Getting the Hang of Things

Week 1:

Hey thanks I made it safe! The flight was terribly long and very boring. The plane was all stuffy and crowded but when I finally got off...it was just more humid air than the plane and about 20 degrees hotter...I don't think I've stopped sweating since I got here!!

The language is...coming along. I'm at the point where I can talk in full sentences in Portuguese already but I have a really hard time understanding them when they reply to me. I've already been teaching two 'investigators' com meu companheiro Elder Gregory and things are actually going...pretty bad unfortunately. haha They are both interested in the church but they are hard to understand and I don't have the vocabulary yet to explain things to them. But anyways...I'm picking things up faster than I thought I would.

It's hotter than hot. Today it's almost 100 and I don't even know what the humidity level is. I can't stand it. I try and end my shower with cold water so I don't start sweating again as soon as I get out but unfortunately my room is on the top floor of the building and is always extra hot. On the bright side though, my room is on the top floor of the building and has an AMAZING view of the city. It's so big I can't even comprehend it; the closest border of the city is over 50 miles away and the furthest is something like 100 miles, they told me. I can't wait until some pictures are on Facebook for you all to see. Unfortunately, my room is on the sixth floor which means I have to run up 108 steps every time I need something from my room.. :p But it helps me stay fit if the sweating doesn't already!

I have sent you a really long letter today and I sent it priority so you should hopefully be getting it in like two weeks! There are also letters for others that you can just give to Koty. It was a lot cheaper to send them that way.

I love and miss you all so much! This is by far the hardest thing I have ever had to do! The Temple in Sao Paulo was absolutely amazing today! The entrance has an awesome 30 foot stained glass window that is broken up into two or three foot sections of the visit of Christ to the Americas. It has a guy that looks like the one in the church movie where he goes blind in a storm the night before Jesus comes and then he gets healed by Him.  I don't know if you know what I'm talking about but hopefully you do.

I am almost out of time and I feel like I haven't said anything yet! hopefully you get my 'missionary ties' thing and can send me lots of stuff through that! Mail is the most exciting thing ever around here! Our district did make a rule that every letter you get means you have to do 50 push ups though, so try and make them one big or every day or whatever and not three small ones!

Also could you maybe log into my credit card account and see if I ever paid off the last 40 or so dollars? I can't remember if I did or not. I'm out of time! Love you lots and you'll hear from me in a week! But I hope I hear from you sooner!!

Elder Haws