Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Rio de janeiro is...

paradise! well i flew in yesterday, and it has been a never ending whirlwind of events after that. one morning (we left the ctm at 5 am on Tues.) i am in the ctm, the next day i am in my new apartment with my new companion in rio. but, to be fair, i will start at the beginning and work to where i am now (which by the way is a dingy computer lounge in my area).

AHEM... i will need to be brief because i did A LOT of stuff, and i can only write so much about it... so we flew into rio right!? it was so awesome!!! (i didn’t think about it this time, but next time i will try to send you pictures) we flew right over cristo redentor and pao de aƧucar. for a minute we saw all of the affluence and favelas and raw beauty- and the next we were in the airport. we met president brinton and sister brinton by baggage claim and they are awesome. the secretaries took us to the policia federal and we were there FOREVER. eventually we got the mission home where we took pictures and had the longest meeting of all time. during the meeting where we were told way more than a person can take in and remember in a day, the president interviewed all of us. after the meeting ended, we were treated to some "bobs burgers" by the beach. we had been traveling by bus- which is our usual method- and these things are more dangerous and as exciting as roller coasters at times. you are standing there and holding on to the bars, while the bus whizzes around town. the driving here is twice as out of control and in sp, so the rides are more fun. that night we went to the APs house and spent the night and the next morning we had transfer meeting at a local chapel. there were a lot of guys leaving, and they all bore there testimonies, then the pres had a few of the new ones bear their testimonies. i had to. i got up there in front of those 70+ missionaries and froze. the portuguese in me went into hibernation. i choked out a few poorly conjugated phrases and sat down. then they told who would be companions with who. mine is elder rodrigues. he speaks VERY little ingles, which is great because that is what i speak... i was assigned to the area of JacarepaguĆ”, actually, that is my zone, but i cant remember my area name, but come on cut me some slack, it is in portuguese! ha ha...

thanks for the package, it was great- i got it right after the meeting and ate one of the crema de adujime (???? peanut) it was great! then we grabbed all of my bags and walked a LONG way. i dont think those wheels on the bags were ready for that kind of side walk that we have here- it is more like hiking... take a suit case with you next time you hike waterfall trail at w-tanks. the only difference in that the side walks are made out of cement and odd shapes, rough cut bricks and stones here. my companion flagged down this dingy vw bus (they are everywhere here) and paid the man for transportation. we piled all my stuff in and 20 mins later we were here! the apartment is cool, and the Superman sheets look great on my bed. i unpacked everything, and then we went out. i have zero money and I’m just following my comp around, trying to talk. he is SO great, but I’m not always sure what he is saying and usually just end up saying "sim" (yes) to everything. so things are great. well, sorry no pictures, i dont know if i will be able to send some next week. i need to write my president now, so just know i am safe and well somewhere in the city of rio de janeiro. love elder helland

P.S. out of morbid curiosity... why NO emails this week? i know, and thanks for the letter on monday, but the only email i got today was the 2nd half of alyces last one. ... and the general letter from president brinton which was in portuguese, which didn’t really make any sense to me. really though, thanks for the package. all of those pens are awesome and my new Companion liked his pop tart (i think). well, to be honest it is a little exciting to be out here, not really knowing yet what is going on around me. i am just going to smile (sorrir) when i don’t know what is happening, because... that is all i can do really, that or frown i guess, but what fun is that. so just know that i am down here just smiling away! :) love adam

PPS i really dont know the mailing situation, and dont anticipate understanding any answers to questions that i might ask, so just send letters to the mission office or home or whatever it is. i think that we usually get those every two to three weeks. anyway, i don’t know my address. emails will have to suffice from me for awhile until i get the hang of it.

1 comment:

Shanda said...

Bless his heart! Dan told me stories about walking forever with luggage, he got to the point where he would leave a lot of things behind because hiking with his belongings wasn't worth it. What a fun adventure!