FEELING. THE. HUMIDITY.

Well, once again this week went by really fast. The days went by as fast as the weeks do. It was really hot and dry this week and none of us felt very good all week. I don’t know if it was something we ate or just the heat, but all of our stomachs hurt and we had headaches! And I got a couple bloody noses.  Haha, I really think it must just be the heat.

We meet so many people everyday here that want to know about the church, so it keeps us really busy.  We teach anywhere from 2 to 6 lessons a day.  It just depends on who is home and where we go.

Some days I feel like Portuguese is getting easier, then other days I feel like I don’t understand a thing. But things have been good. We had to get a new water filter for our apartment this week. Our last one broke and water wouldn’t go though it.

It rained all night last night and we got soaked heading back to our apartment.  During the night I got cold.  Haha!  It was probably still 70 degrees, but that’s cold here. I hope the ceiling doesn’t leak on me again.

I didn’t eat any weird food this week.  It was all pretty good.  People cook for us a lot. And we even made brownies, oatmeal cookies, and ramen noodles this week!

This week is zone conference. It takes about 12 hours by bus to get there, so we will leave Wednesday night and get there Thursday morning.  Then we will leave there Thursday night and get back here to our apartment Friday morning, so I guess we will just sleep on bus.  The bus drivers here are crazy!! They fly and then suddenly slam on their brakes.  I am excited to ride the bus in daylight to see more of Brazil.

It’s getting hot here again today.  The sun and rain are heating up. I really miss the cold a lot. There are no words to accurately describe how hot it is.  The longer summer goes here, there are more bugs and fruits that come.  Two weeks ago there were green beetles and mango fruit everywhere. Now the mangos are gone and the stupid flies are getting thicker and thicker.  That’s one thing that is the same, the same dumb flies as in the US.

Hope all is well with you guys. We are heading to lunch right now!!! Mom, thanks for everything. Talk to you next week. I miss you guys. Be careful.

Love you all.

Elder Nickerson

I. ATE. CHICKEN. HEART.

This week went by really fast, but it was slow for missionary work. It just keeps getting hotter and hotter here. The other night inside our apartment, it was 92 degrees and the sun, its gotta be over 100.  We are in normal clothes today.  It is the first time I have not been in a suit and it feels good. But it sure does keep on getting hotter and hotter.  It didn’t rain at all this week. And I am told that it will even get hotter than this.

Thanksgiving was just like another day here. I think they might celebrate it later. I’m excited to be able to call home at Christmas.  I missed you guys for Thanksgiving. The English school is having Thanksgiving this week though.  I’m not sure if they invited us yet.

We had a baptism scheduled for this week and talked to him Friday.  He was ready and our district leaders went to interview him and he wouldn’t get the door or his cell phone. I don’t know what happened. Some days as a missionary are discouraging.

We had a zone meeting this week and our mission president took us out to eat at a really nice restaurant. The food at the restaurant was really good. We found out that President Lisonbee found something that boosts your immune system by like 400 percent. He does something like that for a living. He is a businessman. Then on Sunday we met with another branch and our mission president was there. We had a lot of our investigators come to church, so that was really cool.  We usually have 30 – 50 people come to church.

So they have really cool hammocks here for about 30 American dollars but I don’t want to buy too much stuff at the start of my mission.  We get money every two weeks and I had to buy lunches, groceries, and a pillow this week. I was also able to buy milk, cookies, and apples. My companion wants to send his machetes home, but I’m nervous they won’t make it.  I think I’m gaining weight. My levis fit a lot tighter then they use to, but they still fit just fine.

Hardly any places here have AC. All they have is a fan blowing on you so it’s pretty much hot wherever you go.  You sweat just sitting inside someone’s house. This week I ate chicken heart!!! It wasn’t bad, but not something I want for every meal. And we were eating at a members’ house and there was a big bowl of soup. Haha, and we look inside and it was full of cut off fish heads. It looked really nasty! I didn’t eat any of it.

The buses here are really crazy, it reminds me of Harry Potter. Haha! We jump on and as soon as the door closes it takes off from 0 to 60 in about ten seconds. Then slams on the breaks.  The dirt and oil roads here are full of big potholes and the busses won’t even try to avoid them. They are nuts. But riding the bus is a lot better then walking. My legs hurt some nights because of walking so much. 

I made ramen noodles last night.  We have milk here. You buy it in cartons and it’s just sitting on the shelf without a refrigerator sealed up.  As soon as you unseal it you have to keep it cold. There is a deli with bananas and I might buy some eggs. All my snacks from the CTM are gone. 

Today I am going to take my machete to get a handle put on. Transfers are coming up.  I think one companion in our apartment will transfer for sure. He came here with me but he just hit his year mark this week. The other one has been here for three months and then my companion, so I am not exactly sure what will happen.  My companion and I are still getting along. I understand more and more of the language but it’s still really hard to speak. I talked to President and he said that’s the way it is with everybody.  It will just take time to get it down. I can understand some people really well but some others I don’t understand a word.  I have the hardest time when people really roll their words.  And I hit my two month mark this week!!

Lunch was good today. We ate at a place that only costs five bucks and it’s good. The owner just moved places and had us bless his new store. He likes us a lot.

It sure helps when I can talk to you guys. I love you guys and look forward to talking to you all. Be safe. I will try to take some more pictures for next week.

That’s about all for this week. I hope all is well with you guys.  Just know things are going good here!! Thanks for everything. Love you all. Have a good week!!

We are heading out to proselyte!!

Love,

Elder Nickerson

GREAT. ATTITUDE.

We are in the city of Barrieras conducting interviews and visiting the branches.  We were able to have dinner with the branch presidents and some of the elders here.  We loved being with your missionary.    He looks great and has such a great attitude.   We love him!! 

Sister Bianca Lisonbee

DIDN'T. KNOW. IT. WAS. POSSIBLE. TO. BE. THIS. HOT.

This week flew by!!  It rains almost every day here and it is soo hot that even when you are in the shade, you can’t stop sweating. We finally got our new washer on Friday. It is small but it washes our clothes good.

Portuguese is still hard, but I do understand more and more. Everyone all talks a little different and they all talk so fast.  I think it is going to be awhile before I can speak the language. It is hard to pronounce all the words correctly.  It took an Elder here 8 months to get it down.  I am able to help a little with the lessons.  I memorize parts and bear my testimony as often as I can. Sometimes it scares me I will never learn the language.  I just think it is going to take time.  There are a lot of people here trying to learn English. So I am able to help them and they help me.  It's pretty cool!

It depends on how many lessons we teach a day here by how many people are home. We usually teach around 1 – 2 lessons a night when people are eating, and they usually feed us.  We wear our church clothes even on pday here, but I don’t mind.   We had another baptism this Sunday! We let a member baptize her. It was a neat experience!!!

A guy stopped us the other day on the street and asked for a Book of Mormon. Everybody stares at us wherever we go. They say stuff in a group then they all look. It’s kind of intimidating.  My companion and I are the only white guys here and my compaonion doesn’t tan at all, he just burns!

The guy Francisco that I baptized is really nice and likes the gospel a lot! We have a baptism scheduled here every Sunday but one, so hopefully all of our investigators follow through. We walk around in rain and mud a lot, but it’s ok cause it helps cool it down a lot and is better than all the heat.   I honestly didn’t know it was possible to get as hot as it does here.   We found some cool machetes!!!!  They were at a hardware store.  I’m going to get a case for it today!! Haha!! And a member here had some horns that he gave me. They are funny looking.  

The members here cook a lot for us.  We don’t have to cook very much or very often at all.   I really like all the guys in my apartment.  They are all very nice.  I’m not sure if we are going to celebrate Thanksgiving.  I was talking to my companion and there is a school here that teaches English, and they make American food. We might try to go there for Thanksgiving, but I am not sure yet. 

The members eat rice and beans for EVERY meal.  The families are not real big families, two or three kids.  The people on the street are nice so far.  We have met some people that were literally crazy. They have lost their minds.   We walk a lot and catch a bus sometimes.  There are food and stores all over here and some pretty nice markets.

There are bugs everywhere here.  And the fruit here is really really good.  I drink as much water as I can.  It is nice to have water in our apartment and we just fill up water bottles and store them in our fridge.  The water filter at the house is really slow and all the water here has chlorine in it.  I think the filter is just for safety.  Not everyone here filters their water but all water has chlorine. I sleep good and because it is so hot I have to have a fan blowing on me.  The Branch President here is very nice but I really can’t understand much that he says.

So I will be with Elder Bailey for 12 weeks since he is training me. Transfers usually last 5 or 6 weeks but I will be in this area from anytime between 3 to 6 months.  I don’t know what will happen after that.  Just that I will be with my companion for 12 weeks. My companion is cool.  We really get along.

I guess visas here don’t last for the full two years. They last a year and about 11 months.   So depends on what my transfers are like, but I might come home a month early. I don’t know how true that is.  That is just what I have heard.

This guy is from Pocatello.  He knows about Howe and is some how related to the Fullmers in Arco. He goes ice fishing at Mackey and wants to go with us when I get home.

The district leader is in our house and I’m not sure about the zone leaders. Any mail they will bring to our zone conference and that is like the second week of December, so hopefully some of your letters make it.

Thank you guys for everything. I love you all.  Just know that everything is good here.  We have another baptism scheduled this Sunday so hopefully they follow through. I will take more pictures for next week.  Hope all is well with you guys at home.   Love you all!! Talk to you in a week.

 Love Elder Nickerson