Before I left, I remember one time that President Norton was overcome by the spirit of prophecy, and foretold my coming weight gain. I'm sure he will be pleased to know that the carb-heavy, rice-based diet is finally taking its toll on my formally skeletal physique. I hope you will still love me if I'm fat.
This weeks exchange with Elder Morales was cut short, as Elder A and I had to go to H_____ for a baptismal interview. As the companion of the District Leader my life is very busy (he typed, lying through his fingers).
Talking about Elder A, this is his last week in P____. Today we ate at a fancy Brazilian buffet, as a late birthday celebration and also recompense for enduring a fairly unpleasant toenail surgery. It was a very fancy restaurant. Too fancy for missionaries. You have a token which is red on one side and green on the other, and there are men walking around with huge skewers of beef, and if you have your token green then they give you a slice. Elder A was speaking Portuguese to all the waiters, and I just sat there with my green token eating the meat as it came.
On Saturday we helped a grandma with her garden. Latino gardening is very fun, because it's literally just chopping down everything with a machete and putting it in bags. So here we are, the lads, helping some folks.
We arrived first and started bagging up some of the loose leaves. Soon the other brethren started to show up, each one bringing their own machete. The Stake Patriarch brought three, so we had a nice time chopping through the verdant foliage. I intend to buy my own when I return home.
I also found this mantis in an outdoor sink. Elder A is still confused at the interest I find in the insects here. I always have to explain how uninteresting our local wildlife is in England.
Imagine having your own biological machetes attached to your arms. That's how the Mantis lives.
What has touched Elder A most in his time in P____ are the less active members who have returned, some only in the last few weeks. Relentless visitations and ministering have produced a valuable harvest. It is so very important that the members get involved in this work. We are all responsible for the care-taking of our wards.
Next week things will change. More missionaries are arriving than leaving, Elder A will be replaced with someone else, and the mission will begin transitioning into a Tech mission, like all other missions in the US and Europe have been for several years, meaning we will no longer have to fill out hundreds of information reports by hand. My mother will finally have something to put on my missionary timeline other than 'Area: P____ - Companion: Elder A'.
The mission is full of beginnings. Arriving at the CCM was a beginning. Arriving in the field was a beginning. This next transfer will also be a beginning. We must really be grateful for the time and opportunities we have in this life, because while we have so many beginnings, we never know which will be our last.
That's too sombre a note on which to end. Here's a picture with the legend Elder C.
See you next week
Elder '65kg' Godivala
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