Catch Up

Last week the internet in this small town wasn’t working so I couldn´t email you guys. 
We found a new family! A Mom a Dad and an eight year old Girl. They are great. We are trying to get them married. Beatriz´s son Williom is going to Church and activities and this week we´re going to commit him to baptism to complete the family. The work is moving slowly. There´s a terrific young man named Fabiano that wants to be baptized but it´s hard to find him at home so while he goes to the Church and the activities we still have to teach him some more before he can be baptized. We´d been planning to baptize Christian who´s just turned 18. He´s more active than a lot of members. Unfortunately, his mom wouldn´t allow him to be baptized before 18. Now that he´s 18 it appears that she still intends to kick him out of the house if he gets baptized. I find it funny that she thinks he´s not old enough to make such a decision but she baptized him as a baby in another church when he was much more conscious of his decisions (Sarcasm).The funny thing is his mother thinks that even if she doesn´t get baptized but allows her son to get baptized, SHE will somehow be forced to pay tithing.  My companion and I have tried to discuss things with her but she doesn´t accept our visits. I know that the Lord will will find a way.
This week there was a parade here in Quaraí. It´s a small town and rarely has any one out on the street but during this parade practically every inhabitant was either part of the parade or watching. Every school and every grade marched in the parade. Doctors marched, dentists marched, and at the end the Military showed up too (Tanks and all). There was even some dump trucks and cranes. I forgot to tell you that the race for mayor and other political positions is going on here in Quaraí. While it would be pretty funny in a big city like Santa Maria, it´s hilarious here. Here you need Zero education or training. You just run for mayor. Practically everyone is running. A few members are running too. It´s funny because every third house has a sign with the owners face on it saying what political group they are and that they want you to vote for them. If you have money you can afford to pay a bunch of cars, trucks and motorcycles pass by (ALL DAY) with speakers blasting out your political song. Some are funny but most are pretty bad and no matter where you are this is non stop. Thankfully they don´t do it when I´m trying to sleep. There´s a guy from the Church who is running for mayor and he´s crashed in on our lessons three times already. He just walks in and starts pulling out his graphs and pie charts and starts to give his bit. He knows he´s interrupting and just sits down and starts it up. I find it funny that he served a mission and should know to skip a house and come back to it when we´re there. Of course he crashed a lesson when we were with the branch President discussing marriage. He said "I´m fishing for votes" and the President replied "oh... we´re fishing for souls." Of course I wanted to just say a prayer and leave before he started up but he didn´t let me get a word in about it so I patronized him the entire time. 
The works hard but rewarding. I  know that this Church is true. I say Church but it´s the Restored Gospel of our Savior. I´m glad that Our Heavenly Father Loves us enough to have restored his Gospel and I´m glad to have been born in a time and into a family that has the Gospel. I love preaching it and teaching it. You´d think I´d get sick of teaching the same things every day but I always feel the spirit and learn something new. I´ve seen the changes and peace that come from living the Gospel. The more I study the scriptures and the doctrine the more certainty I have of truth of our message. I´ve felt the spirit testify so strongly in many lessons that we´ve given. Some people don´t exactly understand the spirit when it testifies. I find it confusing that some people even cry from feeling the spirit but they refuse to be baptized. That´s all part of it though.  OOOh I almost forgot. There´s going to be a parade in celebration of a war that they had in southern Brazil. There´s going to be a weeklong celebration and there´ll be a parade of a bunch of people in traditional clothing riding on horses.  I will send pictures from the other Elder´s cameras in the future. We´ve never gotten the right cable sent to me.
 Love, Elder H.

A Slow Week

So Becca is going to have another girl? That´s terrific. Well, everything here is fine. We have a few possible baptisms but the works going pretty slow. This week was Sister Philipelli´s birthday. There was an activity in her honor and everyone went. There were tons of people there and it was a really special night. Elder (Her husband) gave a short speech in front of everyone. It was great.There was food there so naturally some inactive members came. 
I felt the spirit very strongly in testimony meeting this fast Sunday. We attend sacrament meeting for two branches so I got double helpings. There´s been a great deal of funny little things with my companion and the other companionship, lot´s of inside-jokes. I´m happy and appreciating the mission and the spiritual orientation I am receiving. I´m studying the scriptures a lot and the New Testament is making more sense this time around. This week we made soup and one Elder made brownies that didn´t really turn out. I also ordered a pizza that wasn´t any good =(. Not too much has happened this week. This might be my last transfer here. I hope that everything works out with planned baptisms before I have to leave.
Funny News: An Elder got chicken pocks while on the mission. He´s fine now though. 
The Mission President will swing by to interview us this week. I´ll make sure to take advantage of the interview. 
We had to fly through p-day today and I don´t have much time to write. I love you all.
- Elder Hanson