Elder Scott Anderson's Mission Blog: Pamonha com Jose Carlos

Happy Birthday Tyler!!! It’s crazy you’re already 17 and crazier that in a year you might already have your mission call! This week we worked a lot under the beating sun and rainy rain without any significant results. A lot of people don’t keep commitments or already have another church. I wish everyone would pause their lives for a moment to actually contemplate and consider the real possibilities that God calls living prophets and that the true church of Christ has been restored in its’ fullness. We’ll keep enduring the UV rays until we find the elect.

P-Day was awesome. After finishing a good day of volleyball and emailing we tracted in an upper class barro (neighborhood) and then ran to the house of Jose Carlos as it started to rain. We had a good lesson about conversion with him and then he took us to a famous pamonharia just outside the city. Pamonharia is a place that sells ‘pamonha’ which is kind of like a Mexican tamale but Brazilian and made of corn. The basic flavors are ‘com sal’—with salt, and ‘doce’—sweet, and there are various combinations of cheese, chicken, and pepper, I ate a pamonha ‘com sal’ with added ingredients. I had a ‘doce’ with chocolate. Mmmm bom demais da cena! We also drank quite a bit of ‘suco de milho’—corn juice, which was actually more like corn milk, but was also pretty great. Going to the famous pamonharia of the national capital of corm was a cool experience.

Jose Carlos is one of my favorite investigators I’ve taught on my mission, right up there with Matheus from Araxa (whom I’ve talked to recently and who’s preparing to go on his mission this year!). Jose greatly admires our work and maturity as missionaries. I’m so grateful that the Lord has shaped me into who I am today as I’ve dedicated my time and effort to Him. It is only with His divine help that I’ve turned from an immature and unexperienced boy into a missionary half-worthy of the praise Jose Carlos offers us. I know I am doing Heavenly Father’s will. If I weren’t there is no conceivable way I could be who I’ve come to be. Obigato, Pai Celestial.

We actually did find a new, good investigator this week, a girl name Francelle. We just couldn’t find her at home again. We’ll try again this week.

This week is transfer week! It’s been an awesome three transfers here In Guanabara, and I’m excited to see if I’ll be blessed with another or it the Lord is calling me to another area. As soon as I open my email tomorrow (it’s Sunday night right now), I’ll see the transfer email sent to all the zone leaders and will know what will happen with everybody in Patos. It’ll be fun! E. Ward and I will think of a creative way to reveal the transfer to the zone after district meeting on Tuesday.

Who’d excited for general conference???? MEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Elder Anderson
(and from a later email he gave this update: I was transferred!!!!!!!!!!! To Anápolis, the city with the most churches per capita in the world. I've always wanted to serve there and I can't wait! I'll be a zone leader with a Brazilian named E. Tanus! It'll be awesome and probably my last area and companion.

José Carlos is doing great! I'll sure miss him and I'm sure he'll be baptized within the next month or two.

This was a good week and I CANT WAIT FOR CONFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)