Elder Scott Anderson's Mission Blog: Redneckin’ It to Church

The ways we got to church the last two Sundays were pretty funny. Neither was planned, nor imagined, but we showed up on time and didn’t sweat as much as usual doing it. Two Sundays ago we were halfway to the chapel (a 45 minute walk) when the non-member husband of a woman from the ward passed by us on a carroca (go look that word up on Google—“Carroca”) towed by a horse!!! We waved to him and a few seconds later a lightbulb lit up in E. Tanus’ head. He yelled for him to stop and we ran up to him and asked if he could give us a ride. We went to church riding on a carroca with suits on—it was great! Hahaha. Yesterday we passed by the house of Gilvan, the dad of a less-active family whose 10 year old son we’re teaching, to talk to them real quick and walk the rest of the way but they said “No, y’all can fit in our car.” (This central/western region of Brazil is the “caipira” or “redneck” region of the country and so I believe the use of “y’all” in the translation of what they said to us is appropriate). We almost didn’t, but we did fit. All 8 of us packed into their nearly destroyed car. The battery wasn’t functioning and so the car had to be pushed to start it manually. Elder Tanus and I were squished on top of each other in the back seat of the car and even though we asked him to open the door for us (only the driver’s door opened from the inside ) so we could push the car for him, Gilvan just let his wife push the car with one hand while holding a 4-month old baby in the other, and after several mental prayers that we offered, the car started and we hobbled,/rolled/bounced to church—and got there right at 9! I’ve felt more redneck these last two Sundays than I did living in the Deep South of the United States for 15 years. At church yesterday Gilvan and Nidia’s baby was blessed, and we marked the baptism of Jefferson (the 10 year old son) for this Saturday. He and his family are excited! It’s been neat to see the change in their family since we started visiting them (after a great family home evening at the home of a member who invited them). Last Sunday they didn’t come to church because the dad was hung over and the rest of the family without desire to go as a result. This Sunday when we arrived at their house they were ready to go and Gilvan went in a white shirt and tie! The gospel blesses families.

We continue teaching Josy and her family, and we had an awesome lesson with them this week about baptism, temples, baptism for the dead, and eternal families (they are the family whose son recently died) and we marked a baptismal date with her and 3 of her kids. They didn’t come to church this week, and we discovered that Josy and her husband actually aren’t married (but have lived together for 25 years and have 7 kids together…), but we’ll keep helping them in spite of these obstacles.

Yesterday we had a meeting with the ward mission leader and the 4 new ward missionaries and established a plan to work closely with the members. I almost wish I could stay 6 more months on my mission to work with the members of this ward and baptize their family and friends! However, my time is almost up, but I’m not complaining—I can’t wait to see you all, my dear family and friends!

I CAN’T WAIT FOR SKYPE ON MOTHER’S DAY!!!!!!

Ate entao.

Elder Anderson