talk to you about it on Christmas. Yes I miss playing the oboe as well but I can still read music and I have practicing my singing. I am actually a pretty good singer.

Let me know how the Hawkeyes did and what happens with the national championchip. You never told me who won the world series but I assume the giants did because you never mentioned it. It is impressive Kansas city got that far.

My new companion is great. Even though he does not speak English he can understand it pretty well. He is also very easy to understand unlike people here. He has lots of experience here as he will end his mission in March. So I have been learning lots of things from him. I hope to stay with him for next transfer as real transfers are in 1 week.

 We have a new area now that our ward only has 4 missionaries (instead of 6) but we kept the good people I was teaching in my old area. So it has been nice to walk on some new roads and have a bigger area. We put this guy we have been teaching named Andre on date for January 10th so that is cool. We went to the Fortaleza temple location when I got here but it is just a bunch of dust right now. The church is struggling with some problems here with the leadership and people. That is the reason I have heard they have not started building but you never really know. I saw the thing about a N. Korea movie at the bus terminal and was wondering what is was so thanks for the info. Sony makes movies?

1 00 on Christmas my time and I will video chat with ya. Lots of love

W

Merry Christmas from Fortaleza

December 15

Dad,
I always loved the Bourne movies as well and Anne informed me that they will make a new one in 2016 with Matt Damon so that is exciting. The new one they made with the other actor was not nearly as good.The people here in Brazil like the Bourne movies as well. 

 Normal transfers are on December 28th but due to missionaries who wanted to be home for christmas many missionaries who were normally going to go home on the 28th went home today so many things changed in the mission. Three of the missionaries I live with are leaving including Elder Benetiz my companion. I am getting an Elder Olievera (Brazilian) so this will be interesting. I am sad to see Elder Benetiz leave but we had been together for a long time now. It will be interesting to be with a Brazilian because of the fact we cannot speak in English. Either way Bentiz and the other two guys leave tomorrow. Normal transfers will still happen on the 28th but I am sure I will stay. I think next transfer will be my last here. 

We had this guy named Andre come to church who told us he had visions of us coming and teaching him. He wants to get baptized as well so if he comes to church next week that will happen maybe on next Sunday. He is either crazy or very elect. I cannot tell. The family with three girls has been out of town for the past week which has been a bummer. 

Our ward will finally get a ward mission leader next week which will be good. We are hoping it is the `rich` guy with the wife who makes good food. We can only hope. People say it gets hotter here for December January February but it feels the same to me. 

And yes I realize I am not a very open person but I will try to work on it. And preparing for the temple is a very important thing. I met someone the other day who was sealed in the Sao Paulo temple to her husband and she did not know who Joseph Smith was. Look forward to talking with you on Christmas.

Will

Free Thanksgiving Turkey

More from Nov 24

I am sorry I am not there to help you with the patio furniture. One thing I miss about weather in Des Moines is the Thunderstorms. They are so cool.  I think for thanksgiving we will order pizza and I will try to take a picture. 

This week was good for lessons and finding people. We only had 1 person at church but next week will be better. 

 There are only a couple inactives that we know of but there is one kid named Diego that is 21 who we like to talk to. He always gives us Din Din as well for free which is good. Din Din is something like a popsicle for reference. We have yet to find any single member families. Our area is bascically a new area for missionaries as no one has talked to missionaries before and we do not have many members. 

Chickens, cows, horses, geese, goats, sheep, dogs, rats, cats, coackroaches, turkeys, and different types birds are the usual animals on display in the neighborhood. We teach a guy who has 10 horses and it is fun to pet them. I really wish we could ride them but it is against the rules. It is quiet at night except for the fireworks people always light off. People work during the day, and lots of men drink during the night. Yes it is very windy here except for the night which makes the heat tolerable. It's really not that bad because it is not very humid and there is usually lots of wind. I live with 5 Americans from, Spokane Washington, Virginia, South Carolina, Washington DC, and Santa Cantarina, Brazil. 

Bummer that Utah got creamed. My companion and I really like Lebron so you should let us know how the Cavaliers and how he is doing next week. I know you are not a huge fan so you can cheer against him. I hope you like the meetings in church. Sometimes they are pointless for missionaries but sometimes they are good. In my eyes it depends on the Bishop. Have a good thanksgiving.

Will

More December

My companion and I are sorry Lebron and the Cavs are not doing well but I am sure you are not too disappointed. The mission field is the same; I am getting better at learning who has true potential to teach and who does not. It is harder to know in Brazil because everyone tells you you can talk with them even if they do not have any interest. They will just sit and listen content.

 I just had a missionary I lived with for 4 months go home and a sister I served with in my first ward go home as well and they both sent me emails. Almost all of my companions have been older that me or the same age (elder Benitez).

 I talked about that scout camp photo in my going away talk if you remember. One thing I have been blessed with in my life is having a good memory and I remember that moment very well. We should have some baptisms coming soon I hope. We had one member of a family come to church on Sunday which was good. 

I do  not have a lot of time today sorry but I sent a longer email to Mom so you can read the answers to the questions that she sent me. I am betting the eagles win the Superbowl. Who's the quaterback for them right now?

W

Definition Clarified

Haha that is funny, nah companionship inventory is when you get together and talk about what problems you have. I have not had a bad companion since my trainer so this has not been a problem. I think it is better to talk about problems when you have them that to wait until weekly planning on thursday. (companionship inventory is the last part of weekly planning.) 

On Sun, Nov 23, 2014 at 3:46 PM, Cindy Percival <mtpercival@msn.com> wrote:

Hi Will, 

Today in stake conference President Pence asked each husband and wife to take a companionship inventory.  He said if we didn't know what one was that the missionaries could teach us.  Well,  can you fill me and dad in? 

Thanks! 

Nov 24 2014

Send me a picture of the Thanksgiving table. Sorry I have been pretty terrible with photos here. I will send a good photo next week as I do not have my sd card with me. I will call today about the packages and ask the office and let you know next week. If they have come I will get them on Wednesday when we see the zone leaders. Yes that is funny about Sabastion and Michelle both going to the same mission in Alaska on the same day.. I will take a good picture for you. But yes you have to be careful here with that camera. Yeah let me know what BYU says. This week I will take photos of our area and send them to you and you will call BYU and ask for me. Sound good? Awesome. I thought Andy Harpole was already home but it looks like he will be coming home soon. We put some christmas lights in our room but all the christmas lights here in Brazil flash all the time and they do not sell ones that just remain lit. It is kind of wierd. 

Week was good, we met a lot of good people to teach. Only 1 person came to church but next week will be better. It is funny that thankgiving and christmas is during this transfer. I did not know Kate was going to get endowed. That is interesting. Which temple?

W

Questions answered

For Thanksgiving we ordered pizza and I took some pictures holding a wild turkey for thanksgiving. I put the pictures in dropbox. I will take a nice photo for a christmas card today and put it in dropbox today before p-day is over. Weather here has been the same except it rained a couple days in the mornng. I do not like the rain here because it gets very humid after and hot. Usually the air is never very hot unlike Iowa. Only the sun during the afternoon. 

As for BYU I think that would be the ideal situation for me; to come home and work at Pioneer. The reason I would want to go to school right away is I would need a job where I could work everyday and I am almost positive Des Moines Golf could not give me hours everyday. I just do not want to sit around and do nothing. But I will continue to think about it. 

Only one person came to church but she is a part of a family of 5 that we will baptize here soon. They are really cool and are intelligent as well which is nice. The father works himself to death though and only is home for 4 hours during the day.... out of 24. And he probably makes maybe 10,000 dollars a year. Probably less. 

As for the survey, Mail has not come, I called today. The skin on my face is always the same, never terrible, never perfect. Pants still fit, its hard to gain weight here when you eat rice and beans every day. I am not any taller. Not even a little. I use a different bag that I found in a apartment in the states and had a member sew on these backpack straps so all the weight is on my hips. I have yet to buy a soccer jersey but I really want one, so next time I go downtown I will buy some. I use my Portuguese scriptures everyday. I drink lots of soda here but I am careful not to drink too much. People always serve it with lunch. That or juice they make from fruit. We have a mission party on the 18th.

Thanks for calling BYU, look in dropbox for a better photo later today,

W

December

 The people here are very uneducated for the most part and have a very hard time understanding the message we bring. Sometimes I just want to tell them they will be damned if they do not listen but that is not very loving so I refrain from that. For impressions I would say the area is poor for the city but everyone here still has huge nice phones which is ironic. They live in trash but they have the new samsung flagship phone. I would say yes I am growing. Spirtually and physically. I think my shoulders have gotten a little bit wider here but I am not any taller. I stay in pretty good shape as I walk all day and I work out every morning. 

I read the Book of Mormon every day as it has been a goal of mine to try to get to know the book really well. Remember it is a rule in this mission that I only have 1 hour and 1/2 to email and it goes by quick. I remember looking at the weather with you guys and think that it rains a lot but it has only rained 3-4 times since I have been here. It usually only rains during the night but the rainy time of the year is in January and February so we will see. 

I would say this is a good experince to help other people. I am glad to be serving with Elder Benetiz because we get along very well and we teach well together. It is frustrating sometimes here because people are so lazy that it is hard to get people to come to church. I will say though sometimes I get tired of walking the same roads every day. 

Do not worry about asking questions, It makes it easier for me to know what you guys want me to write, just like its the best when people ask questions when you teach, it means they care.

Gotta go, i have 2 minutes left.

Love,  Will

A Little Bit of Home....sort of...

For Dad

Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 12:26:17 -0200
Subject: Re: Pats and Colts
From: william.percival@myldsmail.net
To: mtpercival3@msn.com

It is nice to know that the Utes can compete and they do not get beat up all the time. Tom Brady and Bill Belichek have always been a hard combo to beat. The one nice thing about the NFL is the teams seem to keep the same players for longer so the good teams have some cool dynastys. Thanks for the news from the nba. Who do the wizards have that is good? I was wondering how the cavs were doing with Lebron back.The 6 of us are all staying together so nothing changes until the end of the year. The Portuguese is coming along but sometimes it is still hard to understand specifics of what people say. P-days are kind of lame here to be honest. We really cannot do anything. Today we will play a little 2 on 2 basketball at a guys  house who has a makeshift court, but other than that nothing special. Max wrote me a nice email today and told me how awesome the movies have been lately. I chuckled after I read your email and your opinion on the movies of late. I think you and Max have different tastes of movies. Coming back i will definetly purchase an android. They are just more fun and I think I like the designs better. Apple just needs more variety. 

As for the work, it was good this week but we could not get anyone to church. Something I have learned on my mission is to have integrity. If you say you are going to do something, do it, or what good is your word? It is something that is frustrating sometimes. But next week will be better. Sometimes I feel like I am teaching a brick wall. Some men here who never went to school and worked their whole life do not have the brain capacity to understand our message. But we try.

I wrote bon bon and email today, thanks for the reminder,

Love,

W

Re: It snowed here

William Percival

11/17/14

To: Cindy Percival

We are all staying. All six of us. Which is very strange becuase one of the guys got here in July. Sooooo, yeah. The good news is I like my companion and the guys, the bad news is nothing changes and life gets monotonos some times. 

I think we will order pizza for thanksgiving. Not much else. The girl that came to church last week will probably be baptized but she has to come to church 4 times and she has been once so it will be a while. 

No games. Rules are very strict here. A member gives haircuts here and I will get one today. I hang up laundry on a line in our hallway between our two houses. I iron one shirt every morning. If you hang the pants when they are still wet the creases go away when they dry so you do not need to iron them. I do not know if your letters came this week to the mission office but I will call this week.

 There are two soccer teams here, Ceara, and Fortaleza. Ceara is like the Yankees and Fortaleza is like the Cubs. Its a big rivalry and everyone like it when one team loses. I like Ceara but Fortaleza has better colors. 

I wear my suit to church. Some people have dogs but almost everyone has birds which i really like. They are fun to play with. Yes people wear uniforms to school. You have never let me know about what BYU said so you need to do that and email me what happens. Por favor. This week was pretty normal, we had some elders stay with us one night from a different area. 

Lots of Love

W

November 10th Fortaleza

Yes we have youth in our ward to pass the sacrament. On a good week we have 120 people in sacrement meeting so it does not take many people to pass. The only time I make food is usually for breakfast I make a sandwich with meat and cheese and use a panini thing to flatten it. I think it is good. I also usually make smoothies with bananas.

 Transfers are next tuesday. We had interviews about a month ago that took all day. We went to burger king while waiting which was cool but not as good as the United States Burger King. The shoes are great along with all my other clothes. I like to read the scriptures in English more than Portuguese. I sleep great at night and have not been sick. Joe is liking college, I got an email from him I think three weeks ago. Thanks for the package. I will let you know when it gets to me. 

This week we had a girl come to church who we actually have never taught. We just invited her to come and she did. I am pretty sure she will be baptized because she loved church. She looks like she is 19 like all the girls here but when we asked her she told us that she is 15. Its weird here. No one look their age. It's always a shot in the dark. Better than all the people were teaching who did not come to church. 

Other than that this week was pretty usual. I saw some guys doing cocaine on the road so I guess that is different. I guess it is pretty cheap here. It has to be because almost no one in our neighborhood has money. Colorado looks pretty. It hard to remember what time of year it is because the weather is so warm here. 

Thanks for the pic, Lots of love

W

More Halloween

Happy Halloween

I probably could understand the testimonies if we had a good sound system in the church but the sound is terrible so I cannot understand them. I can pretty much understand anyone now here for the most part. Some words are strange and some people have portuguese that is easier to understand than others. I always pray in public in Brazil but I really do not like praying in Porutuguese because I feel so limited in what I can say. No they do not change clocks, at least I hope not. 

I actually had kind of a change in heart about school and stuff this week. I think you are right on this one and it would be better to wait but I am still not sure. I just want to know my options and I want to make sure I have two options before it is too late. It would be nice to make some money before school, but I wish it was not so 4 months. 2 would be perfect. I think. I will think about it some more so just call this week and let me know what my options are. Do not change anything just let me know what they say.  

This week was kind of a rough one. Missionary work in Brazil is not as easy as people say it is. People here are really lazy and no one is married and this makes things difficult for baptizing people. We are kind of starting over with the people we are teaching this week. It also very tough to get people to church becuase that means they have to wake up and go to church. What a price to pay for salvation. (sarcasm). Anyways I can teach now so hopefully things will be better this week.

I went again downtown with the Brazilian Elder today. I bought some fake oakleys for 5$ and got money for everyone from the atm. We take out all the cash we get because many places here do not accept cards. Our area does not have an atm that does not charge 15%. It was fun but a little hot. Also I rode a bus with probably 50 people on it and the capticity is probably 30. I was just glad I did not fall out the door. 

Any

way that was my week. Here is a pumpkin I carved for thankgiving. The kid in our group whos dad is a radiologist bought us all pumpkins. It's always good to have a rich kid. 

Will

Will's Brazil Address...takes 3 normal stamps for a Letter!

FW: Hi Will!

Hey so quick side note. I leave this mission on Auguest 31st next year and BYU Fall term starts the same day. Its very easy to leave two weeks early from a mission. 5-6 people did this same thing in Washington. They just left two weeks early because they were supposed to leave sept. 3 and instead they left like August 18 to go to school. Let me know your thoughts on this. And if you could call the administrations office at BYU and ask if it's possible to move my deferment to fall instead of next winter. Don't do it just ask if it is possible. I do this now because this is when everyone is applying for spots next fall. It sounds better to me to leave two weeks early to go to school in the fall so I do not have to sit at home all winter but let me know what you think and let me know what they say.

Thanks

On Mon, Oct 27, 2014 at 12:44 PM, William Percival <william.percival@myldsmail.net> wrote:

 Reading in Portuguese is a little difficult but I usually can understand the jist of what a paragraph is saying. Dad is a lot like me watching sports. Yesterday we woke up and tried to get people to come to church at 9:00. We then had church and afterwards had a big lunch as usual. We then studied language for a bit and after tried to see some people. Finding people to teach is very easy here. I am glad the elections here are over because its very annoying. They do not have laws here about noise so everyone drives around with big speakers on their cars. We walked the usual area. Its not very big but its enough. Sunday is the day for weekly planning so we come home early at 6 and plan from 7-8. Then the rest of the night we relaxed and hung out with the other guys. I think I want you guys to send me one package for christmas so I might order a couple things on amazon for you to send me. I have the same address here always and that is the mission office address. 

Missao Brasil Fortaleza Av. Santos Dumont 1789 Sala 1612, Aldeota Fortaleza-CE 60150-160 Brasil

I will let you know more about it next week. Love ya,

Will

October 27 2014

Yes the Brazil elections for president have been very annoying so I am glad that they are over. Keep faith in the Royals. It's amazing they are in the world series. It's too bad they are not playing the cubs. Then we could not lose with either team winning. Utah has been impressive.

 This week was rather uneventful. We teach a lot here but we could not get anyone to come to church. We did put a guy on date for baptism so that was good. I went on an exchange with the zls on friday. I went to their area for the day. They have a nicer house but I like the guys I am with better. I wrote in my journal today.

 The language is coming quicker now. Sometimes I wish I was serving in Southern Brazil because the people from southern brazil are much easier to understand. People here have less education and just like the united states when people have less education they cannot speak as well. Either way I can teach for the most part now which is nice. Not much else to report. We are going to work on getting people to church this week because 75% of people who you talk to on the street will say yes if you ask them to be taught so we have tons of people to teach. Little different than America., 

Next week we will go to Downtown again to get money so I think I will look for a hot water shower head. And a cool soccer jersey. Thanks for the sports

update. Go KC and UTah. 

Will

Looking Good in White

Proof of Residence

Looking up in Fortaleza

Wjp

I am serving in an area called Siquiera. It is somewhere in Fortaleza. To be honest I have no idea where in Fortaleza I am. It is a very poor area even for Fortaleza. Everyone here has cement homes with basic plumbing and electricity. A good salary here is 7000 dollars a year. People do not have much but they always like to give us things. Members that is.

 I do like the weather here. It is the same weather everyday. Around 80-85 I think ( I have no way of knowing ). The sun goes down every day at 5:30 and it cools off to a nice 75 so nights are nice. I am happy with the weather but some change would be nice. There are bugs of course but not many. I have not found a basketball but next week we are going downtown to go shopping so I will look then. There are sister missionaries but none in our zone and the only missionaries I ever see are the same 6 guys and I see them every day. We practically all live together as 4 of us live together in one house and 2 feet away the other guys have an identical apartment. 

 I cannot really understand people yet here so I never really know what is going on. People here speak terrible Portuguese. Our bishop is from Sao Paolo and I can understand him much better than people here. My  companion says it's because people here who have less education speak worse Portuguese. I guessing that is universal for all languages. Nobody here speaks English. Nobody. You would think some people would.

 We are teaching a guy named Claudio and his wife. The both believe the church is true and we have to go get them married next week. That is one of our tasks when we go downtown. Hopefully we can get a ride with the guy and not take the bus. I wish you could see what the busses were like. I feel like a sardine. There are not exactly regulations in the country. Last night I saw a huge fire burning in a forest. I guess that is normal. People here are really lazy. They will always listen but it is hard to get them to actually do something. 

Thank you for the sports update. Good luck with your talk. 

Lots of Love,

Will 

From Sao Paulo

Star Trek Universal Translator Needed ASAP....

My companion, Benetiz, is from Virgina. He is a Pureto Rican kid but was born in the states. I like him. I am staying here with him and the two other elders in our apartment for the next 6 weeks. We got transfer emails today. It should be fun. The Brazillian keyboard is not very different but this one is a piece of crap so yes.

 We taught a girl named Laynea and I actually baptized her yesterday. I will send you a picture next week. I look good in white. We literally have the same thing for lunch everyday but we get fed everyday for lunch by members. Spaghetti noodles, rice, beans, some meat,  and usually soda or these fruit drinks they make which are really good. I really like it and am not sick of it yet so all is well for food. We usually eat out for dinner every night at this bakery that is good and pretty cheap. I feel like Dad going out to eat all the time. We have a washing machine but no dryer which means I have to Air dry my clothes which means I have to iron now which is a bummer.

 I will soon purchase a basketball. The stores are indeed like America but a Walmart would be nice. I do not think people in America realize how nice Walmart is. We moved apartments this week. Our old apartment was so dusty is was  terrible. Our new apartment is a little smaller but we live right next door to other missionaries so the 6 of us have a good time. We cannot watch disney movies anymore which stinks. The mission president here is pretty strict with rules and he came here in July like my old mission president. I really like the cool dark nights here but the days are a little toasty at times.

 I put some photos in a new folder called Brazil Photos on Dropbox but this computer is slow so it will take some time to upload them all. Thank you for all the news at home. It is always nice to know what is going on. I got a good email from Joe Wandro today. I only have time for one email home today. We only have an hour and a half. Thank you Dad for all the sports updates. I wish you knew how much I enjoy reading them. All the American elders like to know as well. Its kind of a black hole here for news. I love you guys thanks for the support. 

Will  

p.s.  Did you ever get any more new music and I would like another Percival calender for Christmas. I am sorry I lost my Christmas presents but for christmas next week I will come up with a list of things I want from America. It should take like 2 months to get here but you should ask the post office how much it costs and the cheapest way. Let me know. I will pay for it if you like. 

p.p.s  Conference was terrible because it was totally in Portuguese....ha!

First Email from Fortaleza

I am living in a city called Siqueda, but everthing is in the borders of the city of Fortaleza. It has only sprinkled a few times. The only address we have is the mission home. It is the Siqueda Ward. It is a regular sized ward, a little smaller than most.  I sleep with a fan every night. It's not very hot at night. It is pretty hot during the day from Noon to 5 but once the sun goes down the nights are very nice. It is the same weather every day. We get fed lunch every day. It is the same meal but I like it. Rice, beans, meat, and usually guarana and some strange desert. I am reading the book of mormon. Percival is actually a Brazilian name so it is very easy for them. I like the fruit guava. Yes we walk a lot. Everything has held up great. P days are pretty lame as there is no more basketball but we can watch one disney movie. Today is Wreck it Ralph. We email at an internet cafe. It costs very little. Food here costs very little but other things like gasoline, and electronics are expensive. We will watch conference at the church but it will be in Portuguese so I will bring a nice pillow. 

I hit one year this thursday. I always imagined I would be happier on my one year mark. I miss my old mission. I wish I had stayed. I will try to keep my head up but it is hard to keep my mind busy during the day. Lots of Love.

Will

First Email from Brazil

Well, I made it.  It is funny to see guys I have not seen since I was in Provo.  I have a good companion for the two weeks that I am here so that is always good.  My MTC companion from Provo was supposed to be living in my room with us but his passport and visa did not make it through the US Mail so he couldn't get on the plane yesterday with the rest of us.  That is a big bummer for him.  Instead, his companion is with us and we are in a threesome. The plane ride was long and I did not sleep much.  It will be a long day.  This place reminds me of Culebra.
Lots of love,
Will

On the "road" to Brazil

From: william.percival@myldsmail.net
To: mtpercival3@msn.com; mtpercival@msn.com

Keep your phones on you throughout the day. I will try to call either before I leave or in Atlanta. One of the two. I do not know the time in Iowa but you guys can figure it out. Make sure you answer. 

On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 10:55 AM, William Percival <william.percival@myldsmail.net> wrote:

I do not have lots of time today as I have many things to do. I also wish today was not a holiday as I was hoping to stop at Wells Fargo on the way up to Tacoma. They have none here in Aberdeen. I sent one package home 3-4 days ago and I am having a family send a package home tomorrow for me. The one being sent tomorrow has lots of cash in it. I did not want to carry all that Brazil money around and I also ended up FINDING 210$ cash in my study desk as I was cleaning it out. I think it was the missionaries before me but go ahead and put it into my checking account along with the Brazil cash. I am emailing him and will wire it to him if it is his. 

I think that is it for this week. I talked to our Ward Mission Leader all about his schooling and his Radiology job. I learned a lot from him. I uploaded some pictures on dropbox today and he is the bald guy I took a picture with. I also had a women the last couple weeks re-sew all of my pants to make them fit better. She is a very good seamstress and I look much better in them now. She was very kind as it was a lot of work she did. I also picked up a cool pair of burgundy shoes to wear with my blue pants at Goodwill for 10$. Great deal. So I should be looking stylish in Brazil. 

Also a fun fact: my MTC companion, Elder Sheridan, has been waiting in Idaho this whole time for his Visa and he is leaving the same day for Brazil as I am. It will be hilarious to see him again and potentially be his companion. That is all I have. I will try to jump on email later today if you have any last minute requests. Lots of love... It's been a long ride but the prayers have been answered and I am leaving.

Wish me luck,

Will

Welcome to the CTM in Sao Paulo

Dear Parents,

Sister Swensen and I are very happy to let you know that your missionary has arrived safely at the Brazil Missionary Training Center.  What a great joy and privilege it is to greet each missionary as they begin their missionary experiences with us. We will surely take good care of your missionary.                                                                                                     

The missionaries now have companions and are settled into their rooms.  They are assigned to a district with capable and caring instructors for language and lesson study.  Their branch presidents and wives, will meet them this Sunday.  These wonderful couples are richly blessed as they work with, motivate, and interview the missionaries assigned to their branch.

The MTC has a full-time live-in physician to care for their health needs.  He is assisted by his able wife who is a nurse. We are also happy to report that the cafeteria food is plentiful, healthy and very good.

Your missionary will be able to e-mail home on Preparation Day after a morning at the Temple.  This will be either Wednesday or Friday, depending on individual assignments.

Your missionary is about to make an eternal difference in the lives of many others. President Lorenzo Snow said: “There is no mortal man that is as interested in the success of an elder when he is preaching the Gospel as is the Lord who sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord's children".  We love these missionaries as if they were our own.  We will watch over them carefully to ensure they are ready for a wonderful missionary experience after the rewarding time they will have in the MTC.

We thank you for preparing such a wonderful representative of the Lord.

President Robert Swensen and Sister Julie Swensen

Here's some sleepy Missionaries after just flying 24 hours to reach Sao Paulo....