Hey Family!
Sounds like ya'll are havin fun!
I only have a half an hour to be on the computer so if my spelling and grammar is wrong... pishposh cause I speak Portuguese, haha.
Actually today was my first P-day and we were able to attend a session at the Sao Paulo Temple. It was awesome! The session was in English but they prayed in Portuguese. It was a great experience.. we were able to go right at a time when I was starting to feel homesick/down about myself. And now I feel fresh! which is good! I sent a letter home on Tuesday, hopefully you'll get that soon. My companion is Elder Anderson, he's totally awesome and I love him, he sings, runs track ( decathlon=he's a beast), he's a hair taller than me, is from oregon, has a great testimony and works hard. Out of all the boys in our district he is for sure my favorite. He's mature and is here to work while a lot of boys in our district talk a lot and don't stay focused, We're perfect for each other, haha! He's a really good guy and I'm so thankful I have him as my companiero!
The picture is of all the BLUEDOTS who showed up on the same day as me.
Portuguese is awesome! Thank you thank you thank you for letting me do rosetta stone! every ones jealous and it has totally helped...... but only for like the first two days haha everything goes so fast here. I've already taught three lessons only speaking portuguese, can pray, bear testimony.. the whole 9 yards. but... I also called our investigator's wife a whore, accidentally swore a couple times and called the investigator gay... OH and I got kicked out of an investigator's house because... never mind. the language is coming along slowly but surely, I want to learn it SO bad, and I wanna learn it now! Because Brazilians are so funny and I love talking to them. Once I'm done here Elder Anderson and I get to go outside the CTM and walk around Sao Paulo and try not to get lost, haha. I still have to buy a watch! I have been able to become friends with a number of Brazilians.. one of them actually left this morning to the field and came into our room to take a picture with us... its so much fun I love this place!
The Brazilians are So much fun! My companion and I sit by them at lunch and talk to them, they are really patient and funny and try to teach us portuguese while we try and make jokes to them. I can read portuguese well... but understanding them speak is still hard because they speak so fast and don't say the ending of their words.. idk its hard to explain.
There are four Americans and one Brazilian and one African in our room, The two non-Americans are really nice and have a lot of patience with us annoying Americans, haha. They teach us portuguese and we teach them english, It's fun. The one from Africa has never SEEN a temple before and is going through this Thursday for the first time! We're all super pumped for him and he is beyond excited.
The food here is... different but the same, haha. Rice and Beans that's what we get, haha, along with chicken.. a lot of sandwiches and weird juices... haha idk its different. Miss your cooking mom! but unlike everyone else in our district I've lost weight kinda haha even though they feed us four times a day! woot woot!
It's cold and raining here! WHAT THE HECK, if I wanted rain I would have stayed in Washington, haha. Anyway everyone says that Maceio is super hot and we're gunna die, haha. Ten of the elders in our district of about 20 are going to Maceio. Some of them are seriously bugging me and I have to bite my tongue so much, haha, but I pray for patience every night and that's a good thing because if I didn't I might be sent home early because I killed someone, haha. JOKES!
I have been able to focus and learn here and develop good study habits. We study like ten hours a day. Its nice to be here and not have to worry about anything else but the gospel and learning portuguese. My testimony has already grown so much. its crazy! And I'm so thankful that I am here.
I gotta run! I love you guys so much! I know you're praying for me.. keep them coming because I need the help, haha.
Chau!
Elder Benjamin Ralph
